SESSION 8
Why
are there Four Gospel Records?
Wouldn’t
one gospel have been simpler? Or would having a dozen be more complete?
The Holy Spirit chose four accounts for a specific purpose. They
present a four-fold picture of our Lord’s earthly life and ministry for
unveiling the fourfold prophetic portrait of the most wonderful
life ever spent on earth.
A.
The four gospels are not a complete biography.
John
21:25 And
there are also many other
things which Jesus did,
the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the
world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
B.
The Four Gospels
are Four inspired prophetic
portraits written according to God’s distinct design.
·
Matthew
presents Jesus as The Royal
Ruler – King of Israel
·
Mark
presents Jesus as the Suffering Servant
of Jehovah God
·
Luke
presents Jesus as the Magnificent Man
– the Perfect “Son of Man”
·
John
presents Jesus as the Demonstrated Deity
– The eternal God
C. The
Four-Fold Prophetic Presentations of Christ from Zechariah:
1.
Four “BEHOLD” Prophecies of
Christ in Zechariah:
a.
“BEHOLD… THY KING” -
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of
Zion
; shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem
: behold, thy King
cometh unto thee: he is
just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt
the foal of an ass.
b.
“BEHOLD …MY SERVANT” - Zechariah
3:8 Hear
now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee:
for they are men wondered
at: for, behold, I will bring
forth my servant the BRANCH.
c.
“BEHOLD… THE MAN” - Zechariah
6:12-13 And
speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold
the man whose name is
The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the
temple of the LORD: 13 Even
he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and
shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his
throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
d.
“BEHOLD…YOUR GOD” – Prophetic
word of; Isaiah
40:9 O
Zion
, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O
Jerusalem
, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it
up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of
Judah
, Behold your God!
2.
Four Prophetic “BRANCH” Prophecies: (Branches always bear life and
fruit.)
a.
“A Righteous BRANCH… a KING” - Jeremiah
23:5 Behold,
the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous
Branch, and a King
shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the
earth.
b.
“My Servant THE BRANCH” - Zech
3:8 Hear
now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee:
for they are men wondered
at: for, behold, I will bring forth my
servant the BRANCH.
c.
“The MAN whose name is THE BRANCH” - Zechariah
6:12 And
speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold
the man whose name is
The BRANCH; and he
shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
d.
THE BRANCH of the LORD - Isaiah
4:2 In
that day shall the branch of
the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the
fruit of the earth shall be
excellent and comely for them that are escaped of
Israel
.
3.
The Four Gospel depict the “FOUR FACES” of Christ as
God (See also Eze 10:14, Rev 4:7).
A.
Ezekiel
1:10 As
for the likeness of their faces,
they four had the face of a man,
and the face of a lion,
on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox
on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
|
Face
of a Lion - King
|
Face
of an Ox - Servant
|
Face
of a Man - Branch
|
Face
of a Eagle – God Himself
|
|
Seen
in Matthew
|
Seen
in Mark
|
Seen
in Luke
|
Seen
in John
|
B. The Cherubim
are the closest creatures to the Throne of God in the Third heaven and
most accurately portray or reflect
the likeness of the Divine nature embodied in Jesus Christ.
Exo
26:31-32 (For the
Temple
)
make A
VAIL
of blue
(Heavenly), and purple (Royal),
and scarlet (Sin Bearer),
and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims
shall it be made: 32 And
thou shalt hang it upon FOUR
PILLARS of shittim wood
overlaid with gold: their hooks shall
be of gold, upon
the four sockets of silver.
C.
A “Veil”
pictures “His
flesh” body broken for us.
(Matt
27:51, temple veil was torn at His
death.)
Hebrews
10:19b-20 …
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20
By a new and
living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through THE VEIL, THAT IS TO
SAY, HIS FLESH;
(Similarly,
wood = Humanity;
gold = Divinity,
silver = Redemption.)
D.
Although each writer presents the Lord Jesus in four differing ways, the
specific focus of each is too obvious to overlook, or to be accidental.
Notice these few illustrations:
1.
THE GENEALOGIES of Jesus of
Nazareth
:
>
MATTHEW: Establishes Jesus’ Royal Rights to the Throne of
David.
Matthew
1:1 The book of the
generation of Jesus Christ, the son
of David, the son
of Abraham.
a.
Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage back to David and then
Abraham (David = the Royal Throne,
Abraham = The Nation & Land)
b.
Notice the order of emphasize is “David
the King” (v6), listed
first in 1:1.
c.
His Royal Genealogy is recorded (1:2-7)
-
Only goes back to Abraham (Luke
goes back to Adam – presenting Jesus “the
MAN”)
-
Through the Royal
Tribe of Judah, not Rueben (v2), and the kingly
line of Solomon (v6)
-
Note women were included (v 3, 5, 6) to remind Israel of HER
need for her Redeemer/King and the goal of His Kingdom.
d.
His Royal Genealogy traces to Joseph (Mary’s husband) as a
“Son
of David.”
-
Joseph is Jesus’ legal “father
of record” through whom Christ can acquire the right of the
title “son
of David.” Jesus is Jesus’ step-father.
Jesus’ Virgin birth
is protected and proclaimed in Matt 1:16; He was “born
of Mary,” but NOT
“begat” of Joseph. “Begat” would mean “conceived
of”; Jesus was “conceived…of
the Holy Spirit” (Matt 1:20).
e.
Matthew places the Genealogy at the very beginning because
of its importance in establishing Jesus’
Royal Right to the Throne. His purpose is to demonstrate that the
covenants God made with David and Abraham are vested in Jesus Christ.
