This week, I finished one of my church training courses! It was about the Synoptic Gospels, that is, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These books have a lot in common, so they are grouped together. We may see them as biographies of Jesus Christ, though they actually provide little detail about his early life. Mostly, they capture the three years of Jesus’ ministry.
The course was not a super deep dive, but it helped me to see the bird’s-eye view. As I read my Bible alongside the course, it was cool to envision the authors’ word choices and what they included or left out. Of course, they were divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, who is the main Author.
As an author myself, I also felt this way when I was scribing the Gospel of John. It is fascinating to understand the overall purpose, the grouping of texts, and why things aren’t always chronological. It is even more amazing that, despite their differences, each of the four Gospels contributes to our understanding of Jesus. In fact, if they all ‘matched’ in details, that would signify possible collaboration and lead to speculation.
I’ve heard the parallel that if you and I were at the scene of a car crash, we could each give our report to the police. However, I might focus on who ran the red light, and you might focus on how many passengers in each car were hurt. We’d have different perspectives, but we’d have a more complete story.
Matthew, an eyewitness and disciple of Jesus, writes for a Jewish audience to show Jesus is the Messiah and King. It opens with the genealogy of Jesus, a perfect bridge between the Old and New Testaments, as lineage remains an important concept for Jewish people today. Matthew groups teaching topics together, such as the Sermon on the Mount in Chapters 5-7. Also, he writes of the Kingdom of Heaven because the Jews do not like to say God’s Name, out of respect.
Mark is next in our Bibles. He likely captured Peter’s account before Peter was martyred in Rome. Mark’s Gospel is full of action and urgency, with every other paragraph starting with ‘at once, or immediately, or after that.’ The Romans loved action, and Mark focused more on what Jesus did rather than what He said. Jesus is shown to be the Suffering Servant.
Luke’s perspective is broader, and we find the most information about Jesus’ childhood. Luke, a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul, wrote for the Greeks, and he uses classical Greek methods to portray Jesus as the Son of God. Luke talks more about the body and medical conditions because the Greeks were focused on these things. (Think about Hippocrates, the “Father of Modern Medicine,” or the physicality of Greek sculptures.) Luke shows that Jesus is for everyone.
Mark’s Gospel was likely written first, and Matthew and Luke then drew on Mark’s content and added their own material. Mark was written around 58-65 AD, while the other two were written around 60-69 AD. The Apostle John wrote his gospel, much later, likely in the 90s AD, along with Revelation. His perspective was to show the signs of Jesus being God, Messiah, and Savior. I love that he took a different strategy altogether.
I also learned more about Jesus’ parables and miracles. He did more than what is recorded, but what we have in the Gospels is sufficient for our faith. (John 20:30-31). Parables were used to hide the truth from those who opposed Jesus and to reveal it to those who cared enough to seek it. They are simple stories to show Kingdom principles. Miracles are unusual events that would not normally occur without an outside force or power. In the Bible, Jesus’ miracles demonstrated His power over Nature and illness.
Overall, this was a great course. The more I read and learn about the Bible, the more I am amazed. My favorite part was piecing together the chronology of Jesus’ life and ministry. It helped me understand the story better and avoid getting lost in the middle. I am looking forward to the next course on Acts!
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Heavenly Father, thanks for Your Word and Truth. Teach us Your ways and help us to walk in Your love and grace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Questions: Which is your favorite of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John?
Tasks: For a cool chronological way to read the gospels, check out PlusNothing.org. For a great book on understanding Jesus’ parables, check out this book by John MacArthur. Read this article about the reliability of the New Testament compared to other ancient texts. The Bible wins, hands down!
