Going Deeper Sept 2025 - Feb 2026

Follow along with our Bible Reading Plan!

Overview of

Matthew

"Matthew's gospel presents Jesus in a rich, many-sided way. He appears as the Messiah of Israel, the King who will rule and save the world. He comes before us as the Teacher, greater even than Moses. And, of course, He is presented as the Son of Man, giving His life for all of us. Matthew lays it all out step by step and invites us

to learn the wisdom of the Gospel message and the new way that results from it." -Tom Wright.

Jesus: Our Promised King

Content

The story of Jesus, including large blocks of teaching, from the announcement of His birth to the commissioning of the disciples to make disciples of the Gentiles.

Author, Date, Recipients, & Emphasis

Papias (ca. A.D. 125) attributes "the first Gospel" to the apostle Matthew; scholarship is divided. The date is unknown (since he used Mark, very likely written in the (70's or 80's). The recipients are almost certainly Jewish Christians committed to the Gentile mission, most commonly thought to have lived in and around Antioch of Syria.

The emphasis: Jesus is the Son of God, the (messianic) King of the Jews; Jesus is God present with us in miraculous power; Jesus is the church's Lord; the teaching of Jesus has continuing importance for God's people; the gospel of the kingdom is for all peoples - Jew and Gentile alike.

Mark

"Mark's gospel is the shortest and sharpest of the stories about Jesus. Many people think Mark's gospel was the first to be written, and certainly, it has all the zip and punch of a quick, hasty story that's meant to grab you by the collar and make you face the truth about Jesus, about God, and yourself." - Tom Wright.

Jesus: Our True God

Content

The story of Jesus from His baptism to His resurrection, about two-thirds of which tells of His ministry in Galilee, while the last third narrates His final week in Jerusalem.

Author, Date, Recipients, & Emphasis

The author: anonymous; attributed (by Papias, ca. A.D. 125) to John Mark, a sometime companion of Paul (Col 4:10) and later of Peter (1 Pet 5:13). The date: ca. A.D. 65 (according to Papias, soon after the deaths of Paul and Peter in Rome). The recipients: the church in Rome (according to Papias), which accounts for its preservation along with the longer Matthew and Luke.

The emphasis would be the time of God's rule (the kingdom of God) has come with Jesus; Jesus has brought about the new exodus promised in Isaiah; the kingly Messiah came in weakness, His identity a secret except to those to whom it is revealed; the way of the new exodus leads to Jesus' death in Jerusalem; the way of discipleship is to take up a cross and follow him.  

Luke

"Luke's gospel opens up one of the most brilliant writings in early Christianity. Luke tells us that he had had a chance to stand back from the extraordinary events that had been going on, to talk to the people involved, to read some earlier writings, and to make his own quite full version so that readers could know the truth about the things to do with Jesus. He was educated and cultured, the first real historian to write about Jesus. His book places Jesus not only at the heart of the Jewish world of the first century but at the heart of the Roman world into which the Christian gospel exploded and which it was destined to change so radically." - Tom Wright. 

Jesus: Our Continued Mission 

Content 

The story of Jesus as part 1 of Luke/Acts is the story of the salvation of "Israel," which Christ and the Spirit have brought about. It begins with the announcement of Jesus' birth by the Spirit and carries through to the ascension. 

Author, Date, Recipients, & Emphasis 

According to very early tradition, Luke was the physician and sometime companion of the apostle Paul (see Col. 4:14) and the only Gentile author in the Bible. The date: scholars are divided between a date believed before the death of Paul (ca. A.D. 64; see Acts 28:30-31) and after the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70). The recipients are implied to be readers as Gentile Christians. 

The emphasis: God's Messiah has come to His people with the promised inclusion of Gentiles; Jesus came to save the lost, including every kind of marginalized person whom traditional religion would put outside the boundaries; Jesus' ministry is carried out under the power of the Holy Spirit; the necessity of Jesus' death and resurrection for the forgiveness 

John

"John's gospel has always been a favourite for many. At one level, it is the simplest of all the gospels; at another level, it is the most profound. It gives the appearance of being written by someone who was a very close friend of Jesus, and who spent the rest of his life mulling over, more and more deeply, what Jesus had done and said and achieved, praying it through from every angle, and helping others to understand it.." - Tom Wright.

Jesus: Our Great I Am

Content

The story of Jesus, Messiah and Son of God, told from the perspective of post-resurrection insights; in His incarnation, Jesus made God known and made His life available to all through the cross.

Author, Date, Recipients, & Emphasis

The beloved disciple who "wrote [these things] down" (21:24; cf. 13:23; 19:25-27; 20:2; 21:7) most likely refers to John the apostle, son of Zebedee (otherwise not named in this Gospel); the "we" of 21:24 suggests another person is responsible for the Gospel in its final form. The date: unknown; probably ca. A.D. 90-95. The recipients: see 1 John, to which this Gospel is closely related.

The emphasis: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God; in His incarnation and the crucifixion, He both revealed God's love and redeemed humanity; discipleship means to "remain in the vine" (Jesus) and to bear fruit (to love as He loved; the Holy Spirit will be given to His people to continue His work.