Week One: In the Beginning

Week One of our New Testament class began with a history of the four Gospels and a look at the birth of John the Baptist. We talked about how the Gospels came to be written in Greek and disseminated to the early Christian congregations. The stories of Jesus were told and cherished for years, but the first written Gospel dates from about 30-40 years after the death of Christ.

How each Gospel writer begins his narrative has much to do with the emphasis of that author. Mark, the oldest Gospel, focuses on the mission of Christ beginning with his baptism by John. Matthew begins with a genealogy and places Christ as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Luke brings a personal touch with the details of conversations that occurred between Mary and Elizabeth, and the thoughts of Mary at the birth of her divine Son. John takes a cosmological approach, beginning with the same words as the Old Testament, "In the beginning," and establishing Jesus as the creator of the universe. The first three gospels are known as "synoptic," meaning seen together, since they cover similar material. 80-90% of the material in John is unique to that Gospel.

We also took a look at the temple in Jerusalem, and the role that priests like Zacharias played, as they came to volunteer at the times of festivals. Check the "Digging Deeper" section for a couple of videos and articles that might be of interest in your further study.

Question of the Week

Each week we will have a "Question of the Week" to consider and discuss during the next session. This week's question comes from 1 Nephi 11:16. Nephi asks to know the meaning of the Tree of Life, seen in his father's vision, and the Spirit of the Lord responds with this question: "Knowest thou the condescension of God?" That is the question we might consider and write about this week. What is the condescension of God? What does the angel mean by the question? What does it mean to us, now? Get a notebook and write your thoughts, and/or share them in the "Sharing" section.

Next Tuesday it is Christmas in September! We will be studying the birth of Christ. See you then!