There are four accounts of the life of Christ recorded in the New Testament –
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They all tell us the same story, but from different
viewpoints or with different emphasis. One chooses to emphasize the parable of
Jesus, another one skips over the parables and dwell on the nature and character
of our Lord. Putting all four gospel accounts together gives us a fuller and richer
portrait of the life and work of our Lord Jesus.
新約的四卷福音書,分別是馬太福音、馬可福音、路加福音和約翰
福音;它們都記載了基督的生平。雖然內容是相同一致,但各卷書
都有著不同的觀點角度,有著不同的重點。有的強調耶穌所說的比
喻,有的卻著重描述主的性情及本質。綜合四福音一起來研讀,會
讓我們對主耶穌的生平及事工,有著更豐富、更深入的認識。
Let us look at each Gospel one by one and then compare them all together.
(1) The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew is the writer and is often called as “Matthew the tax collector”
(Matt 10:2). He was a Jew.
The Gospel of Matthew starts with the genealogy of Christ. It focuses on
Jesus as the King, the one who fulfills all the promises given by the Old
Testament prophets, regarding a coming Deliverer for the Jews. There
are more than 40 OT passages quoted in this book.
(2) The Gospel of Mark
It is generally agreed that the writer, Mark, is the same person as the
John Mark mentioned in Acts (12:12, 12:25, 13:5, 13:13). His name also
appears in Colossians 4:10, Philemon 1:24, 2 Timothy 4:11. He was
involved in the ministry with Paul and Peter.
Mark is an action-packed account of Jesus as a servant. The emphasis is
on Jesus’ miracles and actions.
(3) The Gospel of Luke
Luke is the writer and is probably the only Gentile writer in the Bible. He
is referred to by Paul as “Luke the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14) .
This book has a greater focus on the “human side” of Jesus.
(4) The Gospel of John
John is the writer and clearly makes the statement that he is the disciple
who testifies to these things and who wrote them down (John 21:24).
And he also clearly states the purpose of this book in John 20:30-31 (Jesus
did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which
are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have
life in his name.)
This book often focuses on the deity of Jesus Christ. It focuses on specific
events or details not mentioned in the other three accounts. Much of the
content found in this Gospel is quite unique like the beginning chapter “In
the beginning was the Word, … instead of giving the genealogy of Christ.
Questions regarding the comparison on the four Gospels:
(1) In which Gospel do we find eight Beatitudes?
Answer: Matthew. See Matthew 5:2-10
(2) Which two Gospels give us the most information about Christ’s birth and
very early childhood?
Answer: Matthew and Luke
(3) What is the only gospel that mentions Christ assigning the care of his
mother to one of his disciplines at the crucifixion?
Answer: John. See John 19:26
(4) Which Gospel records the miracle of turning water into wine?
Answer: John. See John 2:1-11
(5) What is the only gospel that records the words of the criminal who was
crucified with Christ?
Answer: Luke. See Luke 23:42
馬太福音的作者是馬太,他是猶太人,是耶穌的門徒,是個稅吏。
馬太福音以基督的生平為開始。它著重描述耶穌是君王,是猶太人
的釋放者,他來是要應驗舊約先知們所預言的。此書引用了超過四
十處的舊約經文。
馬可福音的作者是馬可。使徒行傳曾多次提及他。他就是稱呼馬可
的約翰。他的名字也出現於其他書卷,如歌羅西書。他是保羅及彼
得的同工。馬可福音的內容充滿動感,它著重描述耶穌僕人的身
份,並他所行的神蹟奇事。
路加福音的作者是路加。他可能是聖經作者中唯一的外邦人。保羅
在歌羅西書裡,稱呼他為親愛的醫生。路加福音著重描述耶穌人性
的一面。
約翰福音的作者是約翰。他清楚地指出自己就是耶穌所愛的那門
徒,並為這些事作見證和記載下來。(約21:24) 約翰福音著重描述
耶穌神性的一面。另外,它著重的事件和細節,都與其他三卷福音
書不同。這卷書大部份的內容都比較獨特。例如它沒記載耶穌基督
的家譜,卻於第一章第一節說”太初有道,…”
問題:
(1)哪一卷福音書記載了天國八福?
答案:馬太福音
(2)哪兩卷福音書提供了基督降生及童年時期的最多資料?
答案:馬太福音和路加福音
(3)哪一卷福音書提及基督釘十架時,他交托母親給其中一個門徒
照顧?
答案:約翰福音 (參約19:26)
(4)哪一卷福音書記錄了水變酒的神蹟?
答案:約翰福音 (參約2:1-11)
(5)哪卷福音書記錄了罪犯與基督同釘十字架時所說的話?
答案:路加福音 (參路23:42)