Gospels the Bible Is Probably

Gospels

The Bible is probably the most read and most controversial book in the history of humanity. Much of this controversy can be attributed to the first four books of the New Testament, which are referred to as the four gospels. The four gospels chronicle the life of Jesus Christ including his birth, ministry, death and resurrection. The purpose of this discussion is to examine these books of the bible. The discussion will aim to solidify the idea that the gospels are eyewitness testimonies whose differences and similarities are valuable in exploring and proving the historical life of Jesus Christ the Lord God on earth.

Brief overview of history related to the intertestamental period

There is a significant period of time, which separates the last of the Old Testament writings and the first of the New Testament writings. This time is referred to as the intertestamental period. During this time, there are other accounts of Judaism, which were never accepted, by Judaism or Christianity as canonical or God inspired. There are two main accounts that fit this description, the apocrypha and the pseudepigrapha. Although these accounts are not viewed as canonical many historians have used them to evaluate the Jewish faith during the time the books were written.

An evaluation of the Jewish faith during this tome period is required to garner a full understanding of the gospels. Such evaluation gives insight into the socioeconomic and political climate that was present prior to the birth and ministry of Christ. Bloomberg further explains that understanding this period "religiously, Judaism was transformed into a set of beliefs and practices often quite different from Old Testament Religion. And for those inclined to see the hand of providence in history, numerous events occurred that prepared the way for the first-century world to be more receptive to the message of the gospel than in many other periods of history (Bloomberg)."

It is clear that the events that took place during the 400 years or so between the last book of the Old Testament and the first book of the New Testament, which helped to shape the environment in the region before the arrival of Christ (Bloomberg). This environment was conducive with allowing some to accept Jesus Christ as Messiah while others rejected him and the message that he brought to earth (Bloomberg). Bloomberg writes that very little changed in Jerusalem after the death of Araxerxes (Bloomberg). The author explains that the Persian rulers continued allowing exiled Jews to return to Israel; a policy created by Cyrus in 539 B.C.(Bloomberg). The author contends that during this time the Jews became preoccupied with the law with the belief that obedience to the law would prevent further exile and lead to complete freedom (Bloomberg).

According to Bloomberg, there were three major events that occurred during the Persian period, which took place right after the last of the Old Testament was written (Bloomberg).

The first two events were the formation of the synagogue and the beginning of oral law (Bloomberg). The author explains that the exiles did not have access to a temple to worship and offer sacrifices. This meant that they had to congregate in local places, thus the formation of synagogues (Bloomberg). In addition, the Jewish people would substitute prayers of repentance and good deeds as a means of atonement for iniquity. Bloomberg insists that "They sought to apply the Torah (Law) to every area of life, so that a body of oral tradition -- interpretation and application -- began to grow up around the written law of Moses to explain how to implement its commandments in new times and places. Both the synagogue and the oral law featured prominently in Jesus interaction with Judaism centuries Later (Bloomberg)."

The third significant event during this time was the establishment of Aramaic as the language used in international dealings and commerce (Bloomberg). Bloomberg points out that by the time that Jesus walked the earth it is likely that few Jews spoke Hebrew fluently because it had become limited to the reading of scripture (Bloomberg). Eventually during the Hellenistic period the Persian were defeated by the Greeks. During this period, 5 to 7% of the population was considered wealthy (Bloomberg). Nearly 15% of the population was considered middle class and the rest of the population was composed of struggling anglers and laborers (Bloomberg).

Finally, the Roman Empire reigned from 63 B.C. And throughout the New Testament. Although the other periods created a certain structure and environment in the region, this period set for the stage for accounts of Jesus given by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Roman Empire was remarkable in that it spanned across vast geographical areas including portions of Britain, Spain and France. Bloomberg explains that during this time, King Herod had transformed the region and his rule was marked by building projects; the most notable building project being the building of the temple, which was later destroyed by the Roman Armies after the death of Christ. A book entitled the Synoptic Gospels: Conflict and Consensus explains that Pontius Pilate was the Roman procurator of Judea from 26-36, C.E., during the earthly ministry of Jesus (Nickle).

