The Gospels

The Redemption

The Gospels furnish a fourfold testimony to the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is stronger evidence of the fact of Christ than is accorded to the great majority of events in ancient history. Each Gospel presents the life from a different point of view. The Gospel of St. Matthew was written for the Jews, and presents the Lord as the Messiah, fulfilling "the law and the prophets" to the last "jot or tittle." St. Mark’s Gospel, confined to the public ministry of the Lord, was composed "under the eye and direction of St. Peter" for the Romans, and depicts Jesus as "Lord of all," the Universal Ruler of the world (Acts 10:34). St. Luke’s Gospel for the Hellenic world describes the Lord as the Savior of all Mankind. And St. John’s Gospel, addressed to the church, portrays the Lord as The Word Incarnate, the Son of God. The four connect the life respectively with the past, the present, the future and eternity, the complete picture of Him "who was, and is, and is to come, the Almighty." Strictly speaking, there are no synonyms in any language. No two words have exactly the same meaning. So too, there are no vain repetitions in the Gospels. The variations in form and context of each repetition, especially when regarded in a series, adds indefinitely to the concept of the Perfect Life, and proves the supervision of the Holy Spirit in the composition of the narrative. "He shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26).