A Comprehensive Synthesis of Various Accounts in the Four Gospels

A Comprehensive Synthesis of Various Accounts in the Four Gospels

A true story told from four different perspectives with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, savior, mighty King, and the servant as the central figure of these respective narratives. The Gospel of Jesus Christ remains a legendary story couched on the page of history. The gospels may be classified into two categories, the first dubbed the “synoptic” because of their striking similarity, while the other is the Gospel of John widely attributed to the apostle John. The Gospel of Mark is one of the Synoptics and thus gives a clear presentation of the “beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ” though to a particular target group, unlike Matthew, Luke, or John.  However, like its counterpart gospels, Mark comes along with a unique graphic approach narrating the good news. This Gospel is comparatively shorter than the other two synoptic gospels (shorter than John’s Gospel as well: Barnes) and unique in approach to the presentation of facts, probably because of the author’s intentions, motives, or target readership. That said, this particular Gospel is an excellent enlivening depiction of what transpired when Jesus Christ traversed this terrestrial ball.

One of the most explicit and most poignant passages that points of the inclusivity of Christ is found in Luke 19:1-10. In this passage, Jesus interacts with a man named Zacchaeus (who I will refer to from now on as “Zach”) who is the chief tax collector in Jericho. The basic account of this event is that Zach had heard that Jesus was passing through his village and wanted to get a glimpse of this up-and-coming Rabbi. Because Zach was a man of “small stature” (vs. 3), he climbed up into a tree so that he could see Jesus. When Christ passed by, he noticed Zach and called out to him to come down because he wanted to lodge at his home for the evening. Now before we even progress in this account, it is essential to note here that also the fact that Jesus spoke to Zach is a powerful statement. Zach was seen by many people in his society as a sinner and traitor simply because he was a tax-collector.

This meant to his people that he had sold-out and was now working for Caesar, who was the oppressor of the Jewish people. And not only was he a tax-collector, but he was the chief tax collector, in charge of all of the others in his region. This means that Zach was very wealthy (though most Jews were very poor), and the common understanding was that tax-collectors were likely dipping their constituents- charging them more than they owed and keeping the rest for their gain, the common practice of tax collectors. To put the cherry on the top of reasons Jesus shouldn’t have been speaking to Zach was the fact that he was a Samaritan. Samaritans were “half-breed” Jews who worshipped according to a different set of principles. They were theological heretics, according to the Jews of Jesus’ day. But what makes this situation particularly offensive to those people witnessing Jesus’ interaction with Zach is that Jesus was going to lodge at this heretical, half-breed, sell-out’s home. The people began to grumble among themselves, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner!” That a kosher, orthodox Rabbi like Jesus would even associate with a man like Zach, was socially outrageous. When Zach comes down out of the tree, he explains to Jesus that he isn’t as bad as people portray him. Upon hearing this, Jesus very publicly proclaims: “Today salvation has come to his house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost!” (vs. 9-10) Salvation has come to the home of this wicked sinner. And not only that, but Jesus called this half-breed a son of Abraham. This encounter highlights the universality of Christ’s salvation- he has come not for the Jewish people in good standing but rather for the outcast, the sinner, the pagan, the sick, the broken the Samaritan.

In chapter 7 of Luke’s account, we find the account of the Centurion who comes to Jesus seeking healing for his servant. The Centurion was a Gentile who worked as a high official under Caesar in the room- a man that the Jewish people would have despised. Yet when the Centurion comes to Jesus and begs him to speak a word of healing, Christ proclaims: “I tell you, I have not found such faith even in Israel!” (vs.9) This statement that this Gentile has greater faith than all of the other Jews in Israel was radical, offensive, but clearly highlighting the unique mission of Jesus as the Messiah to bring salvation to the whole world, regardless of race, position, sinfulness, social class, etc.

The Gospel of St. John is an intriguing text filled with symbolism, imagery, and allegory that leads its many modern readers to easily misinterpret passages and its intended meanings (Martyn,  Hara, & Kawashima, 1979). The Johannine Gospel inspires faith and allows deep spiritual experience, but it requires from its reader an imaginative mind and open heart (Schnackenburg, & Hastings, 1968). Some of Johannine passages may seem also challenging and controversial to the modern readers because John sounds in them negative, harsh and politically incorrect. These passages seem to promote sectarianism, dualism, anti-Judaism, and religious exclusivism. How should a modern reader digest these sensitive issues without undermining the spiritual soundness of the Johannine Gospel and not fall into pitfalls?

The Johannine Jesus proclaims to be “The Way, and the Truth, and the Life (14: 6). This passage is typically understood in the light of Christian exclusivism (Bauckham, & Mosser, 2008). The “Way” was an expression used by the early Christian movements. They believed that Christianity was the only right path for humanity. According to John, only a few people were capable of accepting it (18:38). Those who could not hear the words of Jesus were lost (Neyrey, 2007). The acceptance of Jesus as the Son of Man is a prerequisite to salvation. The Christians leaders who evangelized the Jews in the synagogues were accused of leading the Jewish people astray from God. The local Jewish authorities viewed the Christians as a threat to Jewish identity and integrity.

Mark’s Gospel makes an exciting read because it highlights several critical points concerning the work and ministry of Jesus Christ (Collins & Attridge, 2007). The narrative is relatively swift, highlighting numerous facts relating to the Lord Jesus, his ministry, and achievements concerning sinners to the extent that some have suggested that it is a mere prologue, summary, derived from or introduction to Matthew’s Gospel. But that theory remains unproved and thus the status quo is that the book is a distinctly a correct actual narrative just as the author wrote it down. As earlier intimated, the said Gospel is the shortest among the Synoptics and quite distinct from its fellows (I.e., Matthew and Luke) or John. It does not record any genealogy or the nativity story but straight away focuses on Jesus as the servant and mighty deliverer who wrought many miraculous acts pointing to God (Barclay, & Drane, 1975).

Compared to Luke’s account, Mark is not as chronologically presented because its main thrust is to present key facts to its target readership demonstrating that Jesus is the long-expected Saviour, a mighty deliverer hence the focus on the miraculous (Rhoads, 1982; Broadhead, 1992). For instance, as early as Mark 1, Jesus is said to have wrought several miracles and carries on throughout the gospel narrative highlighting such unusual incidences. The reader is encouraged to scan the gospel passages to prove this point. The contemporary mind must have been startled at the claim to the mighty acts wrought by a perceived mere mortal, Jesus Christ, and would, therefore, have been captivated or drawn to his claims. It is worth noting here that the miracles thus recorded in the book actually took place in the realm of time as wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is precisely at this point that opponents to this gospel raise issues. Some reject the miraculous claiming that the author wrote intending to hoodwink or mislead people into irrational belief in a man claiming to be a divinely appointed miracle worker (Broadhead, 1992). They say that the miraculous is impossible and could have been explained away by natural means. Yet another school claims that the miraculous occurrences were a common feature in Jesus’ day, mostly done by the magicians of the day; therefore, Jesus was no different but merely a clever supernatural worker. Other skeptics, however, assert that Mark’s emphasis on the miraculous veils the actual ‘real Jesus’ suggesting that what is brought forth in this Evangelist’s Gospel is a probable misrepresentation of facts. They claim that the real Jesus has been lost to history, enshrouded in mystery, though he was in fact an ordinary man, let alone a political figure that was eventually crucified for defying the powers of the day. Mark merely recorded or wrote what the apostle Peter said or preached about. Thus, the Gospel is a simple, straight forward presentation of the true and real Jesus so that any person can read and understand, leading to salvation (Colijn, 1998; Gamel, 2012).

Undoubtedly, Matthew stands as the most Jewish – centered of all the Gospels which uses most accounts from the Old Testament as compared to the Luke, Mark, and John (Cox and Easley, 2007).  Even though with attention on Jesus being the Jewish Savior that came in satisfaction of Old Testament predictions, Matthew additionally shows a widespread job for Jesus’ life and strategic the central Gospel to utilize “church” and the finish of the book with the Incomparable Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Where the Jewish Savior is calling his pupils to make supporters of the considerable number of Countries (Cox and Easley, 2007).

Mathew, in his writing, primarily targeted Jewish audience who were well conversant with the Old Testament and the Jewish Messianic hope.  With the Jewish being the audience, Mathew used the Old Testament as his authority to demonstrate Jesus as the fulfiller of Prophets’ words. The perusers of Mathew view Jesus as the Jewish Savior. “Matthew composes as a Jew who has found in Jesus the satisfaction of all that is valuable in his Jewish legacy.’ Satisfaction’ is a focal subject of the gospel” (Carson, France, Motyer, and Wenham (Eds,), 1994). It is Jesus’ satisfaction of the Messianic predictions that laud Him to Matthew’s group of spectators for them to put stock in Him. Although we live in a less Biblically educated present reality than in Matthew’s time, the association between the Old Testament predictions and satisfaction in Jesus can be utilized to exhibit the uniqueness of Jesus and can assist some with peopling take a gander at Jesus.

In his theological discourse with the Jewish authorities, John makes a very hostile statement against them through Jesus’ words: “…but you seek to kill me…you are from your father the devil…you are not from God” (8: 37, 44, 47). This passage is an example of why the Gospel of John is a challenging text for those who venture into reading this. It has to do with an impression he makes that all Jews are the sons of devil. Because of John’s harsh words directed towards the Jews, his Gospel is considered to be the most anti-Jewish text in the Bible. The Johannine reader has to be careful in his interpretations of John. The Gospel of John tells the story of Jesus, the Son of God, who came to earth from heaven to give us eternal life (Burkett, 1990). Both John and his readers were limited in their understanding of God’s messages.

Conclusively, with regards to the accounts discussed in this paper, it is evident that the Four Gospels (Mark, John, Mathew, and Mark) present the gospel message in distinct ways based on varied target audiences with diverse cultural beliefs, Biblical knowledge, and relation to the Jewish People. John, with the help of the Holy Spirit, wrote the story that inspires faith that goes beyond human understanding. Faith is not a matter of our voluntary declaration, but it is a matter of our spiritual experience and a gift of God.  The Gospel of John instills spiritual experience. The world is filled with injustice, violence, and indifference. However, we can take comfort from Luke’s focus on God’s sovereignty and be confident that we present the Gospel to the hearers in God’s strength and accordance with his sovereign plan for history but not in his own strength.

References

Bauckham, R., & Mosser, C. (Eds.). (2008). The Gospel of John and Christian Theology. Wm.      B. Eerdmans Publishing.

Barclay, W., & Drane, J. W. (1975). The Gospel of Mark. Westminster Press.

Broadhead, E. K. (1992). Teaching with Authority: Miracles and Christology in the Gospel of        Mark (Vol. 74). A&C Black.

Burkett, D. R. (1990). The Son of the Man in the Gospel of John.

Carson, D. A., France, R. T., Motyer, J. A., & Wenham, G. J. (Eds.). (1994). New Bible    commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed.). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL:    Inter-Varsity Press.

Collins, A. Y., & Attridge, H. W. (2007). Mark: A commentary. Augsburg Fortress Publishers.

Colijn, B. B. (1998). Salvation as Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark. Ashland Theological            Journal, 30, 12.

Cox, S. L., & Easley, K. H. (2007). Holman Christian Standard Bible: Harmony of the Gospels.   Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Gamel, B. K. (2012). Salvation in a Sentence: Mark 15: 39 as Markan Soteriology. Journal of       Theological Interpretation, 65-77.

Martyn, J. L., Hara, Y., & Kawashima, S. (1979). History and theology in the Fourth Gospel.        Nashville: Abingdon.

Neyrey, J. H. (2007). The Gospel of John. Cambridge University Press.

Schnackenburg, R., & Hastings, C. (1968). The Gospel according to St. John.