General Introduction to the Gospels, Part 1

The point: Render an intelligent, believing response to the gospel of Mark by understanding these introductory perspectives.

The analogy of 'setting the table' before a meal is used to explain why introductory sermons are necessary. Just as tools like a knife and fork are needed to properly eat and enjoy a steak, these introductory perspectives provide the tools for understanding and profiting from the Gospel of Mark.

And the first part of the answer is simply to say that the analogy is not altogether accurate. You see, setting the table is not wasting time, nor is it irrelevant to the eating of a good meal. One of the things setting the table does is give you the tools with which you can properly eat the meal and enjoy it, as well as profit from it. It would be rather difficult, at least with any degree of social decency, to eat a steak without a knife and a fork.

3:26 - 3:55 Read in full sermon

The point: Render an intelligent, believing response to the gospel of Mark by understanding these introductory perspectives.

The metaphor of the Gospel of Mark not being 'a nose of wax to be pressed into any shape that I desire' illustrates the preacher's responsibility to handle the Word of truth aright, cutting a straight course in exposition rather than imposing his own interpretations.

of how I handle the gospel according to Mark. In other words, the gospel of Mark is not a nose of wax to be pressed into any shape that I desire to press it. It is the word of truth, and my responsibility is to handle it aright, that is, to cut a straight course in seeking to open up the truth of the gospel according to Mark. And it is impossible for me to do that unless I have before me in my exposition and application of the contents of the gospel of Mark

5:12 - 5:55 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But rather these books had come to us as all the other books of the Bible came to us, namely in the actual history of God's mighty saving activity in the midst of His people.

Martin shares a personal anecdote of surveying Christians about how the Gospels came to be, noting widespread ignorance compared to their understanding of how New Testament letters originated. This highlights the need for the sermon's introductory material.

If you ask the average Christian who's been in a gospel-preaching, Bible-teaching church for even a relatively short time, how did the letters of the New Testament come to us? Most Christians are pretty clear in their answer to that question, at least with regard to many of the letters. They will have understood, in reading, say, 1 Corinthians, that Paul, the apostle, had received some information from the household of Chloe, that there were problems in the church at Corinth, and so the letter to the Corinthians was precipitated by the acquisition on the part of Paul of this knowledge of certa...

8:47 - 9:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He emphasizes that the Apostolic Church was founded on the oral, eyewitness testimony of the apostles, citing Peter's sermon on Pentecost and Jesus' commission in Luke 24.

The analogy of a witness in court is used to explain the strict sense in which the apostles were 'witnesses' – they testified to what they personally saw and heard, forming the basis of the oral apostolic witness.

into court and put on the witness stand he has no business being there if there is not something that he witnessed. He is to bear witness to what he has witnessed. He is to testify concerning that which he saw and heard with his own eyes. And in the outworking of the saving purposes of God the Apostolic Church throughout the entire Roman Empire was founded by the oral witness of the doings and teaching of Christ.

20:06 - 20:42 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He argues that the written Gospels took shape as tried and proven evangelistic and teaching testimony, with their form and differing perspectives (e.g., Matthew for Jews, Mark for…

Martin quotes an unnamed author who describes apostolic preaching as chiefly historical, a recital of Jesus' life, crucifixion, and resurrection, repeated daily, and forming the basis for the later written records when the church grew beyond eyewitness reach.

Quoting an author, addressing himself to this principle, the apostolic preaching was chiefly historical. It was a recital of the wonderful public life of Jesus of Nazareth and centered in the crowning facts of the crucifixion and resurrection. The story was repeated in public and in private from day to day, from Sabbath to Sabbath. The apostles and primitive evangelists adhered closely and reverently to what they saw and heard from their divine master, and their disciples faithfully reproduced their testimony.

25:26 - 26:02 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He then defines what the Gospels are: four divinely inspired, independent narratives, likened to 'portrait galleries of the King' and 'collected and collated sayings of the King.'…

The analogy of four independent artists, each with unique artistic sensitivity, painting 'four long picture galleries' of the same King (Jesus) is used to explain the distinct yet harmonious nature of the four Gospels. This illustrates how they offer different perspectives without contradiction.

Now try to picture with me, if you will, four independent artists. Each one with...

37:46 - 37:54 Read in full sermon

Driving home: All with a purpose. All under the inspiration of the one and the same Spirit, who is God and cannot lie, and who will not contradict himself, so we come away with that conviction of the independence, the uniqueness of ea…

Martin quotes an author who states that the evangelists were guided in their selection of materials by their purposes and the Holy Spirit, resulting in 'four different pictures of our Lord delineated by four different artists' as His personality appeared to their minds.

Some of God's servants who have wrestled with this subject and have tried to present it in written form for others have written very helpfully. Listen to one man who has written the following. In their memoirs of Christ, the four evangelists were guided in the selection of the materials, brought into their records, by the purposes which they had in view in writing, as well as by the ultimate purposes of the inspiring Holy Spirit. Each one writes from his own standpoint, and we have in reality four different pictures of our Lord delineated by four different artists

41:44 - 42:22 Read in full sermon

Driving home: All with a purpose. All under the inspiration of the one and the same Spirit, who is God and cannot lie, and who will not contradict himself, so we come away with that conviction of the independence, the uniqueness of ea…

Martin quotes Bernard, who describes the Gospels as presenting 'four discriminated aspects of their common subject' (royal lawgiver, mighty worker, friend of man, Son of God), emphasizing that while 'attitude and accessories vary, the features and the expression are the same,' reinforcing the idea of distinct yet unified portraits.

as his wonderful personality appeared to their respective minds. And then, in what is, has become a classic work on some of these matters, a man by the name of Bernard, who spoke to a group of theological students many years ago, or delivered papers to them, writes as follows. It is plain that the four histories are modified by their own instinctive principles of selection and arrangement, which do not indeed announce themselves and almost elude our attempts to ascertain them, but yet, result in giving four discriminated aspects of their common subject,

42:22 - 43:07 Read in full sermon