The main source of our information about Jesus Christ is found in the New Testament through the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. However, these four Gospel accounts should not be considered as a complete story of Jesus’ life and work. For example, John explicitly states that his account does not include everything Jesus did (John 21:25).
Instead, each of the four writers had a specific audience and purpose in mind. To this end, each of them selected and arranged the historical data from Jesus’ life in a manner best suited to their chosen purpose. Comprehensive historical coverage of specific events was of secondary importance. However, this does not negate the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit in shaping and guiding the Gospel writers through divine inspiration.
Since the Gospels function more as divinely inspired narrative portraits, any “harmonization” of the four accounts is left to the Bible student. Weaving the Gospels together is possible, but they should not be viewed as a comprehensive biography in the modern sense. Instead, these narratives follow the common ancient method of highlighting key events and themes. Each account provides a different perspective on the same life.
Matthew: Christ is the Son of David and the legal heir to the Messianic throne. Here, we see the royal genealogy of Christ, the visit of the Magi from the East to announce His kingly birth, and the proclamation of His laws in the Sermon on the Mount.
Mark: Here, we find Jesus as the Servant of God. Although Jesus came to earth as God, He completely submitted to the Father’s will in heaven and took on the form of a servant. Anything outside of this theme is omitted, which is why the narrative has no mention of Jesus’ birth or youth.
Luke: For Luke, Jesus is the Son of Man—fully human, but unlike any other human in His complete submission to God’s will. Therefore, Luke traces the genealogy back to Adam (the first man).
John: John presents Jesus as the Son of God—fully divine. Jesus is not only flesh and blood but also the Creator of everything from the beginning (John 1). Jesus reveals His nature as the “I AM,” the title God gave as His own.
In many cases, claims of “contradictions” between the Gospels overlook the different purposes of the four writers. Understanding the focus helps us grasp what each writer sought to emphasize about the character of Christ. No single account can provide a complete picture.
Read more : What is the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem?
فرست محتوا
Were the Four Gospels Written for Four Different Audiences?
The Gospels document Christ’s ministry to four groups of people both in His time and now across the world. Jews, who loved the Scriptures and God’s prophecies, would only listen to one of their own. Therefore, Matthew speaks to Jews and deeply religious people today.
Mark spoke to the Romans. These were leaders whose leadership and actions had an impact. They knew nothing about the Scriptures but everything about power. Therefore, this group receives a Gospel full of action from Christ’s powerful ministry. Mark uses the word “and” 1,375 times to link the endless actions of Christ. Like our modern-day successful merchants and women, they want a God who can powerfully meet their deep needs.
Luke was a Greek speaking to Greeks. Greeks loved culture, beauty, and ideas. Happiness could be found in the pursuit of truth. Luke fills his book with insights, interviews, songs, and details that captivate the curious mind. Therefore, today’s truth seekers find Jesus in Luke!
John wrote for everyone, as everyone needs to meet God, and only Jesus can reveal Him. In this book, we encounter an all-powerful God in human form who controls and rules the world He created. Therefore, the most famous verse offers the best promise of all: God loves everyone and offers everyone—His Son as their only hope!
Are the Four Gospels Reliable?
Compared to other surviving manuscripts of any other ancient Greek or Latin literary work, the New Testament (or the Gospels) suffers from an abundance of resources. The difference is almost incomprehensible.
In terms of the number of copies, the New Testament has no rival. More than 5,700 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament still exist, covering a span from the early second century to the sixteenth century. Of course, the oldest copies (i.e., up to the third century) are all fragmentary, but they cover a significant portion of the New Testament. And the Greek manuscripts don’t tell the whole story. The New Testament was translated into various languages early on, including Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, Gothic, and Arabic. In total, there are between 20,000 and 25,000 handwritten manuscripts of the New Testament in different languages.
However, even if all these manuscripts were destroyed, the text of the New Testament could be almost completely reconstructed from quotations found in the sermons, letters, and commentaries written by the early church teachers (known as the Church Fathers or Patristic writers). To date, over a million quotations from the New Testament by the Church Fathers have been cataloged.
How does this compare with a typical classical author? The number of copies of the writings of an ancient Greek or Latin author averages fewer than 20 manuscripts! Thus, the New Testament has more than 1,000 times more manuscript copies than the works of a typical classical author.
When it comes to the time gap between the oldest New Testament manuscripts and the original writings, New Testament textual critics again benefit from a wealth of sources. Ten to fifteen New Testament manuscripts were written within the first 100 years after the New Testament was completed. Of course, they are all fragmentary, but some of them are relatively substantial pieces that cover large portions of the Gospels or Paul’s letters. Within two centuries, the number of manuscripts rises to at least four dozen. Of the manuscripts produced before 400 AD, an astonishing 99 manuscripts still exist—including the oldest complete New Testament, the Codex Sinaiticus.
Thus, the gap between the original writings and the earliest manuscripts is relatively small. In comparison, a typical classical author has no copies for over half a millennium.
How Do We Know the Gospels Show Us the Real Jesus?
Whether in the realm of news, entertainment, or even history, many people are convinced that the real truth of a particular subject is always hidden. When it comes to understanding who Jesus really was, some people are convinced that we cannot trust the four Gospel accounts in the Bible. In recent years, the discovery of several “Gospels” not found in the Bible has led some to believe that we must look outside the Bible to know the real Jesus. So how do we know that the four Gospels in the Bible show us the real Jesus?
If we want to know the real Jesus, we must start with those who knew Him well. Each of the four Gospels in the Bible was either written by an apostle or in close collaboration with one. Matthew and John were both members of the twelve original apostles and were eyewitnesses to all that Jesus did and said.
As a tax collector, Matthew was accustomed to keeping precise records, so it may even be assumed that he began recording various sayings and events from Jesus’ life during His earthly ministry. John was the “beloved disciple” who faithfully recorded his testimony so that people would believe that Jesus is truly the Christ (John 20:31).
According to our earliest evidence, Mark wrote his Gospel under the supervision of the Apostle Peter to record the core content of Peter’s preaching about Jesus. Luke, who was the traveling companion of the Apostle Paul, begins his Gospel account by emphasizing the background research behind his narrative (Luke 1:1-4). Each Gospel writer provides clear evidence of using eyewitness testimony to construct their accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry.
From the earliest days of the church, these four Gospel accounts were recognized by Jesus’ followers as the truth about who Jesus was, what He did, and why it mattered. Papias, writing in the early second century, detailed the origins of the four canonical Gospels, emphasizing their value as eyewitness accounts. About 30 to 40 years later, Justin Martyr consistently referred to the four biblical Gospels as the “memoirs of the apostles.” By the late second century, Irenaeus argued decisively for the authenticity of the fourfold Gospel, indicating that this position had long been held by the church.
Therefore, while some in the early church were aware of other Gospels, the fact that they did not stem from eyewitness testimony meant they could not be trusted to provide reliable information about the real Jesus. Those who knew Jesus best ensured that their eyewitness testimony was recorded in the four Gospels and passed down by the earliest followers of Jesus. If you want to know the real Jesus, you should turn to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
