gospel patrons

The position of the Gospel according to Matthew as the first of the four gospels in the New Testament reflects both the view that it was the first to be written, a view that goes back to the late second century A.D., and the esteem in which it was held by the church; no other was so frequently quoted in the noncanonical literature of earliest Christianity. Although the majority of scholars now reject the opinion about the time of its composition, the high estimation of this work remains. The reason for that becomes clear upon study of the way in which Matthew presents his story of Jesus, the demands of Christian discipleship, and the breaking-in of the new and final age through the ministry but particularly through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The gospel begins with a narrative prologue, the first part of which is a genealogy of Jesus starting with Abraham, the father of Israel. Yet at the beginning of that genealogy Jesus is designated as “the son of David, the son of Abraham”. The kingly ancestor who lived about a thousand years after Abraham is named first, for this is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the royal anointed one. In the first of the episodes of the infancy narrative that follow the genealogy, the mystery of Jesus’ person is declared. He is conceived of a virgin by the power of the Spirit of God. The first of the gospel’s fulfillment citations, whose purpose it is to show that he was the one to whom the prophecies of Israel were pointing, occurs here: he shall be named Emmanuel, for in him God is with us. The announcement of the birth of this newborn king of the Jews greatly troubles not only King Herod but all Jerusalem, yet the Gentile magi are overjoyed to find him and offer him their homage and their gifts. Thus his ultimate rejection by the mass of his own people and his acceptance by the Gentile nations is foreshadowed. He must be taken to Egypt to escape the murderous plan of Herod. By his sojourn there and his subsequent return after the king’s death he relives the Exodus experience of Israel. The words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Hosea, “Out of Egypt I called my son,” are fulfilled in him; if Israel was God’s son, Jesus is so in a way far surpassing the dignity of that nation, as his marvelous birth and the unfolding of his story show. Back in the land of Israel, he must be taken to Nazareth in Galilee because of the danger to his life in Judea, where Herod’s son Archelaus is now ruling. The sufferings of Jesus in the infancy narrative anticipate those of his passion, and if his life is spared in spite of the dangers, it is because his destiny is finally to give it on the cross as “a ransom for many”. Thus the word of the angel will be fulfilled, “…he will save his people from their sins”. In Matthew begins his account of the ministry of Jesus, introducing it by the preparatory preaching of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus that culminates in God’s proclaiming him his “beloved Son”, and the temptation in which he proves his true sonship by his victory over the devil’s attempt to deflect him from the way of obedience to the Father. The central message of Jesus’ preaching is the coming of the kingdom of heaven and the need for repentance, a complete change of heart and conduct, on the part of those who are to receive this great gift of God Galilee is the setting for most of his ministry; he leaves there for Judea only and his ministry in Jerusalem, the goal of his journey, is limited to a few days. In this extensive material there are five great discourses of Jesus, each concluding with the formula “When Jesus finished these words” or one closely similar. These are an important structure of the gospel. In every case the discourse is preceded by a narrative section, each narrative and discourse together constituting a “book” of the gospel. The discourses are, respectively, the “Sermon on the Mount”, the missionary discourse, the parable discourse, the “church

The Gospel according to Luke is the first part of a two-volume work that continues the biblical history of God’s dealings with humanity found in the Old Testament, showing how God’s promises to Israel have been fulfilled in Jesus and how the salvation promised to Israel and accomplished by Jesus has been extended to the Gentiles. The stated purpose of the two volumes is to provide Theophilus and others like him with certainty—assurance—about earlier instruction they have received. To accomplish his purpose, Luke shows that the preaching and teaching of the representatives of the early church are grounded in the preaching and teaching of Jesus, who during his historical ministry prepared his specially chosen followers and commissioned them to be witnesses to his resurrection and to all else that he did. This continuity between the historical ministry of Jesus and the ministry of the apostles is Luke’s way of guaranteeing the fidelity of the Church’s teaching to the teaching of Jesus. Luke’s story of Jesus and the church is dominated by a historical perspective. This history is first of all salvation history. God’s divine plan for human salvation was accomplished during the period of Jesus, who through the events of his life fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies, and this salvation is now extended to all humanity in the period of the church. This salvation history, moreover, is a part of human history. Luke relates the story of Jesus and the church to events in contemporary Palestinian history for, as Paul says, “this was not done in a corner.” Finally, Luke relates the story of Jesus and the church to contemporaneous church history. Luke is concerned with presenting Christianity as a legitimate form of worship in the Roman world, a religion that is capable of meeting the spiritual needs of a world empire like that of Rome. To this end, Luke depicts the Roman governor Pilate declaring Jesus innocent of any wrongdoing three times. At the same time Luke argues in Acts that Christianity is the logical development and proper fulfillment of Judaism and is therefore deserving of the same toleration and freedom traditionally accorded Judaism by Rome. The prominence given to the period of the church in the story has important consequences for Luke’s interpretation of the teachings of Jesus. By presenting the time of the church as a distinct phase of salvation history, Luke accordingly shifts the early Christian emphasis away from the expectation of an imminent parousia to the day-to-day concerns of the Christian community in the world. He does this in the gospel by regularly emphasizing the words “each day” in the sayings of Jesus. Although Luke still believes the parousia to be a reality that will come unexpectedly, he is more concerned with presenting the words and deeds of Jesus as guides for the conduct of Christian disciples in the interim period between the ascension and the parousia and with presenting Jesus himself as the model of Christian life and piety. Throughout the gospel, Luke calls upon the Christian disciple to identify with the master Jesus, who is caring and tender toward the poor and lowly, the outcast, the sinner, and the afflicted, toward all those who recognize their dependence on God, but who is severe toward the proud and self-righteous, and particularly toward those who place their material wealth before the service of God and his people. No gospel writer is more concerned than Luke with the mercy and compassion of Jesus. No gospel writer is more concerned with the role of the Spirit in the life of Jesus and the Christian disciple, with the importance of prayer, or with Jesus’ concern for women. While Jesus calls all humanity to repent, he is particularly demanding of those who would be his disciples. Of them he demands absolute and total detachment from family and material possessions. To all who respond in faith and repentance to the word Jesus preaches, he brings salvation and peace and life.

