What do you think?
Rate this book
Discovering Jesus: Four Gospels - One Person
If asked how Matthew's Gospel differs from Luke's, or what aspects of Jesus' personhood and ministry the Gospel of Mark focuses on compared with those of John, how would you answer? In Discovering Jesus, T. Desmond Alexander helps readers understand how each Gospel account is uniquely written and why all four Gospels are important in their different, but complementary pictures of the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.
Alexander shows how the Gospels display Jesus as the Son of David who establishes the kingdom of God, the Son of God who suffers to ransom others, the Saviour of the world who seeks the lost, and the Lamb of God who brings eternal life through a new exodus. Each chapter ends with discussion questions for individual or group study.
160 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2010
14 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
T. Desmond Alexander
31 books63 followersT. Desmond Alexander (PhD, The Queen’s University, Belfast) is senior lecturer in biblical studies and director of postgraduate studies at Union Theological College in Belfast, Ireland. He is the coeditor of the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 5, 2011
In this helpful book - which manages to package an ambitious goal with a wide scope in a slim package - T. Desmond Alexander, the regarded biblical theology scholar, presents the one Jesus introduced in four different Gospels. This book would be most helpful for a new or young Christian or someone undertaking their first study of the Gospels. I believe that after reading this book one will be better prepared to approach the Gospels and understand the basic message of each. Discovering Jesus gives the reader a couple of main themes each Gospel employes and that appear to drive or motivate the Jesus presented in that Gospel. These themes are based on history, though, and are not theological "agendas" produced by the early church to gain the upper-hand in an early battle for religious power. However, all of this is done in a very introductory manner, making it ideal for the beginning Christian or Bible student (though no doubt more well-read students of the Bible could stand to profit from some of the insights). Here's a short overview of the book
- Chapter one gives a brief overview of the Gospels. Briefly, similarities and differences between the synoptic gospels are presented — often aided by helpful charts and images — and then John's Gospel and its differences with all the synoptics is covered. The conclusion is that the Gospels all share the same goal — to present the good news of Jesus Christ, and while they do so with different perspectives, these perspectives are also complementary, all combining to give as a well-rounded picture of the most unique individual who has ever lived.
- Capter two presents common themes in the Gospels, these are: (1) fulfillment on Scripture, (2) the kingdom of God, (3) hostility, (4) centrality of the passions, (5) salvation and the gentiles, and (6) the importance of faith. These themes are seen to greater or lesser extent in each Gospel, but some authors focus more heavily on some than others. Probably the most important or central theme is (4), which is why the Gospels have sometimes been referred to as "passion narratives with extended introductions."
- Chapter three and four focus on Mark's gospel. In approaching Mark, Alexander ever-so-briefly covers introductory issues like authorship and dating. He then presents some of the main themes that can be distilled from Mark. He finds that Mark focuses heavily on the theme of "Jesus as the son of God who suffers to ransom others," and secondly the notion of discipleship, which is tied together with the first theme in that disciples follow Jesus in the way of the cross.
- Chapter five and six focus on Matthew's gospel. He offers the same kinds of introductory remarks on authorship and dating as he did with Mark and then looks at key Matthean themes. The first theme is the theme of conflict. He notes Matthew is keen to point this out and especially focuses on the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leadership, which is interesting since Matthew's is the most "Jewish" of the Gospels. The second theme, in keeping with the Jewishness of the Gospel, is the idea that Jesus is King, a King who descended from David. Jesus is the son of David, the divinely promised Messiah who inaugurates the kingdom of heaven.
- Chapters seven and eight turn to Luke's Gospel. As with the above, similar introductory remarks are made. After these comments, Alexander turns to the first major theme found in Luke, i.e., the Holy Spirit. He points out how Luke is especially interested in the Holy Spirit, more so than the other Gospels. A second theme pointed out in the Holy Spirit chapter is that of prayer. The next chapter looks at Luke's theme of Jesus as the one who comes to seek and save the lost. Alexander points out how Luke addresses this notion of "finding the lost" more than the other evangelists. Salvation is a major factor, especially the salvation of those of a lowly social status as well as gentiles. Luke presents Jesus as the savior of the world to seek the lost. The last chapter briefly ends with the theme of joy and happiness, the appropriate reaction of those who have been saved.
