FOUR GOLDEN KEYS
Unlocking the key verses in the Gospels
Published by Ambassador International 54 pages
ISBN 978-1-935507-55-0
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
- BEHOLD YOUR KING: THE GOLDEN KEYS TO MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
- THE SUPERLATIVE SERVANT-SAVIOUR: THE GOLDEN KEY TO MARK’S GOSPEL
- THE COMPASSIONATE SAVIOUR OF SINNERS : THE GOLDEN KEY TO LUKE’S GOSPEL
- THE INCOMPARABLE SON OF GOD: THE GOLDEN KEY TO JOHN’S GOSPEL
INTRODUCTION
A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers (Genesis 2:10).
The Apostle John ended his Gospel by saying that the life of Christ was so awesome, and the things He did so amazing, that were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25).
The Holy Spirit of God however has seen fit to bequeath us four written accounts of the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. He did this through His servants Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – men who were divinely prepared for a divinely prepared task. Apart from these four Gospels, our historical knowledge of the life, death and resurrection of the Son of God would be negligible. These four Gospels thus repay our careful and prayerful reading and re-reading like no other literature.
Interestingly, each Gospel writer has his own particular stress and perspective on the same Person of Christ. If four artists were to paint your portrait, it would be the same ‘you’ portrayed on each of the four canvases. Yet each painting, paradoxically, would be different, as each painter would have a different perspective and style. Likewise with the four Gospels. The same Christ is portrayed by all four writers, yet each one has his own particular slant:-
- Matthew emphasises that Jesus is the Messiah, the King of the Jews, the fulfilment of all the Old Testament longings, hopes and prophecies.
- Mark emphasises that Jesus is the Servant of God, Who came to lay down His life to ransom sinners.
- Luke emphasises that Jesus is the compassionate Son of Man Who came to save sinners
- John emphasises that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, through Whom we may come to know eternal life.
The four Gospels take up a large proportion of space in the New Testament. Mathew has twenty eight chapters; Mark has sixteen chapters, Luke has twenty four chapters and John has twenty one chapters. At first, this may seem a little overwhelming. We cannot see the wood for the trees! But take heart. Each Gospel writer has given us a key to unlock the whole of his Gospel – a clue verse or verses which unlock all the chapters he has written.
The following four chapters are entitled Four Golden Keys. They focus on the key verses of each of the four Gospels – verses which when grasped and understood will give us an understanding of the whole. Just as a house has a specific key which lets us enter in and explore all of its rooms, the key verses of the Gospels we are about to study will let us into each of the Gospels, unlocking the door to allow us in on all of their chapters and the peculiar blessing of the Christ related therein – the Christ Who is Himself the Gospel. My prayer and hope is that as you read the following pages, your mind will be enlightened, your heart warmed, and your appreciation of and your devotion to the Christ of the Gospel will be increased.
The pages which follow began life as a mini series of evening sermons also entitled Four Golden Keys. They were preached at the Saltmead Presbyterian Church, Grangetown, Cardiff, during the autumn/winter of 2009. I am very grateful to those who listened to the sermons with such interest and attention, and encouraged me to write them up with a view to sharing them with a wider audience. Christian fellowship is a foretaste of heaven itself. To the triune God be all the glory.
Timothy Cross, Cardiff, Wales
