Comparing The Gospel Writers

 

 Have you ever sat with your Bible open, and all of a sudden something just grabs hold of you and won’t let go? That’s what this one feels like. I wasn’t even looking for it. It found me. I was examining the Gospels again—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and I started seeing something I’d never paid attention to before. Not just what they wrote… but how they wrote. The flavor. The feel. What they chose to include—and maybe even more importantly, what they didn’t.

I couldn’t shake this feeling that each of them carried a specific piece of Yeshua. Like they shared with me how each of them walked with Him, how each one saw Him, how they heard Him, touched Him—but somehow, they each picked up on something different. Not because one got it right and the others didn’t. But because no one man could hold the fullness of who He is. They each had a piece. A beautiful, Spirit-breathed piece.

Let me start with Matthew, because this is where it hit me first. This man—this tax collector—he left his booth when Yeshua said just two simple words: “Follow Me.” That’s it. He walked away from his job, his livelihood, his security, his riches. And he didn’t just follow Jesus around with curiosity. He listened. Deeply. Intently. You can tell. His Gospel is packed with teachings—so many of the parables come from him. And it’s not like he’s writing from secondhand memory, either. You can feel it—he wrote down the details like someone who knew the weight of every word. Someone who was there. Watching. Listening.

He gives us the Sermon on the Mount, word for word. He gives us the parable of the ten virgins, the laborers in the vineyard, the sheep and the goats—all these stories that are found only in his Gospel. That says something. It says he was listening. Not just watching Jesus heal people or walk on water—he was sitting there soaking in every teaching, every lesson. He was probably quiet, maybe even overlooked sometimes, but inside? He was storing it all away.

Why? I wonder if it's because he needed those words. He was a man marked by rejection. Seen as a traitor by his own people because he worked for the Romans. Maybe the words of Yeshua were the first time he heard truth that didn’t crush him. Maybe the Kingdom Yeshua described in His parables was the only place Matthew ever felt like he actually belonged.

And then I shift over to John… and oh, this is a whole different kind of closeness. If Matthew was writing down the words, John was breathing in the heart. His Gospel feels so different. You can feel the love between them—it’s thick in every word. John never even calls himself by name. He just says “the disciple Jesus loved.” That always used to make me pause. Was he being humble? Or was he showing us something?

I think John knew exactly who he was—not because of who he was, but because of who Jesus was to him. That love was the center of his whole identity. He doesn’t give us a lot of parables. But he gives us the moments. The tender ones. The deep ones. The moments no one else saw.

He’s the only one who writes about Jesus washing their feet. He’s the only one who records that prayer in John 17—Yeshua crying out to the Father on our behalf, not just His disciples. “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” That’s us. That’s you and me. John heard that prayer, and he held onto it like a treasure.

John’s Gospel is the one that starts with eternity—“In the beginning was the Word…”—and it ends with a beach breakfast between Yeshua and Peter, full of restoration and grace. It’s like John is saying, “I saw the big picture, but I also saw the little moments. I saw God in the glory, and I saw God in the tears.”

Now let’s bring in Mark. He was thought to be Peter's nephew. Mark is like a sprint. It moves fast, straight to the point. You’ll notice he uses the word “immediately” all the time. It’s like he doesn’t want you to blink or you’ll miss something. He doesn’t spend a lot of time on long sermons or deep theological explanations. But he does show you the power and authority of Jesus in motion. Healing, delivering, commanding storms and demons alike.

Tradition tells us that Mark’s Gospel is really Peter’s memories—Mark just wrote them down as Peter told him. And that makes sense, doesn’t it? Peter was impulsive, passionate, always in the thick of it. And Mark’s Gospel has that same energy. If Matthew’s Gospel feels careful and studied, Mark’s feels like someone rushing in from the front lines to tell you what just happened. It’s raw. Urgent. And you know what? Sometimes we need exactly that.

We need to be reminded that Jesus didn’t just talk about the Kingdom—He brought it with Him. He stepped into real pain, real chaos, real fear, and He ruled over it. That’s what Mark shows us. Yeshua didn’t just teach; He acted. And when He suffered, He did it with dignity and authority. Even in His silence before Pilate, Mark shows us strength.

