The father might tell you the make and model of the two cars

Transcription

1 1 Tom Coop John 1:1-5, 14 August 9, 2015 Why Do the Gospel Accounts Differ From One Another? Everybody knows that the first four books of the New Testament are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And that they all, in one way or another, tell the story of Jesus life. But, do you ever wonder why we have four accounts instead of just one? And why since we do have four, are they in some situations, so different, even contradicting one another? Well, I think the first thing you need to understand is that the gospels are not biographies in the modern sense of the word. Rather, they are stories told in such a way as to evoke a certain image of Jesus for a particular audience. They're trying to convey a message about Jesus, about his significance to their listeners. That's what the gospel, The Good News, is really all about. So, we could say that we have different gospels because although each gospel tells the same basic story, they are written from four different viewpoints to four different audiences. Let me try and illustrate this idea. Suppose a young family is standing on a street corner and witnesses an automobile accident. involved. The father might tell you the make and model of the two cars The mother might tell you the color of the cars involved and the number of occupants. I know I m stereotyping here sorry!

2 2 Their little boy witnessing the same accident might not care about the make or model of the cars, but he might be able to tell you about the puppy dog who was almost hit. While his little sister would only tell you about the baby doll that got thrown out of the first car at the time of impact. Now, who told the truth? They all told the truth, but from different viewpoints. The gospel writers all tell us the same basic story about the life of Christ. However, while one writer might choose to emphasize the parables of Jesus, another writer might skip over the parables and dwell on his nature and character. Putting all four gospel accounts together actually gives us a fuller and richer portrait of the life and work of Jesus the Messiah. Of the four gospels, Mark is considered to have been written first around the late 60 s. Matthew is next - written somewhere in the 70 s. Luke is a little later still, being written sometime in the 80 s or so. And, John's gospel is the latest, usually dated around 95, although it may have been completed slightly later than that, as well. The first three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are usually referred to as the "synoptic gospels."

3 3 Synoptic means taking a common view and these first three gospels are similar in that they have similar content and each tell the story in a similar way. It is well accepted by biblical scholars that Matthew and Luke had a copy of Mark s gospel to refer to when they wrote theirs. Did you know that 97% of Mark is included in either Matthew and/or Luke? And while only about a fifth of the Gospel of Matthew and a third of the Gospel of Luke are unique in and of themselves, over 90% of the gospel of John is not found in any other gospel. There are also certainly things that are common to all four Gospels: All four gospels speak of the ministry of John the Baptist. All four gospels speak of the baptism of Jesus, the feeding of the 5000, and of Peter's denial of the Lord. All four gospels speak of the arrest and trials of Jesus and the crucifixion of Jesus. And all four gospels speak of the resurrection of Jesus. There are also certain things that are different and unique to each of the Gospels: Only Matthew tells of Joseph and Mary's flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:12-23). Only Luke tells the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).

4 4 And only John tells of the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-45). Then there are interesting differences or points of emphasis between the synoptic gospels and the gospel of John. For example in the synoptics Jesus humanity is emphasized and in John Jesus deity is emphasized. We read of exorcisms in the synoptics, but none in John. There are no parables recorded in John nor do we read about Jesus dealings with the scribes (the Jewish teachers). You won t find the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount in John nor the transfiguration. And it seems that the basis of personal salvation in the synoptics is good works, helping the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, and the needy. But in John it is solely belief in Jesus as the Son of God. When Jesus was crucified, if you remember, there was a sign placed above his head proclaiming, This is Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. That statement was written in three languages Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. These languages represented the three dominate cultures of the Mediterranean world when the New Testament was produced. I think it is significant that there is a Gospel record designed for each of these societal elements, if you will.

5 5 Matthew was directed to the Hebrews and some think was originally written in Hebrew. Mark was written for the Romans and although not written in Latin, Mark certainly was aware and possibly conversant in the language of Rome. Luke was designed to address the Greeks and was most certainly written in Greek. And John s narrative, being cosmopolitan in its thrust, was most likely also written in Greek the most widely accepted language at the time. I ll be you didn t know that, did you! Now let me talk a bit about each particular gospel. Let s start with Matthew. Matthew had been a tax collector before he was called to follow Jesus. And so, as you might imagine, there are more references to money in this account than in the other three Gospel records. Matthew s Gospel, placed first in the New Testament, is kind of like a bridge from the Old to the New. And so, Matthew quotes from the Old Testament more frequently than any other New Testament writer. Matthew has fifty direct quotations from the Old Testament and seventy-five allusions to Old Testament events.

6 6 The purpose of these numerous quotations, of course, is to that prove that Jesus is the Messiah primarily because Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah. Matthew also offers repeated evidence to prove that Jesus is the King of Israel who was to come from the line of David. Which, of course, was only important to the Jews. The most sacred part of the Hebrew Bible was the Torah, the five books containing the Law of Moses. Matthew likewise concentrates most of Jesus teaching in five long discourses as the new covenant counterpart to Mosaic Law. Further evidence of a Jewish audience is that Matthew records many of the Jewish customs without any explanation about the custom. The other gospel writers all explain Jewish customs that they reference in their writings. Also, you will find that much of the Sermon on the Mount is only found in Matthew s gospel and not the others. That s because the Sermon on the Mount was designed to be an augmentation of the Law of Moses and therefore would be most interesting to Matthew s Jewish readers. With all that in mind, I guess we could say that the gospel of Matthew was written by a Jew, about a Jew, to other Jews. I mean, try and picture a Greek or Roman opening the gospel of Matthew for the first time. Within the first few verses he would read of the genealogy of Christ.