Duling and Perrin point out that this period was also marked by a vast business system dominated by international trade, an enforced tax system and slave labor (Duling and Perrin). In addition, the region was "a pluralistic assortment of ethnic peoples, high government officials, merchants, small business people, slaves and minorities (Duling and Perrin).

All of these events and circumstances enveloped the climate of the region. At the arrival of Christ and during his earthly ministry these events and circumstances made the people of the region more inclined to the message of Christ. In addition, it is the environment in which, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were subject to when they encountered Christ and witnessed his earthly ministry.

History of the Gospels and critical assessments

The gospels are accounts of the life of Christ given by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It is believed that Matthew was a tax collector and one of the twelve disciples; Mark was an assistant to Peter; Luke was a friend of Paul; and John, was the son of Zebedee and one of the twelve disciples (Nickle).

Much of the controversy about the gospels has been attributed to the fact that the gospels vary somewhat in their account of the life of Christ. However, historians have noted that these differences do not make the gospels fraudulent. Instead, the differences are simply accounts of Jesus seen through the eyes of four different men (Bloomberg).

This is referred to as theological distinctiveness. The author explains that Matthew wrote of Christ humanity, Mark wrote of Christ as prophet, Luke wrote of Christ as priest and John wrote of Christ as the divine word of God (Bloomberg). According to Bloomberg, theologians have historically attempted to harmonize the gospels. Bloomberg explains.." The most common way of approaching the phenomenon of having four gospels was that of producing a harmony of the four. In other words, a life of Christ was restructured with every text from each gospel fitted into a possible place in one, larger composite whole (Bloomberg)."

Initially the church fathers believed that the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke were written in that specific order (Bloomberg). They believed that Mark and Luke borrowed from Matthews account and thus the accounts are similar. Others simply believed that the gospels were part fact and part fiction (Bloomberg). Scholars such as Paulas developed a rationalists approach to understanding the miracles that are described in the gospel (Bloomberg). For instance, they asserted that the feeding of the five thousand occurred as a result of rich people in the crowd observing the generosity of Jesus and the boy and began to share there lunches (Bloomberg).

Indeed throughout the 1800's many sought to decipher the gospels in this same manner. Many of these scholars believed in the existence of Jesus but they also believed that the miracles written of in the gospels were fabricated and that Jesus was simply a "historical figure" (Bloomberg). By the twentieth century, scholars took a redaction approach to understanding the gospels (Bloomberg). They asserted that the authors of the gospels were merely editors who omitted and included things at will (Bloomberg). In the latter part of the twentieth century, the gospels began to be viewed as a literary work; complete with a plot, characters and a setting (Bloomberg). Such literary criticism of the gospels asserts that reading the gospels as literature can prove quite valuable. We recognize their artistic merit -- their ability to affect our emotions as well as our intellects -- as they captivate, encourage and convict us. We are more sensitive to what is more central and what is more peripheral in individual stories. We understand how they function to create multiple levels of meaning -- main themes, subordinate motifs, and elusive echoes to other well-known traditions, not least in the Old Testament.

But we run across pitfalls as well. Much literary criticism assumes that the gospels are not necessarily historical or else it plays down theological or religious context. However, these assumptions are not inherent in the method; a well-crafted piece of historical writing also promotes certain ideological concerns in an artistic and aesthetically pleasing (Bloomberg)."

Now that we have garnered a greater understanding of the climate of Israel at the time of Jesus Christ and the criticisms that have been leveled against the gospel, let us discuss in detail each of the four gospels. This discussion will evaluate the writings and the proposed intent of the writers. We will discuss the similarities and differences of the four gospels. A careful analysis of each chapter will reiterate the idea that the gospels are eyewitness testimonies whose differences and similarities are valuable in exploring and proving the historical life of Jesus Christ the Lord God on earth.

The Four Gospels: Differences and Similarities

Matthew and Mark

As was mentioned previously in this discussion, Matthew was a tax collector and one of the twelve disciples. Although the gospel of Matthew appears first in the New Testament it has been generally agreed upon that it is not the first Gospel that was written. Most experts believe that Mark was written first and that Matthew referenced the Gospel of Mark when writing what became the first book of the New Testament.

Most scholars seem to agree that there are parallels to the structure of the Gospel of Matthew and the Pentateuch. Bloomberg asserts that the Gospel of Matthew highlights five of Jesus sermons, which is comparable to the five books of the Pentateuch. Many scholars believe that Matthew intended to provide the church with a new "Law." According to a book entitled the New Testament, an Introduction: Proclamation and Parenesis, Myth and History, this proclamation of a new law, which contained the tenets of the Christian faith, was chosen as the first book of the bible (Duling and Perrin). The authors explain that the gospel of Matthew is the first book in the New Testament because it was found to be the most useful of all the texts for the church's use through the centuries. It is very much a "church book," written specifically to meet the needs of the church as a developing organization, and it succeeded magnificently. It provided a basis on which the church could build its life, a clear set of instructions for procedure in its affairs, and an understanding of its past, present, and future that made sense of its ongoing life in the world (Duling and Perrin)." book entitled the Synoptic Gospels: Conflict and Consensus reports that the book of Matthew has been historically held in the highest regard by the church (Nickle). This is in some degree because it includes more of the traditions about the life and teaching of Jesus than do Mark, Luke, and John (Nickle).

Duling and Perrin insist that Matthew wanted the Jewish people to understand and accept Jesus as Messiah. The authors point out that Matthew uses Old Testament scripture to describe the Messianic attributes of Christ and incorporates Old Testament prophecies into his writings (Duling and Perrin). Bloomberg points out that Matthew emphasizes the ancestry of Jesus naming Abraham and King David (Bloomberg).

In addition, Matthew includes Ruth, Tamar, Rahab, Mary and Bathsheba (Bloomberg). Mark also names some of the ancestry of Christ but other books of the gospel do not. Bloomberg also explains that many of the women that Matthew named as descendants of Christ had sorted sexual past and all of them except Mary had Gentile ancestry (Bloomberg). Bloomberg asserts that the existence of such women in the genealogy of Christ is evidence that he may indeed be the deliver for all kinds of people regardless of race or past discrepancies (Bloomberg).

In addition Duling and Perrin assert that there is a particularly different slant to the writing Matthew because of the destruction of Jerusalem that had occurred. Duling and Perrin assert that the destruction of Jerusalem was significant in that it also destroyed the temple, which became a problem for both Christians and Jews (Duling and Perrin). The authors assert that for the Jewish community the absence of the temple meant that the worship that they engaged in at the temple was no longer available as a way of developing a relationship with God (Duling and Perrin). In addition, it meant that Jerusalem was no longer the center of religious activity for the Jews (Duling and Perrin).

Additionally, the destruction of Jerusalem brought about fundamental changes in the various sects that operated in the region during this time (Duling and Perrin). Duling and Perrin report that four main sects arose after the destruction of Jerusalem including the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the Zealots and the Esenes (Duling and Perrin). Among the most important of these four were the Pharisees who were able to withstand the Jewish war (Duling and Perrin).

The authors explain that the Pharisees were the popular religious leaders devoted to studying and interpreting the Law and obeying it, and to practicing forms of piety such as synagogue attendance, prayer, almsgiving and punctilious payment of tithes. Since it was difficult to understand how a law written centuries earlier applied to all the circumstances of a changed and changing culture, the Pharisees developed an oral tradition of interpretation of the Law that answered any questions. Fundamentally, the Pharisee understood the Law as revealing the will and purpose of God for men in the world, by obedience to which they achieved the blessing of God (Duling and Perrin)."

The Pharisees were able to triumph after the war because they possessed the resources needed to build synagogues even though the temple had been destroyed (Duling and Perrin).. The authors also explain that because the Pharisees were able to preserve the Law they had authority in the Jewish community (Duling and Perrin). The Pharisees played a significant part in the religious climate that existed during the time of Christ (Duling and Perrin).

