Are the Gospels written specifically to Jews only?

Hmm, you disagree with Hebrews 8?

6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

The universal appeal of John 3:16 is understandable and many of us Gentile Christians, that is probably one of the first verses we memorized.

Let me propose that when we Gentile Christians read John 3:16, we had the benefit of understanding Paul's Gospel of Grace. Hence when we read about "believes in him", we think of believing in his death, burial and resurrection, like what Paul would say in 1 Cor 15:3-4

But is that what John really had in mind when he wrote about "believe in him"? if you read John 20:31, it said, But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Again, we are back to the Gospel of the Kingdom, which was valid for Jews only. No doubt John's Gospel might have been written after Paul died, and John may have understood what Paul was trying to say, but those are speculations.

Hello Marcelo;

You're correct on who the four Gospels were written to.

I lost you on the "transition period between the Old and New Covenants after the death of the Lord." Please elaborate?

Good read on this topic!

God bless you, Marcelo, and your family.

There is one Gospel, not one for each group of people, an if this is not understood, then you, whoever you may be, are not learning anything about our Savior's Good News..

Stop trying to separate peoples from the grace and mercy of salvation in Jesus Christ, it rieks of prejudices.

Hello Guojing;

Your statement grabbed my attention, brother. What do you mean, "they" will get upset?

God bless you, Guojing, and your family.

They view the word of Jesus as special, to be applied to everyone Jew and Gentile. Its even colored in red in some of the Bibles they have.

So when you point out that many of what he said actually belongs to the Old Covenant of the Law, and thus not directed to the Gentile Church, it is understandable why they are upset.

I find the view of Jesus as very special for all who desire to love and seek Him. As a church going man I rarely experienced anyone getting upset because the sermon was on the 4 Gospels.

When God gives the Word to the Minister to deliver to His flock, whether its the Gospels or the Old Testament, the church family should be receiving and blessed, not get upset because their interpretation is not in alignment with what "they" want to hear, or because a certain people don't feel the message doesn't apply to them.

As far as the red, Guojing, many acceptable translations will have Jesus' Words in red. There is no harm in that, its' simply a study tool. When you mentioned this, are you upset over that?

I'm enjoying exchanging with you, Guojing, and attempting to learn your view.

God bless you and your family.

Thanks for your kind words, I enjoy exchanging views with you too.

Let me give an example of how the stories in the 4 Gospels can be viewed from a new perspective, once you rightly divide the word into those written to the Jews and not the Gentiles.

This is a story found only in the Gospel of Matthew, which is generally accepted as the Gospel directed specifically to the Jews, the story of the Canaanite woman, who was a Gentile.

In Matthew 15

21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile[e] woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”25 But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”

26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

I used to just understand this story as teaching me that great faith will move Jesus. But after realizing the divine plan of how we Gentiles were grafted into the blessings of Abraham because of Jews rejecting their Gospel of the Kingdom, I start to view this story from a different perspective.

I now believe that Jesus was not joking with the Gentile lady when he said he was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel. Although he being God obviously knew that the Jews would reject him as their Messiah even after his resurrection in Acts, he followed the divine timetable of Jews first, then Gentiles.

Perhaps Jesus’s attitude towards the Gentiles can be better understood by contrasting it to the story of Blind Bartimaeus, in Matthew 10

46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.” 50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. 51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, [a]“Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has [b]made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

One can’t help but to notice the contrast in Jesus’s treatment in the two cases of people who exhibited faith. Both the Canaanite lady and Blind Bartimaeus called him the Son of David, which is the proper term for Jesus. Both of them have faith, one might even argue that the Canaanite lady had lesser unbelief than Blind Bartimaeus.

But because the latter was a Jew, Jesus, almighty God, actually stood still and healed him without any hesitation. But the lady, who is a Gentile, had to further go thru so many tests. My point is not that Jesus was being deliberately cruel to one but kind to other.

Like Paul himself stated Jesus’s mission on Earth, he stated in Romans 15 (KJV)

8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:

Jesus followed the Old Testament prophecies, which had a strict timetable. The Jews have to accept Jesus as the Son of God and the promised Messiah first (The Gospel of the Kingdom). Jesus was trying to show to the Jews why that was also the Gospel, why that is also good news, by illustrating with all his healing miracles that, under the promised kingdom, no one would be sick.

If only all the Jews accepted that Gospel, then Jesus will rule over them in an earthly kingdom based on Jerusalem. Once that happens, only then, will all the Gentiles, who also believe in Jesus, will be blessed.

