The New Testament gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John offer four remarkably similar accounts of the life and passion of Jesus Christ. Scholars generally contend that Mark is the earliest of the four accounts and that it functions as a "major narrative source" for the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Due to their strong resemblance to Mark, Matthew and Luke are usually referred to as the Synoptic gospels. In contrast, John appears to have been written later as a "corrective Christology" as an innovative example of a biography meant to correct a particular early Christian community's misunderstanding of Christ. John structures his narrative order differently than the other three gospels. Additionally, the birth account of Jesus is omitted in favor of rendering Christ as the "personal, historical manifestation of the Logos" or Divine Word. In John, more attention is given to the actual teachings which Jesus delivered.
Mark, the most elemental of the four gospels, begins with the proclamation of John the Baptist. Immediately following this, Jesus is seen being baptized and tested in the desert. After his fasting, Jesus began his ministry in Galilea. Mark emphasizes Jesus' curative powers by recounting how he cured a man of an unclean spirit and Simon's mother-in-law. Mark covers the parables, prophecies and miracles of Jesus Christ. The Transfiguration illuminates how the community needed to recognize Jesus as Lord. The paradox of Mark is that while Jesus was simultaneously misunderstood and rejected, he could emerge triumphant as the divine Son. The gospel concludes with Jesus' passion and resurrection.
Matthew is composed of five books plus the stories of the infancy and Passion. Commencing with the genealogy of Christ, Mark offers more information on Jesus' birth and visit by the Magi than Mark. Matthew includes the beautiful Sermon on the Mount and Christ's admonishment that the old standards of conduct are in...