|
WHY ARE THERE FOUR GOSPELS AND WHY THESE FOUR? Author: Arthur Bardis Course: B.Min
Introduction Irenaeus of Lyons (Ante-Nicene Father) has proposed, “It is not possible that the gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are. For, since there are four zones of the world in which we live, and four principal winds, while the Church is scattered throughout all the world, and the “pillar and ground” of the Church is the gospel and the spirit of life; it is fitting that she should have four pillars, breathing out immortality on every side, and vivifying men afresh.” The four gospels are not only a ‘biography’ of the Lord Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, have given the world account of Jesus life and ministry, each in unique ways. These accounts, the four gospels will aid in answering the question of why are there four gospels, and why these four? Why Four Gospels? The four Gospels have been studied very extensively. It is true that especially the Synoptic Gospels have a lot of things in common, and to a lesser extent the fourth Gospel. They all deal with the same period in history, same teaching and miracles of Jesus, and description of His death and resurrection. Nevertheless, they have their own peculiar characteristics, and unique beauties. In noting those peculiarities and variations, one can appreciate the deeper meaning and to gain a greater perception of their exquisite perfection. The Gospels are not by any means just a biographical account of the Saviour. There are great gaps in His life which none of the Evangelists fill in. In John 21:25 it says, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” The Gospels have been seen as unique, and they affirm their literary independence from any other standard genre. The general consensus of critical scholarship is that the gospels are kerygmatic in nature. Rudolf Bultmann insists that “the Gospels cannot be called biographies, but must be seen rather as the kerygma of the early church, presented in a vivid narrative form.” They are kerygmatic in terms of structure, function and attitude. There has been a pattern of development from the use of the word ‘Gospel’ in the oral form (in singular) to the written form (still in singular), and then the use of the term ‘Gospels’ in the plural form. “The Gospel as an identifiable genre seems to have developed apace with the emergence of the euangelion in the plural to refer to written documents.” The Canonical Gospels contain a number of basic elements: birth narratives, teaching of Jesus, travel narratives, miracle stories, passion narratives, and resurrection narratives. The four Gospels are books that have been fully inspired by the Holy Spirit. They are true flawless and perfect. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” The Evangelists were guided by God to record only that, which served to set forth Christ in the particular character in which He was there to be viewed. Arthur W. Pink argues that one or two Gospels “were not sufficient to give a perfect presentation of the varied glories of our blessed Lord. Just as no one of the Old Testament typical personages (such as Isaac or Joseph, Moses or David) gives an exhaustive foreshadowment of our Lord, so, no one of the four Gospels presents a complete portrayal of Christ’s manifold excellencies.” The four Gospels set Christ before us as filling four distinct offices. The Holy Scriptures portray the Lord Jesus Christ from four different angles, “viewing Him in Four different relationships, displaying Him as perfectly discharging the responsibilities of four different offices.” Four pictures of the same Jesus, all different- each with its own particular story evoking its own atmosphere and provoking its own response in the reader. Each of the four Evangelists intends to communicate an image to us and to make us respond. When the four aspects of the different portraits of the Lord are put together, the diversity, continuity, inspiration and selectivity can be observed, and thus the appreciation of the His person is enhanced. “What we do not do is to superimpose the images one on the other, or seek to harmonize them into one single photograph, or reduce them to some simple lowest common denominator.” The various portrayals of Jesus should be analysed separately, and then used for the synthesis of an overall picture, rather than a single amalgamated picture. Most of the information that the church knows about Jesus is based on the four Gospels. All four of which were anonymous “documents” in the beginning, and the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were attached to them at a later stage, in order to distinguish them from one another. The early church Fathers testified, that the “Four Gospels contained four different aspects of the Great Manifestation.” Irenaeus, (Ante-Nice Father) used the symbolism of the four cherubim to describe the multi facets of Jesus. He said, “He who was manifested to men, has given us the Gospel under four aspects, but bound together by one Spirit,” and also “for the cherubim, too, were four-faced, and their faces were images of the dispensation of the Son of God.” The Gospel According to Mark It is generally thought that this Gospel was written in Rome, most likely between 68 AD and 73 AD. “Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, provides