Matthew / Mark / Luke / John
Go ahead and pick up your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter one. Today, we are going to be looking at Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—yes, the New Testament! If you’ve been part of our Generation series, we have journeyed through the entire Old Testament so far, and we have reached this milestone moment of entering the New Testament. I’m excited about this. It gives us a look at the Bible from a 30,000-foot level.
Crossing the 400-Year Gap
As you are turning there, take a look at your Bible. In my Bible, the last page of Malachi—the final book of the Old Testament—and the first page of Matthew—the first book of the New Testament—are separated by just one single page. Yet that one little page represents four hundred stinking years! It is amazing. Sometimes we just flip right past it and think, Okay, let’s keep going.
If you haven’t had a chance to visit thewellcommunity.org and listen to the thirty-minute talk by Rick Taylor, one of our teachers, on the intertestamental period, please check it out. He covers those four hundred years of what we often call the “silent period”—silent because there was no new biblical prophecy or direct word from God recorded, but culturally and politically, it definitely wasn’t silent. There’s a helpful chart that goes with it too. As we jump into the New Testament, you are going to encounter historical and cultural realities and wonder, Where did that come from? That teaching will help you put everything in proper context.
A Four-Dimensional View of Jesus
We are looking at Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John together today. You might wonder, Why look at all four books at once? Well, they share some profound commonalities. First, they are all called the Gospels. These four books represent the pinnacle of all Scripture. Everything promised in the Old Testament, reaching all the way back to Genesis where God first promised salvation, actually happens historically right here.
These books record Jesus coming to die, being buried, and rising from the dead to give us forgiveness of sins and provide salvation—making a way for us to have a relationship with the one true God. Without Jesus and what He accomplished, we would be eternally separated from God, completely helpless and hopeless. But because of what Jesus did, when we put our faith in Him, we now stand righteous before God—something we could never achieve on our own. That is genuinely good news. That is why they are called the “gospels.”
All four books focus on the life of Jesus, particularly His three years of earthly ministry, His death, burial, resurrection, and the days before He ascended into heaven. They all cover that same timeframe. Yet, even while covering the same events, they are remarkably different.
When we get to John, we will see that 90% of John’s content cannot be found in any of the other three Gospels. Ninety percent! It is a totally distinct perspective. Meanwhile, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the “synoptic” Gospels—from a word meaning to see together. They cover many of the same accounts, the same events, and the same teachings of Jesus. Yet when you read all three, each writer gives you a unique angle.
Think of it this way: if you read one Gospel, you get a one-dimensional view of Jesus. If you read two, you get two dimensions. If you read three, you get three dimensions. But when you read all four, you see a magnificent, four-dimensional view of Jesus.
Some people say, “Well, the Gospels are all about Jesus’ life, so I’ll just read Mark because it’s the shortest one. That way I cover my bases, get the story down, and skip the redundancy.” Don’t be so quick to do that! Even though they cover the same Person and the same era, each author brings a distinct vantage point. Don’t settle for a one-dimensional Jesus. Get the full four-dimensional view.
My prayer is that after our time today, you walk out of here inspired to open these Gospels and read them fresh with each author’s unique perspective in mind. If you pull out your four charts, you will see key themes that will serve as roadmaps when you read through them on your own.
Matthew: Jesus as King
Let’s start with Matthew. Looking at your chart, the theme is right at the top: Jesus is King.
Matthew was a tax collector who became a follower of Jesus and one of the twelve disciples. In Mark and Luke, he is referred to as Levi; he only calls himself Matthew in his own book. As an eyewitness, he walked with Jesus for three years. Matthew, Mark, and Luke were likely written twenty-five to thirty-five years after Jesus ascended. These writers looked around at their communities and asked, What are people failing to understand about Jesus? What gaps do we need to address in writing?
Matthew looked at his fellow Jewish people and saw that decades after Christ, they were still waiting and looking for the Messiah. They were still saying, “I wonder when the King will come to sit on David’s throne, conquer the Roman Empire, and rule forever.” I imagine Matthew pulling his hair out, thinking, Are you kidding me? He was here twenty-five years ago! Let me show you that Jesus is the Messiah you are still searching for.
