2.3 The Four Gospels:
Why Four?
- Why are there 4 gospel accounts of Jesus’ life? Wouldn’t one have been
enough?
- Skeptics of the Bible (people who think it isn’t true, or reliable) say this is a
problem
- However, scholars of the Bible say that it doesn’t constitute a problem, and
that it is in fact, good.
- Most people would agree that it is good to have multiple accounts of a
same event, because no one account can capture everything about that
event.
Matthew’s Gospel:
- Matthew’s gospel is the most complete record of Jesus’ life.
- He was a Jewish tax collector (the ultimate traitor for a Jew), who left
everything to become a disciple of Jesus
- His purpose is to demonstrate to his fellow Jews that Jesus was and is the
long-awaited Messiah.
- He begins by recording a long geneology (the only gospel account to do
this)
- Matthew wrote his gospel to a Jewish audience… he was trying to persuade
them that Jesus was their long awaited Messiah.
- Jews would have immediately recognized the significance of the names in
Jesus’ family tree (remember how important family/ethnicity was in the 1st
century?)
- Messiah had to come from David’s family line… Matthew shows that Jesus
came from here.
- Most importantly, he traces Jesus back to Abraham - the father of the
Jewish race… and shows that Jesus, by becoming Messiah “completes”
- In particular, Matthew does something that would have been completely
counter-cultural (which decreases the likelihood that he just made all of this
up) - he includes four women in his geneology!
- This would have been very embarassing, which is why it enhances the
argument that Matthew really believed what he witnessed
- Who were the women?
*READ Matthew 1:1-17 “The Geneology of Jesus”
1.Tamar (Genesis 38: 1-30)
- She was involved in what was known as a “Levirate marriage” - if your
husband died without an heir, the woman was obligated to marry his next
eldest brother
- She becomes pregnant by her father-in-law (Judah) after pretending to be a
prostitute
- Before she is about to be executed she demands her legal rights - quite
daring for a woman during this time period!
- A pretty sketchy story! Yet she is listed as one of Jesus’ ancestors - why?
2. Rahab (Joshua 2)
- She really was a prostitute!
- She protects two of Joshua’s spies
- She comes to believe that the God of the Israelites is real, and she believes
- She is also part of Jesus’ family tree
3. Ruth
- Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi both lose their husbands - they return to
Bethlehem (where Naomi has family)
- Ultimately Ruth marries Boaz (again, a Levirate marriage) and becomes the
grandmother of King David
4. The Wife of Uriah (Bathsheba - 2 Samuel
11:1-12:25)
- Matthew simply calls her the wife of Uriah (this perhaps shows how difficult
it was to include women, especially “tawdry” women)
- Bathsheba and David commit adultery after he sees her bathing - she
becomes pregnant and is now part of the family history of Jesus
Mark’s Gospel
- Mark’s gospel was the first formal written record of Jesus’ life and
teachings (likely early 50’s B.C., or about 20 years after Jesus’ ascension
into heaven)
- It was written primarily to Christians suffering under Roman persecution
- Because of this, the “cost” of discipleship and following Jesus is
emphasized (in other words, if you are going to call yourself “Christian”, you
will suffer persecution)
- Matthew and Luke, used Mark’s account to help them write their accounts of
Jesus’ life and mission
- Mark was a close friend and companion of the apostle Peter (an eyewitness
to Jesus)
- Mark was also a cousin of Barnabus (a companion of the apostle Paul)
- Critics of the Bible (that is, those who don’t think it’s an accurate portrait of
Jesus and Christianity) wonder why Mark left out certain thing - for example,
the Virgin Birth
- But it is important to remember that Mark likely wrote this at a time when he
may well have been at the risk of imminent death (so he wanted to get this
story out!) and focused on what he believed to be the most important points
- Plus, just because one account excludes one event, doesn’t mean the event
didn’t happen
Luke’s Gospel
- Luke was a medical doctor and close companion of both Peter and Paul
- He was well educated. Scholars acknowledge this because the words and
descriptions he uses in some of the oldest copies of the gospel show that
he had a larger vocabulary than most
- Luke was also a Gentile (non-Jew). He writes his narrative to Theophilus, in
order to give him an “orderly account” of the life of Jesus. Also, he tries to
demonstrate throughout the story that salvation in Jesus is not just for
Jews… but for Gentiles (like him) as well
John’s Gospel
- The gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke are commonly referred to
as the Synoptic Gospels because they are so similar in their content.
- John’s gospel is different, yet it never contradicts what is stated in the first
three. Rather, John chooses to, once again, emphasize different aspects of
Jesus’ life and ministry.
- The author is John, son of Zebedee, and one of the original apostles. It is
believed that the approximate date of authorship is around 90 A.D.
- John’s goal is to paint a portrait of Jesus by drawing from what he and
others witnessed and shaping those recollections in order to convey a
message
- That message is that readers need to believe Jesus Christ is the Christ, the
Son of God, and by believing have life in His name (John 20: 31)