- Chapters nine and ten approach the final Gospel, John's. Similar introductory comments on authorship, dating, and structure are made. The first theme is that of believing (though John's Gospel is "too rich" to really find themes to encapsulate his ideas). He notes John clearly encourages and wants his readers to believe, "psiteuo" (to believe) occurs ninety-eight times, over 1/4 of all occurrences in the New Testament. The next theme is that of the new exodus. Alexander describes how John seeks to make comparisons between Jesus and the book of Exodus. There are several similarities here, from the "signs" intended to induce belief, to the "I am" statements, to the passover, and to the leading of the covenant people out of slavery and into new life. So jesus is presented as the Lamb of God who brings eternal life through a new exodus.
- Chapter eleven briefly looks at the composition of the Gospels, covering the "synoptic problem," i.e., how do we account for the similarity between them, which Gospel has priority, and Alexander seems to come down on the side of Markan priority. Alexander then turns to different ideas about the Gospels, whether they are biographies, proclamations, distinctive theologies, or stories. While these views have their problems, especially the last three, there is some truth to all of them. However, the main thing to keep in mind is that history underwrites the story. The good news is rooted in history, and unintelligible apart from it.
The last chapter (twelve) is a review and final observations. The final observations are to grasp the full significance and weight of words like "Jesus is Lord and savior," and to recognize that Jesus is more than a mere man, he's the God-man, "the most unique and incredible 'man' who ever lived and continues to live."
Alexander also includes a helpful biography for "further reading" so that you can take the basic foundation he's laid and expand on it.
All-in-alll, this is a helpful book. It is introductory, and several issues are not discussed, or if they are, only briefly. Issues such as seeming "contradictions" or "inconsistencies" between the gospels are not even mentioned, though one might get the idea that they would be given the topic of the book and prior knowledge of questions that are asked of the "differing Gospels." Thus this book isn't very helpful for apologetic issues, though there may be some slight relevance to those discussions to be found. If this is kept in mind and expectations are in-line with the topic of the book — some key themes of the Gospels — readers, especially beginning students, should profit from this little book. As Darrell Bock says on the back cover, "Discovering Jesus will get you well-oriented and open up a lifetime of reflection about Jesus."
- Chapter one gives a brief overview of the Gospels. Briefly, similarities and differences between the synoptic gospels are presented — often aided by helpful charts and images — and then John's Gospel and its differences with all the synoptics is covered. The conclusion is that the Gospels all share the same goal — to present the good news of Jesus Christ, and while they do so with different perspectives, these perspectives are also complementary, all combining to give as a well-rounded picture of the most unique individual who has ever lived.
- Capter two presents common themes in the Gospels, these are: (1) fulfillment on Scripture, (2) the kingdom of God, (3) hostility, (4) centrality of the passions, (5) salvation and the gentiles, and (6) the importance of faith. These themes are seen to greater or lesser extent in each Gospel, but some authors focus more heavily on some than others. Probably the most important or central theme is (4), which is why the Gospels have sometimes been referred to as "passion narratives with extended introductions."
- Chapter three and four focus on Mark's gospel. In approaching Mark, Alexander ever-so-briefly covers introductory issues like authorship and dating. He then presents some of the main themes that can be distilled from Mark. He finds that Mark focuses heavily on the theme of "Jesus as the son of God who suffers to ransom others," and secondly the notion of discipleship, which is tied together with the first theme in that disciples follow Jesus in the way of the cross.
- Chapter five and six focus on Matthew's gospel. He offers the same kinds of introductory remarks on authorship and dating as he did with Mark and then looks at key Matthean themes. The first theme is the theme of conflict. He notes Matthew is keen to point this out and especially focuses on the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leadership, which is interesting since Matthew's is the most "Jewish" of the Gospels. The second theme, in keeping with the Jewishness of the Gospel, is the idea that Jesus is King, a King who descended from David. Jesus is the son of David, the divinely promised Messiah who inaugurates the kingdom of heaven.
