Current Theme | August 2025
One Gospel, Four Witnesses
Matthew. Mark. Luke. John. These Gospels definitively answer the question: “Who is Jesus”? He is the authoritative teacher. The Suffering servant. The worldwide Savior. The divine Son. He is the fulfillment of God’s plan, and the “yes” to His promises. These four Gospels are some of the most fascinating and important books in Scripture. And yet, they are frequently misunderstood or neglected—both inside the church and outside. This month, we dive into the structure, message, theology, and glory of the four Gospels, while also confronting several distortions. Join us in unveiling the wonders of these four witnesses to the one gospel.
Table of Contents
Concise
July Intermission: From the Nicene Creed to the Four Gospels
By David Schrock • Concise Article • August 1
Join us in August as we turn from July's discussion on the Nicene Creed to beholding the four witnesses—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—to the one gospel of the Triune God.
Longform
The Reliability of the Gospels: Rock or Sand?
By Guy Waters • Longform Essay • August 4
Christianity hinges on history: if the Gospels are not trustworthy accounts of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, the faith collapses. But are they myth shaped by early belief, or historical testimony grounded in eyewitness experience and apostolic oversight? This question is not peripheral—it is foundational.
Podcast
4.35 Guy Waters • Reading • “The Reliability of the Gospels: Rock or Sand?”
By Guy Waters • Reading • August 4th
Christianity hinges on history: if the Gospels are not trustworthy accounts of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, the faith collapses. But are they myth shaped by early belief, or historical testimony grounded in eyewitness experience and apostolic oversight? This question is not peripheral—it is foundational.
Concise
Do Some People Really Believe that a Dead Man Came Back to Life?
By Nicholas Piotrowski • Concise Article • August 5
What really happened to Jesus of Nazareth? Is there any reasonable explanation for the Jesus phenomenon other than the resurrection? And if Jesus really did come back from the dead, what does that mean for us?
Concise
The Apocryphal Gospels and the Four Canonical Gospels: A World of Difference
By Andreas Köstenberger • Concise Article • August 6
The four canonical Gospels tower head and shoulders above any alleged rivals and are alone to be trusted as authoritative eyewitness sources of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Concise
A Brilliant Story—From The Surprising Genius of Jesus
By Peter J. Williams • Concise Article • August 7
Many rightly understand Jesus as prophet, priest, and king. But through a closer reading of the prodigal son parable in Luke 15, Peter Williams shows us that Jesus is also an incredible genius.
Concise
The Gospel According to Matthew: Kingdom & Temple through Sacrifice & Resurrection
By Nicholas Piotrowski • Concise Article • August 11
What is the Gospel according to Matthew all about? A royal Son of Abraham and David who builds a worldwide temple. Keep reading to find out what this means, and how this life-changing message arises from the three-fold structure of Matthew's Gospel.
Podcast
4.36 Guy Waters, Trent Hunter, & Stephen Wellum • Interview • “The Reliability of the Gospels: Rock or Sand?”
By Guy Waters, Trent Hunter, and Stephen Wellum • Interview • August 11th
Christianity hinges on history: if the Gospels are not trustworthy accounts of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, the faith collapses. But are they myth shaped by early belief, or historical testimony grounded in eyewitness experience and apostolic oversight? This question is not peripheral—it is foundational.
Concise
The Sheep, the Goats, and the Dividing Line of Father Abraham: Does Matthew 25:31–46 Teach Salvation by Works of Mercy?
By Laurens Pruis • Concise Article • August 13
Final judgment in Matthew 25:31–46 hinges not on works themselves, but on covenantal allegiance to Christ—the promised Seed of Abraham—where love and mercy toward his followers reveal genuine faith and secure the blessing of Abraham.
Concise
A Critical Review of John Mark Comer’s Practicing the Way
By Jonathon Woodyard • Concise Article • August 14
John Mark Comer's book Practicing the Way is a New York Times Bestseller, but does it faithfully teach on sin, repentance, and salvation?
Concise
Who Was “This Generation” in Matthew?
By Carson Griffin • Concise Article • August 15
Who is “this generation” in Matthew 24:34? Jesus targets his contemporaries, likening them to the flood and wilderness rebels, and so foreshadows final judgment—urging faith in and obedience to him as the only way of salvation.
