We've quoted these four writers of the Gospels many times AND we cross-reference these Scriptures in other accounts as well.
TalkofJESUS.com treats the GOSPELS as a single category due to the connected importance of the Good News of Jesus Christ reported LIVE and IN PERSON from different perspectives.
Gospel of Matthew 28:30 – Quote of JESUS after the Lord’s resurrection.
Gospel of LUKE 1:4
John Mark (mentioned above) and Luke, the physician who continued his detailed account of Jesus and the early Church with Acts of the Apostles, were both gentile (non-Jewish) believers who interviewed the Twelve and other witnesses of JESUS.
Matthew (quoted above) and John are two of the Twelve Apostles. Jesus includes John and his brother James along with Simon Peter in the Lord's inner circle of closest confidants and friends.
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
The term “Gospel” originates from the Old English word “godspel,” meaning “good news” or “glad tidings,” which is a translation of the Greek word “euangelion.”
In the context of the Christian faith, the Gospel refers to the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, encompassing His life, death, resurrection, and the promise of eternal life for believers.
gos’-pel (to euaggelion): The word gospel is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word which meant “the story concerning God.”
The Gospel is simple really, yet with the mysterious depth of God proclaimed as the good Word of saving sinners.
I have written topically about the Gospel at least twice:
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of NT Words offers a deeper study of biblical words used in the English language. English entries are mapped to each applicable Greek root according to the Strong’s reference numbers, and include biblical usage, main occurrences in the Bible, English transliteration, and definitions.
Gospel (Noun and Verb: to Preach):“to bring or announce glad tidings” (Eng., “evangelize”), is used
(a) in the Active Voice in Rev 10:7 (“declared”) and Rev 14:6 (“to proclaim,” RV, AV, “to preach”);
Some claiming Christ, christians or even churches, will claim the Gospel without understanding.
OR worse, pulpits may proclaim the Gospel while hiding behind it.
AND some christians and churches take no action at all in evangelization or preaching the Gospel to our own personal need of Christ Jesus for salvation.
Good News before our inevitable end
death — and the JUDGMENT of ALMIGHTY GOD!
2025 of the Common Era seems to have begun with story after story and yet more of the continuing BREAKING NEWS of our fallen world.
Common Era NEWS begins with the same old sins of the world wrapped in the false idolatry: MOTHER NATURE and a world out of control * and a human-created environmental apocalypse – impending DISASTER out of reach of all their hand-holding gods.
Fire Maui Hawaii US1945 dead slave laborsAnd the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound…
.. but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He proclaimedG2097 goodG2097 newsG2097 to His slaves, the prophets.
How many died THIS TIME? And how many were SAVED for nothing more than BAD NEWS? (And for how long until the inevitable return of each broken body into the dust of the grave?)
Does the world’s news end with a feel-good story? *Do YOU feel good about YOURSELF now?
What percentage of us will die sometime soon?
What does the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST mean to your eternal soul
— your deeper human created in God’s image — the YOU by which so many souls you love in this world (or perhaps just a few) know you well as more than flesh and blood?
DON’T YOU think, mere mortal, that God in his Only Son Jesus Christ enbraces and knows your soul more than any?
Of course! the GOSPEL proclaims.
Repentance!
and BELIEVE the Gospel.
“Many false prophets will arise and will deceive man.
And because lawlessness is multiplied, most people’s love will grow cold.
But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
Christians, Jews and unbelievers know parts of the iconic scene unfolding in Bethlehem through a virgin Jewish mother.
Today I honor Mary most appropriately by retelling her story of Christmas mostly from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Mary, Eve of the Virgin Birth
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem..
.. with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
Gospel of Luke 2:4-5 KJV excerpt
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
Mary, wife of Joseph?
Not quite, according to custom and Jewish law.
Do YOU know any young woman who has been pregnant (even near full term) yet not married to the man she knew?
μνηστεύω – Strong’s G3423 – mnēsteuō– from a derivative of G3415; to give a souvenir (engagement present), i.e. betroth:—espouse.
Recall that GREEK is the common language not only of Luke the Physician but also of all of the Roman Empire ruled by Caesar Augustus.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espousedG3423 to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Gospel of Matthew 1:18 KJV
SCANDELOUS !
(as least in the A.D. First Century)
Mary, ENGAGED to Joseph
AND they both know that the Virgin Mary had NEVER come together with Joseph her fiancé!
Joseph, an honorable man
(like his namesake and ancestor, Joseph, son of Jacob, who the LORD used to rule Egypt under Pharaoh.)
