1 of 16

Comparison of the Gospels

2 of 16

The first four books of the New Testament!

3 of 16

Synoptic Gospels

Matthew

Mark

Luke

The word is derived from the Greek words συν (syn = together) and οψις (opsis = seeing)

4 of 16

When Were They Written?

First four books of the New Testament
Mark is considered the oldest, but Matthew is placed first in the bible

Genealogical purposes → links the Old and New Testaments

Luke is third in order but written around the same time or shortly after Mark; Luke had to have been written before Acts

The three synoptic gospels were all written sometime between 50 - 70 A.D.
John is the last to be written, sometime between 80 - 100 A.D.

Christ’s Birth

100 A.D.

(End of First Century)

Luke written before 63 A.D.

John written mid 80s

All Synoptic Gospels written 70 A.D; destruction of the Temple by the Romans

33 A.D.

Christ’s Ascension

68 A.D.

St. Mark martyred

Arrival of St. Paul in Rome 60-61 A.D.

Acts written 63 A.D.

Mark written

late 50s or early 60s

Run through points on screen (a few books missing in the chart)

But there is also a fourth and that is John’s gospel – we will discuss how the first three differ from St. John’s

St. John’s gospel is said to have come on the scene 40 years after the last that was written (Luke had to have been written before ACTS and also before St. Paul is martyred in 67-68 because Luke travelled with Paul) close to the end of the first century (100AD) – in other words it was written after synoptic gospels and after synoptic gospels were communicated to others

Matthew’s gospel contains a lot of Hebrew and Jewish tradition so it must have been before the gospel was more widespread and before formal Christianity emerged out of Judaism

They were all written in the first century very close to Christs time on earth which is a testament to its accuracy.

5 of 16

Number of Gospels

The church relates the number of gospels, four, to the four living creatures that Ezekiel saw in his revelation (Ezekiel 1)

These incorporeal (body-less) four living creatures are also symbolic of the four Gospels.

The same may be depicted from the Revelation to Saint John

“And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.” (Revelation 4:6-7)

6 of 16

The Creatures and Representations of Christ

Matthew → Man

Christ as King and Messiah

Mark → Lion

Power and Works

Luke → Ox

Servant of Mankind

John → Eagle

The Incarnate Word

So mentioning what each of the gospels represent we must ask, what is purpose of having these different symbols represent each gospel?

Each of the animals and gospels symbolize the portrait of Christ that they are trying to portray

Matthew is represented by a man and his gospel portrays Christ as King / Messiah

Mark is represented as a lion because a lion represents power, and mark’s gospel focuses on the powerful miracles and actions of Jesus → It was addressed to the romans and focused on ACTION

Luke is the representation of an Ox because an Ox is one of those animals that works hard for his master in service, and Jesus came to serve us

Matthew 11: 30 → “My yoke is easy and my burden is light”

John is represented by the eagle and portrays God as the Incarnate Logos → eagle because the gospel up high to the extremes of Christ’s divinity (eagles fly high)

7 of 16

Where Do We See the Incorporeal Creatures Other Than the Bible?

The Bosom of the Father
In the Synaxarium

We commemorate the four creatures in vespers on their feast

8 of 16

Heretics throughout history have tried to slip into the Scriptures fake books and gave them a Gospel title in order to deceive and mislead the believers, the following are examples of such fake gospels:

1. The Gospel according to the Hebrews.
2. The Gospel according to the Twelve.
3. The Gospel according to the Egyptians.
4. The Gospel according to Peter.
5. The Gospel according to Matthias.
6. The Gospel according to Mary.
7. The Gospel according to Zechariahs, father of John the Baptist.
8. The Gospel according to Philip.
9. The Gospel according to James.
10. The Gospel according to Nicodemus.

11. The fake Gospel according to Matthew.
12. The Gospel of the birth of the Virgin Mary.
13. The Gospel of the infancy of the Savior.
14. The Gospel of the history of Joseph.
15. The Gospel according to Thomas.
16. The Gospel according to Basil.
17. The Gospel according to Bartholomew.
18. The Gospel according to Judah Iscariot.
19. The Gospel according to Andrew.
20. The Gospel according to James, the son of Zebedee.
21. The eternal Gospel.
22. In the middle ages a fake book appeared with the title, “The Gospel according to Barnabas”.

