Bible Studies

EXAMINING THE FOUR GOSPELS

The four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are biographies covering the period of the time of Christ's earthly ministry. Mathew and John were two of the original disciples of Jesus, who also became His apostles. Luke was an eyewitness and goes deeper into the life of Christ than the others. It is the viewpoint of many that Mark was not one of the earlier followers of Jesus and received most of his information from Peter. John the writer of his Gospel wrote three letters and the book of Revelation. He is the only known apostle to have escaped a martyrs' death.

We refer to the first three Gospels as "The Synoptic Gospels” because they all cover similar events, yet if you were to read them carefully you would find them all uniquely different. The Gospel of John is different as is his writing style.

Matthew begins by presenting a genealogy tracing Jesus' origin back to David and Abraham. This is important, as we have previously studied, it shows Him to be the true Messiah and that He fulfilled the promises made to Abraham and David. This genealogy traces through his earthly father Joseph. It is interesting that this record confirms Him as the rightful heir to the throne of David. Matthew presents him as a king coming into His kingdom.

Luke, after three chapters, introduces us to another genealogy unlike Matthew’s. His origin goes back to Adam and connects to the first promise about His being" Born of a woman." Interesting enough, the genealogy belongs to Mary and points to Jesus being a unique man not having an earthly father. His birth was free from the infection of sin. He is Jesus the perfect man, calling Himself often, "the Son of Man." What about the Virgin Mary? Do you think that she realized her part in that fulfillment?

Mark is different in his writing style. The other gospels contain more details about what they present. Mark hurriedly takes you through his gospel. I have found the Gospel of Mark to be a good review of what Matthew and Luke write. Most commentators interpret Mark as seeking to present Jesus as the perfect servant, highlighting Christ's works rather than His words. That evaluation is a fair one as we consider the purpose of all four. Mark presents Jesus as the perfect servant.

We now come to the Gospel of John. He begins his book with another genealogy with no human references. John presents Him as having his origins from Eternity and being equal to God. John presents Jesus as "the Son of God" and gives us a greater understanding of what that means in his gospel.

There are four symbols used several times in scripture that describe these four Gospels. The lion is the sign of kingship in Matthew: The Ox being a beast of burden symbolizing servanthood in Mark. Luke presents Jesus as "The Man", symbolizing God identifying himself with human needs and interests. John presents Him as God incarnate in Human flesh. The eagle with its strength and majesty symbolizes His Deity. Each of these beast-like characteristics describes a work of Christ's ministry.

Matthew-Lion King

Mark- Ox-Servant

Luke-man- human

John-Eagle- Deity

However, as helpful as these symbols are in helping us to understand the significance of each book, we must not treat them as a divinely inspired. The reason I say this is, there have been teachers and theologians in the past who have interpreted the symbols differently. Sometimes we fail to realize that some things come from human interpretation and we must use them cautiously. An illustration of this can be found among certain groups of Christians. They have devised a theory of how to best understand the Scripture, and they actually believe that if you do not adopt this theory you are in error.

All of us are different and are gifted differently. There are some things God reveals to us that others have never seen before, but at the same time we must realize because others do not have that understanding, they are not necessarily wrong or believing falsely. Truth requires that we grow in our understanding of God’s revelation. Although it is firm, it allows for growth and development.

The church at Berea in the book of Acts, we are told, received the word of God with all readiness of mind, and at the same time, they checked out those who taught them to make sure they were speaking the truth. They serve as an example to us of not believing everything that we are told, yet, having sufficient knowledge and understanding of God’s word, they could determine what is true and what is false.

 A WORD ABOUT MARK

As I was thinking about how to present this study, the Lord brought to my mind some wonderful things about Mark and the way that God had transformed his life and allowed him to be one of the gospel writers. Perhaps, maybe we might not find this information among the major commentators, it occurred to me how significant and important the study in the life of Mark should be.

When Paul began his first missionary journey, he was accompanied by a marvelous man named Barnabas. His name means, “son of consolation” and that truly was a description of his character. He had a great ministry of encouraging others, and perhaps that’s where the problem began. Barnabas had a nephew, whose name was John Mark. Paul allowed Mark, as we know him, to be part of his missionary team, but because of his lack of maturity, it caused Paul to be reluctant about having him along. Barnabas did not agree. He saw potential in Mark that Paul did not, and the rift began over John Mark’s presence. The result was, Paul chose Silas to replace Barnabas and Barnabas went on his way with Mark.

We didn’t hear much about Barnabas and Mark, and we don’t know for how long the separation lasted, but something did happen that was positive. Mark matured because of the influence of Barnabas.

Over time, Paul began to change his mind about Mark and wrote in one of the letters “to send Mark, for he is profitable to me for the ministry”. We cannot help but understand Barnabas’ part in helping Mark to grow. Maybe a good title for this incident would be called; “the man who changed Paul’s mind.”

Mark, unlike Matthew, Luke and John was not an eyewitness to Christ’s ministry as the others were. Mark, it is said, received most of his information from Peter and wrote the information about what he received, in a verbal form from Peter. The most amazing thing of all is how the Holy Spirit led Mark to write what he did without forgetting any of the major details that were given to him. His gospel contains most of the information given by Mathew and Luke. Thus, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it has become part of the gospel narratives.