Then finally… Luke. Ah, Luke. The only Gentile writer in the whole Bible. A doctor. A man of detail and compassion. And though he didn’t walk with Jesus in person, he investigated everything—carefully, thoroughly. He tells us in his first few verses that he “carefully investigated everything from the beginning.” He wanted to know the truth. And not just for himself—for others. He says he’s writing “so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

Luke’s Gospel is rich with emotion. He includes the stories nobody else told. The woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with her tears. The widow of Nain. The thief on the cross. The Good Samaritan. The Prodigal Son. The lost coin. The lepers. Luke gives us a Savior who sees people others ignore. He gives us a Gospel for the brokenhearted.

And something else? Luke gives us more about women than any other Gospel. It’s Luke who tells us about Mary’s song, about Elizabeth and Zechariah, about Anna the prophetess. It’s Luke who reminds us that Yeshua didn’t just come for the strong and the powerful—He came for the humble, the wounded, the cast aside.

When you line all four of these up… you see something beautiful. You see that God didn’t choose just one perfect storyteller. He chose four different men—each with their own lens, their own history, their own scars. And He poured the story of the Messiah through each of them.

Because one perspective wasn’t enough.

Because Yeshua is bigger than one life, one personality, one testimony.

And you know what else? If He could reveal Himself in different ways through each of them… maybe He’s still doing that now, through each of us. We just need to ... listen.

Maybe Matthew was for the thinkers, the studiers, the detail keepers.
John was for the lovers, the feelers, the ones who sit close and listen.
Mark was for the action-takers, the ones who run into the fire.
Luke was for the healers, the writers, the ones who speak up for the overlooked.

And Yeshua? He is all of it. The Teacher. The Shepherd. The Servant. The Savior. The Son of God. The Son of Man.

And He meets each of us exactly where we are.

Now that we’ve talked about how each of the Gospels presents Yeshua in such a unique light, let’s dig into what this means for us today. When we think about the way each writer presents Jesus, it shows us something essential: no one has the full picture unless we come together and share our stories. And you know what? We are called to do just that.

There’s something really powerful about how each Gospel writer gives us a different angle. Think about it for a second—none of these writers was “better” than the others. They were each chosen for the story they were meant to tell. We are all chosen to bring our own part to the table. And when you look at the world today, especially the body of true believers, you can see that happening. We are all pieces of this same puzzle, each of us revealing a different aspect of The Savior we love.

Think about how we read Scripture. When we approach it with the eyes of Matthew, we can sometimes become very focused on what Jesus said—we’re the ones who want to study, to learn, to understand every word He spoke. We’re probably sitting with a concordance and other study guides, diving into the Greek and Hebrew, trying to pull out every single meaning in each phrase. We’re thinking deeply about His Kingdom, His teaching, and what it looks like to follow Him with our whole hearts.

But if we only focus on that, we might miss the heart of Yeshua—what John shows us. John’s the one who wants us to see Jesus, not just as Teacher, but as the One who loves us deeply, who calls us into relationship. It’s easy to get caught up in the structure of things—the right teaching, the right answers—but John reminds us that this is about knowing Him. It’s about letting His love change us, not just His lessons. We need to love Him the way He loves us. When we read John, we’re reminded to stop, to listen, to really hear what He’s saying about love. We’re reminded that we don’t just follow rules—we follow a Savior who laid down His life for us.

And then there’s Mark. Man, when you read Mark, it’s like you’re right in the middle of a battle. You feel the urgency. You feel the action. Sometimes we get so caught up in the details of our faith that we forget the urgency of the Kingdom. We forget that we’re called to move. Mark pushes us to remember that we’re not just here to talk about the Gospel. We’re here to live it, to run into the fire, to be His hands and feet. If you’re someone who sometimes feels like you need a kick in the pants—Mark is the one who’ll give it to you. Get in the game. Don’t waste time.

But don’t forget Luke, either. Luke is the one who shows us the broken, the hurting, the ones who’ve been overlooked. He gives us the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, the prodigal son—stories that show us a God who cares for the least of these. If we’ve been guilty of missing the hurting people around us, Luke comes to remind us of God’s heart for the broken. Yeshua didn’t come for the powerful; He came for the humble, the sick, the lost. And He didn’t just heal bodies—He healed hearts.

Luke doesn’t just write to the rich and the powerful. He writes to the ones who need hope. The ones who need healing. He shows us a Savior who isn’t afraid of the mess. He shows us a God who looks at the outcast and says, “You belong.” And maybe that’s something we all need to hear in our own lives. When we feel unworthy, when we feel like we’re too far gone, Luke shows us that the Savior seeks us out. He goes after the ones who are lost, not the ones who have it all together.