7 7 Among the Jews this would have seemed both logical and appropriate, but to a Greek or Roman it would have been unintelligible. Tell me the truth, when you read Matthew don t you usually just skip Jesus genealogy? Me, too! He would also read of Jesus being the Messiah -- a term which no Greek or Roman would have been able to fully comprehend. The point is that the gospel of Matthew was never intended for a Greek audience or Roman audience it was certainly for the Jewish people. Then came Mark. While Matthew had a Jewish audience as his target, Mark had a Roman audience for his gospel. There are a number of reasons why this gospel appears to have been written for the Roman mind. Mark translates Aramaic words for his readers, showing that the Jewish people were not his audience. And since Mark was not writing to a Jewish audience, he, as I mentioned before, had to explain Jewish customs and settings to his readers. Mark s gospel is also the shortest of all four gospels, fitting the Roman desire for information quickly and succinctly. And so we find that Mark s Gospel is fast-moving and dramatic.

8 8 It reads like a series of eye-witness accounts. Mark is more concerned about telling us what happened, rather than when it happened. He cuts to the quick, introducing Jesus to people who have perhaps heard of him but don t know him very well yet. Verbs like run, shout and amaze abound in this book. Mark s favorite adverb is euthys, meaning immediately or at once, which occurs ten times in chapter 1 alone. Mark does not delay the action by telling us about Jesus genealogy, or even his birth. Rather, Mark begins with the briefest survey of the ministry of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus and his testing in the wilderness by Satan all in the first thirteen verses of chapter one. Then the real action begins. Mark s account of the events leading up to Jesus trial and crucifixion is especially detailed and vivid. Interestingly, with the claim made in the first verse of the gospel that Jesus is the Son of God, the only way to prove him to be the Son of God is to show his accomplishments. The Roman emperors proved their worth to the people by recording and declaring their many achievements and conquests throughout the world. And so Mark goes about proving that it is appropriate to see Jesus as the Son of God through his achievements.

9 9 Thus, Mark s gospel devotes more time to miracles than any other gospel. Over half of the miracles performed by Jesus are found in the gospel of Mark. So when we study Mark, we are looking at the action of Jesus life which is going to prove to the Roman mind that Jesus is the Son of God. His miracles prove he is ruler of the world. Luke has the distinction of being the only Gentile writer in the whole Bible. And, his dual books of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts (it is widely accepted that he is the author of both) constitute about one-fourth of the entire New Testament. By training he was a physician. He joined Paul on the apostle s second missionary campaign and was apparently with him periodically during his ministry. As with the Gospel of Mark, it is clear that Luke is writing for non-hebrew recipients. His is a discourse designed to reach the Greeks with the message of Jesus Christ. Luke shows us that Jesus was a real-life person who lived in Galilee and Judea during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Augustus and Tiberius. Luke shows Jesus as extremely concerned about the welfare of all people, but having special empathy for those who were despised or undervalued by society: the tax collectors, the Samaritans, the poor, the Gentiles.

10 10 No class or group was excluded; Christ s message of salvation was for everyone. Of the four gospels, Luke is the one who seems to make a special point of highlighting Jesus concern for women. Many of the most poignant parables that show repentance and forgiveness of sin being offered to everyone are found only in Luke, like the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. Luke shows us that God s concern extends to everyone, not just those who are good or naturally inclined to religion. And so Luke poignantly points out that in Jesus Christ, God became one of us, so that he could save all of us. Then last comes the Gospel of John whose basic purpose is to prove that Jesus is the Son of God. Because of that, we cannot expect to read John s gospel to find out about the narrative life of Jesus. John is more concerned about the who of Jesus than the what. In presenting his case for the divine nature of Jesus, John is very selective in the material he includes. For example, although the entire scope of Christ s preaching ministry covers approximately three and a half years, John deals with only slightly more than four weeks of that entire time. In fact, nearly half of John s gospel is spent discussing the last week of Jesus life.

11 11 Rather than give a genealogy or begin a narrative at the birth of Jesus, John opens with the powerful proclamation, In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. See, John wants to let us know in profound detail who Jesus Christ was, where he came from and what he came to do (8:14). He summed it up in what is perhaps the most often quoted of all Bible verses: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. It is only in John s gospel that Jesus talks about himself so frequently in the first person. In his gospel, John focuses on the symbols that Jesus used to describe and explain his role as our Savior, each beginning with I am. And so Jesus describes himself as the bread of life; the true light; the door to life; the good shepherd; the resurrection; the way, the truth and the life; and the true vine. Interestingly, it is thought that much of John s Gospel was originally started as sermons that he successively put together. If you read his Gospel out loud you can get a sense of just that. Because of the content of John s gospel, his writing has been considered to be universal in its audience, although some believe he was writing to a particular group of Christians that he was intimately aware or involved with.

12 12 This allowed John to write a much more theological gospel rather than narrative gospel. Well there you have it, four gospels, not one. If we aren t careful we can all too easily misuse the gospels especially if we forget the audience and intended purpose of each gospel. The early church understood this as well and they apparently pointed people first to the gospel that was most appropriate for them. And we would be well to do that today. It would not make sense to initiate someone to the life of Jesus by reading the gospel of Matthew, unless that person were Jewish. The average American is not going to care about the fulfillment of prophecy that Jesus is the king of Israel. Also, when we read a particular gospel, we must read the gospel with the mindset of the intended audience, seeking the fulfillment of the author s intended purpose. I cannot be looking for proof for Jesus being the Son of God in Luke s account. I cannot look for proof that Jesus is the Messiah in Mark s account. Understanding this, and the fact that all these gospels were composed long after Jesus death and resurrection, it makes sense that there are differences in some of the stories told. It makes sense that they were written with intended audiences in mind.

13 13 And it makes sense that each gospel was written from at least a bit of a unique perspective. And to me, that only adds to the depth of our understanding of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope it does for you too! Amen!