The role of the Pharisees is also evident throughout the book of Matthew. This is because the Pharisees had control over Judaism (Duling and Perrin). Duling and Perrin explain that the Pharisees created a new center at Jamnia which is located in northwest of the territory of Judah (Duling and Perrin). It was there that the Pharisees established what is now known as the Old Testament. In addition, the Pharisees systematized ideals surrounding beliefs and practices and codified the interpretation of the law (Duling and Perrin).

This form of Judaism still exists to this day and is referred to as "rabbinic Judaism, because its center is the authoritative interpretation of the Law by the rabbis. In essence, it is Pharisaism redefined in view of the changes necessitated by the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (Duling and Perrin)."Thus, the authors explain that Matthew's gospel is written as "a constant dialogue with the developments going on at Jamnia. This dialogue seems not to have been with Jamnia directly, but rather with the synagogue and Jewish community as it responded to what was happening there (Duling and Perrin)."

Indeed the most identifiable characteristic of Matthew is his use of the Jewish Scriptures to explain the life of Jesus (Nickle).

The author, Nickle explains that the book of Matthew uses allusions and citations correlated with the same religious traditions found in the Jewish Scriptures (Nickle). Although Mark also utilized the Jewish Scriptures but Matthew does so more often and with greater emphasis (Nickle). In doing this Matthew was able to combine two things that were essential to the early church the accounts of Jesus life and Jewish Scriptures (Nickle).

Nickle describes Matthew's use of the Old Testaments in some cases as perplexing. The author explains that Matthew used certain methods to correlate Jesus Life with Old Testament texts. The author asserts

His search for an appropriate passage that would conform to an event in the Jesus tradition sometimes led him to quote a passage without regard for its context. "Out of Egypt have I called my son," which Matthew (2:15) applied to the flight of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to Egypt, described originally, in Hosea, the Exodus deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery (Hos. 11:1). Jeremiah's lament for an Israel herded away to exile (Jer. 31:15) is converted into anticipation of the grief caused by Herod's murder of the male children of Bethlehem (Matt. 2:16-18) (Nickle)."

Nickle adds that in some cases Matthew's use of Old testament passages is vague and may elude the reader.

or in other cases Matthew uses words to describe Christ that he contends are found in the Old Testament that are not. For instance in Matthew 2:23, the author asserts

And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, 'He shall be called a Nazarene'.".. The text that Matthew was citing in that instance is obscure. Maybe he intended a word-play on the Hebrew word for "root" in Isaiah 11:1. Maybe he was alluding to "the boy shall be a Nazarite" of Judges 13:5. Either possibility is remote.

The Old Testament mentions neither the village of Nazareth nor the term for its inhabitants (Nickle)."

In addition, Nickle asserts that portions of Matthews's gospel have been arranged specifically for the purpose of making the scripture correspond with a prophecy from Isaiah (Nickle). For instance, Matthew added supplementary travels to Jesus trip to Galilee as it appears in the gospel of Mark Nickle). In addition, instead of describing the bribe that Judas received for betraying Jesus as money, Matthew describes it as thirty pieces of silver (Nickle). It is believed that this change was made so that this passage would be identical to the money amount discussed in Zechariah 11:12-13(Nickle).

In addition, Matthew is often criticized for his use of literalism in his account of the life of Christ (Nickle). In fact, such literalism has caused many to quest whether or not Matthew was Jewish (Nickle). The author asserts that when describing Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem,

Matthew described Jesus as riding on two animals (Matt. 21:7; compare Mark 11:7) because of the double expression in the Old Testament text: Lo, your king comes to you;... humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass. (Zech. 9:9, italics added) Such a flagrant disregard of typical Hebrew parallelism (the same thing being said with two different expressions) has caused skepticism about Matthew's Jewish background. Yet rabbinical literature amply testifies that not only extreme literalism but also all of the other interpretive methods Matthew employed with Jewish Scripture were common rabbinic exegetical devices. Such methods were devised to restore interpretive flexibility to ancient texts which had been relevant when they were first written but whose significance had become remote (Nickle)."

