Matthew, Mark, Luke & John: A Synchronized Study
Of all the supernatural reports concerning Jesus the Messiah, the most impressive would have to be his resurrection from the grave after being killed in the most public and brutal way ever recorded in history. God's promise to the human race for deliverance from all guilt and death was made good at the cross and then made evident at Jesus' resurrection. To those who knew Jesus personally, the significance of that incredible event spawned the desire to compile a thorough report of everything Jesus had said and done leading up to that point in history. While many reports were released in the first century, we have preserved for us today the very best in existence. The first 4 books of the New Testament are 4 individual accounts provided by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and they are collectively known as "The Gospels" (aka) "The Good News." Each report was carefully put together by the individual and then published around 60 AD with subtle yet notable differences and perspectives unique to the observer. The following MP3 study sessions are a synchronized study of the reports provided by all 4 of these men.
Matthew & Luke surprised us with remarkable structures found in Jesus' genealogy while John introduced the doctrine of Grace and explained Jesus' pre-existence before time and space, which lead us diving into the controversial doctrine of The Trinity. |
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We explore why Jesus had to be born of a virgin and then we cover the Christmas Story. We start off with the first angelic encounter by Zachariah, Mary and Joseph and go all the way to Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, announced by an army of angels to nearby shepherds. |
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Magi suddenly appear into Israel and shake up the whole kingdom, including King Herod. We examine the significance of the gifts they gave to Jesus and then we fast-forward to Jesus at age 12, covering his 1st confrontation with religious leaders. |
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Jesus & John are now 30 years old. We begin with John's bold and controversial ministry (the destiny of wheat and chaff) and Jesus' illogical request to be baptized (and why). Then we examine Satan's attacks against Jesus as he wandered in the desert for 40 days. |
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We examine a theory concerning what it was like for Jesus when He came into what Bible scholars call, His Full Knowledge. We also get into Jesus' first miracle: the turning of water into wine, then we cover the conversation with Nicodemus which led to the famous John 3:16. |
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After revealing the way to escape God's judgment, Jesus revealed that there are those who've been judged already due to a form of unbelief that's continually self-fed through the love of darkness over the light. Then Jesus detoured to meet a woman at a well in Sychar. |
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While Jesus was visiting his hometown, he made a statement that turned his listeners into an angry mob who seized him to throw him over a cliff, head-first down. Jesus passed through them, probably slipping through a hyperspace as he made his way into Capernaum. |
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When Jesus made his way into Galilee, he was repeatedly confronted by demon-possessed individuals. When a land becomes filled with the worship of false gods, demonic possession soon overtakes it. We also examine Jesus' proverb of wine and wineskins. |
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Jesus heals a lame man on the Sabbath day and proclaims equality with God in creation, power, authority and judgement. He introduces a new concept of Passover to the Pharisees and speaks of the dead (in 2 different ways) becoming alive after they hear his voice. |
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This one's a short and sweet little study. Nothing special except for the great massive throng of people that show up at the end to get healed. Plus it's a lot of fun watching Jesus purposefully spring a Sabbath Trap that the Pharisees tried to lay out for him. |
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This is Luke's record of the Sermon On The Mount. It's much shorter than what Matthew recorded. We will examine what Luke chose to single out, a list of blessings and woes and a difference between the Kingdom Of God and the Kingdom Of Heaven. |
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Throughout Matthew's book, the Kingdom Of Heaven is tied directly to the future rule of Jesus over the Earth. Knowing this helps us understand what Jesus meant when he said, The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth. Who are the meek and what is the inheritance? |
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In Matthew 6, Jesus gave instructions on how to pray and specifically HOW NOT to pray. He stressed the importance of keeping it private between you and God and the importance of keeping it real without fake platitudes or repetitive phrases. |
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Jesus touched upon several key doctrines that have become infamously quoted out of context on many occasion, JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED being among them. We'll explain all of these in context of Jesus' sermon, distinguishing fact from cliche'. |
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One of the most widely misunderstood quotes from Jesus is found in Matthew 8 where he speaks of casting children of the kingdom into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. What does that mean? He's not talking about Hell. |
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An Abraham Lincoln quote from his HOUSE DIVIDED Speech was actually quoted first by Jesus in Matthew 12. After healing a mute demoniac, religious leaders accused Jesus of working for Beelzebub: The Prince Of Demons. Jesus' response was classic. |
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What is the unforgivable sin? It's given cute little labels such as Blaspheme Against The Holy Spirit but what does that mean? What sin could have possibly escaped the PAID IN FULL declaration that Jesus personally made before he died on the cross? |
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What happens when a person's heart is given some truth? Why do some hearts accept it easily while others don't? Why do some Christians grow while others never grow? What about the Christians who become hardened against their faith and turn against it? |
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The Kingdom Parables (Matthew 13) are a prophetic timeline of all church history from the 1st century to the Present. This is an amazing and incredible study. If Jesus had given his Kingdom Parables in any other order, this prophetic property wouldn't apply. |
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6000 demons conjured up a violent storm and sent it to Jesus' location once they became aware that he was headed in their direction. When they realized the storm hadn't stopped him, they escaped into a herd of hogs, who then committed mass suicide. |
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Jesus required that his disciples follow his directions and remain focused on HIM and HIS abilities, rather than being focused on their circumstances or limitations. Doing this is what led to 5000 people being fed with 2 fish and 5 loaves and Peter walking on water. |
