Understanding the Gospels: Our Mission and Purpose

Bible Reading:
1. Matthew 28 [01:07:36 ]
2. Isaiah 9 [07:16 ]
3. Psalms 2 [07:46 ]

Observation Questions:
1. What is the significance of Jesus being referred to as the long-awaited Messiah in Matthew?
2. How does Isaiah 9 relate to the teachings in the New Testament?
3. What prophetic verses can be found in Psalms 2 and how do they relate to the New Testament?

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the concept of Jesus as our savior, as presented in Matthew, influence our understanding of salvation?
2. How does the prophecy in Isaiah 9 enhance our understanding of the New Testament teachings?
3. How does the prophetic nature of Psalms 2 contribute to our understanding of Jesus' role in the New Testament?

Application Questions:
1. How can you apply the teachings of Jesus as our long-awaited Messiah in your daily life?
2. How can the prophecy in Isaiah 9 guide your understanding and application of the New Testament teachings?
3. How can the prophetic verses in Psalms 2 influence your perception of Jesus and your faith?
4. How can you use the understanding of Jesus as our savior to share the gospel with others?
5. How can you apply the command in Matthew 28 to make disciples in your community?

Day 1: The Importance of Commentary in Bible Study

Understanding the Bible requires more than just reading it; it involves seeking insights from those who have studied it before us. Commentary provides us with interpretations and perspectives that can deepen our understanding of the scriptures. This is the first step in a comprehensive Bible study process. [02:53 ]

Bible Passage: Proverbs 15:22 - "Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed."

Reflection: How can you incorporate the use of commentary in your personal Bible study routine?

Day 2: The Significance of Historical Context in Bible Study

Understanding the historical context of the Bible is crucial in grasping its full meaning. The cultural relevance, the political climate, and the societal norms during the time the scriptures were written significantly influence how we interpret them today. [03:58 ]

Bible Passage: 1 Corinthians 10:11 - "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come."

Reflection: How can understanding the historical context of a Bible passage change your interpretation of it?

Day 3: The Role of the Holy Spirit in Bible Study

The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in our understanding of the Bible. As we read and reflect on the scriptures, we should lean on the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and reveal deeper truths. [05:05 ]

Bible Passage: John 14:26 - "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

Reflection: How have you experienced the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your Bible study?

Day 4: The Uniqueness of Jesus' Miracles

Jesus performed miracles in unique ways, demonstrating that God moves in diverse ways. This teaches us that there is no formula for God's intervention; He moves as He wills. [16:07 ]

Bible Passage: John 9:6-7 - "After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 'Go,' he told him, 'wash in the Pool of Siloam' (this word means 'Sent'). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing."

Reflection: How does understanding the uniqueness of Jesus' miracles impact your faith and expectations of God?

Day 5: The Danger of Comfort

Comfort can be a threat to our faith as it can lead us to rely less on God. Sometimes, discomfort and suffering can draw us closer to God, reminding us of our need for Him. [23:16 ]

Bible Passage: James 1:2-4 - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Reflection: How has comfort affected your faith and reliance on God? How can you embrace discomfort as a means to grow in your faith?

Hello and welcome back to another episode of Between Sermons, where we're continuing the conversation from our Sunday sermons.

So much of Sunday just feels like a monologue—just a guy standing on a stage talking at a bunch of people. We love the opportunity to turn that whole dialogue into a real conversation.

We are on a journey through the New Testament, walking through it from start to finish in six weeks. This week, we got to look at the first four books of the New Testament, the Gospels. But I didn't teach it; instead, we brought in Professor Carlton McCarthy to teach this course.

So you get to hang out with us and answer all the questions about the Gospels—all the questions! And, you know, the Holy Spirit—where your wisdom came from and how you dropped all this knowledge on us, your students. You really turned the Sunday sermon into a little bit of a lecture hall kind of vibe. I think we learned more than you probably do in a normal sermon, which, yeah, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

The scary part is that that wasn't even the tip of the iceberg.

Yeah, it's like maybe there's something in the water there, but it was very short compared to all of the information that's out there.

Well, you had 35 minutes to walk us through the four Gospels, which is a feat in and of itself. You actually taught for us our New Testament survey at Life University, so you had done a lot of study, a lot of research, and preparing for that. Then you were able to take some of that material and bring it into the Gospels. I'm sure that you've probably forgotten more things about the Gospels than most people will ever learn, so this can be a fun conversation.

But before we jump into the Gospels, I just want to get your take. This whole series is really about studying God's Word. So often, I think we've made the mistake of just trying to tell people to read your Bible, read your Bible, read your Bible. But it's not a newspaper. The point of the Scriptures is not to read it to get through it, but it's to study it. You may need to study something for a while before you move on.

So what does Bible study look like for Carlton?

Yeah, so I think, just off the top of my head, there are about four components to the study.

The first part for me is reading the Word—like actually reading it. But when I read it, I like to get commentary. I like to get information from people who have studied it before—what's their interpretation of it? It kind of leads and guides my thoughts on it a little bit.

