Four Gospels

The Four Gospel’s Final Essay

By Rev. Nancy Rutledge

The Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John (and Thomas) was a very interesting course. I took this course to gain a better understanding of the Gospels. I liked the textbook: The Unvarnished Gospels. It was like four different people. Some parts are in agreement while others leave the reader wondering if indeed the writers are talking about the same person. During this course I realized that the Four Gospels were written by many people with eyes that did not witness these events. Each writer brings his own background and motivations to their writings.

Matthew, Mark and Luke were more alike than John who wrote and made his Gospel available ninety years after the death of Jesus. Matthew’s Gospel was about twice as much as Mark. Mark’s was so short it left out the whole story of the Sermon on the Mount. Luke only included two sentences on the Sermon on the Mount.

On baptism in Matthew, John the Baptist began preaching through the desert of Judea that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. John invited the people to repent and be cleaned of their sins in the River Jordan. I wonder what John the Baptist meant by the Kingdom of Heaven at hand. I can only guess that it meant Jesus was coming to show them the new way. The Pharisees and the Sadducees wanted to be baptized but without changing their old ways.

Mark talked about how he was going to bathe the people (rather than baptize them) and he was washing for a change of heart. In Mark’s world, everything was on a spiritual level. There was no physical dove. It was a spiritual event. John later did not want to baptize the priest because he recognized that their hearts were not changed.

Luke was the longest book of the four. The Gospel of Luke is probably one of the more interesting books, because Luke never met Jesus and he was also a Gentile. Luke wrote his book for the Roman Emperor. Luke writes about John the Baptist. Luke just talks about John the Baptist preaching to the masses as well as spreading wisdom about how people can prepare for the coming of a messenger of God.

John is one of the most hotly debated Gospels of the Four Gospels. It was written and made available ninety years after the death of Jesus. This Gospel gives a condensed version of what John the Baptist did. John tells the people that he is not the Annointed one, but is there to pave the way for him. John proclaims Jesus is the Son of God. John writes here as if he is talking at people, rather than to the people.

There are so many different versions of the Gospel and each differs from the other. You just can’t get enough of the Gospels. This is the first time I read a Greek translation and it was a very informative point of view.

Rev. Nancy Rutledge

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