The books of the Old Testament and those of the New have been closely studied for authorship and other historical evidence. The four gospels differ in many details regarding the life of Christ, including differences in details over his birth and death. The different writers selected and arranged material according to their different intentions. This creates some problems given that the story as a whole is not consistent. Matthew, Mark, and Luke have the same basic point of view and share more material than with the version of John. The first three are considered the Synoptic Gospels and are associated with the teachings of Christ as given in Galilee through his lifetime. The version of John is more associated with earlier teachings in Judea. The first three tell of the miracles accomplished by Christ, while John is more interested in the nature of the man himself. Both Matthew and Luke offer a genealogy, but they present the material in different order, Matthew in the traditional way, and Luke going backward. There are some differences in the listing. Mark has an apocalyptic tone and a dramatic way of telling the story. Matthew is more poetic and writes in a style similar to Hebrew poetry. Matthew follows Mark closely after Chapter 12. Matthew writes as an evangelist. Luke is more formal in style, and his version would become the model for presentations of the life of Jesus meant to be imitated. John has a different chronological framework. In the earlier gospels, Jesus teaches by means of parables and short speeches, while in John Jesus teaches through longer and more symbolic stories.
The gospel according to Matthew is somewhat more difficult to read than the others because it begins with a long list of unknown names and deals at length with matters of tradition and law and with issues of the fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures and of Jesus' confrontations with the Jewish leaders of the day. Yet, Matthew is alwa...