However, many Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah. However, because of that rejection, all the Gentiles are now able to be blessed independently thru the Gospel of Grace that Jesus revealed to Paul.

Only after that rejection by the Jews, then Jesus’s words, thru Paul in Ephesians 2, now reflect to us Gentiles that we are now equal to Jews under the Gospel of Grace. Hence what he said to Gentile lady in Matthew will not apply to us now, under the current dispensation of Grace. My understanding of Ephesians 2 definitely “leveled up” after this!

So things are done differently. If things are done differently than the old way. It's a new way. Yes I do read the scriptures all of them, and that's where the idea of a new covenant comes from. Jesus said it his own words.
I choose to read the scrotures and take them for what they say rather than try to be some psuedo intellectual armchair theologian who leaves out statements made in the scriptures.

No he said he is giving us a new covenant. The operative word new.

That's not what I said anyway all I said was that Christ spoke from the old into the new.

Oh saint there is error in what you say, please let me explain.
John's gospel presents in the very beginning Jesus being with the father always. The Jews believe there is only one God.
Case in point the Jews believe there Messiah will come from man. Not having any deity but by a natural way. That God will take this man and empower him to take over the world. And make all nation's subject to Israel.
Furthermore they have torn Isaiah 53 out of their o.t. reading saying it does not exsist.
There blindness is a blessing from God or they would be guilty of blasphemy. As Jesus said "judge not least you be judged.
There blindness also is to full fill prophecy of the valley of bones to come alive.
You stand corrected in my veiwpoint. Jesus came first to his own but his own rejected him so the father of the great feast sent his son to the highways and biways to gather as many that would come to sit at the table and eat.
John the Baptist ( the voice in the wilderness) is imo a picture of Israel in the last days. Reading scripture carefully Jesus was once embraced by the Jews....for he taught in the temple and they marveled at his words. Saying truly this man came from God.
But when he taught about the suffering Messiah the rebuke started because of pride and jelousy for they would follow him and not the the temple ways.

My question would be, if the four gospels were enough, why Paul's thirteen letters? If we have all we need in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John then why would the Holy Spirit reveal more instructions to Paul to preach?

It's called progressive revelation. As human history proceeds through time, God has given to man exactly what man needed at that point in time. There was more truth for those who would live after the resurrection and after Israel's rejection of their Messiah. Most of what Paul was given is for the Church made up of mostly Gentile believers, as the eyes of Israel have been blinded.

More truth will be needed after the rapture of the Church in which Paul speaks of, hence, Hebrews, James, etc...

Why were there councils and conventions? They along with Paul's lettrs came after Christ.....so why

The truth is, we have all we need in the Old Testament if not blinded by the Law and the veil.

Hello, Bob!

I learned about this transition period a few months ago through a Christian site. I am a committed Christian since 1986 and our church leaders never ever talked about this subject. I didn't save the article, but I remember some key facts: Paul's conversion happened 3 or 4 years after the cross and the Council of Jerusalem took place some 18 years after the cross.

Now let's read Acts 15 (The Council of Jerusalem):

5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”

10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

Your opinion will be very much appreciated.

God bless you and your family.

So you are happy to keep your Christmas presents wrapped and unopened? You say "this is all I need", and keep them placed under the tree? (soo many analogies here).

OP I think it was a just a matter of order or priorities for Jesus to speak to his own people first. That doesnt mean He loves the gentiles any less. As it was prophesised that he would be a light to the gentiles too.
When Jesus was on earth he could only do so much in his flesh body in a limited amount of time. HE could only walk so far (but...he did commandeer a ship! ) . Even though Jesus could walk on water, he got Paul to go on those missionary journeys outside of Israel.

All we need in the OT? I wouldn't understand the pictures and shadows in the OT if it weren't for the NT. I wouldn't have a clue about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ without Paul's letters.

To you it's progressive, because you go from dark to light, in your time. But the Truth is, has been, and will always be absolute. One can grasp a truth given thousands of years ago, as one can also grasp a truth promised to occur. We just need eyes to see.

There was no more truth before or after the resurrection, only the ability to see 'the Truth'. The book of Hebrews list all those who knew the truth 'before' the coming of Messiah. They all foretold his Truth, through word and deed. Jesus came that this truth would be seen throughout the world, instead of only to his children. Thus making children out of all, who believe. As promised Abraham.

Yet, it was Israel who brought this Truth to light, and this Truth will be Israel's salvation and redemption. As from the dead.

Nothing against Christmas, but I do not celebrate it.