A guide to the study of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. The Four Gospels.
The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. Expulsion of merchants from the temple. Great Monday. The curse of the barren fig tree. The desire of the Greeks to see Jesus Christ. Holy Tuesday. A withered fig tree. Conversation with the elders. The parable of the two sons. The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen. The parable of those invited to the wedding feast. On the tribute to Caesar. Shame on the Sadducees. About the greatest commandment. Denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. Widow's mite. About the Second Coming. The Parable of the Ten Virgins. About the Last Judgment. Great Wednesday. The decision of the chief priests to kill Christ. Great Thursday. The Last Supper. Washing the feet. The Lord announces the traitor. The institution of the sacrament of the Eucharist. Dispute about seniority. Farewell conversation. Continuation of the farewell conversation. High Priestly Prayer. Praying for the Chalice. The Taking of Christ into Custody. Judgment of the Lord by the chief priests. Peter's denial. Good Friday. The sentence of the Sanhedrin. The death of Judas. At Pilate's trial. The Way of the Cross to Golgotha. Crucifix. The Repentance of the Prudent Thief. The Mother of God at the cross. The Death of Christ. The Burial of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Resurrection
The arrival of the myrrh-bearing women at the tomb. The Appearance of the Lord to Mary Magdalene. Bribery of the guard of the coffin. Appearance to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. The Appearance to the Ten Disciples. Thomas' unbelief. Apparition at the Sea of Tiberias. The Restoration of the Apostle Peter. Appearance in Galilee. The Ascension of the Lord.
Table of contents by topic: Selected Conversations of Jesus Christ. Miracles of Christ. Gospel parables. Index of chapters and verses.
The Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the World
Preface to the Gospel: Its Certainty and Purpose.
(Luke 1:1-4; John 20:31).
The preface to the entire Four Gospels can be considered verses 1-4 of the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, in which Ap. Luke speaks of a thorough examination of all that he communicates, and indicates the purpose of writing the Gospel: To know the firm foundation of Christian doctrine. To this end, Ap. John the Theologian in verse 31 of the 20th chapter of his Gospel adds: "That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you have life in His name" (John 20:31).
As can be seen from this preface by St. Luke, he undertook to compile his Gospel because by that time there had already appeared quite a few works of this kind, but not sufficiently authoritative and unsatisfactory in content; and he considered it his duty (out of a desire to confirm in the faith a certain "sovereign Theophilus", and at the same time all Christians in general) to write an account of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, carefully checking all the data from the words of "eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word". Since he himself was apparently only one of the 70 disciples of Christ and therefore could not have been an eyewitness to all the events, such as, for example, the Nativity of John the Baptist, the Annunciation, the Nativity of Christ, the Meeting of the Lord, he undoubtedly wrote a significant part of his Gospel from the words of eyewitnesses, that is, on the basis of tradition (this is where the importance of the tradition rejected by Protestants and sectarians is visible). At the same time, it seems quite indubitable that the first and main eyewitness to the earliest events of the Gospel history was the Most Holy Virgin Mary, of whom St. Luke remarks twice, that She kept the memory of all these events, composing them in Her heart (Luke 2:19 and 2:51). There can be no doubt that the advantage of the Gospel of Luke over other records that existed before him is that he wrote only after a thorough examination of the facts and in a strict sequence of events. The same advantage belongs to our other three Evangelists, since two of them, Matthew and John, were disciples of the Lord from among the 12, that is, they themselves were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word, and the third, Mark, also wrote from the words of the Lord's closest disciple, an undoubted eyewitness and close participant in the events of the Gospel, the Apostle Peter.
Цель, указанная св. Иоанном, особенно ясно видна в его Евангелии, которое полно торжественных свидетельств о Божестве Господа Иисуса Христа, но, конечно, и остальные три Евангелия имеют ту же цель.
Предвечное рождение и воплощение Сына Божия
(Иоанн. 1:1-14).
В то время как евангелисты Матфей и Лука повествуют о земном рождении Господа Иисуса Христа, св. Иоанн начинает свое Евангелие изложением учения о Его предвечном рождении и воплощении как Единородного Сына Божия. Первые три евангелиста начинают свои повествования с событий, благодаря которым Царство Божие получило свое начало во времени и пространстве, а св. Иоанн, подобно орлу, возносится к предвечной основе этого Царства, созерцает вечное бытие Того, Кто лишь в «последние дни» (Евр. 1:1) стал человеком.
Второе лицо Пресвятой Троицы — Сына Божия — Иоанн именует «Словом». Тут важно знать и помнить, что греческое «логос» означает не только слово уже произнесенное, как в русском языке, но и мысль, разум, мудрость, выражаемую словом. Поэтому наименование Сына Божия «Словом» значит то же, что и наименование его титулом «Премудрость» (см. Луки 11:49 и ср. Матф. 23:34). Св. Ап. Павел в (1 Кор. 1:24) так и называет Христа — «Божия Премудрость».