The Light of Faith (LumenFidei) of Pope Francis: 'This is how the Church's tradition speaks of the great gift brought by Jesus'
Oral Tradition
The way of Jesus' followers to continue His mission of Salvation that is entrusted to them
Oral Tradition
1. They went to different places to preach, teach,heal, and even exorcise
2. They travelled around Roman world preaching the message of Jesus with missionary zeal
3. They did not tend to write during that time
Jesus told them to PROCLAIM (not to write it) the Good News
The early followers of Jesus Christ expected Jesus to come back soon after His resurrection
They were uneducated but not illiterate
Oral tradition
Came first before the formation of the New Testament
Main mission
Preaching the core message of death and resurrection
Teaching further instructions and encouragement to recently baptized Christians
Defending the beliefs and practices against accusations from outside
The manner of preaching in the oral tradition by the early Christians
1. The disciples did not repeat what Jesus said
2. They preached in the way they understood them after the resurrection
3. Disciples and preachers re-interpreted and re-formulated the words and deeds of Jesus Christ in order to relate to their current situations
God's goodness and divine wisdom
Revealed to us through the Lord Jesus
Through Christ, the world made flesh
We were able to encounter the Father
Now we encounter the living God
Through the words written in the Scriptures
Through the gospels
We receive and experience The Kingdom of God
Writers of the Gospels
Saint Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Gospel
The Greek word for "gospel" is "euangelion" which means "good news"
Good news
Salvation (kaligtasan at kaginhawaan)
Narrative accounts in the Gospels
Infancy and childhood
Public ministry
Recital of the historical events of the passion,death, and resurrection of Jesus
Reasons why it took 40 years before the gospels were written
The proclamation was confined to Palestine and the facts of Jesus' life were sufficiently known
People preferred the spoken, "living" word to the written word
The early Christians expected Jesus to come back soon
Reasons for the writing of the Gospels
The gospel was preached farther and farther away from Jerusalem and converts came flocking into the young churches
Death of the apostles and other witnesses and the ever-increasing number of communities
The Christians gradually realized that Jesus would not come back as early as they originally expected (parousia)
The task of the Evangelists
Editors of small independent units of stories, parables, sayings, deeds of Jesus compiled by the Christians – known as pericopes
They were especially guided by God's Spirit, an experience called the gift of inspiration
The Gospel of Matthew
Author: Matthew the Apostle
Implied Author: Bilingual (Aramaic & Greek)
Early Jewish Christians
Audience: Better-educated Jews
Place of Writing: Galilee
Time of Writing: Late 70's or 80's AD
Image of Jesus Christ: Jesus, the Emmanuel
Chapters: 28
The Gospel of Mark
Author: John Mark of Jerusalem
Implied Author: Bilingual (Aramaic & Greek)
Christian
Audience: Mostly Gentiles (persons who are not Jewish)
Place of Writing: Rome
Time of Writing: 60's AD or 70's AD
Image of Jesus Christ: Jesus, the Suffering Servant
Chapters: 16
The Gospel of Luke
Author: Luke, a Physician & Companion of Paul
Implied Author: Christian Gentile convert; well educated Greek
Audience: Wealthier Gentile Christians
Place of Writing: Greece
Time of Writing: Mid to late 80's AD
Image of Jesus Christ: Jesus, the savior of all humanity
Chapters: 24
The Gospel of John
Author: John the Apostle
Implied Author: The "Beloved Disciple"
Audience: Mostly Jews, some Gentiles, Samaritans, etc.
Place of Writing: Galilee or Syria
Time of Writing: Main edition 90's AD
Image of Jesus Christ: Jesus, the "Word of God"
Chapters: 21
The Gospels are the heart of the Scriptures
The four Gospels
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
The Gospels
Bring the Good News of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ
Characteristics of the Gospels
The Gospels are the main source of information about the life and teachings of Jesus
The Gospels are God's Revelation
When we encounter Jesus in the Gospels, we encounter God's most definitive and perfect Revelation
Synoptic Gospels
Matthew, Mark, and Luke
Synoptic
Comes from a Greek word meaning "seeing the whole together"
Synoptic Gospels
Similar in style and share much of the same content
Include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and sometimes exactly the same wording, in contrast to the very different picture of Jesus presented in the Gospel of John
Many scholars also proscholars believe that both Luke and Matthew used Mark as a source when writing their Gospels
Luke and Matthew may have used a second source known as the Quelle, or the Q Source
Four-Source Theory
Mark was the oldest written Gospel, which provided a narrative framework for both Matthew and Luke
Aside from Mark, Matthew and Luke used a common source known as Q-Source (first letter of the German "Quelle" meaning "source")
Matthew and Luke, however, had their own particular unique sources
John's Gospel
It covers a different time span than the other Gospels
It locates much of Jesus' ministry in Judaea
It portrays Jesus discoursing at length on theological matters