THE FOUR
GOSPELS
THE CANONICAL GOSPELS OF
MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, AND JOHN
The four Gospels form the core of the New Testament, the principal book of Christian Scripture, and describe the life and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth, The New Testament is sometimes called the New Covenant, because Christians believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise of the ‘’Old’’ Testament ( or Hebrew Scripture), when he came to Earth to redeem mankind. According to this covenanti God sent his only son, Jesus, to spread the gospel-‘’good news’’-of a New Kingdom of God and of the promise of eternal salvation.
Although the Gospel of Matthew comes first in the biblical canon, the Gospel of mark was almıst certainly written earlier. Mark eestablishes the chronology that takes the story of Jesus from the beginning of his ministry to the climax of his crucifixion and its aftermath. The other Gospels follow his example. Given their similarities, Mark, Matthew, and Luke are often described as the Synoptic Gospels (from the Greek Word synoptikos, meaning ‘’seen together’’), in contrast to the Gospel of John, which has a more philosophical and theological emphasis.