Just BibleThe Gospel in 14 Days
Two weeks of short readings from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, chosen to tell the good news from beginning to end: the King who was promised, the kingdom He announced, the cross, the empty tomb, and the people He sends. Not the whole of the Gospels, but their heart.
- Day 1: Why the Gospels Were Written
John opens with the Word who was with God, and was God, and became flesh. At the end of his book he says why he wrote it: so that you may believe and have life. Read the plan with that purpose in view.
- Day 2: The Promised King Is Born
Two accounts of one birth. Matthew gives the name and what it means: Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. Luke gives shepherds, a manger, and an announcement of good news for all the people.
- Day 3: The Kingdom Has Come Near
Mark wastes no time. John the Baptist prepares the way, Jesus is baptized and tested, and His first words announce that the kingdom of God is near. Watch what the first disciples leave behind to follow Him.
- Day 4: Life in the Kingdom
The Sermon on the Mount describes the people of the kingdom: the poor in spirit, the merciful, the peacemakers. Then Jesus tells His followers not to worry, because the Father knows what they need. Notice who He calls blessed.
- Day 5: Authority Over All Things
Jesus forgives sins, and proves He can by healing a paralyzed man. He speaks to a storm, and it stops. Both stories end with the same question from the people watching: who is this?
- Day 6: You Must Be Born Again
A religious leader comes to Jesus at night, and Jesus tells him that entering the kingdom takes a new birth, not a better effort. The chapter holds the most famous verse in the Bible. Read the verses around it too.
- Day 7: Lost and Found
Three stories about lost things: a sheep, a coin, and a son. Jesus tells them to people who complained that He welcomes sinners. Watch how each story ends, and who is left standing outside at the end of the last one.
- Day 8: Who Do You Say I Am?
Halfway through, Jesus asks the question every reader has to answer. Peter gets the answer right and the meaning wrong: the Messiah will suffer. Watch how Jesus ties following Him to the cross, and then shows three disciples His glory.
- Day 9: The Shepherd and the Life
Jesus calls Himself the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. Then, at the tomb of His friend Lazarus, He says He is the resurrection and the life, and shows it. Notice that He weeps before He acts.
- Day 10: He Came to Serve
On the road to Jerusalem, Jesus says plainly what is coming, and His disciples argue about greatness. He answers that He came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. Then He goes looking for a tax collector in a tree.
- Day 11: The Last Supper
On His last night Jesus gives His friends bread and a cup and tells them what His death will mean: a new covenant, His body given for them. John adds that He washed their feet. Watch what He asks them to do in return.
- Day 12: The Cross
Mark tells the crucifixion plainly, without softening it. When Jesus dies, the temple curtain tears and a Roman soldier says what no one else has. Luke adds a dying thief who asks to be remembered, and is promised paradise that day.
- Day 13: He Is Risen
The tomb is empty, and the women are the first to hear why. Then two travelers walk seven miles with a stranger who explains from Moses and the Prophets that the Messiah had to suffer and enter His glory. Watch when they recognize Him.
- Day 14: Sent Into the World
The risen Jesus comes to His frightened disciples with peace, and to doubting Thomas with His wounds. Then He sends them to all nations with a promise: I am with you always. That is where the good news goes next, to whoever reads it.