Imagine an English teacher who is teaching a class on classic literature, for example Pride and Prejudice or one of Shakespeare’s plays.
* If she were teaching a classroom of high school students, she would emphasize the historical context, manners and customs of the day, the rules governing how men and women of courted, etc.* If her classroom was filled with English PhD students, she would assume they are familiar with the background and concentrate on the social commentary behind what the author wrote.* If she were leading a discussion in her neighborhood book club, she would talk about her favorite scenes or compare the differences between the book and the latest movie version.
In other words, a good teacher tailors her presentation to her audience.
In each case the story remains the same, but the presentation focuses on different aspects depending on the prior knowledge and background of the audience.
The same is true of the four New Testament gospels. Each gospel writer had a different audience in mind and tailored his presentation of the story to his audience.
My first pastor, Ray Stedman, taught me to remember the differences this way:
GospelEmphasisPrimary AudienceMemory KeyMatthewhis kingshipJewsBehold the KingMarkhis character as servantRomansBehold My ServantLukehis essential humanityGreeksBehold the Son of ManJohnhis deitybelieversBehold the Son of God
Since Matthew wrote his gospel primarily for the Jews, it is filled with references to and quotations from the Old Testament. Matthew emphasizes the aspects of Jesus’ ministry that fulfill the promises of the Davidic kingship and the sacrificial feasts -- with which the Jews were so familiar.
Mark wrote his gospel for the Roman world. His gospel emphasizes the humanity of Jesus, concentrating primarily on events and action and minimizing the teachings and sermons of Jesus. Mark's gospel, like Rome, is characterized by haste and action.
Luke wrote for the Greek philosophical mind. Luke emphasizes the wisdom of Jesus as a man, so he records Jesus' "table talk" discussions with his disciples, his discourses and his philosophy.
John wrote for believers, emphasizing the deity of Christ. In John we find the longest teachings of Christ, the hope of the Church, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Knowing these differences explains why some events are included in some gospels and omitted from others.
For instance, why do Matthew and Mark include the anguish in Gethsemane while John omits it? Struggling with God's will is a common human issue, and Luke — the author who most fully described Jesus’ humanity -- gives us the longest account of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane while John -- the author who most fully describes his deity -- omits it.
Matthew records the wise men offering gifts to the baby Jesus, while Luke records the shepherds' gifts. Both the wise men and the shepherds came. But Matthew, who gives us the most complete picture of Jesus' kingship, records the wise men who brought gifts fit for a king. On the other hand, common shepherds came to see the perfect man, and the humanity of Jesus was Luke's emphasis.
Matthew does not record the ascension of Christ, because as King, Jesus came to rule on the kingdom on earth. Neither does John record the ascension, because as the Son of God, it’s assumed that he moves between heaven and earth.
Why do Mark and John omit the genealogy of Jesus while both Matthew and Luke give his genealogy? Again, Matthew emphasizes kingship and kings require genealogies; we need to know their desc...
