Grade 4 Lesson 5. Bible and Gospel

You will learn:
- who are Christians
- what is the Bible
- what is the Gospel

FIRST WE THINK FOR OURSELVES
1. Have you heard the words Bible, Gospel before? If yes, where?
2. Choose words related to the word revelation: frank, open, postcard, unscrew, shorten, youth, opening, renunciation, cover, open, short.

It was no coincidence that Andersen put the “Our Father” prayer into Gerda’s mouth. The fact is that this is the most famous prayer for more than two billion Christians living on Earth.
Russian Orthodox culture- This is part of Christian culture. Most religious people on Earth are Christians.
A Christian is one who has accepted the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Christianity is the teachings of Christ. And Jesus lived two thousand years ago... More precisely, from the day of His Nativity the years of our calendar began to be counted. Date of any event in modern calendar talks about what year from the Nativity of Christ it happened.
There is a book that tells about how people waited for the birth of Christ, how He was born, how He lived and what He taught people. This book is called the Bible.

BIBLE
The word Bible translated from Greek means “books” (remember the word library).
These are 77 books collected under one cover. They were written over a thousand years by people of different generations.
The first and largest part of the Bible consists of 50 books. Together they are called " Scripture Old Testament."
The word covenant means “union, agreement.” This refers to the union of God and man. People need this union in order to face adversity and trials with confidence. Even if it was very difficult for a person, he remembers that God is his ally and does not stray from the path of good.
The books of the Old Testament were written by prophets. It was believed that these were people who had a special gift - the ability to hear what God was telling them. Such a gift is called “prophecy,” and a person who has this gift from God is a prophet. Prophecy reveals to people God's view of the past, present and future.
The covenant of God with the prophets is called the Old, that is, “ancient” or “old.” Several centuries after the lives of those prophets to whom the Old Testament was given, the New Testament appeared.
The time of the Old Testament is a time of waiting for the coming of Christ (the word Christ means “God’s chosen one, marked with God’s seal-anointing”). It was through Jesus Christ who came into the world that the New Testament was given.

GOSPEL
The life, words and deeds of Jesus Christ are described in books called the Gospel. Translated from Greek, gospel means “good news.”
The Gospel and other books of Christ's disciples constitute the “Holy Scripture of the New Testament.” 27 books of the New Testament were written by the first disciples of Jesus Christ - the apostles (the literal meaning of the word apostle is messenger).
The books of the Old Testament are written in Hebrew, and the books of the New Testament are written in ancient Greek.
All biblical books are considered sacred by Christians; they are seen as God's message to people. This means that both God and man together created the biblical text. From man - questions to God, features of speech and construction of a particular book of the Bible. From God - inspiration, thoughts, content of Scripture. Sometimes even direct appeal God to people, that is, revelation.
A revelation is a moment when something very important and previously inaccessible suddenly becomes obvious to us. Sometimes people suddenly discover the beauty of nature. Sometimes people open up to each other. Christians talk about the revelation of God to people through the Bible.
The Bible's story unfolds from the creation of the world to the prophecy of its end. The most important and most difficult pages of the Bible speak about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Christians consider Christ not just a prophet, but the Lord who inspired the prophets. It was the Lord Jesus Christ who gave the “Our Father” prayer to people, which is why it has a second name – “The Lord’s Prayer.” The apostles, having heard this prayer from Jesus, wrote it down in the Gospel.

INSERT
BIBLE STORIES The Judgment of King Solomon
Two women came to King Solomon. They argued among themselves about whose son the baby they brought was. Each of them claimed that she was the mother of the baby. The king, having listened to them, commanded: let the sword cut the child in two, and then each of the women will get an equal half of what they are arguing about... One woman angrily said: “Let it not be for me or you, cut the baby!” The second one screamed in pain: “Give her this child alive, but don’t kill him!”
The first woman agreed with the king's proposal. However, it was she who Solomon condemned. He ordered the child to be taken away from her and given to the woman who was ready to part with the child in order to save his life. I think you can guess why the wise King Solomon did this.

Questions and tasks
1. Why is the Bible called “The Book of Books”? What parts does it consist of?
2. How is the word Gospel translated?
3. What are the names of the authors of the books of the Old Testament? New Testament?
4. Choose the correct answer:
A) The gospel is part of the Bible.
B) The Gospel is not included in the Bible.
5. What does the word “covenant” mean?
6. How do you understand what revelation is? Do revelations happen in our ordinary lives? How are they different from religious revelation?
7. Who are Christians?

Let's talk heart to heart. Are you familiar with the following names, titles and expressions: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, the flood, Noah's Ark, Jerusalem, the voice of one crying in the wilderness; let this cup pass from me; stumbling block; do not throw pearls before swine; not of this world; not by bread alone; daily bread; to whom much is given, from him much will be required (asked); whoever is not with Me is against Me; left hand doesn't know what the right one is doing; salt of the earth; what is truth? a log in the eye; whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword; contribute; a wolf in sheep's clothing; bury your talent in the ground; go to Golgotha ​​(to the cross); massacre of the innocents; there is no prophet in his own country; build on sand; servant of two masters Can anyone tell a Bible parable or a Bible story?

Ill.:
Dore. Solomon's Court
Photo: ancient biblical papyrus
Photo: Liturgical Gospel in frame
M. Vrubel. The descent of the holy spirit (fragment: 4 apostles on the right).

A return to the faith of our ancestors is accompanied by filling gaps in knowledge of the basic terms and provisions of our Orthodox faith. How is the bible different from the gospel? This question took me by surprise and I didn't know the right answer. The Gospel is often sold as a separate booklet, and in comparison with the Bible it looks modest. But if you open the first pages of the Gospel, it becomes clear: there we're talking about about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let's look at the difference between the old and new testaments that make up the bible.

What is the Old Testament about? In the book of Genesis we read about God’s creation of the universe; then the book tells about the life of the Jewish people during the time of Egyptian slavery, wandering through the desert and receiving the Ten Commandments by the people. It is these 10 commandments that constitute the essence of the old (old) covenant of God with the people of Israel.

The Bible was written over one and a half millennia by different authors. The main languages ​​of writing are Hebrew and Aramaic. How was the text of the Bible written? It is believed that all the texts of the holy scriptures were inspired by God. That is, a person only wrote down what he felt in his heart and thoughts under the guidance of God.

The Old Testament can be perceived as an artistic biography and as a divinely inspired teaching, a testimony to the miracles and power of God.

Centuries pass before us in the description of biblical stories, we read the words of wisdom of Solomon and the psalms of David, full of internal contradiction. The messages of the prophets evoke horror and despair, and the endless wars of the Jews for the Promised Land lead to confusion.

But all this already belongs to the past, since after Jesus Christ a new covenant was concluded. This is a covenant of love and trust between God and the peoples of the earth. This covenant reveals new story humanity, full of joyful hopes and gratitude for the miraculous salvation from punishment for sins.

New Testament and Gospel

The New Testament is a collection of 27 books that tell about the times of the life of Jesus Christ. It includes 4 gospels, 21 epistles of the apostles, the acts of the apostles and the Apocalypse. But the central event of the New Testament is precisely the gospel - the good news of salvation.

The Gospel is translated from Greek as gospel. It brings the good news of the savior of the world to the peoples of the earth. These are the 4 messages of the evangelists:

• Luke;
• Matthew;
• Brand;
• John.

The gospels describe the life of Jesus Christ, his ministry, death on the cross and resurrection. Further in the New Testament we find 27 letters of the apostles (disciples of Jesus). The New Testament also describes the acts of the apostles, for which Christ himself blessed them.

The Acts of the Apostles describes the events associated with the birth of the Church of Christ. Authorship is attributed to Saint Luke. This is a detailed chronological description of all the actions to create the church, and the acts also indicate the exact geographical coordinates of the movement of the apostles.

The letters of the apostles contain answers to practical questions on the organization of the life of the Christian community, the rules of behavior of Christians and the interpretation of the teachings of Christ. The first Christians were Jews, so they did not understand the difference between the old and new covenants of God with people.

The main message of the gospel is the gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which brings salvation to the whole world.

The Book of the Apocalypse records the visions of the holy Apostle John, which God revealed to him. It shows the main fragments of the end of times, the Last Judgment of sinners. God showed people that his son Christ would administer judgment. This is the most mystical of all the pages of the New Testament, since all information is encrypted in symbols. For a long time, the church fathers were afraid to include the Revelation of John into the canon precisely because of the symbolism of the visions.

The New Testament, unlike the Old Testament, was written in ancient Greek. The evangelists who wrote the 4 gospels lived in the 1st century of the new chronology. The gospel texts date back to around 41 AD.

