As you read through these notes, it is assumed that you would be reading the passages along with the notes. I invite you to study the Gospels with me.
A. Time Frame of the Gospels
The events took place around 6-4 B.C. to the late 20’s early 30’s A.D. The Jews had been under Roman rule for over a generation, yet had many freedoms. The high priest was selected by the Roman government, which gave him and the Sanhedrin some political authority.
B. The Individual Gospels
1. The Gospel According to Matthew
It was written by the apostle Matthew, who was spoke of in Matthew 9:9-13. He was a Hebrew tax collector. The Jews saw tax collectors as turncoats because they were cooperating with the Roman Government. They often took more than the government asked them to. Matthew’s purpose of writing this gospel was to prove through the Old Testament that Jesus is the Messiah. Because of his purpose in writing to the Jews, he focused on certain topics. He focused on the Old Testament, the words of Christ, Jewish customs, and avoided women. These were all areas of interest to the Jews, especially the Old Testament known as the Law. For this reason, Matthew quotes the Law more than the other three gospel writers. The phrase “this was to fulfill” is used often by Matthew to point out a quote from the Law.
2. The Gospel According to Mark
John Mark wrote this gospel. He was a son of Mary (Acts 12:12) and cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10). He participated in Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey and was the reason for their conflict (Acts 13:1-13). He was a close friend of the apostle Peter, who probably had a sizable impact on this gospel. Mark’s purpose in writing this gospel was to reach the Romans. Because of the Romans interest, Mark focused on the historical reality of Christ, the actions of Christ, the authority of Christ, and short and to the point stories. He did this because Romans were interested in action and authority and would need to know that Jesus actually existed to believe in Him.
3. The Gospel According to Luke
It was written by Luke the doctor, who was also the author of Acts. Luke was referred to in the epistles in Colossians 4:14, 2 Timothy 4:11, and Philemon 24. Acts 16:10-17, 20:5-21:18, and 27:1-28:16 reveal Luke’s involvement in Paul’s missionary work. Luke was a close follower of Paul who probably had a profound impact on this gospel. He was the only non-Jew writer of Scripture. His purpose was to provide a more thorough account. While the previous two gospels focused on communicating to a specific audience and the interest of those audiences, Luke focused on detail. His audience was mostly Greeks, who were interested in detail and good language. Because of his attention to detail and being a doctor, Luke points out physical health aspects and historical dates. He focuses on the concepts of prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit. He also takes notice of the downtrodden; which included women and the poor. Of all the gospel writers, Luke focuses more on his interests. The reason he does so is because he has a more general audience, even though it is Gentile.
4. The Gospel According to John
It was written by the apostle John, referred to in John 21:20, 24 and Acts 3:1. He lived longer than any of the other apostles and died a natural death, the only apostle to do so and was the only gospel writer that was not a martyr. He wrote his gospel much later than the others, somewhere around 85 A.D. It was written in response to the rising teaching at the time that Jesus was just a man and not God. Therefore, John wrote predominately to provide the evidence that Jesus was no ordinary man; he was and is God.
C. Understanding the Time Gap
Each gospel was written many years after the events of Christ’s life. In fact in John’s case about five decades. How can we be sure that they got it right or at least without error? In order to answer this question, we must understand the culture of the Jews at that time. While we may not memorize much, the Jews memorized very much. They were known for being perfectionist in their memory. They would memorize their teacher’s teaching for hours until they got it perfectly, word for word. When making hand written copies of the books of the Bible, if in review they found one mistake, they would throw it out and start all over. This was how serious the Jews were about not being in error. The apostles were all Jews and had most likely memorized the sayings of Christ and much of his actions; so to say that their memory was unreliable is to not understand their culture. The only gospel writer that was not a Jew was Luke. He wrote his gospel after the first two were written, so he had theirs as well as the testimony of other Jews of the words and events of Christ’s life. Therefore, all four gospels are totally reliable.
