| Preface | xi |
| Acknowledgments | xiv |
Part 1 | Introduction | 1 |
| Reading About Jesus in the Bible | 3 |
A. | Why Read the Bible? | 3 |
B. | What Is the Bible About, Basically? | 3 |
C. | Where Is Key Information about Jesus? | 4 |
D. | How Did the Gospels Come to Be Written? | 5 |
E. | What Books about Jesus Were Already in the New Testament before the Gospels? | 7 |
F. | What Is the "Canon" and How Does It Function? | 8 |
G. | Where Do the Four-Gospel Lenses Come from in This Bible Study? | 8 |
H. | Where Is the "Best" Starting Place for Gospel Bible Study? | 9 |
I. | Is This an Agreed-Upon Way to Begin the Four Gospels? | 10 |
J. | Why Read the Bible at This Particular Time with Emphasis on Jesus and the Old Testament? | 12 |
K. | Goal Summary of the Four Portraits of Jesus | 12 |
L. | Notes for Teaching | 13 |
| A Five Session Outline for Use in a Church Adult Education Bible Study | 15 |
| Publicity and Announcements | 15 |
| The Setting for Meeting | 16 |
| A Few Notes on Time | 17 |
| The Teacher's Twenty-Five Minutes | 17 |
Session I | Matthew | 19 |
Session II | Mark | 22 |
Session III | Luke | 26 |
Session IV | John | 29 |
Session V | Conclusion | 33 |
| A Workshop on the Role of the Apostle Peter in the Four Gospels | 34 |
Part 2 | The Four Gospels | 37 |
| Matthew | 39 |
| Introduction | 39 |
| Who Is Jesus in Matthew? | 45 |
| To what does Jesus call us? | 45 |
| How does Jesus teach? | 46 |
| What does Jesus teach? | 46 |
| What is the second definition of the "law" in Matthew? | 48 |
| How does the life of Jesus show God loving Israel? | 48 |
| For the first case in point, who were the ancestors of Jesus? | 49 |
| And who were Jesus' foremothers? | 49 |
| Who is Jesus from Joseph's point of view? | 51 |
| Who is Jesus to the wise men? | 52 |
| Who is Jesus to King Herod? | 53 |
| Who then is Jesus in light of the Old Testament Exodus? | 53 |
| Who is Jesus to John the Baptist? | 54 |
| Who is Jesus in the wilderness? | 54 |
| Who is Jesus to the Twelve? | 54 |
| Who is Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount? | 55 |
| Who is Jesus in his daily pastoral ministry? | 56 |
| What are the parables? | 56 |
| Who is Jesus to the Pharisees? | 59 |
| Do the issues with the Pharisees hint when Matthew's Gospel was written? | 60 |
| Who is Jesus at the crucifixion? | 60 |
| Can we learn about the Pharisees from another source? | 61 |
| What is Jesus' mission according to Matthew? | 62 |
| Why must Matthew write a biographical "gospel" (and not a treatise on the Old Testament commandments or a collection of the sayings of Jesus)? | 62 |
| How do the apocalyptic themes so important to Mark play a part in Matthew's Gospel? | 63 |
| How does the crucifixion of Jesus carry out an extensive theme of lawbreaking in Jesus' ministry? | 63 |
| How is Matthew's account of the empty tomb different from Mark's? And how do the differences draw out Matthew's themes? | 64 |
| How is the "Great Commission" a climactic development of what Matthew reports as Jesus' greatest concerns? | 65 |
| A View of Matthew's Church and Authorship of This Gospel | 66 |
| Summary | 70 |
| Daily Prayer Reflections for a Week with Matthew's Jesus | 74 |
| Mark | 76 |
| Introduction | 76 |
| Who Is Jesus in Mark? Part 1 | 81 |
| Are you the King of the Jews? | 81 |
| Who is Jesus in the words from the cross? | 82 |
| Who is Jesus in David's ancient words? | 83 |
| Who is Jesus in relation to the Twenty-Third Psalm? | 84 |
| Who is Jesus in light of Elijah? | 84 |
| Who is Jesus in relation to the Temple? | 85 |
| Who is Jesus to the Roman government? | 87 |
| Who is Jesus in God's words? | 87 |