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Jesus said all who come to Him, will be saved. This is a voluntary act of faith on our part. God saves us after we choose him, and not before. But Paul's letters say we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. So who chose who first? |
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When men take their man-made religious traditions and call them commandments of God, they're treading on dangerous ground. The more we compare God's Word with our understanding of church and religion, we discover a massive contradiction. |
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The word Church is used in our English Bibles to define the Greek word, Ecclesia which means Assembly or Congregation. In context of every place the word Ecclesia appears, it has nothing to do with Sunday mornings or worship services. |
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Our warfare is spiritual, not physical. Our enemies are invisible super-beings who've been waging war against the people of God for thousands of years. They use human beings, the circumstances of our lives and even our own thoughts as camouflage. |
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Jesus said that whoever saves his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will save it. In this session we talk about seeking 1st the Kingdom of God, what it means to delight ourselves in the Lord and we address unmet needs and the desires of our heart. |
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Jesus took Peter, James and John to a high spot on a mountain where the super-physics of eternity temporarily intersected. Jesus' face transfigured before them, shining as bright as the sun when all of a sudden, Moses and Elijah showed up to receive orders. |
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Jesus said the faith of a mustard seed could enable us to move mountains and nothing would be impossible for us. We address how to get that kind of faith, what prayer and fasting is all about, we examine various types of mountains and how God removes them. |
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Jesus overheard an embarrassing debate between his disciples about who among them would be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus sat a little child next to him for visual aid representing the child of God and explained how to be great in the Kingdom. |
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Forgiveness is a challenge for most today because we've been falsely taught that reconciliation must always follow. Jesus taught in Matthew 18 that this simply isn't true. Forgiveness and reconciliation are separate things, they are not the same. |
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Satan has hidden the truth about what forgiveness really is. It's not about the other person, it's not even about the transgression. It's about healing from the hurt a transgression has caused by transferring the debt to another account, THE CROSS. |
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After Jesus spent time discussing forgiveness and reconciliation, he gave a controversial parable that's become known as the parable of the unforgiving servant. What makes it controversial is that it's been given 4 different interpretations. We examine all 4. |
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Jesus was met with opposition from family members, followers, strangers and religious leaders before, during and after his attendance to the Feast of Tabernacles. His proclamation of origin and authority being from THE FATHER sent everyone into divisions. |
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12 verses in John 8 about a woman caught in adultery have caused great controversy. Satan has attempted to remove them from our Bibles for 2000 years because in them we finally begin to get a taste of just how far-reaching the power of God's Grace really is. |
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Jesus healed a man who was blind from birth and his behavior afterwards showed evidence of one who not only received physical eyesight, but Spiritual eyesight which freed him from the oppression of the Pharisees. Jesus gave the Parable of the Good Shepherd. |
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Jesus has given us the power and the authority over all the powers of Satan and his demonic forces. Christians can fall into one of two dangerous traps concerning this awesome power, one is to completely ignore it, the other is to constantly dwell upon it. |
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If you know how to talk over a telephone, then you know how to pray to God. Unfortunately, Satan has done a great deal to confuse what prayer is all about, even among Christians. In this study, Jesus sets the record straight on prayer and what it's all about. |
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Prayer isn't an incantation which prompts God to move the way we want, but rather it's a live conversation of both speaking and listening to a God who desires to build a relationship with us. We examine how this works and how Satan attempts to stop it. | |||||
For those of you who have ever been burdened by the oppression of religious legalism, you are going to love these next 18 verses in which Jesus verbally lashes out on 2 religious leaders for legalism and hypocrisy. |
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Jesus warns his 70 new disciples against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, he builds up their courage against death threats of religious persecution and then he gives several parables which admonish readiness and watchfulness for his imminent return. |
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In this session, Jesus initiates a call to national repentance, warning Israel in a parable (of a fruitless fig tree) that they will be cut down and out if they don't repent of their disbelief. He then reminds them of the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven. |
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Today, some believe that Jesus never proclaimed equality with God. The religious leaders who had Jesus crucified would say otherwise. In this session, Jesus goes to Jerusalem to attend the Feast of Dedication where he is accused of such a blasphemy. |
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This session will be catch-up much like what you would expect on the first day of school after Summer vacation. I want to review what's been building not only to refresh our memories, but to take in the majesty of the overall design of what's actually unfolding before us. |
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Jesus is invited to a dinner with religious leaders where he's set up for another Sabbath trap. After springing the trap, he finds the opportunity to teach them about mercy, humility, hospitality, the call to salvation and the cost of discipleship. |
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When religious leaders murmur against Jesus for the quality of his company, he responds with the Lost & Found Parables in which 3 types of lost souls are described. The last of these is a surprise for the Pharisees as they are included in the parable as well. |
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While Jesus continued enjoying a dinner with new disciples who were previously professional sinners, he gave them a controversial parable about a shrewd manager who betrayed his employer in favor of his customers by remitting some of their debts. |
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Jesus addressed a pressing question that was haunting the minds of the Pharisees. If everyone presses into the Kingdom of God, then what's to become of Israel? What of the Law and the Prophets? Has God divorced Israel in favor of the Church? |
