The Way, the Truth, the Life/Life of Jesus

WHY FOUR GOSPELS

You may have wondered why God inspired four accounts of Jesus' life and teachings. 

There are benefits to having these separate accounts of what Jesus said and did.  To illustrate, imagine that four men are standing near a famous teacher.  The many standing in front of the teacher has a tax office.  The one on the right is a physician.  The man listening from the left side is a fisherman and is the teacher's very close friend. And the fourth man, located at the back, is an observer who is younger  than the others. All four are honest men, and each has a distinct interest or focus. If each writes an account of  the teacher's sayings and activities, the four records would likely feature different details or events.  By considering all four accounts, bearing in mind the varying perspectives or objectives, we would get a complete picture of what the teacher said and did.  This illustrates how we can benefit from having four separate accounts of the life of the Great Teacher, Jesus.

Continuing the illustration, the tax man wants to appeal to people of a Jewish background, so he groups some teachings or events in  a way to help that primary audience.  The physician highlights the healing of sick or the  crippled, so he omits some things that the tax man recorded or presents them in a different order.  The close friend emphasizes the teachers feelings an qualities. The younger man's account is briefer, more succinct.  Still, each man's account is accurate. This well illustrates how having all four accounts of Jesus' life enriches our understanding of his activities, teachings, and personality.

People may speak of 'the Gospel  of Matthew' or 'John's Gospel.'  That is  not inaccurate, for each contains  "good news about Jesus Christ."  (Mark 1:1) However, in a larger sense, there is but one overall gospel, or good news, about Jesus-available to us in the four records. 

Many students of God's Word have compared and harmonized the events and facts found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. About 170 C.E., the Syrian writer Tatian endeavored to do so. He recognized these four accounts as accurate and inspired, and he compiled the Diatessaron, a harmonized account of Jesus' life and ministry.

Jesus-The Way, the Truth, the Life does similarly, but it is more accurate and complete. That is possible because we now better understand the fulfillment of many of Jesus' prophecies and  illustrations.  This understanding clarifies the things he said and did, as well as the order in which events occurred. Archaeological discoveries have also shed light on certain details and on the writer's perspectives.  Of course, not one can be dogmatic about the sequence of every event.  But Jesus-the Way, the Truth, the Life presents what is reasonable and logical. 

Next time: The Way, the Truth, the Life/Life of Jesus 

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