That was Matthew’s driving passion: to present Jesus as the King—not just King of the Jews, but King of kings and Lord of lords. Look at how he opens his book:
Matthew 1:1 (NASB)
The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Matthew begins with a genealogy. Why? Because he is establishing that Jesus is the rightful heir to the throne of David. Matthew traces Jesus’ royal lineage through David and every single king of Judah all the way to Christ. He meets every royal qualification.
Because Matthew is writing primarily to a Jewish audience, he constantly connects Jesus to the Old Testament Scriptures. Notice how frequently this phrase appears:
Matthew 1:22 (NASB)
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
And again in chapter two:
Matthew 2:15 (NASB)
He remained there until the death of Herod. [This was] to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.’
And just a few verses later:
Matthew 2:17 (NASB)
Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
And again in chapter three:
Matthew 3:3 (NASB)
For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, ’THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’’
Over and over, Matthew highlights how Jesus fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets. The Jewish people believed they would never miss the Messiah because of all the prophecies pointing to Him. Matthew shows them, “You missed Him! He fulfilled every single word.”
This is also why Matthew includes details the other writers omit, like the Magi coming to bow down and present costly gifts to a young Jesus. Why? Because that is how you honor a King.
Throughout Matthew, Jesus’ words carry a strong flavor of royal authority. In Matthew 17, when the tax collectors ask Peter if Jesus pays the temple tax, Jesus asks Simon who pays taxes to earthly kings—their sons or strangers? When Peter answers “from strangers,” Jesus declares that the sons are free. He was pointing out His royal lineage.
Matthew 17:24-26 (NASB)
When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma [tax] came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma [tax]?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?’ When Peter said, ‘From strangers,’ Jesus said to him, ’Then the sons are exempt.
Matthew also records parables specifically framed around royalty:
Matthew 18:23 (NASB)
’For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
Parable after parable in Matthew compares the kingdom of heaven to a king who had two sons, a king who went on a journey, or a king sitting on a glorious throne separating the sheep from the goats.
Finally, look at how Matthew concludes his Gospel:
Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB)
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ’All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’
We often call this the Great Commission, but in light of Matthew’s theme, it is truly the King’s Commission. With absolute authority in heaven and on earth, the King commands His servants to go, make disciples, and teach obedience. Matthew presents Jesus as the Sovereign King.
Mark: Jesus as the Suffering Servant
When you turn to Mark, you discover a completely different lens. Mark’s theme is that Jesus is the Servant—the slave of all.
Mark himself is a fascinating character. To be completely honest, he started out as a bit of a flake. In Mark 14, during Jesus’ arrest, Mark records an odd detail found in no other Gospel: a young man following Jesus with only a linen cloth wrapped around him is grabbed by the soldiers, slips out of the cloth, and runs away naked into the night.
Mark 14:51-52 (NASB)
A young man was following Him, wearing [nothing but] a linen sheet over [his] naked [body]; and they seized him. But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.
That was Mark’s way of signing his name, essentially saying, “That was me. I was that terrified kid running away buck naked.” Later in the book of Acts, Paul and Barnabas take Mark on a missionary journey, but when things get rough, Mark bails and goes home. Later on, Paul didn’t even want to take him along because Mark had quit when the going got tough. Mark struggled with commitment when the cost was high.
Yet Barnabas didn’t give up on Mark. He took him under his wing, and later, the apostle Peter discipled Mark as a spiritual son. Under Peter’s guidance, God took this once-fearful young man and used him to write a Gospel that has introduced millions of people to Jesus Christ. God can truly use anyone!
Mark writes a fast-paced, action-oriented Gospel aimed at a Roman mindset. Romans valued action, power, and conquest, viewing greatness as having people serve and submit to you. Mark skips genealogies, Jesus’ birth, and His childhood altogether, launching straight into Jesus’ active ministry in chapter one.
Mark presents Jesus doing, acting, and serving. He challenges the Roman worldview by showing that true greatness is found in serving others. In Mark 10, when James and John ask for the seats of honor on Jesus’ right and left in glory, Jesus addresses the disciples’ misunderstanding of power:
Mark 10:43-45 (NASB)
’But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. ‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’
Verse 45 is the heartbeat of Mark’s Gospel: the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. From that moment on, Jesus sets His face toward Jerusalem to make the ultimate sacrifice that only a humble servant would make. Matthew shows us the King of kings; Mark shows us the Servant of all.
