Monday 24 November 2014

Why Does Each Gospel Sound Different?

The first four books of the New Testament report the same Gospel account, but from four different perspectives. They give the same message with differing but perfectly harmonious emphases. Matthew presents Jesus as the sovereign, whereas Mark presents Him in the extreme opposite role as servant. Luke presents Him as the Son of Man, whereas John presents Him as the Son of God. The same Jesus is shown to be both sovereign God and servant man.  

In presenting the sovereignty of Jesus, Matthew begins his Gospel with the genealogy of the Lord - going back to Abraham, the father of the Hebrew people through King David, Israel model King. In presenting Jesus' servanthood, Mark gives no genealogy at all, because a servant's lineage is irrelevant. In presenting Jesus as the Son of Man, Luke traces his genealogy back to the first man, Adam. In presenting Jesus as the divine Son of God, John gives no human genealogy or birth and childhood narratives. He opens up his Gospel, by giving, as it were, Jesus divine genealogy: 'in the beginning was the Word, as the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' 

John MacArthur, Matthew 1-7, pp xi-xii

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