Read Ebook: The Real Jesus of the Four Gospels by Atwater John Birdseye

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Finally, we have Jesus' own clear and positive declaration of His understanding of His mission. "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" .

As against this explicit statement of His position, the two ambiguous references to some future preaching of His Gospel "for a witness unto all nations," or that it "must first be published among all nations," can have no weight .

The evidence establishes beyond a doubt that the characterization of Jesus by Paul and others who had never heard or seen Him, as an evangel to the Gentiles and a redeemer of mankind, was not only not authorized by Jesus, but was explicitly repudiated by Him. His only mission, as He conceived it, was to bring back the Jews to the true, simple worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

That Jesus failed in this mission must be admitted. At first the people flocked in multitudes to listen to His preaching. This was due in part to their expectation of a coming Messiah and, no doubt, in part to the effect of John's work. But what the Jews expected was an earthly kingdom and a ruler who would give them victory over the heathen. They had no interest whatever in a spiritual kingdom. Their disappointment was bitter when they found that Jesus promised them only a kingdom in heaven. Nor were they affected by such miracles as healing the sick, making the blind to see, the lame to walk, etc. The miracles they demanded were those of the Old Testament, when the Lord of Hosts visited His overwhelming wrath upon the armies of their enemies.

His neighbors of Galilee were the first to fall away from Jesus, and apparently He felt this defection deeply . Even His own brothers did not believe in Him .

This opposition to Him spread , and gradually deepened into active animosity, so that He was on occasions driven out of different places, or was in danger of stoning or death .

Finally the end came at Jerusalem, when His personal adherents had apparently dwindled down to a few besides His apostles. Jerusalem had always shown Him little favor, but, at this time of the Passover, it was filled with Jews from all parts of their country. Yet, when Pilate offered to release Him to the people, there was none to ask for His freedom. At the very last, even all His disciples fled from Him .

Some small bands or sects of Jewish followers survived His death, but their numbers constantly diminished, and all of them disappeared within a few centuries after His death. From that time to this the Jews have consistently, and practically unanimously, rejected Jesus' teachings and His claims to be their Messiah.

JESUS' FAST IN THE WILDERNESS

Matthew, Mark and Luke say that Jesus, after His baptism by John, was "led up," or driven "of the Spirit" into the wilderness, staying there forty days fasting and being "tempted of the devil" . Mark says that this was "immediately" after the baptism, and condenses the event into two verses. Matthew and Luke give in detail the temptations of the devil. Matthew and Mark mention that Jesus was ministered to by angels. Luke adds at the end that the devil departed from Him "for a season."

John directly contradicts this story of Matthew, Mark and Luke. He gives Jesus' movements specifically for three days after His baptism. On the first day He calls two of His apostles, Andrew and his brother Simon Peter . On the second day He calls Philip, and here occurs the interview with Nathaniel , which appears only in this Gospel. On the third day Jesus, instead of fasting in the wilderness, attends a marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, and performs what John says was His first miracle--the turning of water into wine .

"After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brethren and His disciples; and they continued there not many days" . "And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem" .

THE CALLING OF THE APOSTLES

Matthew says that, after the fasting in the wilderness and after a visit to Nazareth, Jesus "came and dwelt in Capernaum" on the coast of the Sea of Galilee . As He was walking by the sea, he found Peter and Andrew fishing, and summoned them to follow Him . Going on from thence He found James and John fishing and summoned them also . Matthew does not tell us of the circumstances of the calling of the other apostles except Matthew. After the delivery of the Sermon on the Mount, and the performance of various miracles, and Jesus had come into Capernaum , as He "passed forth from thence, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom; and He saith unto him, follow me, and he arose and followed Him" . Matthew speaks several times of the "disciples" collectively, both before and after the calling of Matthew . The names of the twelve are given in Chap. X:1-4.

Luke relates that Jesus found Peter, with James and John, his "partners," fishing by the "Sea of Gennesaret" , and called them and they followed Him . He omits any mention of Andrew and adds two new incidents, that Jesus "taught the people out of the ship," and that Peter and the others put out their nets and they "inclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their net broke."

A little later Jesus "saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom," and He said to him, "Follow me, and he left all, rose and followed Him" .

Luke adds here the incident that Levi "made Him a great feast," at which publicans and others sat down, and the scribes and Pharisees rebuked the disciples, saying "Why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners?" .

