In our last teaching, we laid a critical foundation for this series: Our God reigns! Keeping this truth at the forefront of your mind will help you make perfect sense of everything we are going to learn as we move forward.
Now, let’s start stepping into more familiar territory. If you have ever listened to an audio Bible, you are probably used to hearing the phrase, “The Gospel according to…” right before the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These four books are collectively called the Gospels in the New Testament. They explain exactly how God reigns by sending His Christ through detailed eyewitness accounts of the birth, life, ministry, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Synoptics vs. John
When you pick up your Bible for the first time and read Matthew, everything feels brand new. Then you read Mark, and you think, “I feel like I’ve read this before.” By the time you get to Luke, you are absolutely certain you have read it before!
Only John’s style is completely different from the first three. The synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, focus heavily on how Jesus physically brought down the Kingdom of God everywhere He went. They share a similar blueprint and can be “seen together.” John, on the other hand, focuses directly on the divinity of Christ.
A question that naturally comes up is: Why do we have four different books talking about the exact same person? These books were written by different authors to completely different target audiences. The very fact that we have multiple independent accounts talking about Jesus actually proves the authenticity of His life and ministry.
A Summary of Each Gospel Account
1. Matthew
- Author: Matthew (Levi), an Apostle of Jesus.
- Target Audience: Jewish Christians.
- Core Theme: This account shows that Jesus is the promised Messiah from the royal line of King David and the promised seed of Abraham. Matthew intentionally connects Jesus to the highly respected figure of Moses. We see striking parallels here, such as Moses escaping drowning from Pharaoh linked directly to baby Jesus escaping the decree of murder from King Herod. By citing numerous Old Testament prophecies, the author lets his Jewish audience know that Jesus is the anointed King they have been waiting for.
2. Mark
- Author: John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas and a missionary companion to the Apostle Paul.
- Target Audience: Gentiles (specifically Roman Christians).
- Core Theme: This book focuses heavily on the power, authority, and ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. As the shortest of all the accounts, it moves at a very fast pace and completely omits a birth narrative to jump straight into Jesus’ active service.
3. Luke
- Author: Luke, a physician, the author of the Book of Acts, and a close traveling companion of Paul.
- Target Audience: Gentiles (specifically Greek cultural minds).
- Core Theme: The focus here is to show that Jesus is the Savior of all mankind. Unlike Matthew, who stops his genealogy at Abraham, Luke traces Jesus’ lineage all the way back to Adam. This specific tracking proves He is the Savior of the entire world, not just the Jews. This Gospel also provides the most detailed historical timeline.
4. John
- Author: John, the beloved Apostle of Christ.
- Target Audience: The whole world.
- Core Theme: Opening the exact same way the Book of Genesis begins, this book shows that Jesus is the divine Word made flesh. The narrative is completely unique because it purposefully omits most of the repetitions found in the synoptics. Instead, it contains exclusive accounts, such as turning water into wine, the woman at the well, the resurrection of Lazarus, and deep theological discourses.
As John 1:1-5 beautifully declares:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1-5, NKJV)
Reflection
This God reigns!!! And in upcoming lessons, we will look closely at how our God came down to earth to redeem a lost world.
Remember our chant from Lesson 1? “Our God reigns!” I pray that the Lord reigns supremely over our hearts and opens up our spiritual understanding completely, in Jesus’ name. 🙏🏾
Till next time. ❤️
Beautiful 👏
Thank you!