Sometimes people wonder why we have four Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus in our Bibles.
There are numerous reasons for why we have four gospel accounts, but one reason is that each Gospel provides a different perspective on the life of Jesus, and is also written with different purposes and motives.
Some people notice the differences in the four gospels and think that these differences mean there are contradictions in the Bible.
Of course, if we had only one Gospel account, people would claim that since there were no additional eye-witness records, the one account was not reliable.
So while there are differences in the Four Gospels, they are not contradictions or errors, but are the normal differences one would expect when comparing different eye-witness accounts of the same event form different perspectives.
And of course, the fact that there are differences proves that there was no collusion between the authors.
And once we understand the perspectives, goals, and focus of each gospel writer, we can better understand how to reconcile the differences between each Gospel.
Below is a brief chart on the Four Gospels which shows some of the differences between them.
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Gospel Chart |
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Who is Christ? Which Genealogy? If it were a body part Skip to the Ending The Challenge Target Audience Purpose |
Matthew Christ the King Genealogy of King The Mouth Concludes with Resurrection Submit to Christ as Lord Jewish Christians Making Disciples |
Mark Christ the Servant No Genealogy The Hands and Feet Concludes with the Ascension Serve as Christ served Condensed Version Making Disciples |
Luke Christ the Man Genealogy of Man The Mind Concludes with Promise of H.S. Follow in His Footsteps Gentile Christians Making Disciples |
John Christ is God Genealogy of God The Heart Concludes with Promise of Return Believe In Him All Unbelievers Making Converts |
If you know of other ways to show the differences between the four Gospels, feel free to include them in the comments below.
In reference to “If you know of other ways to show the differences between the four Gospels, feel free to include them in the comments below.” The four beasts in Revelation 4:6–8, four living beings are seen in John’s vision as a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle. Matthew-Lion, Mark-Ox, Luke-Man, and John-Eagle.
The lion is a king (of beasts) and Jesus is the King of Israel, the Messiah
The ox is a servant
The man is a human, a son of Adam
The eagle is prophetic, can see great distances and soar into the heavens.
A beautiful parallel! Thank you all.
I may have noticed a potential typo.
On the row “Skip to the End” it seems to mem that 2 entries are switched.
Shouldn’t “Concludes with Resurrection” go with Mark?
And shouldn’t “Concludes with the Ascension” go with Matthew?
Either way, thank you for this resource!
Eric C…