To accurately answer the question of what is the difference between the Bible and the gospel, you need to turn to the contents of these books. Christians believe that the gospel is an integral part of the bible and tells about the life of Jesus Christ and his disciples. But the Jews do not recognize the new covenant; for them it is still valid old testament with God. The Old Testament in Hebrew is called the Torah (Pentateuch).

What is the difference between the Bible and the Gospel in Orthodoxy:

• the gospel is an integral part of the bible and is included in the New Testament;
• the gospel was written much later than the texts of the bible;
• the bible tells about the creation of the earth and the first man, the gospel tells about the savior of the world Jesus Christ;
• authors biblical stories are not known, the gospel was written by 4 evangelists.

Different interpretations and understandings of the Gospel texts led to a split between Christians and the formation of many denominations. Therefore, it is necessary to read and interpret the Gospel under the guidance of the church fathers, so as not to fall away from the faith.

Simply knowing what the gospel and the bible are does not give a person anything. These are not literary texts and are not historical description lives of people of the past. The Bible is a guide to action, the beginning of a change in life and worldview, a path to salvation about eternal doom and darkness.

The Gospel of Matthew is the first of the books of the New Testament. The Gospel of Matthew belongs to the canonical Gospels. The New Testament begins with the four gospels - the lives of Jesus Christ. The first three Gospels are similar to each other, which is why they are called synoptic (from the Greek “synoptikos” - to see together).

Read the Gospel of Matthew.

The Gospel of Matthew consists of 28 chapters.

Church tradition names the author as Matthew, the tax collector who followed Christ. However, modern researchers believe that the Gospel was not written by a direct eyewitness of the event, and, therefore, the Apostle Matthew cannot be the author of the first Gospel. It is believed that this text was written somewhat later, and the unknown author relied on the Gospel of Mark and the extant source Q.

Theme of the Gospel of Matthew

The main theme of the Gospel of Matthew is the life and work of Jesus Christ. The book was intended for a Jewish audience. The Gospel of Matthew is replete with references to messianic Old Testament prophecies. The author's goal is to show that messianic prophecies are fulfilled at the coming of the Son of God.

The Gospel describes in detail the genealogy of the Savior, starting from Abraham and ending with Joseph the Betrothed, the husband of the Virgin Mary.

Features of the Gospel of Matthew.

The Gospel of Matthew is the only book of the New Testament that was not written in Greek. The Aramaic original of the Gospel was lost, and the Greek translation was included in the canon.

The activity of the Messiah is considered in the Gospel from three points of view:

• like a Prophet
• as a Legislator
• as the High Priest.

This book focuses on the teachings of Christ.

The Gospel of Matthew repeats many of the other Synoptic Gospels, but there are several points here that are not revealed in any other book of the New Testament:

• The story of the healing of two blind men,
• The story of the healing of a mute demoniac,
• The story of a coin in a fish's mouth.

There are also several original parables in this Gospel:

• parable of the tares,
• parable of the treasure in the field,
• parable of the pearl of great price,
• parable of the net,
• the parable of the merciless lender,
• parable of the workers in the vineyard,
• parable of two sons,
• parable of the wedding feast,
• parable of the ten virgins,
• parable of the talents.

Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew

In addition to describing the birth, life and death of Jesus, the Gospel also reveals themes about the Second Coming of Christ, the eschatological revelation of the Kingdom and in the daily spiritual life of the Church

The book was written to accomplish 2 tasks:

1. Tell the Jews that Jesus is their Messiah.
2. To encourage those who believed in Jesus as the Messiah and feared that God would turn away from His people after His Son was crucified. Matthew said that God had not given up on the people and that the previously promised Kingdom would come in the future.

The Gospel of Matthew testifies that Jesus is the Messiah. The author answers the question, “If Jesus is truly the Messiah, then why did He not establish the promised Kingdom?” The author says that this Kingdom has taken on a different form and that Jesus will return to earth again to establish His rule. The Savior came with good news to the people, but according to God's plan, His message was rejected, only to be heard later to all nations throughout the world.

Chapter 1. Genealogy of the Savior. Birth of the Messiah.

Chapter 2. Flight of the Holy Family to Egypt. Return of the Holy Family to Nazareth.

Chapter 3. Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.

Chapter 4. The beginning of the preaching work of Jesus Christ in Galilee. The first disciples of Christ.

Chapters 5 – 7. Sermon on the Mount.