- Chapters seven and eight turn to Luke's Gospel. As with the above, similar introductory remarks are made. After these comments, Alexander turns to the first major theme found in Luke, i.e., the Holy Spirit. He points out how Luke is especially interested in the Holy Spirit, more so than the other Gospels. A second theme pointed out in the Holy Spirit chapter is that of prayer. The next chapter looks at Luke's theme of Jesus as the one who comes to seek and save the lost. Alexander points out how Luke addresses this notion of "finding the lost" more than the other evangelists. Salvation is a major factor, especially the salvation of those of a lowly social status as well as gentiles. Luke presents Jesus as the savior of the world to seek the lost. The last chapter briefly ends with the theme of joy and happiness, the appropriate reaction of those who have been saved.
- Chapters nine and ten approach the final Gospel, John's. Similar introductory comments on authorship, dating, and structure are made. The first theme is that of believing (though John's Gospel is "too rich" to really find themes to encapsulate his ideas). He notes John clearly encourages and wants his readers to believe, "psiteuo" (to believe) occurs ninety-eight times, over 1/4 of all occurrences in the New Testament. The next theme is that of the new exodus. Alexander describes how John seeks to make comparisons between Jesus and the book of Exodus. There are several similarities here, from the "signs" intended to induce belief, to the "I am" statements, to the passover, and to the leading of the covenant people out of slavery and into new life. So jesus is presented as the Lamb of God who brings eternal life through a new exodus.
- Chapter eleven briefly looks at the composition of the Gospels, covering the "synoptic problem," i.e., how do we account for the similarity between them, which Gospel has priority, and Alexander seems to come down on the side of Markan priority. Alexander then turns to different ideas about the Gospels, whether they are biographies, proclamations, distinctive theologies, or stories. While these views have their problems, especially the last three, there is some truth to all of them. However, the main thing to keep in mind is that history underwrites the story. The good news is rooted in history, and unintelligible apart from it.
The last chapter (twelve) is a review and final observations. The final observations are to grasp the full significance and weight of words like "Jesus is Lord and savior," and to recognize that Jesus is more than a mere man, he's the God-man, "the most unique and incredible 'man' who ever lived and continues to live."
Alexander also includes a helpful biography for "further reading" so that you can take the basic foundation he's laid and expand on it.
All-in-alll, this is a helpful book. It is introductory, and several issues are not discussed, or if they are, only briefly. Issues such as seeming "contradictions" or "inconsistencies" between the gospels are not even mentioned, though one might get the idea that they would be given the topic of the book and prior knowledge of questions that are asked of the "differing Gospels." Thus this book isn't very helpful for apologetic issues, though there may be some slight relevance to those discussions to be found. If this is kept in mind and expectations are in-line with the topic of the book — some key themes of the Gospels — readers, especially beginning students, should profit from this little book. As Darrell Bock says on the back cover, "Discovering Jesus will get you well-oriented and open up a lifetime of reflection about Jesus."
January 5, 2025
I’ve only ever had a base line understanding of how the Gospels compare & contrast. I’ve heard it once it’s like viewing a diamond from all different angles, so this book was a good start to having my eyes opened on these angles.
August 27, 2017
I think this would be a great book to share with people in your church so that they can better understand the gospels and what makes each one unique.
May 6, 2018
A brief but highly informative book on the distinctions between the four gospels, with plenty of suggestions for further reading.
July 31, 2019
Un libro muy bueno, desde donde he sacado mucha información para las clases que imparto actualmente en el Instituto de Pedagogía Cristiana IPEC, para el curso Síntesis III
December 10, 2023
Great book on the Gospels. Some of it is basic information. I most appreciated his insights on John.
January 30, 2024
Alexander is a good clear writer and teacher. The book is quite basic but it does its job well. I wish Alexander wasn’t as beholden to Markan priority and assume an origins/genenic approach to the Gospels is helpful. But still, great content
February 27, 2015
This is an excellent little book. For such a slim volume, one should not expect a thorough examination, but Alexander does quite a lot with such a small space. The main contribution of this book, in my opinion, is a basic survey of the ways in which the Gospel accounts are really quite distinct from one another. Rather than rationalizing the differences, this book embraces them and displays why their differences paint a more complete and beautiful picture of Jesus.
February 2, 2011
Excellent intro to & overview of the Gospels! Full review to come.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews