The Gospels as Four Portraits of Jesus
(A) Mark’s Gospel(B) Matthew’s Gospel
(C) Luke’s Gospel(D) John’s Gospel
(E) the synoptic gospelsABC
• Written for the church in Rome and for Gentiles
• Written by a Jewish author for Jews who were converting to Christianity
• Genealogy traced to Abraham
• Genealogy traced to Adam
• Stresses Jesus as the fulfillment of promises made by God in the Hebrew Scriptures
• Stresses the humanity and suffering of Jesus
• Include Genealogy of Jesus
• Include Infancy Narratives
• Stresses the universality of the Christian message, particularly by showing the inclusion of outcasts (women, poor, and sick people)
• Stresses Jesus’ compassion, mercy, and concern for sinners
• Demonstrates Jesus’ role as teacher and preacher (Rabbi)
• Presents Jesus as "the Word of God"
• written by a Gentile doctor for Gentile Christians
• Infancy Narratives with shepherds
• the earliest and shortest Gospel
• The miracle stories emphasize Jesus’ compassion for those who are suffering
• Stresses the incarnation
• offers a unique portrait of Jesus
• Stresses the central role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life
• Infancy Narratives with magi
• Builds on poetic and memorable images of Jesus ("I am" statements
• similar portraits of Jesus
• The synoptic gospels
• Jesus’ followers take some time to catch on to who Jesus is, and when they finally do, Jesus tells them to keep it a secret, given their expectations of the Messiah)>Messianic Secret
• Probably written by followers of the Beloved Disciple
• Mark, Matthew, and Luke
• is the first of a two-volume work, the second being the Acts of the Apostles focusing on the time period from the Ascension to the Pentecost and St. Peter’s role in the early Church
• Focuses on Jesus’ inclusion of women
• Jesus washes the Apostles feet at the Last Supper
• Jesus Restores Peter