Chapters 8 – 9. Sermons in Galilee. Miracles of Christ. The power of the savior over illness, the forces of evil, nature, over death. The Savior's ability to forgive. The ability to turn darkness into light and cast out demons.

Chapter 10. Calling of the 12 Apostles

Chapter 11. A challenge to the authority of the Son of God.

Chapter 12. Disputes about the power of the new Tsar.

Chapters 13 – 18. Miracles and parables of Christ. Preaching in Galilee and surrounding lands.

Chapters 19 – 20. Jesus goes from Galilee to Judea.

Chapters 21 – 22. Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and preaching there.

Chapter 23. Jesus' rebuke of the Pharisees.

Chapter 24. Jesus predicts his Second Coming after the destruction of Jerusalem.

Chapter 25. New parables. Explanation of future events.

Chapter 26. Anointing of Jesus with chrism. Last Supper. Arrest of the Messiah and trial.

Chapter 27. Jesus Christ before Pilate. Crucifixion and burial of the Savior.

Chapter 28. Resurrection of Jesus.

The Bible is one of the oldest monuments of human wisdom. For Christians, this book is the revelation of the Lord, Holy Scripture and the main guide in life. The study of this book is an indispensable condition for the spiritual development of both believers and non-believers. Today the Bible is the most popular book in the world: more than 6 million copies have been published.

In addition to Christians, the sacredness and inspiration of certain biblical texts is recognized by adherents of a number of other religions: Jews, Muslims, Baha'is.

Structure of the Bible. Old and New Testament

As you know, the Bible is not a homogeneous book, but a collection of a number of stories. They reflect the history of the Jewish (God's chosen) people, the work of Jesus Christ, moral teachings and prophecies about the future of humanity.

When we talk about the structure of the Bible, there are two main parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

- common scripture for Judaism and Christianity. The books of the Old Testament were created between the 13th and 1st centuries BC. The text of these books has come down to us in the form of lists in a number of ancient languages: Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, Latin.

In Christian doctrine there is the concept of “canon”. Canonical writings are those scriptures that the church has recognized as inspired by God. Depending on the denomination, they are recognized as canonical different quantities texts of the Old Testament. For example, Orthodox Christians recognize 50 scriptures as canonical, Catholics – 45, and Protestants – 39.

In addition to the Christian one, there is also a Jewish canon. Jews recognize the Torah (Pentateuch), Neviim (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Scriptures) as canonical. It is believed that Moses was the first to write down the Torah directly. All three books form the Tanakh - the “Hebrew Bible” and are the basis of the Old Testament.

This section of the Holy Letter talks about the first days of mankind, the Flood and further history Jewish people. The narration “brings” the reader to last days before the birth of the Messiah - Jesus Christ.

Among theologians there are already very for a long time There are ongoing discussions about whether Christians need to observe the Law of Moses (i.e., the instructions given by the Old Testament). Most theologians are still of the opinion that Jesus' sacrifice made it unnecessary for us to comply with the requirements of the Pentateuch. A certain part of the researchers came to the opposite. For example, Seventh-day Adventists keep the Sabbath and do not eat pork.

The New Testament plays a much more important role in the lives of Christians.

- the second part of the Bible. It consists of the four canonical Gospels. The first manuscripts date back to the beginning of the 1st century AD, the latest - to the 4th century.

In addition to the four canonical Gospels (Mark, Luke, Matthew, John), there are a number of apocrypha. They touch upon previously unknown facets of the life of Christ. For example, some of these books describe the youth of Jesus (canonical ones - only childhood and adulthood).

Actually, the New Testament describes the life and deeds of Jesus Christ - the son of God and the Savior. Evangelists describe the miracles performed by the Messiah, his sermons, as well as the finale - martyrdom on the cross, which atoned for the sins of mankind.

In addition to the Gospels, the New Testament contains the book of the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles and the Revelation of John the Theologian (Apocalypse).

Acts tell about the birth and development of the church after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In essence, this book is a historical chronicle (real personalities are often mentioned) and a geography textbook: territories from Palestine to Western Europe. Its author is considered to be the Apostle Luke.

The second part of the Acts of the Apostles tells the story of Paul's missionary activities and ends with his arrival in Rome. The book also answers a number of theoretical questions, such as circumcision among Christians or observance of the Law of Moses.

Apocalypse- These are the visions recorded by John that the Lord gave him. This book is about the end of the world and Last Judgment– the final point of the existence of this world. Jesus himself will judge humanity. The righteous, resurrected in the flesh, will receive eternal heavenly life with the Lord, and sinners will go into eternal fire.

