Matthew 3:1-12, Mark 1:1-8, Luke 3:1-20, John 1:19-34 

The gospels of John and Mark are very different gospels. Mark is considered a synoptic gospel, whereas John is not. Synoptic simply means a summary - a quick, (as Mark is the shortest gospel)  summary of the life of Jesus. John is not synoptic, but focuses more on individual stories of transformation as a result of meeting Jesus. 

Though they differ in many ways, what is interesting about them both is the way they establish the deity of Jesus in the first chapter, both quoting John the Baptist's prophecy. As modern-day readers, we don’t give this much credit. We have some sense that it's important, but we don’t know why. 

Fulfilled prophecy points to the God who spoke in Isaiah and fulfilled His Word in the gospel accounts written about 800 years after Isaiah. It’s not just the witness of Peter (from whom Mark gets his information for his gospel) and John of Jesus’s life, but the gospel witnesses to our God at work. Jesus wasn’t a surprise to Israel in the first century, but was foretold long before, and the prophecy established Jesus’ deity through the fulfillment seen in John the Baptist’s life. 

Matthew and Luke do a similar thing through the lineage of Jesus, pointing to the promise of David’s heir establishing a kingdom.

Jesus is God - and its the story of God in the flesh we are studying this Lent. 

“but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Hebrews 1:2-4).