I once learned that quadraphonics was the earliest form of surround sound, where 4 speakers were placed in the 4 corners of a room to widen the soundscape. Of course, things have moved on a lot since then, and we now have much more complicated surround sound setups, with up to 10 speakers being placed anywhere from floor to ceiling, but for the purposes of today, let’s stick to 4.
If you were listening to a piece of music through 4 speakers, and you had your technical equipment set up right, you’d probably find that some things, like the voice of the lead singer, would be heard clearly through all the sound sources. However, other parts of the music might only come through one or 2. You might hear the drums coming loudly through one speaker, and perhaps the guitars coming through another. Sometimes there may be a swirling or swooshing cymbal sound, which would roll its way from left to right or around the entire soundscape. Listening to some things through multiple speakers can give the music a whole new feeling.
I think reading the 4 gospels side by side is a bit like listening to an intricate piece of music through 4 separate speakers, because in each gospel, the wonderful stories of Jesus living and teaching during his earthly life are all told in slightly different ways and from diverse angles. yet the overall message remains the same, because it is timeless and cannot be tampered with.
Matthew was a Jew. He was a tax collector, and is sometimes known in the scriptures as Levi, probably meaning he came from that particular Israelite tribe. Tax collectors were seen as the lowest of the low in Jesus’ day, because they often cheated people by charging them more than they ought. If there were pantomimes in those days, the tax collectors would have been the villains for people to boo and hiss at. However, Jesus called Matthew, and surprisingly, we are told that he left his tax collector’s booth and followed Jesus, giving his heart and his life totally over to the one who could change him from the inside out. (Matthew 9: 9) However, as a former tax collector, Matthew would have had certain unique skills, including the ability to take down the shorthand of his day. This is possibly why his gospel contains a lot of Jesus’ detailed speeches. He also seems to have been very organised, because he collects things together in groups. Thus, we have chapters about what Jesus did, followed by chapters containing what he said. And of course, being a Jew, Matthew knew the old testament scriptures, so we find him often referring back to them, showing us how Jesus’ fulfilled so many wonderful prophecies.
Mark, on the other hand, is believed by many to have been the secretary for Peter. We believe this was John Mark, who did some missionary work with Paul, but seems to have quit in the middle and returned home, thus incurring the wrath of the great apostle. (Acts 15: 37-38.) However, we should note that toward the end of his life, Paul asked for Mark again, and said he was useful to him in his ministry. (2Timothy 4: 11.) Perhaps Mark was more suited to writing than missionary work. At any rate, he seems to have developed a close relationship with Peter and acted as his scribe. Peter being Peter, this gospel is brief and to the point. It is action-packed from beginning to end, and interestingly there is no record of Jesus’ birth. We just launch straight into his life and the things he said and did. Many say this is part of the idea of presenting Jesus as the suffering servant. We don’t need to know the origins of a servant.
then we come to Luke who likes to present Jesus as the Son of Man. Luke was almost certainly a physician, who seems to have travelled with Paul during some of his missionary journeys. Maybe there was a reason why Paul needed a doctor, or maybe Luke simply felt called to give up his medical practice and take his skills on the road. Either way, I’m sure having a doctor along for his travels would have been beneficial to Paul. Some theologians state that Luke wrote both his gospel and the book of Acts as part of Paul’s defence statements when he appeared before the Roman authorities. This would make sense, as they are both addressed to someone called Theophilus. But being a doctor, Luke seems very keen to show the humanity of Jesus. He truly was fully man as well as being fully God.
Finally, John’s Gospel goes all out to affirm Jesus as the divine Son of God. John refers to himself several times in his gospel as “The beloved disciple”. However, I don’t think this means he was Jesus’ favourite, since Jesus was perfect, so couldn’t have had any favourites. But somehow, he had a particularly close relationship with John. The very beginning of the book lays out its theme, as we are given the picture of Jesus as the Word – the one who always was, and always will be. “The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1: 14.) John had ample opportunities to see and hear Jesus at work, and his gospel contains many unique insights which we don’t get in the other 3.
There have been some arguments about contradictions in the 4 gospels. Did the cock crow once before Peter denied Jesus 3 times, or twice? How many demonized men were there living in the tombs whom Jesus set free by sending the demons into a herd of swine? But do these minor details really matter? Think about modern-day events where eyewitnesses are called upon to give evidence. Perhaps we could consider a crime scene where 4 different people saw the same event, but from 4 different angles. Also, because they are 4 individuals, they would each have their own unique perspective. I believe that rather than contradicting one another, each gospel adds to our understanding of the other.
A few years ago, I read through the Bible in chronological order. So when I got to the gospels, I read coinciding passages from each one side by side. This opened up these books to me in a totally new way, as though I were looking at the same events through 4 separate pairs of eyes.
Praise the Lord for Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and the fact that they all took the time to write an account of the life of Jesus. But don’t forget that as John reminds us at the end of his gospel, if all the things Jesus did and said had been written down, the whole world wouldn’t be big enough to contain the books! (John 21: 25.)