Apocrypha – False Writings

9 of 16

Four separate independent witnesses to the truth!
It is important to have perspectives from different groups of people, in different social classes and ethnicities
“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” (John 21:25)

Why Do We Need Four?

10 of 16

Matthew

Matthew or Levi, one of the Twelve, a Jew who worked as a Roman tax collector.

Mark

John Mark, son of Mary of Jerusalem, in whose house Jesus celebrated the Lord's Supper.

About the Authors

Luke

Luke, a Greek Physician and companion of St. Paul on his second and third journeys, Paul’s imprisonment and on the trip to Rome.

John

John, one of the original twelve disciples, referred to as "the one Jesus loved”
Also the brother of James

11 of 16

Matthew

Structured around Jesus' teaching

There are six sections, divided by the phrase: "when Jesus had finished saying these things..." (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1)

Mark

Moves quickly from action to action, using a biographical outline
Mark lets Jesus' deeds and words explain themselves.

Writing Styles

Luke

follows Mark's basic outline but adds much more detail
He has the most complete nativity narrative.

John

Full of encounters of Jesus with people
Focuses on Jesus in Jerusalem, and in particular His attendance at the major Jewish feasts
Half of the book is devoted to the last week of Jesus’ life.

12 of 16

Why Four? Different Audiences and Perspectives

Matthew

Jews

Mark

Romans and Newly Converted Roman Christians

Luke

Greeks and Greek Christians

John

Everyone

They each wrote for separate "audiences" and with differences in style and emphasis; but they shared a common purpose: to lay out the basic works and teaching of our Lord's life – focusing on miracles and parables and such. And so the general scheme of these gospels are parallel, and many of the discourses and miracles they relate are identical.

They wanted each of their gospel to display something different

Chronology and exhaustive coverage of specific events was secondary – to who they were addressing it to and how the book’s facts, events and dialogues were arranged

Again, we have to remember that even though these were physically written by people it does not negate the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit divine inspiration – canonically the church believes that all gospels were divinely inspired

13 of 16

Specific details may be different, but what is the same is the main truths
For example, the book of Luke and Matthew both speak of details surrounding the birth of Jesus

Why Do We Need Four?

Luke: “Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.” (2:4-5)
Matthew: “After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit… Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea…” (1:18,2:1)

What you will also notice by having all these perspectives that specific details may be different, but what is the same is the main truths. For example, the book of Luke and Matthew both speak of the birth of Jesus.

Luke says:

Matthew says:

Now Luke says Joseph went through many places to get to Bethlehem and Matthew says Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, does that mean Joseph didn’t pass through Galilee into Nazareth to get there? No, one just provides more detail that the other writer hasn’t included.

Likewise, Luke says Mary was betrothed to Joseph and that she was with child, Matthew says she was betrothed and was with child of the Holy Spirit.

Does the verse in Luke not saying that it was the Holy Spirit that allowed Mary to have Jesus mean it did not happen or one is more correct? No, because the previous chapter of Luke includes the time when the Angel visited Mary to tell her this.

Different gospels have different details and if they have the same details they choose to share them at different times, this does not negate their accuracy or truth

If I were to ask four people to write an article on any given subject there is no way they would be all the same, there would be noticeable differences but also collective truths

14 of 16

John’s Gospel

Provides a fresh interpretation and perspective

Unique Accounts

Nicodemus, the Samaritan Woman, the Woman Caught in Adultery, and the Man Born Blind

So what about John? John is not synoptic because although it contains the same truth, the writing style and the way its arranged is totally different from the other three. The direction it decides to go in, in terms of who he is trying to reach is also different because his audience is everyone and not a specific group.

St. John lived for almost a full century, which offered him the privilege of seeing developments in the faith, worship, and theology of the growing church which none of his brother-disciples survived to see. The world and church environment in which John wrote were drastically altered from the time of the composition of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and his gospel is a reflection of this change.

The synoptics offer us short and sparse accounts of the Last Supper, which are very precious in themselves; but we would not have known of the weighty words our Lord spoke to the disciples—"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"—if it were not for St. John's Gospel.

One of the most memorable traits of the Fourth Gospel is its remarkable prologue: "In the beginning was the Word…". Thus St. John begins with the inconceivable timelessness and Godhead of Christ; and the rest of the gospel can be considered an extension, explanation and fortification of these brief and beautiful words.