Lin Jie, a transmigrator, is the owner of a bookstore in another world.

This shortest of all New Testament gospels is likely the first to have been written, yet it often tells of Jesus’ ministry in more detail than either Matthew or Luke. It recounts what Jesus did in a vivid style, where one incident follows directly upon another. In this almost breathless narrative, Mark stresses Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God now breaking into human life as good news and Jesus himself as the gospel of God. Jesus is the Son whom God has sent to rescue humanity by serving and by sacrificing his life. The opening verse about good news in Mark serves as a title for the entire book. The action begins with the appearance of John the Baptist, a messenger of God attested by scripture. But John points to a mightier one, Jesus, at whose baptism God speaks from heaven, declaring Jesus his Son. The Spirit descends upon Jesus, who eventually, it is promised, will baptize “with the holy Spirit.” This presentation of who Jesus really is, rounded out with a brief reference to the temptation of Jesus and how Satan’s attack fails. Jesus as Son of God will be victorious, a point to be remembered as one reads of Jesus’ death and the enigmatic ending to Mark’s Gospel. The key verses at Mark which are programmatic, summarize what Jesus proclaims as gospel: fulfillment, the nearness of the kingdom, and therefore the need for repentance and for faith. After the call of the first four disciples, all fishermen we see Jesus engaged in teaching, preaching, and healing, and exorcising demons. The content of Jesus’ teaching is only rarely stated, and then chiefly in parables about the kingdom. His cures, especially on the sabbath; his claim, like God, to forgive sins; his table fellowship with tax collectors and sinners; and the statement that his followers need not now fast but should rejoice while Jesus is present, all stir up opposition that will lead to Jesus’ death. Jesus’ teaching in exalts the word of God over “the tradition of the elders” and sees defilement as a matter of the heart, not of unclean foods. Yet opposition mounts. Scribes charge that Jesus is possessed by Beelzebul. His relatives think him “out of his mind”. Jesus’ kinship is with those who do the will of God, in a new eschatological family, not even with mother, brothers, or sisters by blood ties. But all too often his own disciples do not understand Jesus. The fate of John the Baptist hints ominously at Jesus’ own passion. Momentarily he is glimpsed in his true identity when he is transfigured before three of the disciples, but by and large Jesus is depicted in Mark as moving obediently along the way to his cross in Jerusalem. Occasionally there are miracles, the only such account in Jerusalem), sometimes teachings, but the greatest concern is with discipleship. For the disciples do not grasp the mystery being revealed. One of them will betray him, Judas; one will deny him, Peter; all eleven men will desert Jesus. The Gospel of Mark ends in the most ancient manuscripts with an abrupt scene at Jesus’ tomb, which the women find empty. His own prophecy of Mk is reiterated, that Jesus goes before the disciples into Galilee; “there you will see him.” These words may imply resurrection appearances there, or Jesus’ parousia there, or the start of Christian mission, or a return to the roots depicted in Galilee. Mark’s Gospel is even more oriented to christology. Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Messiah, the anointed king of Davidic descent, the Greek for which, Christos, has, by the time Mark wrote, become in effect a proper name. Jesus is also seen as Son of Man, a term used in Mark not simply as a substitute for “I” or for humanity in general or with reference to a mighty figure who is to come, but also in connection with Jesus’ predestined, necessary path of suffering and vindication.

The Gospel according to John is quite different in character from the three synoptic gospels. It is highly literary and symbolic. It does not follow the same order or reproduce the same stories as the synoptic gospels. To a much greater degree, it is the product of a developed theological reflection and grows out of a different circle and tradition. It was probably written in the 90s of the first century. The Gospel of John begins with a magnificent prologue, which states many of the major themes and motifs of the gospel, much as an overture does for a musical work. The prologue proclaims Jesus as the preexistent and incarnate Word of God who has revealed the Father to us. The rest of the first chapter forms the introduction to the gospel proper and consists of the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus (there is no baptism of Jesus in this gospel—John simply points him out as the Lamb of God), followed by stories of the call of the first disciples, in which various titles predicated of Jesus in the early church are presented. The gospel narrative contains a series of “signs”—the gospel’s word for the wondrous deeds of Jesus. The author is primarily interested in the significance of these deeds, and so interprets them for the reader by various reflections, narratives, and discourses. The first sign is the transformation of water into wine at Cana (Jn 2:1–11); this represents the replacement of the Jewish ceremonial washings and symbolizes the entire creative and transforming work of Jesus. The second sign, the cure of the royal official’s son (Jn 4:46–54) simply by the word of Jesus at a distance, signifies the power of Jesus’ life-giving word. The same theme is further developed by other signs, probably for a total of seven. The third sign, the cure of the paralytic at the pool with five porticoes in chap. 5, continues the theme of water offering newness of life. In the preceding chapter, to the woman at the well in Samaria Jesus had offered living water springing up to eternal life, a symbol of the revelation that Jesus brings; here Jesus’ life-giving word replaces the water of the pool that failed to bring life. Jn 6 contains two signs, the multiplication of loaves and the walking on the waters of the Sea of Galilee. These signs are connected much as the manna and the crossing of the Red Sea are in the Passover narrative and symbolize a new exodus. The multiplication of the loaves is interpreted for the reader by the discourse that follows, where the bread of life is used first as a figure for the revelation of God in Jesus and then for the Eucharist. After a series of dialogues reflecting Jesus’ debates with the Jewish authorities at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jn 7; 8, the sixth sign is presented in Jn 9, the sign of the young man born blind. This is a narrative illustration of the theme of conflict in the preceding two chapters; it proclaims the triumph of light over darkness, as Jesus is presented as the Light of the world. This is interpreted by a narrative of controversy between the Pharisees and the young man who had been given his sight by Jesus, ending with a discussion of spiritual blindness and spelling out the symbolic meaning of the cure. And finally, the seventh sign, the raising of Lazarus in chap. 11, is the climax of signs. Lazarus is presented as a token of the real life that Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, who will now ironically be put to death because of his gift of life to Lazarus, will give to all who believe in him once he has been raised from the dead.

Star quarterback, captain of the football team, pretty face, perfect body, great personality, and brains; Andrew Jones is just--well perfect. That is until he realizes that he keeps dying, and time continues to reverse back to any day when he—you know—dies. Even worse, Andrew is being hunted by strange, masked men, the new kid in school—Sebastian—keeps playing his hero (while not-so-obviously showcasing his immense crush for Andrew), and now Andrew can raise the dead (which would be cool if he ironically didn’t find out that now he’s immortal?). Dealing with homework and his social life is enough, but now at 17, Andrew has to deal with this bullshit? Andrew’s life switches from perfect to chaotic as he learns more about himself, his powers, the differences between friend and foe, and—well—love, as Andrew himself starts to fall in love with Sebastian while also searching for his purpose—his reason to exist.

Dr. Erich Höller, a brilliant yet lethargic psychiatrist, has built his life around minimal effort, coasting on his natural talents while avoiding anything that might disturb his comfortable routine. His best friend and colleague, Dr. Viktor Kraus, often teases him about his lack of ambition, but Erich is content with his low-stress existence at St. Walpurga’s Asylum, one of Germany’s top mental health institutions.Everything changes when Patient 402 arrives at the hospital—a man with no memory, no past, and an unsettling demeanor.

A conman earning millions through a religious scam finds his world to come to an end when he is exposed and brought to justice for his crimes. Eventually being killed by one of the many he scammed he finds himself reborn in another world, one ruled by mythical abilities and religious fervor. Perhaps this is a chance to right the wrongs of his past life.

In a future where religion has been all but forgotten, a mystical artifact known as "The Last Gospel" resurfaces, promising to bring about a new world for mankind.This is the backdrop for our story, where ancient prophecies and modern scientific advancements collide, as a group of unlikely heroes embarks on a journey to uncover the truth behind this enigmatic artifact. With the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, they must confront their own beliefs and face the Consequences of their actions. Their journey takes them deep into the heart of the unknown, where faith, courage, and the power of the Gospel itself will be put to the ultimate test. The Last Gospel: Chest of Saint Siméon is a gripping tale of mystery, adventure, and the enduring fight for truth in the face of darkness. The story centers around Sebastian Montez, a renowned priest and warrior of the new world who is on a quest of ridding the world of evil after the fall of the old world. He later becomes obsessed with locating the fabled Chest of Saint Siméon, a relic rumored to contain the last gospel written by John himself, on command by his superiors.Sebastian's quest for the chest takes him across states and through treacherous terrains, as he faces numerous obstacles with the help of his newly found friends."The Last Gospel: Chest of Saint Siméon" is a gripping tale that blends action, mystery and theological exploration. It delves into profound themes of faith, redemption, and the power of ancient relics in shaping the world's history and unlocking the deepest secrets of mankind's spiritual journey.

What are you willing to sacrifice for power? Are you ready to pay the price of ambition by losing your innocence? Follow Azra and Erec as their seemingly mundane hunting trip spirals into a harrowing journey that will forever change their world- and themselves.