And their purpose, key verse(s), themes, objectives, context.
And their purpose, key verse(s), themes, objectives, context.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the Four Christian Evangelists and the authors of the four Gospels in the New Testament. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are defined as the Synoptic Gospels, as they include many identical stories, sometimes even in the same progression. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are called evangelists, people who announce good news, as their books are to tell people the "good news" ("gospel") of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel According to Matthew is the first gospel book of the New Testament. It tells the story about how the Jesus was repulsed by Israel, after which he sent his disciples to sermonize his "good news" to all the people all over the world.
Purpose of the Gospel According to Matthew is to prove that Jesus Christ is the real materialization of the predictions concerning the Messiah, which were written in the Old Testament, and to show that he is the genuine Messiah. All of the Gospel texts include quotations from the Old Testament, however Matthew has some Old Testament proof-texts that are exclusive to his Gospel (Matt. 1:22-23; 2:15; 2:17-18; 2:23; 4:14-16; 8:17; 12:17-21; 13:35; 27:9-10).
Key verses and themes of the Gospel According to Matthew are:
Context of the Gospel According to Matthew:
Sources: Most modern scholars think that The Gospel According to Matthew includes 600 of 661 verses from The Gospel According to Mark, which is understood to be the main source. Another source (approximately 220 verses) is considered to be the"Quelle" (which means "source" in German).
Setting: The majority of scholars agree that the Gospel According to Matthew was written during the period when the of the First Jewish–Roman War took place, which resulted in destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.
Audience: The author of the Gospel According to Matthew wrote for a community of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians, who were located probably in Syria.
The Gospel According to Mark is the second book of the New Testament. It tells of the service of Jesus Christ from his baptism to the very death, burial and his empty tomb. The Gospel According to Mark pictures Jesus as a valiant man, who heals people and does miracles. This Gospel is viewed as a summary of The Gospel According to Matthew. The majority of scholars think that it is the earliest of the gospels.
Purpose of the Gospel According to Mark is to make a historical note for Peter of his encounter with Jesus Christ and to show people who would read it His actions – for them to believe and put their trust in Christ. People are to understand that unless His blood is applied to their life, they are going to the lake of fire. The Gospel According to Mark tells it in a simple way for everyone to understand. That is one of the main purposes this Gospel was written.
Key verses and themes of the Gospel According to Mark are:
Context of the Gospel According to Mark:
Sources: The most accepted hypothesis is that the Gospel According to Mark was the first gospel to be written and was used as a source by both Matthew and Luke, as well as some additional material.
Mark's gospel is understood by the scholars as the most reliable of the four Gospels as it has the description of Jesus's life and ministry.
Setting: Some scholars state that the Gospel According to Mark was written for an audience already Christian – its purpose was to strengthen the faith of those people who already believed, but not to convert unbelievers. Other scholars believe that the Gospel According to Mark might have been writing as a Galilean Christian against those Jewish Christians in Jerusalem who saw the historic event of that period and interpreted them as the beginning of the "end times".
Audience: Mark was written in Greek, for a gentile audience of Greek-speaking Christians.
The Gospel According to Luke is the third and second longest of the four canonical Gospels. It tells about the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.
Purpose of the Gospel According to Luke is debated. Some scholars think that Luke wanted to show Christianity being no threat to the Roman Empire. Other scholars believe that The Gospel According to Luke was created to reassure people that Jesus' second coming will certainly take place.
Key verses and themes of the Gospel According to Luke are:
Context of the Gospel According to Luke:
Sources: The author used the Gospel According to Mark, the sayings collection Q source, and a collection of material called the L (for Luke) source. The Gospel According to Mark and Q account for about 64% of the Gospel According to Luke.
Audience: Luke wrote to Theophilus, but there is no answer who Theophilus was. There are several theories trying to answer this question. Most scholars state that Theophilus was from nobility, or was a government official or just an influential citizen. A widely accepted theory is that Theophilus was Luke's patron and helped him to publish Luke-Acts.
The Gospel According to John is one of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament. It traditionally appears fourth, after the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John begins with the witness and affirmation of John the Baptist and finishes with the death, burial, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.
Purpose of the Gospel According to John is directly linked with Jesus' blessing upon those who have not seen and yet have believed. Purpose of the Gospel According to John is precisely to enable others to experience the blessedness that Jesus has just spoken of, which comes through faith. The purpose of this believing is to have life in his name.
The main theme in the Bible book of John is to prove conclusively that Jesus is the Son of God and that all who believe in Him will have eternal life.
The key verses of the book of John are:
John 1:14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 20:30-31Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Context of the Gospel According to John:
Sources: Some scholars argue that John's sources were a hypothetical "Signs Gospel" listing Christ's miracles, a revelation discourse, and a passion narrative. The most important source used by the evangelist was the Tanakh, probably in the Greek translation.
Audience: The Gospel of John was written primarily to new believers and seekers.
Reference
Burridge, R. A. (2004). What are the Gospels? A Comparison with Graeco-Roman Biography.