Longform
Gospel Scholarship Pell-Mell: A Critical Review of Jordan Peterson’s The Gospels
By Nicholas Piotrowski • Longform Essay • August 18
This is what happens when the gospels are ripped out of their contexts, psychologized, and discussed by one of the most famous cultural commentators of the day.
Podcast
4.37 Nicholas Piotrowski • Reading • “Gospel Scholarship Pell-Mell: A Critical Review of Jordan Peterson’s The Gospels”
By Nicholas Piotrowski • Reading • August 19th
This is what happens when the gospels are ripped out of their contexts, psychologized, and discussed by one of the most famous cultural commentators of the day.
Concise
How Did We Get the Four Gospels?
By John Meade • Concise Article • August 20
Why did only four Gospels come to be recognized as authoritative, while others faded from use in the early church?
Concise
Mark 13 Is Not About Jesus’s Second Coming
By Trent Hunter • Concise Article • August 21
Sometimes Bible passages don't mean what we think they mean. So it is with the Olivet Discourse of Mark 13.
Concise
How to Teach a Parable of Jesus: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18)
By Jeremy Meeks • Concise Article • August 22
Jesus's parables can me challenging to interpret, and more challenging to preach. Jeremy Meeks sheds light on the practice of preaching the parables as he explains one of Jesus's most famous: the Pharisee and the tax collector.
Concise
Jesus, the Kingdom, and You: Six Interwoven Stories in Mark’s Gospel
By Peter G. Bolt • Concise Article • August 25
The Gospel of Mark is more than a text to be dissected. It is a narrative that draws us into itself and changes the course of our lives. Through six interwoven stories, Mark brings us to Jesus, the one who will ultimately change our story.
Podcast
4.38 Nicholas Piotrowski, David Schrock, and Stephen Wellum • Interview • “Gospel Scholarship Pell-Mell: A Critical Review of Jordan Peterson’s The Gospels”
By Nicholas Piotrowski, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Interview • August 25th
This is what happens when the gospels are ripped out of their contexts, psychologized, and discussed by one of the most famous cultural commentators of the day.
Concise
The Intersection of Two Worlds in the Healing of Peter’s Mother-in-Law (Mark 1:29–31)
By Peter G. Bolt • Concise Article • August 26
"Mark does not call his readers to imitate Jesus, but to see what he said and did. He never calls upon his readers to be like Jesus, but to like Jesus, so that we can understand what Jesus has done for us and be drawn towards putting faith in him."
Concise
The Gospel of Luke in Brief
By Doug Huffman • Concise Article • August 27
How are we to understand the Gospel of Luke? In this article, Dr. Doug Huffman offers an overview of the longest Gospel, showing how Jesus's triumphant victory over death calls us to proclaim
Concise
The Gospel of John: Development, Message, and Themes
By Ardel Caneday • Concise Article • August 28
What is the Gospel of John all about? Read on as Dr. Caneday unpacks the message of this fourth gospel: that Jesus, as God’s Son, has come into the world to reveal the Father and bring eternal life to everyone who believes the message he reveals.
Concise
Why We Need a “Both-And” Perspective for Reading the Gospels and Epistles
By Brian Vickers • Concise Article • August 29
Too often the Gospels and Epistles are pitted against each other. In truth, both reveal the same gospel and must be read together for faithful discipleship.
Upcoming
Foreword from Graeme Goldsworthy’s In These Last Days
By Steve Wellum • Concise Article
Redemptive Historical Approach
By Jason DeRouchie • Longform Essay
Review of Vanhoozer’s Mere Christian Hermeneutics
By Knox Brown • Concise Article
Biblical Theology of Hunting and Fishing
By Eddie LaRow • Concise Article
Recommended
The Best Resources from Around the Web
Book
by T.D. Alexander
Book
by Andreas Köstenberger
Book
by Peter J. Williams
Podcast
by David Schrock
Book
by Mark L. Strauss
Book
by T.D. Alexander
Article
by Ardel Caneday
Book
Concise
A Recommended List of Commentaries on Each of the Four Gospels
By Ardel B. Caneday • Concise Article • August 8