At some uncertain time later Jesus called "unto Him His disciples, and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles" . Then follow the names, the same as in Matthew and Mark.

John's story is somewhat variant. Jesus' baptism took place at Bethabara, beyond Jordan, in the Decapolis, and some distance both from Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. Here, on the next day, Jesus meets John and two of His disciples . One of these is Andrew, and he brings His brother Simon Peter to Jesus. The two acknowledge Him as the Messiah, and thereafter follow Him . The following day Jesus finds Philip and makes him one of His disciples . There is no further mention of any specific apostles being called by Jesus, although there are constant references to His disciples being with Him . There is no specific account of the choosing of the twelve, although the Gospel mentions later that they had been chosen .

In the last chapter of John "Nathaniel of Cana" is mentioned apparently as one of the twelve apostles , although his name is not in the lists of Matthew, Mark and Luke. He was probably the same Nathaniel who appears earlier in this Gospel .

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

The Sermon on the Mount is the first discourse by Jesus narrated by Matthew, and is the longest connected discourse to be found in the four Gospels. The place of its delivery is not fixed other than that "He went up into a mountain," but it was probably some elevation of land in Galilee, near Capernaum . The time of its delivery is also not fixed, although it must have been shortly after the baptism by John. Jesus had already done some preaching in Galilee and performed some miracles , but the delivery of the sermon ante-dates all the specific miracles which Matthew relates. The discourse covers three chapters of Matthew's text.

Some of the verses of this discourse will be found scattered through Mark and John, but a considerable portion of it is entirely lacking. For instance, the "beatitudes" do not appear in either Mark or John.

THE LORD'S PRAYER

In Matthew the Lord's Prayer forms a part of the Sermon on the Mount .

According to Luke it was given to the disciples alone, and not to a multitude, as in Matthew. In Luke it also comes at a much later date than the delivery of the Sermon on the Mount. One verse is slightly different, Luke having, "and forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one who is indebted to us," in place of Matthew's "and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Luke also omits the last sentence in Matthew's version.

The Lord's Prayer is not found in Mark or John.

THE FIRST MIRACLES

Matthew says, in a general way, that Jesus healed "all manner of sickness" before the delivery of the Sermon on the Mount . But the first specific miracles which he describes occurred after that event . The first was the leper, the second the centurion's servant, afflicted with palsy, and the third was the mother of Simon Peter's wife, who was "sick of a fever." Jesus saw and touched the leper and Peter's wife's mother, but the centurion's servant was one of the few cases where the cure was effected in the absence of the patient and without Jesus' seeing him.

The curing of the leper is described by Mark and by Luke . Luke describes the healing of the centurion's servant , differing only in that the friends of the centurion came to Jesus instead of the centurion in person, as in Matthew.

Mark and Luke both relate the curing of Peter's wife's mother .

John mentions none of these miracles, but, alone of all four evangelists, narrates the miracle at Cana of changing water into wine , and says that this was Jesus' first miracle . He then describes the curing of the sick "son of a nobleman of Capernaum" , and says that this was the second miracle "which Jesus did when He was come out of Judaea into Galilee," viz: after His baptism by John . The circumstances of this miracle are quite similar to those of the centurion's servant described by Matthew and Luke, the cure being effected in the absence of the patient.

Matthew next gives the miracle of the stilling of the tempest , which is also found in Mark , and in Luke . This miracle is not found in John.

Then follows the miracle of driving the devils out of the two men of the "country of the Gergesenes," and sending them into a herd of swine which "ran violently down a steep place into the sea and perished in the waters" .

Mark narrates the same miracle as occurring in the country of the Gadarenes, except there is one man instead of two . The sufferings of this man, who is possessed of "an unclean spirit," are described in some detail. The spirit, being asked for his "name," says, "My name is Legion; for we are many." Thereupon he or they beseech Jesus not to send them away out of the country, but: "Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them." Jesus "gave them leave," and they entered into the swine and the swine ran violently down a steep place, and "were choked in the sea."

Luke's account follows substantially that of Mark. There was one man in the country of the Gadarenes "which had devils a long time." The devil or devils besought Jesus "that He would not command them to go out into the deep," but would send them into the swine. This Jesus does, and the swine run down a steep place and are choked in the sea.