the earliest documentable testimony attributing a literary work to one named Mark.” It is a moving narrative that is full of miracles, mighty works, and teachings of Jesus. It depicts Jesus as the suffering Son of God, highlighting His power as a tool of counteracting the shame of the cross. “Mark is interested, therefore, in depicting the public ministry of Jesus, as well as His passion and death, and the women’s Easter-morning experience of the empty tomb.” The Markan style of writing gives more emphasis on narrative rather than discourse, apart from a few sections on the parables, Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees, and the last instruction to the disciples. The picture of Jesus as the Son of Man/God has to do with His impending suffering and death. It is a fast moving “narrative theology,” that emphasizes the “messianic secret.” Mark’s Gospel offers renewal of the believers’ faith, and hope for the future. The Gospel According to Matthew “The title according to Matthew was attached to this writing by the later half of the 2nd century.” The Evangelist theologically depicts Jesus as the “Son of David.” This is strongly emphasized from the beginning of the Gospel, as it traces Jesus’ ancestry back to King David and Abraham. This Gospel “has a clear orientation towards the Old Testament and its relationship with the Christian message.” He was the “anointed one” that came to fulfill and not to abolish the Word of God. Jesus is “the new Moses,” a universal Messiah, who is the fulfillment of Yahweh’s promises, and the foundation of the New Testament Church. In retrospect, it can be noticed that, though the Evangelist has presented the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies in Jesus for the benefit of the Jewish Christians, his description of the teachings of Jesus on true religion and on the way the disciples should behave towards God, and relate towards each other shows them as universal, and practical. The Gospel According to Luke The offer of “the salvation of God to those ‘whom the chosen’ might think least deserve it-runs throughout Luke’s Gospel.” The Lord Jesus Christ is a universal Saviour that welcomes whoever comes to Him, whether Jew or Gentile. The Lucan theology portrays Jesus as the centerpiece and the binding power of Israel and the Church. His intend is to show the way in which God fulfills his purpose for Israel, a process that involves associating Gentiles with Israel. The Gospel according to Luke emphasizes “the coming dawn of a new day, the fulfillment of the promises of redemption long awaited, and the inauguration of a new relationship of God and his people.” The foundation of the structure of the worldwide Saviour for a universal ecclesia has arisen. The Gospel According to John One of the most prominent features in John’s Gospel is its unique Christology. It unravels the mystery of God’s love through the cosmic revelation of the Ëüãïò. Augustine of Hippo has suggested, “ John on the other hand, had in view that true divinity of the Lord in which He is the Father’s equal, and directed his efforts above all to the setting forth of the divine nature in his gospel, in such a way as he believed to be adequate to man’s need and notion.” The fourth Gospel is permeated with the sovereignty of Jesus. It concentrates intensely upon Jesus’ origin, His identity, and His mission. The aspects of the long discourses, dialogues, and signs, have a “High Christological” character, with significant contributions to the theme of Jesus’ sovereign status. The narrative depicts the Ëüãïò, as the one who possesses supra-human knowledge of situations. Conclusion It is evident that the four Gospels contemplate and portray Jesus with different characteristics. But while the Evangelists portray, and explore Jesus from different perspectives, yet they do not exclude that which is found in the totality of the four Gospels. The Holy Spirit has presented Jesus to the whole world His multi-manifold glory. “He caused each writer to combine in His own Euangelion the various lines of Truth found in others, though making these subordinate to that which was central and peculiar to himself.” Bibliography Baird, Arthur J. A Comparative Analysis of the Gospel Genre, New York, U.S.A.: The Edwin Mellen Press, No Date. Evans, Craig A. & Porter, Stanley E. The Synoptic Gospels, Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995. Crane, Thomas E. The Synoptics, Mark, Matthew, and Luke Interpret the Gospel, London: Sheed & Ward Ltd. 1982. Jukes, Andrew. The Differences of the Four Gospels, London: Pickering & Inglis LTD. No Date. Stain, Robert H. Synoptic Gospels, Origin and Interpretation, 2nd ed. Grand Rapid, Michigan: Baker Academic. 2001. Drane, John. Introducing the New Testament. 2nd rev. ed. Oxford, England: Lion Publishing Plc. 1999. Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. New York: Doubleday. 1997. Green, Joel B, McKnight Scot, and Marshall Howard I. (eds). Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. U.S.A.: InterVarsity Press, 1998. Cassidy, Richard J. John’s Gospel in New Perspective. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1992. Burridge, Richard A. Four Gospels, One Jesus? Blackburn, Australia: Collins Dove. 1994. Green, Joel B. How to Read the Gospels and Acts. Illinois: InterVarsity Press. 1987.
|
