2-1-1-Synoptic Gospels-Year of Preparation

1. Matthew 3:1:

2. Matthew 3:13:

3. Matthew 4:1:

Exercise: Use a Green pen or pencil, underline the verses listed above.

We are able to use the technique of comparing to study these episodes because they can be found in the other Gospels as well as Matthew's.  Read the following verses: Mark 1: 49; and 12-13; Luke 3: 2-3 and verse 21; and Luke 4:1-2.

You have discovered for yourself that three of the four Gospels tell many of the same episodes of Jesus life.  The preaching of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus, and the temptations of Jesus are good examples.  Because these three Gospels are so much alike, they are called the Synoptics.

Although the Synoptics tell many of the same episodes in Jesus' life from a different point of view.  When we compare episodes found in all three of the Synoptics with each other we are able to learn many valuable details about the happenings in Jesus' life.

Let's take an example.  If you want to make a closer study of the episode of the temptation of Jesus, you can use the technique of comparing and read the episode in two Gospels.  Read Matthew 4:1 and Luke 4:1 in your Bible.

Both Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit.  However, only one of the two tells us that Jesus was also returned in the power of the spirit at the end of the episode of the temptation.

Which of the two Gospels states that Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit?  Matthew 4:11  Luke 4:13-14

As a result of reading the episode in both Matthew and Luke you have discovered that Jesus was not only led into the wilderness by the Spirit, but He was also kept by the same Spirit until the end.

The likeness between Matthew, Mark, and Luke can be seen all the way through the whole life of Christ and not just in the Year of Preparation.

The Gospel of Mark has 661 verses in all.  606 of these verses are also found in Matthew and Luke, although some of them have been shortened.  What is the name we use for these three similar Gospels?

Learn to use the technique of comparing well.  It is the basis of an effective teaching ministry.  Without the use of the technique of comparing it is hard to have a good understanding of the life of Jesus.

Now  we will see how we can use the technique of comparing to put a series of episodes into the order in which they happened.

In the last semester we put all the main episodes of the Infancy of Jesus into the order in which they happened.  Remember?  We used the technique of comparing the episodes in Matthew and Luke.  For instance, we put the "announcements of the birth of Jesus"  before the birth itself and not after it, because that was the actual order in which the things happened.

When we place episodes into the order in which they happened we call this their chronological order.  Place the three events in the chronological order.

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Clearly, God has given us the Four Gospels in the New Testament so that every Christian worker can benefit by learning to use the technique of .  In this way the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus will stand out with far greater depth and meaning.  One of the main purposes of this course is to teach you how to use this technique with more and more effectiveness.

Why not stop and take a moment for prayer.  Praise God for his great gift of the four Gospels.  Ask him for his help in learning to use the technique of comparing one to the other more and more effectively as we continue in this course.

Chapters 3-(4) of Matthew's Gospel tell the story of the Year of .  During this year Jesus left his work as a in the town ofin the province ofand went down to the banks of the river Jordan to be with .  Large crowds gathered to listen to John the Baptist preach, the message of the .  Jesus was relativelythroughout the entire Year of .

In this lesson we will deepen our understanding of the Year of Preparation by studying the one Gospel which is not a synoptic gospel, that is, the Gospel according to.

Before going any further, let's clear up a point which has often caused a lot of confusion.  In the Gospels there are two people called John.  One is John the Baptist.  The other one is John the Apostle.  You must learn how to tell the difference between the two men.  Of course, you already know some of the main happenings in the life of John the Baptist, so now we must compare these with the life of John the Apostle.  He was the brother of James the disciples of Jesus and do close friend to Peter.

According to the measuring-Rod of John the Baptist:

If John the Baptist is preaching and baptizing we know that this is the Year of Preparation.

If John the Baptist is in prison we know that this is the Year of.

If John the Baptist is dead we know that this is the Year of.