The Revelation of John the Theologian is the most mystical part of the new testament. The text is filled with occult symbols: the Woman clothed with the sun, the number 666, the horsemen of the Apocalypse. For a certain time, it was precisely because of this that the churches were afraid to include the book in the canon.

What is the Gospel?

As is already known, the Gospel is a description of the life path of Christ.

Why did some of the Gospels become canonical, and others not? The fact is that these four Gospels have practically no contradictions, but simply describe slightly different events. If the writing of a certain book by the apostle is not questioned, then the church does not prohibit familiarization with the apocrypha. But such a Gospel cannot become a moral guide for a Christian.

There is an opinion that all the canonical Gospels were written by Christ's disciples (apostles). In fact, this is not so: for example, Mark was a disciple of the Apostle Paul and is one of the seventy equal to the apostles. Many religious dissidents and supporters of “conspiracy theories” believe that churchmen deliberately hid the true teachings of Jesus Christ from people.

In response to such statements, representatives of traditional Christian churches(Catholic, Orthodox, some Protestant) answer that first you need to figure out which text can be considered the Gospel. It was to facilitate the spiritual search of a Christian that a canon was created that protects the soul from heresies and falsifications.

So what's the difference

Considering the above, it is not difficult to determine how the Old Testament, New Testament and Gospel differ. The Old Testament describes events before the birth of Jesus Christ: the creation of man, the Flood, and Moses receiving the law. The New Testament contains a description of the coming of the Messiah and the future of humanity. The Gospel is the main structural unit of the New Testament, directly telling about life path the savior of mankind - Jesus Christ. It is because of Jesus' sacrifice that Christians now do not have to adhere to the laws of the Old Testament: this obligation has been atoned for.

Any educated person should know how the Gospel differs from the Bible, even if he does not. The Bible, or as it is also called the “book of books,” has had an undeniable influence on the worldview of thousands of people around the world, leaving no one indifferent. It contains a large layer of basic knowledge, which is reflected in art, culture and literature, as well as in other areas of society. Its significance is difficult to overestimate, but it is important to draw the line between the Bible and the Gospel.

The Bible: Basic Contents and Structure

The word "Bible" is translated from ancient Greek as "books". This is a collection of texts dedicated to the biography of the Jewish people, whose descendant was Jesus Christ. It is known that the Bible was written by several authors, but their names are unknown. It is believed that the creation of these stories occurred according to God's will and admonition. Thus, the Bible can be viewed from two perspectives:

1. Like a literary text. This large number stories of different genres, united common theme and stylistics. Biblical stories were then used as the basis for their works by writers and poets from many countries.
2. Like Holy Scripture, telling of miracles and the power of God's will. It is also evidence that God the Father really exists.

The Bible has become the basis of several religions and denominations. Compositionally, the Bible is built from two parts: the Old and New Testaments. The first describes the period of creation of the whole world and before the birth of Jesus Christ. In the New - earthly life, miracles and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Orthodox Bible includes 77 books, the Protestant Bible - 66. These books have been translated into more than 2,500 languages ​​of the world.

This Holy Scripture of the New Testament has many names: New Testament, Holy Books, Four Gospels. It was created by St. the apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In total, the Gospel includes 27 books.

“Gospel” is translated from ancient Greek as “good news” or “good news.” It talks about the greatest event - the birth of Jesus Christ, his earthly life, miracles, martyrdom and resurrection. The main message of this scripture is to explain the teachings of Christ, the righteous commandments Christian life and convey the message that death has been defeated and people are saved at the cost of the life of Jesus.

One must distinguish between the Gospel and the New Testament. In addition to the Gospel, the New Testament also includes “The Apostle,” who talks about the acts of the holy apostles and conveys their instructions for the lives of ordinary believers. In addition to them, the New Testament includes 21 books of Epistles and the Apocalypse. From a theological point of view, the Gospel is considered the most important and fundamental part.

Holy Scripture, be it the Gospel or the Bible, has great value for the formation of spiritual life and growth in the Orthodox faith. These are not just unique literary texts, without knowledge of which life will be difficult, but an opportunity to touch the mystery of Holy Scripture. However, to know how the Gospel differs from the Bible, to modern man not enough. It would be a good idea to read the text itself to gain the necessary information and fill any knowledge gaps.