All three accounts agree that, after the miracle, "the whole city," or "the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about," besought Jesus to depart from them. The only reason given for this action is the statement of Luke "for they were taken with great fear" .

John does not mention this miracle.

THE RAISING OF THE DEAD

There are three miracles of this class in the Gospels.

The first in point of time is related by Luke . The day after the curing of the centurion's servant at Capernaum , Jesus went into a city called Nain, with "many of His disciples" and "much people" . Nain was an inland city in the southern part of Galilee, some distance from Capernaum and the sea of Galilee. This is the only time that this city is mentioned in the four Gospels. As Jesus approaches the city, the dead man is carried out, followed by his mother, a widow, and "much people of the city" . Apparently without any solicitation, Jesus tells the dead man to arise, "and he that was dead sat up and began to speak" . The dead man and his relatives are not otherwise identified and there is no reference to this miracle in any of the other Gospels.

The next miracle of this class is that of Jairus' daughter.

Matthew relates that, while Jesus was at Capernaum after the miracle of the Gadarene swine , a "certain ruler" came to Him and said: "My daughter is even now dead; but come and lay Thy hand upon her, and she shall live" . In answer to this request Jesus and His disciples go to the ruler's house, and find "the minstrels and the people making a noise." Jesus says, "Give place, for the maid is not dead but sleepeth. And they laughed Him to scorn. But when the people were put forth, He went in and took her by the hand, and the maid arose" . On the way to the ruler's house occurs the miracle of the woman with an issue of blood touching Jesus' garment and being cured .

Mark places this miracle immediately after that of the Gadarene swine, when Jesus had passed over the sea unto the other side , nigh unto the sea . "One of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name," came to Him and told Him, "My little daughter lieth at the point of death" . Jesus takes with him only Peter and James and John, and, on the way to the ruler's house, word is brought that the daughter is dead . Jesus brings the father, mother, Peter, James and John into the girl's room, takes her by the hand and bids her arise. At once she arose and walked, "for she was of the age of twelve years" . The curing of the woman with the issue of blood is also given, but at considerable more length than in Matthew .

Luke's account is substantially the same as that of Mark. The daughter "lay a dying" when Jairus went to get Jesus, and word of her death comes just as the miracle on the woman with an issue of blood is performed. Jesus took the father and mother and Peter, James and John into the house, but, apparently, excluded them from the girl's room, when he performed the miracle. "And He put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise" .

The raising of Lazarus from his grave is told only by John . It occurred late in Jesus' prophetic career, very shortly before the last Passover . Jesus was then at Bethabara in Decapolis . Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, were living in Bethany, in Judaea, quite near Jerusalem, but some little distance from Bethabara. Jesus already knew the family and "loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." Lazarus falling sick, the sisters send to Jesus saying, "Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick" . Jesus does not go at once but waits two days . Apparently the reason for this delay is that, instead of healing a sick man, He may raise a dead man from the grave "that the Son of God might be glorified thereby" . When Jesus came to Bethany, He "found that he had lain in the grave four days already" . Martha first, and then Mary, came out to meet Jesus, and express their belief that, if He had been there, Lazarus would not have died; but are in doubt as to his now being restored to life . They then go to the grave, which "was a cave and a stone lay upon it" . Jesus then "cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes, and his face was bound about with a napkin" .

THE LOAVES AND FISHES

Matthew relates that Jesus departed hence "by ship into a desert place apart" . This was just after the beheading of John the Baptist by Herod . A "great multitude" followed Jesus, "and He healed their sick" . At evening the disciples wished Jesus "to send the multitude away that they may go into the villages and buy themselves victuals" . But Jesus said, "Give ye them to eat." They had but five loaves and two fishes, and Jesus took these and broke them and the disciples distributed them to the multitude . "And they did all eat and were filled; and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children" .

Mark, Luke and John follow very closely the narrative of Matthew, Luke adding the detail that the "desert place" belonged to the city of Bethsaida .

A similar miracle is related by Matthew and Mark as occurring shortly after the first, on a mountain near the sea in "the midst of the coasts of Decapolis" . There were seven loaves and a "few small fishes," seven baskets full of the broken food were left, and they that did eat "were four thousand men, besides women and children" , or "about four thousand" .

Luke and John do not give this miracle.

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