ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

A Brief Overview of the Gospels: A Bible Study - Part 2

Updated on January 7, 2014

In our last study, we did a brief comparison of the four Gospels. Now we will take a look at Jesus"s early life, His baptism, and His temptation.


The early life of the Savior is all but nonexistent in the Scriptures. There is nothing mentioned in the book of Mark of Jesus birth and early years. As a matter of fact, the first thing mentioned of Jesus in Mark is that of His baptism at the age of thirty.

Both Matthew and Luke give a lengthy genealogy of the Savior. John’s genealogy as already mentioned goes back to eternity past. His childhood years however, are not mentioned in any great detail.

Matthew’s Gospel gives the story of the enunciation in chapter 1 and follows with the story of the wise men in chapter 2. These wise men were truly wise because they had studied the Scriptures and were familiar with them enough to know that the Savior had been born according to the mouth of Balaam in Numbers 24:17, “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel.”

After the wise men had left we see Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus traveling to Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod in Matthew 2:13 and 14. "And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there untiI I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:”

After Herod died Jesus returned to Galilee with His human parents and took up residence in Nazareth. Matthew 2:19-23 gives the information. “But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.” Notice, He is a Nazarene, not a Nazarite.

Chapter 3 of Matthew goes right into the baptism of Jesus. Luke’s Gospel adds to the pre-ministry days of Christ with few other details. Luke 1:26-35 give the details of the enunciation. Luke 2:1-18 tells of the birth of the Savior and the coming of the shepherds.

We see the circumcision of Jesus according to Jewish law in Luke 2:21. Later after Mary’s purification according to the law of Moses the baby Jesus comes in contact with Simeon, “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. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should no see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 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; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”

The scene shifts to Jesus at the age of twelve in Luke 2:42-49. Jesus’ parents leave Jerusalem believing Jesus to be in the company. He is not and for three days He is at the temple “. . . being about His Father’s business.” “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Jesus grew in the application of knowledge (wisdom). He grew physically (stature). He grew in favor with man (socially) and in favor with God (spiritually). We know nothing of His life from the age of twelve until He begins His ministry at the age of 30.

From Christ’s early childhood the Gospels move ahead some 18 years. Even though this part of His life is not recorded we can assume that He was continuing to grow in areas of wisdom, physical, spiritual and social areas.

Christ's Baptism

From Christ’s early childhood the Gospels move ahead some 18 years. Even though this part of His life is not recorded we can assume that He was continuing to grow in areas of wisdom, physical, spiritual and social areas.

The first recorded event of Christ’s ministry was that of His baptism. Luke 3:21 gives us the first time Jesus prayed in the Gospels. It was at the occasion of His baptism. “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him,6 and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”

The entire Godhead was present. Of course, Jesus being in body was present as well as a voice from Heaven, the voice of God the Father, and the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove. The ministry of the Holy Spirit would follow Him His entire ministry. Here is a partial list of the workings of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christ: 1.) Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35); 2.) He was anointed by the Spirit (Matthew 3:16); 3.) He preached in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:18); 4.) He was sealed by the Spirit (John 6:27); 5.) He sorrowed in the Spirit (John 11:33); 6.) He was led by the Spirit (Matthew 4:1); 7.) He was filled with the Spirit (John 3:34, Luke 4:1).

The Temptation

From His Baptism, Christ goes to the wilderness to pray and fast

for 40 days. The account is given in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13. These two Gospels go into much more detail, but the temptation is also recorded in Mark 1:12, 13. In Mark’s account it is noticed that Jesus was with the wild beasts during His 40 day fast.

After His fast ends, satan makes his way into the picture to tempt the Christ. His first temptation, to turn the stones into bread was an attempt to have Christ fill His own stomach forcing Him to depend upon His own resources. Jesus combats this temptation and all others by using Scripture. In this case in Matthew 4:4 He compares it to Deuteronomy 8:3.

Secondly, satan tempts Christ to jump off the pinnacle of the temple. In this case, Christ would be forcing God’s hand for protection. God expects us likewise to be reasonable in our approach to life. Christ answers the devil with a quote from Deuteronomy 6:16 in Matthew 4:7).

Thirdly, satan tempts Christ by taking Him to a high mountain and showing Him the kingdoms of the world. Had Jesus accepted satan’s temptation, He would have bypassed Calvary, thus satan’s plan would have been complete. Christ counters the devil with Deuteronomy 6:13.

Now the question comes up, Were the kingdoms of the world really satan’s to offer? According to John 14:30 and Revelation 13:7, the world was put in the hands of satan. He is its prince and the ruler of the earth - for now. The day is coming quickly that Jesus will take back His position of the King.

Another question might be asked. Is this the only time satan tempted Christ? Absolutely not! In Luke 4:13 we are told that the devil departed for a season. Matthew 16:23 gives us further insight. “But he turned, and said unto Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me…” If the devil does not stop working on you, he certainly would have had to spend more time working on Christ.

We might also ask, Could Christ have sinned during His time of temptation? No, He could not have sinned. II Corinthians 5:21 tells us that Christ knew no sin. I Peter 2:22 says that He did no sin. I John 3:5 and Hebrews 4:15 declare that Christ had no sin. As part of the attributes of God, He is sinless and cannot sin.

What then was the purpose of the temptations? It was not to see if He would sin, but to show that He could not sin. The purpose was to provide the believer with an experienced high priest (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15).

We will continue our study shortly.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)