I like application Bibles. I like Blue Letter Bible, online Bible Gateway has some commentary that's really good. I like Got Questions; they have some commentary that's pretty good. Bible Project is very helpful. A lot of times, I like to watch the videos from Bible Project, but actually reading their articles is way more profound.

I love anytime I'm about to start reading a new book of the Bible, I'll start with going to Bible Project. They give such a beautiful overview. Sometimes, you miss some of the nuance of stuff. They break down, like, "Hey, the first 13 chapters are addressing this issue; the next seven are addressing that." It's like I would have just gone from chapter 13 to chapter 14 without even paying attention.

Absolutely.

So getting commentary is probably the first aspect when reading the Bible that I go through.

The next aspect of it is looking at the historical information—what was going on at the time in the region of the country.

Such a nerd!

Yeah, but you know, it matters. It has Greek influence, but it's governed by Romans with the Jewish religion. That really matters how you read it because it's like, "Okay, why is the New Testament written in Greek, but it's controlled by Romans, and we're in Judea where the Jews live?" It's kind of a weird dynamic, but you need to understand the cultural relevance of what's happening in order to better understand the events or what Jesus is talking about when he goes to his parables.

It's like, "Okay, why is he leading us in this direction with a parable? Why does it matter?"

So getting historical background on it is really helpful when reading.

The next component, I guess, so we got commentary, then we got the historical information. The next thing I do is utilize my own imagination. I say my own imagination, but it's really leaning hard on the Holy Spirit speaking through me and identifying some of the details that I'm reading.

Okay, so you know Jesus takes a guy out of a city to heal him of his blindness. You can just read through that and not understand, "Okay, well, the city was cursed, first off." There are details like, "So why did he take him out of the city?" You start asking yourself questions.

Yeah, yeah.

And the Holy Spirit will fill you in on information that you have read before. Or you'll even use that question to drive research.

Absolutely.

Okay, why did he take him out? Let me find out what other people say. The number of times that I stopped reading and just go to Google and type in, "Why did blah blah blah?"

For me, the Holy Spirit will point out, you know, the bread and the fish multiplied as the disciples were passing it out. Their act of faith and obedience created the miracle or helped drive the miracle. Or when the servants are pouring wine to the master of, you know, the official that was at the wedding—it's like they're in their heads, it's water.

Yeah, yeah.

But they're all being obedient to Jesus, and that's when we see the miracle happen. The Holy Spirit just brings that to my attention when I read, and it's beautiful to read with the Holy Spirit.

It's a prayer before you read and read with the Holy Spirit because you ask questions, and then there are details in there. It's like, "Well, I don't know what this means." But those questions drive either curiosity or information, having you do more research.

Especially with the New Testament, I guess the last way that I would read the New Testament is by reading the Old Testament. I love the Old Testament, and when you read the New Testament, it's like, "Yeah, that was pointed out by Micah," or "Isaiah talked about this," or "That's in Samuel." You know, the line of David being the Messiah.

Reading the Old Testament really drives your understanding more of the New Testament. Honestly, it's probably the biggest rabbit trail that I end up on, though. Especially if I'm reading Matthew, who quotes a lot of the Old Testament. I'll see the reference point where he'll say, "Hey, this is from Isaiah 9," and I'll go back to Isaiah.

Now, I was set out to read Matthew 8, and now I'm reading through all of Isaiah 9 because I don't want to just read the part he quoted. I want to know, "Okay, why did he quote from that? What is Isaiah saying before that and after that?"

Absolutely.

When you discover that, you know, the crucifixion is in Psalm 22, now you want to read all the Psalms to see what else you can find. Like, "Okay, I'm going to read this portion of the New Testament, and then I'm going to read all of Psalms just to see what other prophetic verses are in."

That's a great Google search for you—"Which Psalms talk about Jesus's crucifixion?"

Yeah, it seems amazing, right?

Absolutely. And then the order that it's in and what was going on.

1. "The gospels are giving us four different paths to understanding that Jesus is the son of God and has given us four different perspectives of who he is as well. Each gospel portrays Jesus in a different way so that we can get more information about who he is and who he is for us." - 32:38

2. "It's beautiful to read with the Holy Spirit. Pray before you read and read with the Holy Spirit because you ask questions and then there's details in there. Those questions drive either a curiosity, information having you do more research, and reading the Old Testament really drives your understanding more of the New Testament." - 05:16

3. "We pray for comfort so much that we pray ourselves out of faith in him. Sometimes you need discomfort and dare I say suffering in order to get us back focused on him and leaning on him. Our comfort removes our faith sometimes and God knows that." - 22:42

4. "Comfort is the greatest threat to Christianity. We get to a place where we think that we don't need God because we can handle it ourselves. We don't want God to stretch us, we don't want to go into uncomfortable positions because we're so focused on our comfort." - 22:42

5. "We have security for us that we have salvation through Jesus but now what do we do? Now we have to tell that to everyone in the world. We've got security that we are saved, we've got direction for how to live our lives, but it's also we've got our purpose. What you are supposed to do as a Christian is go and tell other people about Jesus." - 01:06:08