#19: The Four Gospels

What are the four gospels?

Four first accounts of Jesus' good deeds and news Where would you find the four gospels?

The New Testament How is the Book of John notably different from the other three books?

John often focuses on Jesus as God, whereas the other three books focus on Jesus as human. How might we account for differences in the books for the same event?

Look for some of the similarities and differences between these gospel accounts of Jesus' life and teachings. As you do so, the following principles may help you sort-out your observations:

Sometimes you will find a record of the same event or teaching, in two or more gospels.

At times, you will discover that these different accounts are essentially identical.
At other times, some accounts will include details that others omit. [Example: One account may record the specific number of people involved in some event, whereas another account may focus on only the main people involved.]
In some instances, different accounts may include completely different - but complementary - details about an event.

Each human author chose what details he would include, based on the needs of the people who would initially receive his letter. Because of this, one account may go into great detail, describing some specific event, whereas another may completely omit it.

Example: Was the book originally intended for Jews or non-Jews? [Matthew quoted a lot of Old Testament Scripture, because the Jews needed to see the connection between Jesus and the Old Testament prophecies.]

Each author's individuality would also influence his writing style, as well as the types of details he would tend to include.

Example: Luke was a doctor and would tend to pay attention to details others might omit.
Example: Matthew (also called Levi) was originally a tax collector, and might sometimes have a greater focus on numbers. In some instances, Matthew records the number of people involved in an event, whereas other accounts may just focus on the main individual - compare Matthew 20:30 and Mark 10:46.