Now let's look at some of the episodes in the Gospel of John.  Below are three episodes in the Wrong order:

1. Begin reading in your Bible at John 1:35 keep on reading until you discover which of the three titles listed above is the best one for this episode.  Write your answer in the space provided:

2. Now begin reading at John 2:1.  Choose one of the titles from the list for this episode and write it here:

3. This time begin reading at John 2:13 and keep reading until you are able to find a good title for this passages.  Write that title in the space provided:

Read John 1:29

1. What was John the Baptist doing at this time?  Was he preaching, in prison, or dead?

2. According to the Measuring-Rod, if John was still preaching we know that these three episodes in John 1 and 2 took, place in the same year of Jesus ministry.  What year was this?

3. Jesus cleansed the temple twice.  One time was at the beginning of His ministry and once at the end.  The Synoptics only tell about the second time He cleansed the temple which was during the last week of the Passion.  John only, tells about the first cleansing of the temple in the year of Preparation.

4. We will now look at three more episodes in John's Gospel.  They are listed below in the wrong order:

From the titles given above, choose the best title for the episode which starts in each of the following verses:

1. John 3:9

2. John 4:7

3. John 4:46

Exercise: Underline with Green the following words in your Bible.  They will act as a guide to help you remember the contents of each of these episodes.

John not only tells us more than the Synoptics about the Year of Preparation but he also gives us a totally different understanding of the relationship between Jesus and His disciples.  If we didn't compare the Synoptics with John's Gospel we would have a very limited idea of the relationship between Jesus and His disciples.  We might even have a completely wrong idea.

If we limited our study of the call of Jesus' disciples to the story in the Synoptics (Matthew 4:18-22) we could have some wrong ideas about how Jesus called His followers.  In fact many people do this.  Even some ministers assume that the first time called Peter, Andrew, and John (the Apostle) was beside the Sea of Galilee at the start of the Year of Popularity.  It is only by using the technique of Comparing to see what John's Gospel tells us that we can avoid this mistake.

For example, the first time we find Jesus with Peter, Andrew, and John (the Apostle) in Matthew is when they were fishing.

1. Where did this take place?  Read Matthew 4:18-22:

2. Where was John the Baptist at this time?  Read Matthew 4:12:

3. In what year of Jesus ministry did this take place?

4. According to John 1:35-37, from whom did Jesus get His first disciples?

5. In what year was this?

During the Year of Preparation Jesus became close friends with these disciples of John the Baptist.  They were to become His most trusted apostles.  Which two people were the disciples of John the Baptist before they became followers of Jesus?  Read John 1:40-42: 1. 2.

Andrew was one of the two disciples of John the Baptist who followed Jesus.  It was he who went to look for his brother, Peter, after a short time.  We are not told the name of the other disciples, but it is pretty certain that he was the other  disciple but it is pretty certain that he was the author of the fourth Gospel himself, John the Apostle.

Identify the following episodes from the year of Preparation.  Jesus disciples are with him in each of them.

In what other places do we find Jesus accompanied by His disciples?

Was Jesus with His disciples during the Year of Preparation?

How long were Andrew, Peter, John, and the other disciples of Jesus in training with Him before He finally called them to leave their boats on the shore of the Sea of Gallilee and follow Him full-time?

1. a day

2. a month

3. a year, more or less

Not only did they prepare with Jesus Himself, but even before that they had been the students of John the Baptist.

At this point ask the Lord's help

Read 1 peter 3:15 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

1. is preparation to serve the Lord important?

2. Why do we need preparation?

3. What can we do to prepare ourselves better?

4. Have you learned anything from the example of the apostles about the need to prepare yourself for the lord's service?

5. Speak to somebody about the fact of being a Christian than send a email report to your trainer of what happened.

6. Discuss about the way in which Jesus' disciples were prepared?

7. Read the story in Acts 1:21-22.  Do you think it is likely that ALL of Jesus' disciples had been baptized by John the Baptist?  If you have not been, will you now?

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