Additionally, it can be assumed from the account given by Matthew that he believed his readers were acquainted with Jewish Scripture (Nickle). In addition, he believed that they understood Jewish idiosyncrasies, oral traditions, rabbinical interpretation and customs (Nickle). It is also apparent that Matthew expected readers to understand his gospel in the broader context of the Old Testament (Nickle).

In writing his account of Jesus' life, Matthew chose to focus first on the events that surrounded the conception of Jesus and his birth (Bloomberg). Scholars refer to this as the infant narrative (Bloomberg). The infant narrative is only present in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. According to Bloomberg, there are quite a few differences between the descriptions given by Matthew and Luke. However, their infant narrative contains the same basic facts (Bloomberg). Jesus was born of a Virgin (Mary) and conceived of the Holy Spirit (Bloomberg). They also assert that Mary and Joseph was an engaged couple who lived in the days of Herod (Bloomberg). Both authors also explain that an angel announced the pregnancy to Mary and that the child was named before his birth (Bloomberg). These similarities provide some proof to the assertion that the gospels are eyewitness testimonies whose differences and similarities are valuable in exploring and proving the historical life of Jesus Christ the Lord God on earth.

One of the more interesting attributes of Matthew is that although it is believed to be borrowed from an earlier text written by Mark there are many difference in the two texts. In his book the Synoptic Gospels: Conflict and Consensus, the author Keith Nickle explains that there is an assumption that Matthew had access to the writings of Mark, which he used to create his gospel. There also exists the belief that the Christians of Matthews day also had knowledge of the writings of Mark (Nickle). According to Nickle, during the time of Matthew the writings of Mark were used in teaching, missionary work and worship. The book explains that there is evidence to suggest that the Gospel of Mark had been in circulation long enough for Matthew to understand the value of the writings to the Christian Church (Nickle). However, the author asserts that Matthew also believed that the writings were somehow inadequate in addressing all of the needs and struggles facing the Church of which Matthew was a part (Nickle). Matthew understood that the audience that Mark was addressing was vastly different from the one that he found himself in (Nickle).

Nickle asserts that when comparing Matthew to Mark there are obvious differences in the accounts given and the writing styles of the authors (Nickle). Nickle insists that "The artistry with which Matthew combined and organized the traditions which he gathered from a number of different sources was extraordinary. In the process he also molded that traditional material so that it strengthened the faith of the Christian community to which he belonged, supporting it as it struggled with specific issues related to its life and work (Nickle)."

Nickle argues that Mark wrote a basic narrative and that Matthew expanded upon it and rewrote the accounts. In the rewriting of this work Matthew altered much of the original accounts. Nickle asserts that Matthew added more information concerning the traditions of Jesus. Additionally, Matthew also corrected Mark's Greek and also altered the tense of several scriptures. For instance, "In the account of the healing of the paralytic, Matthew replaced Mark's rather crude Greek word for "pallet" (Mark 2:4) with the more polished word for "bed" (Matt. 9:2). Mark's imprecise reference to "King Herod" (Mark 6:14) was corrected by Matthew to "Herod, the tetrarch" (Matt. 14:1) (Nickle)."

In addition the author reports that Matthew changed words and phrases to improve the flow and increase understanding.

In addition to Mark, many scholars have asserted that Matthew utilized other writings to inspire his writings. According to Nickle and Bloomberg Matthew used the source designated as "Q." Nickle explains that it is unlikely that this source can be restructured in detail but many believe that Matthew used the "Q" in the same way that he utilized the writings of Mark. The author also explains that Luke used Q. when revising the gospel of Mark (Nickle). Nickle insists that there is a great probability that Matthew's gospel was written in Greek. The author explains that both the Q. And the gospel of Mark were written in Greek (Nickle).

Nickle also explains that there are nearly 400 verses found in the Gospel of Matthew that are not seen in the Gospel of mark or in the documents known as "Q." Nickle asserts that Besides the genealogy Matthew's special material includes the birth and infancy stories (Matt. 1-2). Unlike Luke's nativity narratives which stress the dimension of the miraculous in the conception and birth of Jesus, Matthew's infancy narratives emphasize the identity of Jesus. That is particularly evident with the description of the name given to him by God (Matt. 1:21-25). It also is implied in the journey narrative from Bethlehem to Nazareth by way of Egypt (Matt. 2:1-23; this passage includes the tradition of the "Wise Men" so familiar to us during the Christmas and Epiphany seasons). Other special Matthean material includes the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection (Matt. 28), a notable number of quotations from the Jewish Scriptures which he understood as referring to incidents in Jesus' life, and a large amount of the sayings and teachings of Jesus, most of which are included in the five great discourses. Also some narrative accounts such as the coin in the fish's mouth (Matt. 17: 24-27), the suicide of Judas (Matt. 27:3-10),the dream of Pilate's wife (Matt. 27:19), the guard at the tomb (Matt. 27:62-66, 28:4) (Nickle).

Nickle asserts that this information is likely to have come from a tradition known as M. The author contends that this tradition is simply Matthews's combination and interpretation of Mark's Gospel and the document known as Q (Nickle).

In any case, the impact of Matthews's use of Marks writings, "Q" and "M" played an instrumental role in creating the account of Christ's life depicted in Matthews (Nickle). According to Nickle, whereas Mark wrote from the point-of-view of a preacher, Matthew's gospel was written from the point-of-view of a teacher (Nickle). The author insists that although Mark played close attention to the deeds of Christ throughout his gospel, Matthew tended to focus on the teachings of Christ and the words that Christ used (Nickle).

In addition, Matthew drew upon Mark's idea the Jesus had greater authority than did the religious leaders of the day (Nickle). Throughout the book of Matthew, the author "made this "greater authority" motif a repetitive refrain which distinguished the teachings of Jesus from rabbinical instruction. Jesus taught with greater authority than did the scribes and Pharisees. This implied that anyone whose teaching conformed to the teaching of Jesus (i.e., Matthew and his community) taught with greater authority than did those who stood in continuity with the scribes and Pharisees (i.e., rabbinic Judaism) (Nickle)."

Nickle also points out that Matthew extended the story of Christ both backwards and forwards (Nickle). The author asserts that Matthew added narrative related to Christ infancy, empty tomb and appearances of Jesus after the resurrection (Nickle). The author explains this as a historizing tendency. In doing this, Matthew tells the story of Jesus in a manner that marks it as a special time (Nickle). Matthew also succeeds in making the life of Christ distinct from the anticipated church that was to follow the ascension of Christ into heaven (Nickle).

Indeed the account of Christ life presented by Matthew is a revision of Mark's Gospel. Matthew's interpretation of the events of Christ life tends to focus more of the details of his life than does the book of Mark. In addition, Matthew attempted to portray Jesus as that Messiah who was prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures. Matthew's account of Christ life also attempts to shed light on the role and purpose of the church in more precise ways than the book of Mark. Matthew also wrote his gospel in a different political and spiritual climate then did Mark. Matthew had concerns about the Jewish community to which he belonged that Mark did not have, thus their accounts of the life of Christ are somewhat different.

In addition, the way in which the two authors utilize parts of speech is quite different and may cause some to question the motive of the writers. We found that Mark's style was related more to preaching in a succinct manner, while Matthew focused more on teaching who Jesus was and thus went into more detail about his life. It should also be noted that Matthew was a disciple and thus had a different experience with Jesus than Mark. In some ways it is safe to assume that Matthew new Christ more intimately than Mark.

In any case, the gospel of Matthew does not, in any way, devalue the account of Christ's life that is presented in Mark. Instead, it confirms the historical existence of Christ and solidifies the idea that the gospels are eyewitness testimonies whose differences and similarities are valuable in exploring and proving the historical life of Jesus Christ the Lord God on earth.

Now that we have garnered a better understanding of the differences between Matthew and Mark, let us discuss the gospel of Luke.

