Today’s question is, "Why did God give us four Gospels?"
In this video I’ll answer that question from a biblical perspective.
Afterwards, as always, I’ll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end.
Here are three reasons why God gave four Gospels instead of just one:
1) To give a more complete picture of Christ.
While the entire Bible is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16), He used human authors with
different backgrounds and personalities to accomplish His purposes through their writing.
Each of the gospel authors had a distinct purpose behind his gospel and in carrying
out those purposes, each emphasized different aspects of the person and ministry of Jesus
Christ.
Matthew was writing to a Hebrew audience, and one of his purposes was to show from Jesus'
genealogy and fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies that He was the long-expected Messiah,
and thus should be believed in.
Matthew's emphasis is that Jesus is the promised King, the “Son of David,” who would forever
sit upon the throne of Israel (Matthew 9:27).
Mark, a cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10), was an eyewitness to the events in the life
of Christ as well as being a friend of the apostle Peter.
Mark wrote for a Gentile audience, as is brought out by his not including things important
to Jewish readers (such as, genealogies, Christ's controversies with Jewish leaders of His day,
frequent references to the Old Testament, etc.).
Mark emphasizes Christ as the suffering Servant, the One who came not to be served, but to
serve and give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
Luke, the “beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14), evangelist, and companion of the apostle
Paul, wrote both the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the apostles.
Luke is the only Gentile author of the New Testament.
He has long been accepted as a diligent master historian by those who have used his writings
in genealogical and historical studies.
As a historian, he states that it is his intent to write down an orderly account of the life
of Christ based on the reports of those who were eyewitnesses (Luke 1:1-4).
Because he specifically wrote for the benefit of Theophilus, apparently a Gentile of some
stature, his gospel was composed with a Gentile audience in mind, and his intent is to show
that a Christian's faith is based upon historically reliable and verifiable events.
Luke often refers to Christ as the “Son of Man,” emphasizing His humanity, and he
shares many details that are not found in the other gospel accounts.
The gospel of John, written by John the apostle, is distinct from the other three Gospels and
contains much theological content in regard to the person of Christ and the meaning of
faith.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the “Synoptic Gospels” because of their
similar styles and content and because they give a synopsis of the life of Christ.
The gospel of John begins not with Jesus' birth or earthly ministry but with the activity
and characteristics of the Son of God before He became man (John 1:14).
The gospel of John emphasizes the deity of Christ, as is seen in his use of such phrases
as “the Word was God” (John 1:1), “the Savior of the World” (John 4:42), the “Son
of God” (used repeatedly), and “Lord and...God” (John 20:28).
In John's gospel, Jesus also affirms His deity with several “I Am” statements; most notable
among them is John 8:58, in which He states that “...before Abraham was, I Am” (compare
to Exodus 3:13-14).
But John also emphasizes the fact of Jesus' humanity, desiring to show the error of a
religious sect of his day, the Gnostics, who did not believe in Christ’s humanity.
John's gospel spells out his overall purpose for writing: “Jesus 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” (John 20:30-31).
Thus, in having four distinct and yet equally accurate accounts of Christ, different aspects
of His person and ministry are revealed.
Each account becomes like a different-colored thread in a tapestry woven together to form
a more complete picture of this One who is beyond description.
And while we will never fully understand everything about Jesus Christ (John 20:30), through the
four Gospels we can know enough of Him to appreciate who He is and what He has done
for us so that we may have life through faith in Him.
2) To enable us to objectively verify the truthfulness of their accounts.
The Bible, from earliest times, states that judgment in a court of law was not to be made
against a person based on the testimony of a single eyewitness but that two or three
as a minimum number were required (Deuteronomy 19:15).
Even so, having different accounts of the person and earthly ministry of Jesus Christ
enables us to assess the accuracy of the information we have concerning Him.
Simon Greenleaf, a well-known and accepted authority on what constitutes reliable evidence
in a court of law, examined the four Gospels from a legal perspective.
He noted that the type of eyewitness accounts given in the four Gospels—accounts which
agree, but with each writer choosing to omit or add details different from the others—is
typical of reliable, independent sources that would be accepted in a court of law as strong
evidence.
Had the Gospels contained exactly the same information with the same details written
from the same perspective, it would indicate collusion, that is, of there having been a
time when the writers got together beforehand to “get their stories straight” in order
to make their writings seem credible.
The differences between the Gospels, even the apparent contradictions of details upon
first examination, speak to the independent nature of the writings.
Thus, the independent nature of the four Gospel accounts, agreeing in their information but
differing in perspective, amount of detail, and which events were recorded, indicate that
the record that we have of Christ's life and ministry as presented in the Gospels is factual
and reliable.
AND 3) To reward those who are diligent seekers.
Much can be gained by an individual study of each of the Gospels.
But still more can be gained by comparing and contrasting the different accounts of
specific events of Jesus' ministry.
For instance, in Matthew 14 we are given the account of the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus
walking on the water.
In Matthew 14:22 we are told that “Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go
on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.”
One may ask, why did He do this?
There is no apparent reason given in Matthew's account.
But when we combine it with the account in Mark 6, we see that the disciples had come
back from casting out demons and healing people through the authority He had given them when
He sent them out two-by-two.
But they returned with “big heads,” forgetting their place and ready now to instruct Him
(Matthew 14:15).
So, in sending them off in the evening to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee,
Jesus reveals two things to them.
As they struggle against the wind and waves in their own self-reliance until the early
hours of the morning (Mark 6:48-50), they begin to see that 1) they can achieve nothing
for God in their own ability and 2) nothing is impossible if they call upon Him and live
in dependence upon His power.
There are many passages containing similar “jewels” to be found by the diligent student
of the Word of God who takes the time to compare Scripture with Scripture.
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