The New Testament begins with four books, called the gospels. The gospels tell the story of Jesus’ life. They do not contain everything that Jesus did or said for John said that the world could not contain everything that could be written about Jesus (John 20:30-31; 21:25). They do tell us enough to teach us about Jesus, develop our faith, and learn how to live.
The book of Matthew, written by the apostle of the same name, seems to be written primarily to the Jewish people—God’s people of the Old Testament. He listed the names in the family of Jesus that showed he was related to King David, as the prophets said he would be 2 Samuel 7 (see Acts 2:29-30). He also shows how Jesus was the one that the Old Testament prophets said would deliver people from their sins and be a king over His kingdom (This promised king is called the Messiah).
It seems that wrote to people who were not Jewish. Since the gospel would be preached to the Jews and the other nations (the Gentiles), they needed to know about Jesus. Mark was not an apostle but a preacher who worked closely with Paul and Barnabas. The gospel of Mark contains only 25 verses that are not also found in Matthew and Luke. Though some believe that Matthew and Luke copied from Mark, we must remember that the Holy Spirit was responsible for all of the gospels, 2 Peter 1:21.
The book of Luke is actually a letter written to a man named Theophilus (sounds like the-ahh-phil-us). Luke sent another letter, the book of Acts, to tell Theophilus what happened after Jesus went back to heaven. Luke was the doctor who traveled with Paul on His preaching journeys.
The book of Luke is the only gospel that claims to tell the events of Jesus’ life in the order that they happened. The other gospels sometimes put stories that were alike together. Luke wrote his gospel from the stories of those who knew Jesus (Luke 1:1-4).
The book of John, was written by the apostle to prove that Jesus is the Son of God, John 20:30-31. John’s gospel does not contain any parables and often tell things that the other gospels do not. Throughout his book, John reminded his readers that God proved, through miracles, the Old Testament prophesies, and God’s voice from heaven, that Jesus is the Son of God.
Facts about the Gospels
