Matthew, Mark, Luke and John recording Jesus

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John recording Jesus

BY Argie Simonis     

-[Matthew]
He was a tax collector and became one of the 12 desciples of Jesus after he received a personal call from the Lord (Mat.9:9). He used to be called Levi, but in the desciples' cycle he was called Matthew which means "gift of God". He spoke Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew, like most of the craftsmen of his time.
Due to his intimate relationship with Jesus he knew every detail for His life first hand. He wrote the gospel bearing his name possibly in Antioch of Syria around 50 A.D. He wrote it first in Aramaic for the sake of the Palestine churches to show them that Jesus fulfilled the Law and was the Messiah, and later he transfered it into Greek. 
This gospel was called "the greatest book of World Literature".
Great emphasis is given in the "Kingdom of Heaven" which occurs 33 times. Special emphasis is also given to the teaching ministry of Jesus.

-[Mark]

It is generaly agreed that the author of this book is John-Mark appearing in Acts 12:12. He was the son of Mary and church gatherings were taking place at his home (Acts 13:5,13). He acompanied Paul and Barnabas in Antioch in Syria (Acts 12:25) and later left them at Cyprus and return to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). About 10 years later in 60 A.D. Mark was with Paul in Rome (2Tim. 4:11, Col. 4:10). Mark's close association with Peter is indicated in 1Peter 5:13, when Peter speaks of Mark as "my son" where we can assume that Peter led Markus to Jesus, making him his spiritual son. The gospel of Mark (although that Mark's name does not appear in the gospel) is one of the first manuscripts of the New Testament, written around 45 A.D. Many people believe that it was written after the persistance of the christians in Rome to record everything that Peter was describing according to his personal relationship with Jesus.
This is the shortest gospel among the four, with Mark focusing in facts and action more than themes and topics. The words "immediately" and "at once" occur more than 30 times.

-[Luke]
The author of this book is Luke, the only one of the 4 authors of the gospels that was not a Jew. He came from Antioch of Syria and he probably came into faith through Paul (Acts 11:19-21), whom he became a close associate. He followed Paul in all his missions and persecutions (imprisonment in Ceasaria, imprisonment in Rome) (Col.4:14, 2Tim.4:11). He died at the age of 84.
He was a well educated person, a doctor, and apart from this gospel (that was written in 63 A.D.) which is the longest of the 4 gospels,  he also wrote the book of Acts. These 2 books are devoted to a high status christian named Theofilus which in Greek means friend of God. Luke is considered to be the best and most accurate of the ancient historians, and gathered all his information from trustworthy people who were eye-witnesses and had direct knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Comparing Luke with the other gospels, we see that he focuses in presenting all the major facts of Jesus' life. That's why this book was recognised as the most complete representative account of the life of Jesus. 
The order of the events taking place is not neccesarily chronological, but in his writing he follows a definite plan and purpose. He is  interested in various classes of people. Many women are identified and have come to be known only through his account. Children receive more attention from Luke than the other gospel writers as well as the poor and the oppressed, especialy in the parables.
Jesus is described by Luke as an actual person in History who "came to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10)

-[John]

The author of this book is John, the beloved desciple of Jesus. Especially in the last 200 years this book was severely persecuted because it represents with great magnificence Jesus Christ exactly like He is: THE BLESSED SON OF GOD. 
The book was written around 85-90 A.D. probably in Ephesus and it was a great faith resource for the christians in the old days and today as well.
John was a Galilean fisherman when Jesus called him (Mark 1:19-20). He and his brother James followed Him and later they were given the name "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17). The purpose of this gospel is that the reader might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through believing he might obtain life eternal (John 20:31).
John focuses in recording Jesus as "I AM" in His messages and the book reflects itself repeatidly that John eye-witnessed most of the events that he records. He also records 5 miracles not reported in the other gospels. 
As a desciple of Jesus he participated in the mission of the 12. He was present at the Lord's transfiguration making him one of the 3 that witnessed the devine revelation confirming Jesus as the Son of God. He was also present in the passion and resurrection of the Lord.
The purpose of the miracles John reports give evidence of Christ's supernatural power in areas of life that man was impotent. The word "believe" is strongly present and occures 98 times throughout this book and shows that Jesus provides salvation for "whoever believes in Him".