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I sent a note to my first-year students as they are turning the corner into reading three of the Gospels this term. Got myself excited about it. Here's what I said:
Most Christians probably can't tell the 4 Gospels apart from each other, because they've never studied them individually. It's fair to say we tend to treat the first half of the New Testament as "the section with all the Jesus stories in it," but can't be more specific than that.
And that's okay for most purposes of discipleship: you can truly know Jesus without knowing the Gospels apart. But what the Holy Spirit inspired is not a bag of stories: He inspired Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Notice our opportunity this week: Jesus's story rests in the Bible in particular ways (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, exquisitely designed), but probably rests in your mental inventory otherwise (Jesus stories & sayings from the first half of the New Testament, loosely structured).
As we read & discuss Mark, God is inviting you to adjust the story of Jesus in your mind so that it matches the story of Jesus in his word. Friends, this is a call to cognitive discipleship: Follow along after him in the exact steps he takes.
