Theology of the Four Gospels

 

            One of the greatest gifts given to humanity is free will and this can be argued back and forth for sure but that is not what this paper is about.  Free will in this context is every individual’s right to reason and develop their own scope of understanding.  This is often called having a perspective on a subject or situation and it is woven into our DNA from birth.  This is not to say that we cannot agree on a matter but rather the path we take to our agreement may be very different depending on our individual experience or understanding.  The Gospel story is no different and we are given four different perspectives on the same story.  The four Gospels share a commonality in the person of Jesus who is the Christ and while three of the four stories are titled synoptic each write their account through the lens of their own perspective.

            While the first three Gospel accounts are synoptic, meaning from a similar point of view and are similar in structure, they are by no means identical.  Like a snowflake no human is exactly alike either and this appears to be by design.  “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).  Should we venture to reason this passage out just a bit further we could ask ourselves if this is how it is with Christ could it then be how it is with Christ’s Gospel?  Unity and diversity the mystery and amazement of the Christian faith is at the foundation for gaining understanding into the Bible itself.

            With this understating in place we can begin to see that synoptic can only mean what it was intended to and that is similar but not the same.  “In a well-known beatitude, Jesus, according to Matthew, pronounces a blessing on ‘the poor in spirit’ (5:3); according to Luke, on the ‘poor’ (6:20)” (Carson & Moo, 2005, p. 107).  How do you mess up the Sermon on the Mount?  The world’s greatest sermon delivered by the Son of God and then misquoted by those He entrusted the story to?  This is one of the prime examples given in the Scriptures as to why proper context is vitally important and it is also a lesson in diversity merging with unity.

            Two Apostles writing about the same sermon in the same location clearly understood the meaning of the lesson independently.  To find a context to base this off of in the world today we need look no further that our political landscape.  Both political parties, Democrats and Republicans are citizens of the same country and pledge their allegiance to the same flag but have very different ideas on how to pursue that allegiance.  Luke was not a full Jew and this could lead him to think differently than the traditional Hebrew might with their strong emphasis on tradition.  Matthew was indeed a Hebrew and held strongly to the teaching of the past, namely the Law and Old Testament.

            This still leaves us with another Gospel, one that is not synoptic but squarely different from the others.  The common denominator remains the same but since it is different from the other accounts it also carries with it a different theological message as well.  While there are indeed overlapping stories in the Gospel according to John he also introduces a uniquely different perspective on Jesus, specifically on His divinity.  “Finally John reveals Jesus as the One sent by God the Father into the world to be its Saviour.  As the Son he has his Father’s authority, living in close communion with him” (Zondervan, 2009, p. 543).  While a traditional perspective was given by Matthew and a social reform mindset by Luke, John was affected greatly by the understanding that God was among them.

            If four individuals could write about and experience the same Jesus what does that mean for all of us today?  Can we make our own Jesus and then simply call it perspective?  Not at all and this is where unity through diversity becomes so important.  These men were not changing the Gospel story but each was affected by the Messiah differently and this is to be expected.  Just ask any group of individuals to describe who Jesus is and the value of perspective will come to the surface quickly.  One may say He was the most effective preacher of all time; others identify with Jesus as the Great Shepherd who never leaves the flock; some may mention the overturning of tables and making a whip from cords as Jesus being the revolutionary he truly was. 

            This leaves us with the question of which of these Jesus’ is the real Jesus?  Scripture can be used to defend any of these portraits of Christ mentioned above.  It is at this point we can appreciate the value of perspective and just how the Gospels today can help us all.  Another Apostle that carried yet another perspective was able to understand the Gospels in such a way that led him to want to

relate the Christ to anyone in any circumstance.  “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:22-23).  For the sake of the Gospel message Paul attempts to connect to others wherever they may be because he understands that while there is but One God there are so many of us and we are all affected uniquely by the love of God. 

            In the end the four messages recorded in the Bible as the Gospels give us a glimpse at the unity of God’s message of love to us and displays the diversity of mankind in accepting His love.  Today, many are turned away from the message of Jesus because they do not fit the mold of our perception of the Christ.  We have been warned about this as it began early on in the church: “What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul” (1 Corinthians 1:12-13)?  The four Gospels share a commonality in the person of Jesus who is the Christ and while three of the four stories are titled synoptic each write their account through the lens of their own perspective. 

References:

Carson, D. A., & Moo, D. J. (2005). An Introduction to the New Testament . Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan.

NIV Study Bible. (2011). Rapid Falls, MI: Zondervan.

Zondervan. (2009). Handbook to the Bible, 4th Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan.