An Overview of the Gospels

The New Testament contains four gospels or accounts of the good news of Jesus Christ. These unique, yet strikingly similar, biographies of Jesus of Nazareth present a cohesive picture of the incarnate God.

There is a beautiful blend of unity and originality in the gospels. They all present the same person, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, to the world. They all agree on the major aspects of the advent, mission, death, and resurrection of the Messiah, yet they all have unique themes and perspectives that when considered, help readers appreciate the beauty of each gospel account.

Below is a very brief and general sketch of some major themes found within each gospel, pointing out various famous scenes in the gospel accounts that show forth these themes and perspectives.

The Gospel of Matthew – Jesus, the Son of David

One of the major themes of the Gospel of Matthew is that Jesus is the son of David and thus the long-awaited Davidic King. Matthew’s Gospel makes clear that the foster father of Jesus, the carpenter named Joseph, is of the tribe of Judah, thus a son of David, implying Jesus’ royal heritage. This Davidic and royal lineage is of course passed on to Jesus. In fact, Matthew’s gospel begins explicitly stating, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Mt 1:1).

Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus makes special mention of David and Solomon to clarify that Jesus is part of the Davidic line. Matthew also mentions that Jesus is born in Bethlehem, the city prophesied in Micah 5:2 that the future King who is ancient of days would come from.

In one of the most popular scenes from the Gospel of Matthew, we see Jesus as the Davidic King appointing his prime minister. The Lord takes his apostles to the district of Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus asks them the famous question, “Who do you say that I am?” In response to Peter’s inspired response, Jesus says,

Blessed are you Simon bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this Rock I will build my church and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Mt 16:17-20)

This language echoes back to Isaiah 22 with the replacement of Shebna as the prime minister of the house of David. In this passage, the Lord speaks of a new royal steward, or prime minister, in the house of David – Eliakim. The Lord says through the prophet Isaiah,

In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut, and he shall shut, and none shall open. (Is 22:20-22)

The parallel in language is incredible and undoubtable! Matthew is emphasizing Jesus’ role as the new King of Israel appointing Peter as his prime minister.

The centrality of Jesus as the Son of David and King of Israel is further seen in Matthew’s Gospel as Jesus loves to speak of the Kingdom of God, especially in parables. Many of these are quite familiar to us and can be found in Matthew 13 where Jesus describes the Kingdom of God. These parables include the Sower and the Seed, the Mustard Seed, and the Pearl of Great Price.

In these parables, Jesus illustrates to his people that with the King comes the Kingdom. Jesus has come to reestablish the long-awaited Davidic Kingdom of old. His Kingdom, though, is of heaven, not earth, and will never perish or end, and it shall subsist within the Church that Christ has built upon Peter.

The Gospel of Mark – The Good News for Rome

The Gospel of Mark, written primarily for a Roman audience, is extremely fast-paced and focuses on Jesus as an exorcist. It is the shortest and most action-packed of the gospels.

The word “immediately” is used in Mark’s Gospel approximately forty times in only sixteen chapters. Jesus is constantly on the move, working many miracles and healings, and most especially exorcisms.

One of the first actions in Mark’s Gospel is an exorcism. Immediately after calling his disciples, Jesus is met by a man with an unclean spirit in a synagogue. The demon possessing the man cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God” (Mk 1:24).

This Gospel also records the exorcising of the Gadarene demon – Legion. A host of demons so many and powerful, that Jesus expels them into a herd of swine of about 2,000 which promptly run off a cliff, plunging into the sea below (Mk 5:1-13). This is particularly interesting because some sources say that the Roman soldiers in that area bore the insignia of the boar, thus Mark is illustrating to his Roman audience the power and authority of Christ.

Perhaps the most touching part of this seemingly violent and grotesque scene is that it is the only action that Mark records of Jesus in the Gerasene district. Mark reports that Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee to heal the man possessed by the demon, Legion. Immediately after this showstopping miracle, Jesus crosses back over the sea to continue his mission.

It appears that Mark is showcasing the intentionality and care of Jesus for his people. He would go so far as to cross the Sea of Galilee to heal a single individual of his wounds. For the reader, we can see in this the immense love and care that Jesus has, not only for the world but for each one of us.

Finally, Mark’s Gospel includes a Roman coming to faith at the Crucifixion (what John sees as the ultimate exorcism of Satan). At Jesus’ death, the Roman centurion standing there said, “Truly, this man was the Son of God” (Mk 15:39). Even the Romans could see that this powerful miracle-worker from Nazareth was something more than a mere prophet, Jesus truly is the Son of God.

The Gospel of Luke – The Merciful Christ

Luke’s Gospel has an intense focus on the mercy of Jesus Christ. One of the ways that Luke illustrates the mercy of the Lord is by showing his non-partiality. He works not only through the powerful but also, and most especially, through the lowly and meek.

This can be seen in the opening chapter of Luke’s Gospel in the juxtaposition of the Lord speaking through the Angel Gabriel to Zechariah, the priest in the Jerusalem temple, as well as the virgin Mary, somewhere in the small town of Nazareth. The irony of course is that Zechariah doubts the word of the angel and Mary believes. This is poetically summed up in Mary’s Magnificat,

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name (Lk 1:46-49).

Most famously and most beautifully, the mercy of God is depicted by Luke in chapter 15 of his Gospel, with three unique parables found only in his gospel: The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son (Lk 15).

These three stories powerfully illustrate the radical mercy of God who rejoices more at the repentance of one sinner than 99 righteous. Especially the parable of the lost son, commonly known as the parable of the Prodigal Son, we see the spirit of adoption given to man in Christ, and God’s eager waiting for man’s return every time he goes astray.

The parable of the Lost Son is truly a heart-wrenching account of the mercy and love of God that has no parallel in any other source for displaying how much the Lord wills the return of his lost children. Even in the face of rejection and betrayal, the Father patiently waits and anticipates the return of his wayward children. Upon their return, they are promptly restored to their inheritance, forgiven of their crimes, and welcomed into the divine family and household once again. No other story gives as much hope and inspiration to those trapped in sin and doubtful of the mercy of God.

Finally, Luke records the repentance of the good thief on the cross next to Jesus, who utters the famous words repeated down through the centuries, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom,” to which Jesus responds, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk 23:42-43). The merciful love of God does not calculate but is graciously showered upon all who simply ask with a true and open heart.

The Gospel of John – Jesus the Son of God

John’s Gospel, written a little later than the Synoptics, is often acclaimed for its “High Christology” and explicit indication of the divinity of Jesus. Additionally, the Gospel of John brings the Holy Spirit into focus, really illustrating the Trinity in a much more explicit way.

The Gospel famously begins, echoing Genesis, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). John goes on to state, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt [pitched his tent] among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (Jn 1:14).

The great mystery of the Incarnation is clear in the first few verses of John’s Gospel. And throughout, Jesus claims his divinity in very plain and explicit ways (he does so in a more veiled, Jewish way in the Synoptics) such as when he states, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (Jn 8:58) and “the Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30).

For these statements, the Jews attempted to stone him, and even make plain their reasoning for attempting to kill him: because he was “making himself equal with God” (Jn 5:18).

In the Last Supper Discourse, John emphasizes that Jesus is sending the Paraclete, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit (Jn 14-15). The Holy Spirit is clearly seen as a person in John’s Gospel, referred to not as an “it” but as “he”. The Spirit is not some abstract force, but the third person of the Holy Trinity.

Finally, the distinction, yet the unity, of the Father and Son is seen in Jesus’ Priestly Prayer. Jesus prays for his disciples and all future believers saying,

I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one (Jn 17:20-22).

Ultimately, the intimate unity found in the Trinity – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is meant to be shared by all of us. We are called to be on, as the Lord is one. This unity can only truly be achieved through communion with the One, the Lord.

It is fitting that these four accounts of the life of Jesus present so many different, yet complementary perspectives of the incarnate God. The uncontainable God, Creator of the world, entered into his creation – it is no wonder that no number of words could exhaust the profound impact of his life and mission. As St. John said,

But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written (Jn 21:25).