Luke: Jesus as the Compassionate Man
Next, turn to Luke. Luke was a physician, a companion of Paul, and a meticulous historian who wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. He explains his purpose right at the start:
Luke 1:1-4 (NASB)
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write [it] out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.
Writing an orderly account to Theophilus, Luke presents Jesus as the Son of Man—fully human, compassionate, and deeply connected to humanity. If you want a chronological overview of Jesus’ three years of ministry, Luke is your best guide.
Because Luke emphasizes Jesus’ humanity, he spends significant time on Jesus’ conception, birth, and upbringing. Notice what Luke records about Jesus’ childhood:
Luke 2:52 (NASB)
And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man. He grew up through normal human development. When Jesus is born in Luke, the announcement doesn’t go to wealthy royalty; it goes to ordinary, blue-collar shepherds working out in the fields.
When Luke records Jesus’ genealogy in chapter three, he doesn’t trace it through the royal line of kings back to Abraham as Matthew did. Luke traces Jesus’ lineage through Mary all the way back to the very first man:
Luke 3:23-38 (NASB)
When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Luke traces Jesus all the way back to Adam! Why? Because every single human being shares a common ancestor in Adam. Luke is declaring that Jesus is related to all of us. He is one of us.
Furthermore, Luke is the only Gospel that includes the parable of the rich fool, the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the parable of the prodigal son, and the parable of the Good Samaritan. Each of these highlights human empathy, mercy, and compassion for the broken and marginalized. Luke shows us a Savior who understands our weaknesses, empathizes with our struggles, and meets ordinary people right where they are.
John: Jesus as God in the Flesh
Finally, we turn to the Gospel of John. Writing thirty to thirty-five years after the other three Gospels, John saw what was already circulating and asked, What gaps still need to be filled? What needs to be clarified?
Toward the end of the first century, false teachings were emerging suggesting that Jesus wasn’t truly God, or that the physical realm was evil and therefore Jesus didn’t possess a real physical body. John wrote to decisively declare that Jesus is God in human flesh.
John doesn’t begin with a human genealogy; he begins in eternity past:
John 1:1 (NASB)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And then he writes:
John 1:14 (NASB)
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is the eternal Word made flesh. All throughout his Gospel, John highlights Jesus’ divine nature. When the religious leaders opposed Jesus, John makes the core conflict unmistakable:
John 5:18 (NASB)
For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
John includes Jesus’ seven famous “I AM” statements: I am the bread of life; I am the light of the world; I am the door; I am the good shepherd; I am the resurrection and the life; I am the way, the truth, and the life; I am the true vine. To a Jewish audience, claiming to be the Good Shepherd or the Resurrection was claiming the very attributes of Yahweh.
This culminates after the resurrection when Thomas places his hands in the wounds of the risen Christ and cries out in worship:
John 20:28 (NASB)
Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’
John makes his ultimate purpose crystal clear near the end of his book:
John 20:30-31 (NASB)
Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
The Savior We Truly Need
When you step back and look at all four Gospels, you realize why we need every single one of them. What kind of Savior do we need?
We need a King who holds supreme authority and whom we can follow with our entire lives. Matthew says, Here is Jesus, your King.
We need a Servant willing to humble Himself and give His life as a ransom for helpless sinners. Mark says, Here is Jesus, the Servant of all.
We need a Man who can represent humanity, pay the penalty for human sin, and empathize with our everyday frailty. Luke says, Here is Jesus, the Son of Man.
And ultimately, we need God Himself, because no mere mortal could ever conquer sin and death to offer eternal life. John says, Here is Jesus, God in the flesh.
King. Servant. Man. God. That is the complete, four-dimensional picture of our Savior.
I encourage you: don’t settle for a one-dimensional view of Christ. Take these charts, open up Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and read them with fresh eyes. Get to know Him in all His fullness. And if you have never placed your faith in Him, read these pages and see who He is. He alone is the Savior of the world.
Let’s pray.
Thank You, Lord, for Your Word. Thank You for the Gospels—the good news that Jesus Christ came to provide salvation for all who believe. Father, we are blown away by the greatness and the vastness of Jesus. We turn the page and see Him as King; we turn another and see Him as the Servant of all; we turn again and see Him sharing our humanity and showing deep compassion; and we turn once more to see Him as God Almighty dwelling among us. There is no one like Your Son. We thank You for making a way for us when we were helpless. We place our complete trust in Jesus Christ. In His name we pray, Amen.