Ø
LUKE establishes Jesus’
Full Natural Human Lineage to Adam
a.
Traces Jesus’ genealogy back to Adam - the first man (Luke
3:38)
b.
Jesus’ human lineage traces through Nathan (3:31),
not Solomon’s royal Davidic line (See Jer. 22:24, 30; Gen 3:15). Psa
132:11 still stands.
c.
This is “Mary’s genealogy” (Luke 2:23, See 1:30-35,
Gen 3:15)
See
Numbers 2:33; 27:1-11; 36:2-11 re “the
daughters of Zelophehad.” The inheritance goes through the
daughters IF no son is available… then the Son-in-law
is adopted by the father of the bride.
d.
Luke places his genealogy after Jesus’ baptism at the
beginning of His ministry (3:23). Luke is first to offer an account of
Jesus’ human birth, growth to manhood, etc.
e.
Luke wants to show Jesus of Nazareth overflowing to all
mankind – the larger ultimate purpose in
Israel
’s Kingdom
Ø
Mark: Has No Genealogy - not an issue for a “servant”
Ø
John: Has No Genealogy – traces back to “from
everlasting” (John 8:58).
John 1:1 is the beginning without a beginning; “In
the beginning was the Word…” This
goes back before the Genesis
1:1 creation of “the heaven and
the earth.”
2.
JESUS’ CONCEPTION (Matt 1:20
“…conceived of the Holy Ghost”)
> Matthew
focuses upon the line including Joseph, having Jesus as “the
son of David.”
> Mark
omits an account.
> Luke
focuses on Mary – and Jesus as “the
Seed of the woman.”
> John
omits an account but declares Jesus as “the
Word made flesh.”
3.
JESUS’ BIRTH
>
Matthew focused on Herod,
Jerusalem
, the “King of the Jews.”
the star, the Wise Men, their gifts, etc.
> Luke
focuses on the Roman Caesar, “all
the world,” “all the people,” and the Savior.
4.
The Ministry Of John The Baptist
>
Matt. 3:1-7 - Identifies John the Baptist
simply as “the voice”
>
Mark 1:4-8 - In contrast to Matt & Luke notice v8 omits the “fire”
baptism – judgment is not in the hands of the “servant”
as Jesus is seen in Mark.
>
Luke 3:1-6 - John the Baptist is identified as preaching “remission
of sins”- as a personal need. Note in v6 as quote from Isa 40 so as
to include “all flesh.”
> John 1:15-34
- John the Baptist identifies the Messiah to
Israel
as Him who “was before me.”
5. THE TEMPTATION
>
Matt 4 follows the Dispensational Order: Bread ~ Display ~ Kingdoms
>
Mark omits the details except mentioning “wild
beast” and “His Victory”
(1:12-13).
>
Luke follows the human order of temptation - 1John 2:16 “lust
of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life” (see Gen 3:6 for Eves
temptation)
>
John has no temptation record for reason of James
1:13 Let no man say when he
is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil,
neither tempteth he any man:
6. Opening of
Christ’s Ministry
> Matt -
focuses on the King and His credentials (4:17, 23). First sign
(miracle) see Jesus healing a leper with a “touch,”
which would have defiled another (8:1-4).
> Mark
begins with a whirlwind of activity (see one act after another listed here
in1:12, 21, 28, 31, 34, 39, 42, etc. All this work demonstrates Jesus as the
“OX” – the “servant”
of God. Jesus’ first recorded miracles are manifestations of His
power (1:21-31).
> Luke
uses the opportunity to remind his readers that the Gentiles (ALL
believing humans) were to ultimately have a place in
Israel
’s Kingdom too. Jesus is the real Elijah (Elias) And Elijah (Eliseus)…
Luke
4:25-27 But
I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias,
when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine
was throughout all the land; 26 But
unto none of them was Elias sent, save (except)
unto Sarepta (“Zarephath”),
a city of Sidon (a
heathen non-Jewish village), unto a woman that
was a widow. 27 And many
lepers were in
Israel
in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed,
saving Naaman the Syrian.
> John records
Jesus’ first miracle (Gk.
simeon, “a sign”)
at
Cana
, manifesting of His glorious power (2:11).
7. Style of the Gospel
Writers
> Matthew was
a government official, a tax collector (9:9) who was interested in official
detailed things, including Jesus of Nazareth’s royal genealogy..
> Mark was servant
to an apostle (2Tim 4:11)
interested in action and performance (note “helping hands”) only
recorded by Mark in 1:31, 41; 5:41; 9:27, 36; 10:16, 21). Mark
10:44 (KJV) And
whosoever of you will be the
chiefest, shall be servant of all.
>
Luke is the “beloved
physician” (
Col
4:14) interested in human
touches (1:35; 2:7, 18, etc)
>
John, the Apostle nearest to Christ, knew Him best declaring God is
glorified in the Son (13:32).
8.
Their Closing Order
>
Matt 28 – The Resurrection of Christ
>
Mark 16 – The Ascension of Christ
>
Luke 24 – The Coming Holy Spirit
>
John 21 – The Second Coming of Christ to Earth
9.
The Gospel Commissions – All Concerns The Promised King & Kingdom
for
Israel
On Earth
>
Matt 28 - The King with them reigning over the nations
>
Mark 16 – The Servant working with them still
>
Luke 24 – Their dependence upon the enduement with the Holy Spirit
>
John 20 – Their God-given authority to forgive sins