Luke Comparisons

According to Bloomberg, the circumstance under which the book of Luke was written seems uncertain (Bloomberg). Many scholars have concluded that the Gospel of Luke was written to a Christian Community (Bloomberg). Some assert that the Gospel of Luke demonstrates an underlying tension between Christians and Jews that may have existed in Luke's day (Bloomberg). Yet others contend that Luke's approach to sharing the account of Christ life and the message of Christ is the most universal of all the gospels (Bloomberg).

It is also unclear just who Luke was. Some describe him as a companion of Paul, the one the Paul describes as his beloved physician. There are suggestions that Luke was indeed a physician. According to Nickle,

Scholars often have claimed that the large amount of technical medical vocabulary in Luke-Acts strongly supports the thesis that the author was a physician. Actually medicine in the first century, C.E., was still an infant science. Most of its vocabulary was shared by those educated to other occupations. All that Luke's elaborate vocabulary establishes is that he was well educated, not that he was, necessarily, a doctor. Of course, it does not disprove that assumption either (Nickle)."

However, others claim that Luke was a Gentile disciple. In any case, it is apparent that he was a witness to the life of Christ and desired to share the message of Christ by presenting an account of his life.

Like Matthew, Luke was written as a revision to the Gospel of Mark. Luke also uses the document known as Q. To give his account of the life of Christ. According to Nickle "Luke incorporated the material from his sources differently from Matthew's way. Typically, Luke included relatively large portions of material first from one source, then from another. So, for instance, most of what he used from Mark appears in three large blocks: Luke 3:1-6:19; 8:4-9:50; 18:15-24:11, and from Q. In two: Luke 6:208:3 and 9:51-18:14 (Nickle)."

In addition, Luke uses and L. tradition that is distinct to the book of Luke.

According to Bloomberg, the gospel of Luke closely follows the gospel of Mark. This is particularly true when describing the Galilean ministry of Christ (Bloomberg). However, there are exceptions at the end and beginning of the book. Like Matthew, Luke includes a narrative of the events surrounding the birth of Christ and discusses in detail appearances of Christ after the Resurrection (Bloomberg).

However, unlike Matthew, Luke concentrates less on long sermons, instead he alternates between Markan and non-Markan text (Bloomberg).

Several distinct themes are unique to the gospel of Luke or are uniquely explained by Luke (Bloomberg). For instance, Matthew mentions the poor in spirit but Luke mentions those who are poor (Bloomberg). In addition, Luke draws upon the mission of a servant of Isaiah who was commissioned to teach the good news to the poor (Bloomberg). Additionally, Luke puts more emphasis on Christ' concern about those who are sick and poor in the material sense (Bloomberg).

Another theme that is present in Luke when describing the life and ministry of Christ is the description of Christ as Savior and references to salvation (Bloomberg). Bloomberg asserts that Luke uses the Greek word for Savior or salvation a total of eight times and it is only found in one other book of the bible, Acts (Bloomberg).

It has been argued that the account of the life of Christ given by Luke provides a summary of the entire gospel in a single verse, which reads "For the son of man came to seek and save what was lost." Scholars have also concluded that by describing Christ as Savior, Luke sought to place a different emphasis on the ministry of Christ prior to death and resurrection than after these events had occurred (Bloomberg).

Another theme present in Luke is the description of Christ as prophet. According to Bloomberg, " Unique to Luke is Jesus' revification of the widow's son in Nain, a passage strikingly similar to Elisha's reanimation of the Shummanite woman's son (2 Kings 4;8-37). Luke seems to recognize this similarity with his comment that the crowd responded saying "a great prophet has appeared among us (Bloomberg)." In another scripture that is unique to the gospel of Luke, Christ refers to himself as a prophet (Bloomberg). In addition, Bloomberg contends that like Matthew, Luke has the tendency to lean on Old Testament Scripture (Bloomberg). For instance, many of the topics found in Luke are direct parallels of topics found in Deuteronomy (Bloomberg). Bloomberg argues that Luke uses Old Testament scripture to solidify the prophetic nature of Christ and to assert that certain prophecies could only be fulfilled by him (Bloomberg).

