John, Luke, Mark, Matthew

Whereas Matthew was written for Jews, Mark was written for the later Gentile converts. Matthew began his gospel with what he knew would be the first question about the Messiah any Hebrew would ask: Is he a son of David? Is he qualified to be the King of Jews? Matthew answers that question (Matt. 1:6, 16), though not the most important, certainly the most important to a Hebrew, before beginning anything else such as Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. Mark, on the other hand, has no genealogy, instead sticking to Peter's stipulation of the qualifications for Judas' replacement (Acts 1:21-22): "companied with us all the time . . . from the baptism of John unto that same day he was taken up from us." Mark begins with Jesus' baptism (Mark 1:2) and continues on to the resurrection, closing at Jesus' last words to His disciples, which are incidentally His qualifications for an apostle (Mark 16:17-18).

Luke's purpose is different again from Matthew and Mark, but to accomplish it he uses elements of both. Luke wants to present Jesus the Messiah as the Son of Man (different from Mark's servant of man) so he takes Jesus' genealogy all the way to the first man, Adam (Luke 3:38), to show that Jesus is the Savior of all, not only the Jews. This particular message is important to Luke, himself a Gentile convert.

John wrote his gospel last, probably after the other writers had died. By the ninth decade when John began writing the church was already being infiltrated with heresies, gnostic or

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unfeigned." By all these things the Christian is to live a life of submissive service to the Lord Who saved him. But only the Holy Spirit can provide these things. Works Cited 1 Corinthians 2:12; 4:10-13; 13 2 Corinthians 5:14; 6:6 Genesis 2:17 The purpose of man was revealed in the Garden of Eden, where man and God could fellowship with each other. However, that purpose was changed when he chose to go against God's will, so God promised that His will would prevail, especially over Satan who had started the problem (Gen. 3:15). John's Revelation displays both the ultimate result of Adam's rebellion and God's sovereign purpose overruling that rebellion and crushing Satan once and for all. Throughout Revelation John also describes the glory of God and His people enjoying fellowship once again. Mankind's future as a whole, therefore, is one of decline so it can ascend to the glory God has prepared for those who love Him. Througout the plagues and curses God sends upon the earth, some people are repenting (Rev. 6:9-11; 7:14) while most people are trying to figure out how to get through it all and cursing God for making them suffer (Rev. 16:9). Meanwhile, in heaven, God's people are enjoying God and worshiping Him foreve

Category: Philosophy - J