And here’s the thing. These four men? They’re not just writing history. They’re showing us how we should live. Think about it. Jesus didn’t just come to teach. He came to show us how to live. And each of these Gospel writers brings us a piece of that. Each of them calls us into something deeper.

Matthew calls us to be learners. Not just of knowledge—but of how to live in His Kingdom. He challenges us to understand the fullness of what it means to follow Yeshua, to keep His commands, to be salt and light in a world that desperately needs both.

Mark calls us to action. To get up and go. To step out in faith. He reminds us that the Kingdom of God is here—and it’s moving fast. If we’re not in it, we’re missing it.

Luke calls us to look at the world through different eyes. To see the lost, the broken, the overlooked. To serve. To care. To love the outcasts. To be the hands and feet of Yeshua, not just His mouth.

John calls us to love. To stay close to Him. To let His love transform us. He reminds us that our faith isn’t just about what we do—it’s about the relationship we have with Him. It’s about abiding in His love. Without that, nothing else matters.

Now, here’s where it gets really powerful. Think about this: if we only had one of these perspectives, we’d be missing a huge piece of the picture. What if we only had Matthew? We’d understand the Kingdom—but we might miss the deep, intimate relationship that Jesus calls us into. What if we only had John? We’d understand the love, but we might miss the urgency to act. What if we only had Mark? We’d be busy serving, but we might forget to love. What if we only had Luke? We’d care for the broken, but we might miss the full picture of what it means to live as children of the King.

But when we bring them all together? We see Yeshua in His fullness. We see the Savior who teaches us, loves us, challenges us, and calls us to action. We see the Savior who shows us what it means to live in His Kingdom and how to live out that Kingdom on this earth. And that’s the story we’re called to tell.

We’re called to live out each of these perspectives in our own lives. To be like Matthew and study the Scriptures, to be like John and love deeply, to be like Mark and step out in action, to be like Luke and care for the hurting. We don’t have to pick one. We’re called to live them all.

And when we do that? When we live as a community that embodies all four of these aspects of Yeshua? That’s when the world will truly see who He is. That’s when we’ll reflect Him in a way that draws others to Him.

So, my challenge to all of us today is simple. Look at your life. Which perspective do you need more of? Do you need to study more? Do you need to love deeper? Do you need to step out and serve more? Do you need to open your eyes to the hurting people around you?

We’re called to reflect all of it. All of Him. Every part.

We can’t just know about Jesus. We have to know Him. And we have to live like He lived. All of us, together.

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Yeshua with the Gospel Writer

These repeated stories in the Gospels serve to emphasize significant events in Jesus' life and ministry, often with unique perspectives to appeal to each Gospel's intended audience.

The Baptism of Jesus
    Matthew 3:13-17
    Mark 1:9-11
    Luke 3:21-22
    John 1:29-34 (John's account is more focused on John the Baptist's testimony rather than a        direct narrative of the baptism itself.)

The Temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness
    Matthew 4:1-11
    Mark 1:12-13 (brief, not as detailed as Matthew's account)
    Luke 4:1-13

The Feeding of the 5,000
    Matthew 14:13-21
    Mark 6:30-44
    Luke 9:10-17
    John 6:1-14 (John includes more conversation between Jesus and his disciples.)

The Transfiguration of Jesus
    Matthew 17:1-9
    Mark 9:2-8
    Luke 9:28-36

The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus
    Matthew 27-28
    Mark 15-16
    Luke 23-24
    John 18-20
    (While the core events are the same, the details and emphasis vary, such as the dialogue on     the cross or the specific resurrection appearances.)

The Parable of the Sower
    Matthew 13:1-23
    Mark 4:1-20
    Luke 8:4-15

The Calling of the First Disciples
    Matthew 4:18-22
    Mark 1:16-20
    Luke 5:1-11
   John 1:35-51 (John's account differs significantly, with a more detailed introduction to Jesus'       interaction with Andrew and Peter.)

The Lord’s Supper (The Last Supper)
    Matthew 26:17-30
    Mark 14:12-26
    Luke 22:7-23
    John 13:1-30 (John’s account doesn’t have the institution of the Eucharist, but instead focuses on Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.)

 

Images are AI generated as per my instructions.