An additional theme found in Luke's gospel is associated with the parables of Christ. Bloomberg points out that twenty-eight of the forty parables that are in the New Testament can be found in the gospel of Luke (Bloomberg). Bloomberg explains that 15 of the parables found in Luke are found in the central section of the book, which spans the ninth to eighteenth chapters (Bloomberg). The author also insists that some of the parable written in Luke are less complex and probably pertained most to Jewish peasants (Bloomberg).

The resurrected and exalted Christ is also a central them of the gospel of Luke (Bloomberg). Bloomberg asserts that Luke omits Mark's discussion of the substitutionary atonement of Christ and instead focuses on the Last Supper (Bloomberg). In doing this, Luke places a greater emphasis on the importance of imitating Christ and not expecting anything in return (Bloomberg). Luke emphasizes that followers of Christ should do good works based on the idea that Christ will ultimately reward them (Bloomberg).

Another theme present in the gospel of Luke is the call for stewardship (Bloomberg). In his gospel, Luke emphasizes that Christians should not love materialism. Instead, they should focus on a relationship with Christ. Luke also points out a reversal of roles that would render the wealthy powerless and make the poor powerful (Bloomberg). Luke draws upon the parable of the rich fool and the rich young ruler. Through these parables, the need to help one another is displayed (Bloomberg). Luke's contention is that the people of God should spend their wealth on addressing the needs of others (Bloomberg).

Luke's gospel seems to concentrate more or the reconciliatory nature of Christ. Luke places emphasis on Christ role as Savior to the world and the need to be reconciled with Christ. Luke observed the priesthood of Christ and the importance of that to humanity. Luke also emphasizes the need to do as the Lord commands in reference to stewardship and the poor. Luke seems to desire for his readers to understand the needs of the poor and attempt to help the poor whenever possible.

The gospel of Luke is similar to that of Mark in that it is arranged in much the same order. Nickle explains that by way of comparison we might say that Mark told the story of Jesus to clarify and convict his hearers concerning the present claims of the exalted Lord for their faithful, informed allegiance. Matthew historicized the Jesus traditions but emphasized their present relevance through his use of the "promise-fulfillment" pattern. Luke conceived of the interval of Jesus' life as a unique period of time distinct from the time of the church (Nickle).

Luke's account of Christ life is also similar to Matthew's in that they both place an emphasis on Christ infancy and the appearances of the resurrected Christ. The two gospels are different from Luke in that they do not seem to place as great an emphasis on the parables of Christ.

Luke believed firmly that parables were essential to understanding the nature of Christ and the things that God expects of his people.

As you can see, there are both similarities and differences between the gospel of Luke and the gospels of Matthew and Mark.

Again, the differences between the gospel of Luke and the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, do not discount one another. Instead, they are evidence that suggest that Jesus Christ lived and had a substantial presence. The gospel of Luke provides further proof that the gospels are eyewitness testimonies whose differences and similarities are valuable in exploring and proving the historical life of Jesus Christ the Lord God on earth.

Comparisons to the Gospel of John

Like Matthew, John was one of the twelve Disciples of Christ. When reviewing the gospels the book of John is the least similar to the other accounts of the life of Christ (Bloomberg). Most noticeable John omits such events as the baptism of Christ, the exorcism, the assembly of the twelve disciples, the parables of Christ, the establishment of the last supper and the transfiguration (Bloomberg).

Although these themes are absent from the book of John there are also distinct features of the life of Christ that are not present in the other gospels (Bloomberg). Included in these features are the resurrection of Lazarus, the turning of water into wine, Jesus travels to Jerusalem and the conversation that Christ had with his disciples before his crucifixion (Bloomberg). Bloomberg reports that although there are significant differences between John and the other gospels, there are similarities and redundant accounts. For instance, like the other gospels, John discusses Jesus walking on water, the feeding of the five thousand, and the ministry of John the Baptist (Bloomberg).