The Gospels

Traditionally penned by the apostle of the same name, Matthew is the first gospel of the four. This gospel was written for people familiar with the Old Testament, both the Law of Moses and the prophets. Matthew makes more references to the Old Testament than any other gospel.

Matthew takes great care to show how Jesus fulfills the prophecies made about him earlier in the Bible—especially focusing on Jesus’ role as the Messiah. 

According to early church tradition, this gospel was written by John Mark, the same guy who backed out of his missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas (Ac 15:37–39). Mark purportedly aided the apostle Peter later in life, and this gospel is an arranged collection of Peter’s memories of Jesus.

Mark was written for a wide audience. While the other gospels contain long discourses and sermons of Jesus, Mark is very action-oriented and focuses on Jesus’ deeds.

Luke was a first-century physician and the author and editor of this gospel and the Book of Acts. This is the longest of the four gospels, and is a historical, thorough account of the episodes in Jesus’ life arranged in chronological order.

This gospel presents Jesus as the seeking savior of all nations (Lk 2:30–32). It was and continues to be a rich story of Jesus’ life and ministry for both those who don’t know much about Jesus and those who have a great deal of familiarity with the Old Testament.

The gospel of John was written by the apostle John—the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). John’s account of Jesus’ teachings and miracles emphasize the divine nature of Jesus Christ. To John, Jesus is the cosmic Son of God, come to destroy the works of the devil. The whole book is arranged to present Jesus this way.

John’s account of Jesus’ teachings and miracles emphasize the divine nature of Jesus Christ. John’s gospel is written to show the miracles of Jesus, so that those who read his story will believe in him and have everlasting life (Jn 20:30–31).