Jesus And His Disciples

One of the greatest figures in human history grows up in humble circumstances. Jesus leaves home at the age of 30 to begin his ministry, then later his disciples spread the Gospel message.

MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, JOHN
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: The Gospel Writers

THE GOSPELS TELL US MOST OF WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SON OF GOD.
Who exactly was Jesus? Each of the four Gospel writers has his own unique approach to answering this question.
• Matthew (also called Levi, former tax collector and apostle) focuses on Jesus as king and Messiah. Writing for his fellow Jews who are familiar with the Old Testament, Matthew fills his Gospel with Old Testament messianic prophecies that are fulfilled in Jesus’s life. He begins by tracing Jesus’s legal bloodline through his adopted father Joseph bact to Abraham. This genealogy is unusual because, in addition to Mary, it includes Ruth, a Gentile, plus three women who committed sexual sin: Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba.

• Mark (collaborated with Peter and Paul and founded the church of Africa) writes the shortest and most action-packed Gospel, probably intended for a Roman audience. He emphasizes Jesus as a suffering servant. Some believe Mark is the naked streaker who runs away when Jesus ai arrested. (14:51, 52)

• Luke (gentile physician and companion of Paul) is the only Gospel writer who didn’t know Jesus personally. Instead, Luke carefully compiles his account through investigation and interviews with individuals who spent time with Christ, such as his father, Mary. Luke focuses on jesus’s parables, teachings, and miracles. He writes what most scholars believe is Jesus’s biological genealogy, starting with Mary and reaching back to forebears such as David and Adam.

• John (former fisherman and part of Jesus’s inner circle of disciples) completes his Gospel about 30 years later than the other writers, so his approach is quite different. John mentions seven miracles but focuses on the ones that show Jesus is God’s Son, such as the episode in which Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. (11:1-44) John’s Gospel includes a famous Bible verse: ‘’ For God so loved the World that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life’’ (3:16)

Source  Time Life  Special  2/27/2015   –   Jesus And His Disciples