Where Do You Start?

A question occurred to me as I was considering the four different Gospel accounts of Christ.  Many do not realize that the typical Nativity Scene consists of several biblical accounts compressed into one scene.  Part comes from the book of Matthew and part from the book of Luke.  Rather than occurring on the same night, it is likely that some of these stories occurred in different months.  

The question that occurred to me is this:  In telling the story of Jesus, where do you start?  Matthew begins with Jesus’ lineage through David back to Abraham, and then moves to the announcement to Joseph, worship from the Magi, and the conflict with Herod.  Luke starts with the announcement of the coming of the birth of John the Baptist, then moves to the announcement of the coming birth of Jesus to Mary.  After the account of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, Like gives the account of the worship of Jesus by the shepherds.   Mark, on the other hand, skips over his birth stories and begins with the start of Jesus’ public ministry.  In contrast, John begins with who Jesus was before his birth, then moves from there to the testimony of John the Baptist.  The four Gospels all begin quite differently, focusing on different aspects of Jesus and his arrival.  There have been those who have noted that these differences of emphases likely stems from who the original recipients were.  How and where the Gospel writers began depended on who they were telling the story to.  

This reminds me of another account from Acts 8, where Philip comes across an Ethiopian Eunuch on the road to Gaza reading from Isaiah 53, “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,…”  The Ethiopian did not understand the passage, so Philip “…opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35).  In this case, Philip began with Isaiah 53 and told the Gospel of Christ, which would have included his death, burial, and resurrection.

On the other hand, Paul began at yet a different place when he spoke to a group of Philosophers on Mars Hill in Acts 17.  Beginning with philosophical truth that lined up with biblical truth, he began with God and his creation of all things, especially man.  He then taught the necessity for repentance and the coming judgment by Jesus whom God raised from the dead.   

All of these demonstrate that it is important to consider who you are teaching so you can know where best to start in teaching the Gospel.  More importantly, these also demonstrate that you must know where to end up in the teaching of the Gospel.  Even though the telling of the Gospel begins in different places, they always end in the same place.  In fact, if you lay the four Gospels side by side, you will notice that they all come into remarkable sync when it comes to the arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ.  His death for our sins, burial, and resurrection is what is of “first importance” according to what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.  

However we begin, it is imperative that we move to the Gospel of Christ, which at its core involves the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah for our sins as well as his requirement that we, in repentance, accept him as Lord and Christ.  This involves commitment to him as his servants when being buried with him in baptism to put to death the old man so that we can be raised with him as a new creature that is redeemed, reconciled and reforming into the image of Christ.