The Four Gospels

Good morning, yesterday I heard someone say, “The Gospels who describe the life of Christ were all written 60 to 150 years after the fact. Not one of them (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) ever knew Jesus personally.” So today I am here to hopefully clarify some misinformation.

First, I must address the statement, “after the fact”. I am not sure which “fact” is meant here. But I’m offering this information because I think it may be helpful. The way we number our years can be confusing. The term BC refers to “before Christ” and so a lot of folks think that AD refers to “after death”. If that were true, the 33 years in between would have no designation! But the term AD is actually from the Latin “Anno Domini” and can be translated as “in the year of the Lord”. So the year of Jesus’ birth is AD 1, there is no year 0.

Now let’s talk about the gospels. I am surprised to learn that someone thinks that the gospel writers did NOT know Jesus. But until a couple years ago, I thought all four of the gospel writers DID know Jesus. Surprise – we are both wrong! The truth is that two did know Jesus and two didn’t.

Matthew – he is sometimes referred to as Levi, he was a tax collector and 3 of the gospels tell of Jesus personally asking him to “follow Me” and he became one of the 12 Apostles. The gospel according to Matthew was written in about AD 60 – or about 25-30 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Mark – also known as John Mark in the book of Acts. Why? Because there were a lot of “johns” running around! My daughter had the same problem in Jr. High and went by her middle name for 2 years. Mark, as far as we know, did NOT know Jesus personally. So how does he come to write this story of Jesus’ life? Well, he was a traveling companion of the Apostle Peter (one of the 12 who DID know Jesus). He went with Peter as he preached about Jesus and wrote down what Peter said. Basically, you can think of Mark as Peter’s biographer / secretary. Justin Martyr (in AD 150) even referred to Mark’s gospel as “the memoirs of Peter”. The gospel according to Mark was written in about AD 50 – about 15-20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Luke – also never met Jesus. He became a Christian listening to the Apostle Paul preach about Jesus and decided to become his traveling companion. Paul, as you might know, made 3 very extensive and lengthy missionary trips. These are detailed in the book of Acts. As Paul and Luke traveled, Luke interviewed eye-witnesses who did know Jesus; Luke tells us that in the opening verses of his gospel. Think of Luke as the imbedded investigative reporter of our day. The gospel according to Luke was written about the same time as Matthew’s, around AD 60.

John – this is one interesting fellow! He definitely knew Jesus – and he was nicknamed “Son of Thunder” by the Lord. He and his brother James were both personally called by Jesus to be Apostles. These are the sons of Zebedee who left their fishing boats when Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19). He and James were young men, teenagers really, when the call came to them. They had heard the teaching of John the Baptist and were baptized followers of him. So when they had the chance to follow the Messiah – whose coming John the Baptist had preached about – well they both jumped at the opportunity. Now John’s gospel is very different from the other three. John knew of the other gospels and had even read them. He felt there were too many things left out of the life of Jesus so he wrote this fourth gospel around AD 80-90, making him about 60-70 years old! What’s so interesting about his gospel is that almost 80% of the material is completely different from the other 3 gospels.

So that is who these 4 gospel writers are. Should we toss them all out because this writer said this event happened before that one? Not in my mind; these 4 writers all had different reasons for writing their gospel. Matthew puts all the teaching of Jesus together right up front, then goes on about the miracles and travels later. Mark, the shortest gospel, sprints from event to event so quick that you get whiplash from just reading it! He doesn’t stop to give us any commentary – just the facts. Luke says his purpose was to give a detailed accounting from all the eye-witnesses he interviewed, and that is pretty much what he did. And with John, again, his stated purpose was to fill in gaps from the other 3 gospels and that is what he did.

The four gospels combine to create a powerful narration of the Lord Jesus’ time on earth. Christianity is based on the idea that these four books are Truth.

Breaking the Silence

I have been a writer nearly all my life. Yet that's news to most people, even those closest to me. I generally write just for me -- anyone with a journal-habit knows how therapeutic this is. But over 17 years ago I saw a reason and a need to share what I write with others. I painfully admit, since then, only a handful of my essays have been read by anyone. Today that changes, I'm breaking the silence. I've been considering publishing my essays on a blog for over 6 months now. Today is that "someday" I've been talking about. . . . Here is the essay I wrote back in 1993, when I first realized my writing had to be made public:

Relatives from around the country are gathered here in Iowa for my mother's funeral. Many of these people I haven't seen in several years. I was able to meet my uncle's "new" wife today. They've been married for more than 20 years. His first wife died very young from breast cancer. I didn't know her very well, but I remember she was the organist at our church. I like his new wife, she talks about her Lord and what He's been doing in her life. I wish we had more than a few hours together. Tomorrow we'll be scattered again -- me to California and they to Arkansas.

This meeting is painfully similar to another about ten years ago. It was then that I first met my grandfather's "new" wife. They too had been married for several years. His first wife had died from complications with diabetes. I didn't know her very well either, but I remember she was in church as often as her health would allow. And I liked his new wife too, she talked about her Lord and what He was doing in her life. And just like today, I wished then we had more than a few hours together.

Both of these men, my grandfather and my uncle, are strangers to me. The fact is, I only know their faces. Their lives are a mystery -- shrouded in years of silence. Their new wives are wonderfully open and joyful about their faith. I'd like to hope that within these men that same joy lives. But the truth is, I can't know for sure, they've never let me see that side of them. Silence runs deep in my family.

I suppose my uncle and my mother's dad are both Christian men. Why else would their new wives, such godly women, be drawn to marry them? But I just don't know. If church-going and being married to a godly woman will get you into heaven, then these men will be there. But surely there must be more. I pray their lives away from me are vibrantly faithful and filled with worship and service for our Lord. But I fear their silence.

I look over all the "things" my mother has left behind and I'm sick. What I ache for is a diary or anything that will let me know her heart. I don't really want these earthly baubles. Yet I know I will cling to them because this is all I have now. But what I desperately need is to know her heart, and this she didn't leave me.

The pastor of my mother's church is being very kind and saying how much he appreciated my mother's faithful attendance at his mid-week Bible study. But in the 15 years since my leaving home, she never mentioned to me that she did this. She never told me. Among her things we find a certificate awarded to her by the community. It says that after work she spent time helping underprivileged children learn to read. But again, I never knew, she never told me. One of her co-workers is handing me a crocheted book-marker in the form of a cross. She tells me Mom was her prayer partner and had made that for her. She thinks I would like to have it. But I never knew of her prayer life, she never told me. My heart breaks. . . .

Months have now passed since my mother's funeral. The silence is still deafening. And yet all I can do is think of my own children. Do they know me? Is my life an open book for them to read? Or have I failed to even write the pages for them? When my life is over, will they be left aching to have known my heart?

These generations of silence must be broken by me. I want them to know my heart and find me rejoicing in all my Lord Jesus has done for me. This will be the inheritance I leave for my family and friends.

Mark 5:19 "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you."

Journal Suggestions:

Are there silences that need breaking in any of your relationships?

Describe the spiritual inheritance you have from your family.

Please use this link if you haven’t yet read my story, “Shattered Silence” which was added to this blog in 2013.