Also, compared to the numerous miracles each synoptic gospel relates, the Gospel of John mentions only seven and refers to them as "signs"—that is, signals or evidences of Christ's divinity.

St. John did include, on the other hand, conversations and miracles unique only to his gospel: Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, the woman caught in adultery, and the man born blind. The synoptic gospels were designed to be compilations of the sermons, parables, proverbs, and miracles of our Lord. In contrast, the Gospel of John presents the Lord's teachings in the form of rather long and complicated theological dialogues.⁵

According to John, Jesus’ public ministry extended over a period of at least three and possibly four years. During this time Jesus goes several times from Galilee to Jerusalem. The synoptics appear to describe only one journey of Jesus to Jerusalem (the final one), with most of Jesus’ ministry taking place within one year.

15 of 16

What Do the Gospels Mean For Our Service?

St. Ambrose of Milan said about the gospels and New Testament, “These are fountains of salvation, that they who thirst may be satisfied with the living words they contain. In these alone is proclaimed the doctrine of godliness.”
The Gospels show service itself!

Its all fine and dandy reading the gospel but its not just a bunch of stories we should know so that we can make a lesson.

From before you begin serving you must get it out of your head that these are just stories cause believe me if that is how they are framed to the kids they will get quite tired of it. What is important is that we emphasize the change the words and actions of Christ has brought into our lives and how following and proclaiming these words can continue to lead us on the right path. St. Ambrose these words and events are where our salvation came from.

We spoke about how the words of Jesus and the words of the Bible are living. The promises of eternal life and the hope that Jesus’ death and resurrection has given us is something we should cherish in our lives. It can help us become better people and lead by example in service

Another things that the gospels show service itself! Jesus is the ultimate servant, who loves unconditionally so much that He died on the cross. Jesus has displayed what we can call ‘perfect service’. Now do you think we can do service 100% perfectly? No, because no one is perfect and the apostles in the gospels were just like us. They were not perfect they made mistakes. But what the apostles did was rely on Jesus, because it is through Jesus where are imperfections are transformed and God’s grace works through the weaknesses we may have.

So we should look at the gospels anytime we are in doubt about how we are doing in service. What were the apostles doing, what did they believe having been to close to Christ. We should never feel like our service is inadequate as long as we are striving to learn and be better like the apostles.

16 of 16

	Matthew (synoptic)	Mark (synoptic)	Luke (synoptic)	John (not synoptic)
Incorporeal Creature	Man	Lion	Ox	Eagle
Audience	Written for the Jews to say that Jesus is the Messiah	Written for the Romans and newly converted Roman Christians. Hence his emphasis on Jesus as a man of action and in particular the Servant of God. (Many early Christians were servants or slaves) St. Mark defines Jewish terms and customs for his readers. Example Chapter 7:1-4	Written for Greek Christians He uses classical Greek conventions and style and a rich vocabulary and sometimes substitutes Greek names for Hebrew ones.	Written to the whole world to disperse the message of the incarnation (John 3:16)
How do they represent Jesus?	King and Messiah	Power and Works	Service and Sacrifice	Incarnated Logos
Key Parts or Themes	Genealogy of Christ	Voice crying in the wilderness	Sacrifices	In the beginning
About the Author	Matthew or Levi, one of the Twelve, a Jew who worked as a Roman tax collector.	John Mark, son of Mary of Jerusalem, in whose house Jesus celebrated the Lord's Supper.	Luke, a Greek Physician and companion of St. Paul on his second and third journeys, during his imprisonment and on the trip to Rome.	John, one of the original twelve disciples, referred to as "the one Jesus loved”
Place Written in	Judea – Palestine	Rome	Rome probably	Ephesus (Asia Minor)
Sources	Eyewitness accounts	Primarily Peter, with whom he was associated (1 Peter 5:13); however, he started the first Missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas, his uncle; and may have been the young man who lost his clothes in Mark 14:51	Interviews with many eyewitnesses - for example, St. Elizabeth and St. Mary, the Centurion at the cross, etc. St. Luke testifies his Gospel is well researched and verified. (Luke 1:1-4 - 1:2) – Not a disciple	The only eyewitness of the beginnings of Jesus' ministry and the crucifixion of Jesus