A Better Way to Read the Gospels
Tim Davis
Candidly, I used to feel bored when I read the gospels. Even confused. It may be taboo to say this but it’s true. But more recently, I’ve come to love them.
This change of heart occurred once I realized the Gospel writers were ‘artist-theologians’.
SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE vs. DOCUMENTARY
I’m sure you’ve walked into a grocery store before. But have you ever looked up? Odds are you’ll see a TV recording your entrance into the store. You enter the camera’s line of sight and then you’re out of it.
Many of us think the Bible is written this way: someone walks into the camera’s line of site; it’s recorded and that’s it. As if the Bible is recording raw data—simple as that.
But this isn’t how the Gospel writers (or biblical writers for that matter) wrote Scripture. They functioned more like film directors who organized and compiled footage to create an explanatory narrative.
Want an example?
Let’s look at Matthew’s gospel account. First, I’ll highlight his literary design. Second, we’ll consider some ways he hyperlinks back to the Hebrew Scriptures.
ORGANIZED FOOTAGE
Matthew’s most noticeable literary feature (in my opinion) is the way he organizes his gospel account around five key teaching units. If this is new to you, stop reading this article and go look at chapters 5-7, 10, 13, 18 and 23-25.
The author concludes each teaching block with a concluding statement that reads something like this, “When Jesus finished all these sayings…”. Through this brief statement, the author concludes each teaching block and guides the reader back into the ongoing narrative. Again, stop reading this article and go see for yourself.
Teaching. Narrative. Teaching. Narrative. Teaching. Narrative. You get the point.
But this isn’t the only way the author “organizes his footage”. Look at Matthew’s birth narrative in 1:18-2:23. The author arranges this short section around five fulfillment formulas—meaning, he hyperlinks five events from Jesus’ birth to fives passages from the Hebrew Scriptures.
Let’s keep looking at ways Matthew links the reader back to the Old Testament.
“SUPERHERO” JESUS
Remember holding your breath when Jim confessed his love for Pam on The Office? Take the intensity of that scene and multiply it by a million. That’s how we should feel when Peter confesses Jesus as, “The Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16).
“Christ” isn’t Jesus’ last name. Peter is asserting that Jesus is The Messiah, a title that means anointed one. Numerous people were anointed throughout Israel’s history. But Peter isn’t saying Jesus is just one more anointed guy. He claims something more. Jesus is the Messiah. He’s the anointed one—the one Israel’s been waiting for.
Key leaders throughout Israel’s history offered unique profiles as to the kind of leader they hoped for—leaders like Moses and Joshua, David or Elijah.
But when we zoom out, the New Testament gives us more than a set of unique profiles—it paints a mosaic. The characters listed above—alongside others—“became a composite character, a superhero of sorts.”[1]
And Matthew loved to make this point known.
For example, Matthew opens his account with a genealogy. Boring right? Wrong. The author connects the dots from Jesus to David and Abraham. Moral of the story, Jesus comes from the Messianic line of David and he fulfills God’s promise to bless the nations which he gave to Abraham. Jesus isn’t just a new David, he’s better!
I think we have time for one more. Soon after his opening genealogy, the author records a series of events. Jesus came out of Egypt (Matt 2:15), he passed through water (Matt 3:13-17), he was tested in the wilderness (Matt 4:1-11), and he went up a mount before delivering God’s teaching (Matt 5:1-2). Sound like anyone? Ya, I think you’re getting the hang of this. Jesus is not only a new Moses, he’s better.
Once upon a time, the gospels bored me. But that’s because I didn’t see the artistry nor the theology. Turns out, there’s a better way to read the gospels.
[1] Gary M. Burge, The New Testament in Seven Sentences, (pg. 17).