Jesus in the Four Gospels CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
The four gospels are four different, supplemental accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. In them, Jesus has four different capacities. We are going to study these different presentations of Jesus in the four gospels and their significance to us.
Matthew – Christ as a Jew. This gospel starts with Christ’s genealogy from Abraham the father of the Jews and ends with his resurrection. Salvation is of the Jews [Jn 4:22]. The resurrection of the dead is the hope of Israel [Acts 23:6; 24:14-15; 28:20; Ezek 37:1-14]. Because Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah, we were graft in contrary to nature [Rom 11] and have taken part in God’s promise to Israel [Eph 2:12-22]. Therefore, we are going to rise again like Jesus did [1 Cor 15] and have part of his inheritance with him [Rom 8:17] while Israel keeps the inheritance promised to her.
Mark – Christ as God’s servant. This gospel doesn’t present a genealogy for Jesus. This gospel begins with John the Baptist heralding Jesus Christ and it ends with Christ’s ascension. At Christ’s ascension, Jesus had completed all that God had given him to do on earth. The significance for you and me is that now we are the ones through whom the Lord does his work on earth. We are to serve him and through us he accomplishes greater works than he did when he was physically on earth in his ministry [Jn 14:12]. Our work begins when we get saved. Remember, you and I will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ [2 Cor 5:10] for the quality of our service [1 Cor 3:11-15].
Luke – Christ as the Son of man. This gospel begins with the birth of Christ and includes the genealogy of Jesus from Adam. It ends with the disciples in Jerusalem waiting for Pentecost. Because Jesus came as the Son of man, he was able to fulfill the righteousness of the law and he was able to be the propitiation for our sins [Rom 3:24-26]. The significance of this gospel ending at Pentecost is that at Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to baptize us into the body of Jesus Christ. Therefore, when you receive Jesus, you are a child of God by the new birth. You still occupy a fleshy body just as Jesus was the Son of God in a fleshy body. Because of what Jesus did for us we are no longer in Adam, we are in Christ [1 Cor 15:22].
John – Christ as the Son of God. This gospel starts in eternity because Jesus has no beginning. This gospel ends with a reference to the rapture. The significance of this gospel is that when you and I receive Jesus we also receive eternal life. So we, like Christ, have a spiritual life without beginning or end. Therefore, when our bodies die, we go right on living [2 Cor 5:8]. And when Jesus returns at the rapture, our bodies rise again to join our eternal souls and spirits to live forever physically and spiritually with God just like his only begotten Son does. So, remember that as a child of God, our spiritual relationship with God and all the things that pertain to it are all that matter [Jn 4:24]. These physical things that so distract us are of virtually no value to God [Col 3:1-3].