He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
After Jesus left His disciples to go back to His Father, God sent down to them the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The disciples saw what looked like tongues of flames from the sky coming on to them. They were able to speak in different languages. For this reason, they went throughout Judea preaching God’s words.
There may have been many writings about the life of Jesus, but the four that are accepted by Christian churches are the ones written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Though we usually hear that there are four different gospels, but the fact is there is only one gospel- the gospel (meaning good news) of Jesus Christ. The reason we have four gospels is because the gospel is written by four different people and what they had experienced.
MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
- Written shortly after 70 A.D.
- Written in Antioch, Syria, where there were mainly Jewish Christians.
- Written shortly after 70 A.D.
- Matthew had been a tax collector before Jesus called him to become one of the twelve apostles.
- There are 28 chapters.
MARK’S GOSPEL
- Written shortly before 70 A.D.
- Written in Rome, where there were mainly Gentile, the people who are not too familiar with the Jewish customs.
- Mark had been Paul’s companion, and Peter’s interpreter.
- There are 16 chapters (the shortest).
LUKE’S GOSPEL
- Written around 80-90 A.D.
- Written in Rome, and to the Gentile Christians.
- Luke is a 2nd generation disciple. He was known to be a well-educated one. He was probably a medical practitioner.
- There are 24 chapters.
JOHN’S GOSPEL
- Written in the 90’s A.D.
- Maybe written in Ephesus.
- Luke was believed to be the last apostle, and not killed like the rest.
- Highly literary and symbolic; more like a theological reflection.
- There are 21 chapters.
During mass, after the first and second reading comes the gospel. The gospel readings are chosen from Mark, Matthew, Luke, or John depending on the calendar of the Church. The gospels are stories about Jesus and his disciples that teach us a lesson to follow. These lessons teach us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, to become good people.
The bible is made up of stories passed down to us from the time of Jesus and they were told and written by his disciples. In the bible we find many problems that we still have today. The bible helps us to deal with our problems as good people. Forgiveness is a very big problem because it is hard to do, but we should do it out of love. In Matthew’s gospel chapter 18, Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother if he does something wrong to him. Peter said should he forgive him up to seven times? Jesus said that he should not forgive him seven times, but seventy-seven times.
In Thieu Nhi, your Huynh Truongs teach you about bible passages. They help you learn about the bible and Jesus’s life with his disciples. They too are acting as disciples of Jesus because they are spreading God’s words to each and everyone in Thieu Nhi. These stories that they pick out teaches a lesson that will help us become good people who follow Jesus.
We are all children of God right? The disciples, our parents, and our Huynh Truongs are also children of God too! The disciples are the ones who started to spread the Good News to the world after Jesus had gone into heaven. Then it was our parents and our Huynh Truongs that taught us about God and the Good News. When we grow up, we will also help spread the Good News to younger children.
Jesus help me live a life that follows your path. Help me to spread your words to anyone who does not know of you. You are kind and loving. Protect those who do not believe in you. Give me the strength and knowledge to spread your words to bring these people to you.
Con xin Chúa giúp con đi theo con đường của Chúa. để con thành một người Kitô Hưũ. Chúa hiền và yêu mến chúng con. Xin Chúa bảo vệ những người mà không biết về Chúa. Cho con sức mạnh va sụ hiểu biết để con mang lời của Chúa đến khắp mọi nơi.