| Who is Jesus to John the Baptist? | 88 |
| Who is Jesus at the transfiguration? | 88 |
| Who is Jesus at the beginning of Mark's Gospel? | 89 |
| Who is Jesus to people in desperate need? | 90 |
| First Summary | 91 |
| Who Is Jesus in Mark? Part 2 | 95 |
| Who is Jesus in his own words? | 95 |
| Who is Jesus from the book of Daniel? | 96 |
| When does Jesus use the title from Daniel for himself? | 97 |
| How does Jesus speak of himself in the apocalyptic chapter of Mark 13? | 97 |
| Who is Jesus to Mark's church? | 99 |
| Who is Jesus for the eschaton? Or who is Jesus to Satan? | 101 |
| Who are Jesus' disciples in the apocalyptic setting? | 102 |
| A View of Mark's Church and Authorship of This Gospel | 105 |
| Concluding Summary | 111 |
| Daily Prayer Reflections for a Week with Mark's Jesus | 114 |
| Luke | 116 |
| Introduction | 116 |
| Who Is Jesus in Luke? | 119 |
| Where do we begin with Luke? | 119 |
| Where is the mission of Jesus to be spread? | 119 |
| Who are the actors in Acts? | 120 |
| Where can we see the characteristics of successful mission? | 120 |
| Who must have been in the first congregation at Philippi? | 122 |
| Who is Jesus to the Philippians? | 122 |
| Who is Jesus to the apostles in Acts and to later missionaries? | 123 |
| Why did Jesus appoint seventy missionaries? | 123 |
| What about the Twelve? | 124 |
| Why are missionaries sent out in pairs? | 124 |
| Do other Gospels have pairs of testimony? | 124 |
| If pairing is so important, is Jesus paired with anyone? | 125 |
| What other pairs are there in Luke's work? | 126 |
| Are missionaries always "successful"? | 126 |
| How is John the Baptist's mission like Jesus' ministry? | 127 |
| What are the Old Testament passages that provide background for Luke's mission concern? | 128 |
| How do the deaths of missionaries compare to Jesus' death? | 129 |
| Who is Jesus on the road to Emmaus? | 130 |
| A View of Luke's Church and Authorship of This Gospel | 131 |
| Summary | 137 |
| Daily Prayer Reflections for a Week with Luke's Jesus | 142 |
| John | 144 |
| Introduction | 144 |
| Who Is Jesus in John? | 148 |
| How is Judas a key figure in John's Gospel? | 148 |
| Why is the garden important? | 149 |
| How is Passover a theme in John's Gospel? | 150 |
| How is the cross associated with Passover in John's Gospel? | 152 |
| Who is Jesus to John the Baptist? | 153 |
| Who is Jesus to Caiaphas? | 153 |
| Who is Jesus in his own Passover language? | 154 |
| What do the "miracles" reveal? | 155 |
| Who is it who knows so much about Jesus at the Last Supper? | 156 |
| Why are the specific words so important? | 157 |
| What does this disciple know? | 158 |
| Who is Judas really? | 158 |
| What is the greatest secret the Beloved Disciple learns? | 159 |
| Why is the foot washing significant? | 159 |
| Who is Jesus to others not at the Last Supper? | 161 |
| What is the name of the Beloved Disciple? | 161 |
| Who is Jesus to Mary Magdalene? | 162 |
| Who is Jesus' family? | 162 |
| A View of John's Church and Authorship of This Gospel | 165 |
| Summary | 171 |
| Daily Prayer Reflections for a Week with John's Jesus | 174 |
Part 3 | Supplementary Materials | 177 |
| Chart of Gospel Topics Compared | 178 |
| Passages to Read Especially | 182 |
| Timeline: Summarizing the Bible | 183 |
| Selected Bibliography for Continuing Study of the Four Gospels | 186 |
Part 4 | Appendix | 189 |
| On the History of Biblical Interpretation | 191 |
| Catholic Biblical Scholarship: A Selection from the 1980s and the 1990s Relating to the Four Gospels | 203 |
| Exegesis Methodologies | 211 |
| Index | 215 |