Gospel of Matthew 1:19- KJV
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,
Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Matthew 1:20b KJV
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS:
Witness by a heavenly host of Angels – Luke 2:8KJV
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Gospel of Luke 2:8-14 King James Version
Witnesses and worship
And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. .. Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
An Angel of the Lord standing beside the Priest of God right inside the Holy of Holies! A pretty big deal.
Briefly, what happens next is a foretelling prophetic birth of JOHN the BAPTIST, preparing the way for the Lord Jesus, the consolation of Israel and Messiah sent of God the Father.
Elisabeth, John and the Holy Spirit
Zacharias the Priest of God continued to serve his term in the Temple unable to speak.
Daily worshipers in Jerusalem must have know that something was up.
He returns home.
Elisabeth conceived.
An angel of the Lord then appears in Nazareth prior to their trip to register for the census of Caesar and also tells Mary:
And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Church fathers, theologians who study such things, took a few centuries to articulate the trinitarian Christology from the Apostles recorded in Scripture from the A.D. first century.
The clarity of their CREEDS and CONFESSIONS of FAITH define our hope of eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man…
We get it humanly – the relationship of a son (or daughter) to a father (or to our mother).
HumanAND ever-existing SON
Mortal men and women can relate to a Son of THE FATHER.
We understand, in part, that JESUS was flesh and blood, body and brain a perfect human son of man (Mary, actually: ‘man‘ as in human like all of us).
John, the Apostle who speaks so well relationally in the witness of his Gospel tells us:
But these [signs, proofs or miracles] are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
The Twelve, having loved their friend and Master whom they followed willingly, understood a relational link between JESUS and each of His disciples personally.
When the Lord in so many ways showed His Disciples His ever-existing relationship to Almighty God our Father — HIS Father from before the beginning — they could not have been more awe struck that GOD stood in their human presence.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Yet think from the witness of any of the Twelve of the impact of JESUS, the living Christ they follow, telling His disciples: “I and the Father are One.”
Just like all faithful Jews, these disciples had recited the Sh'ma since their childhood:
John’s Gospel continues with Jesus’ further explanation of the Spirit:
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
What is JESUS telling us about spirit and the Holy Spirit?
Although mankind is flesh and blood, created from dust and water,
and Man is created in God’s image;
Man, LIKE GOD, is also spirit.
What is Spirit?
John begins his Gospel with Jesus (the Word) and the Spirit.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
READ MORE BELOW NOTE: Although I generally limit your reading time to ~5 minutes, today I'll expand our TOPIC of SPIRIT with additional definitions and more Biblical verses than we could cover in a single post on the SPIRIT.
Please continue and COMMENT at the end of this entire post.- RH
The KJV translates Strong’s H7307 in the following manner: Spirit or spirit (232x), wind (92x), breath (27x), (various additional)
Two additional uses in Genesis show both the Spirit of God and His quickening spirit in His creatures, including mankind:
And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; – Gen. 6:3a NKJV
And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life.. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. – Gen. 7:15,22 NKJV
COMMENTARY
The Spirit of God; not the wind, which was not yet created, as is manifest, because the air, the matter or subject of it, was not yet produced; but the Third Person of the glorious Trinity, called the Holy Ghost, to whom the work of creation is attributed, Job 26:13, as it is ascribed to the Second Person, the Son, Joh 1:3 Col 1:16-17 Heb 1:3, and to the First Person, the Father, every where.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Before proceeding to the more powerful and most mysterious Holy Spirit of God,
consider beyond flesh and blood, mind and spirit -- that which is the same in Old and New Testaments, yet having subtle ungraspable distinction: spirit and soul.
“BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN;
MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL [psychē] IS WELL-PLEASED;
We hear it also in the heart of Isaiah, a Prophet of God:
With my soul [nep̄eš] I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my spirit [rûaḥ] within me I will seek You early; For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Spirit of God, the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son
as inspiring ecstatic state of prophecy
as impelling prophet to utter instruction or warning
imparting warlike energy and executive and administrative power
as endowing men with various gifts
as energy of life
as manifest in the Shekinah glory
never referred to as a depersonalised force
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
When you hear an ENGLISH translation of pneuma in the King James Version it will most often suggest an image of the Holy Ghost.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
As mysterious as Ghostor the Spirit may be to mankind, its root word [Strong’s G4154 – pneō] directs our thoughts
to breathe hard, i.e. breeze:—blow (of the wind)
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’
The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
I encourage you in the spirit to pray with ears to hear the Holy Spirit of the Lord God, who IS ONE with the Father and the Son our savior Jesus Christ.
Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
