Biblical Problems   Dr Paul Kariamadom VC     Why are the four gospels different from one another?    
 
The narratives in our four gospels are apparently different from one another. Some are quite short; others very long. Some relate events which are not recorded in the others. These reasons cause, atleast a few people, to suspect the credibility of the gospels. If we understand deeply what the gospels are, these problems get solved.
 
  The Gospel- the Good News  
The "good news" of salvation or the "gospel" that Jesus preached and fulfilled through his own life, is only one. The content of this gospel is Jesus Christ himself. The gospel that the Apostles preached was chiefly the truth that the salvation of man was effected through the great events of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit. For about 35 years after the death of Jesus, the gospel was preached verbally. St Paul often speaks of the gospel he preached (for example, Rom 2:16; Gal 1:6-8). The gospel, transmitted by word of mouth, gradually came to be written and was made available in four different versions. The Evangelists have not given us four "gospels". The four gospels are the four-fold interpretations or versions of the one and the same gospel, the one and the same good news. We cannot consider them as mere histories or topical allusions.

 

The Evangelists  
All the four Evangelists have interpreted the one and the same gospel in their own individual, theological perspective. For example, "The gospel of St Mathew" means the "gospel" according to the viewpoint of Mathew. Though the four Evangelists have looked at the Christ-event-the life and teachings of Jesus-in four different ways, these approaches are not mutually contradictory; on the contrary, they are mutually complementary. Though the Evangelists present four different pictures of Jesus, the central truth that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God, is what all of them have emphasised.
 
Each of the Evangelists collected the words and actions of Jesus from the written and unwritten traditions and according to the aim and purpose he had in mind, presented them to their community in a written form. The Evangelists, in their capacity as true authors, have given their individual stamp to their gospels. Each of the gospel writers presents the teachings and works of Jesus with his own interpretations and explanations. That is why each gospel is different as far as the narrative aspect is concerned. It is not incorrect to consider the four different gospels as four mosaics of Jesus' life. We can also look at the four gospels as four rays of varied colours passing through the priceless diamond crystal that is Jesus. Each of the Evangelists pictures the Jesus he has meditated on and experienced. That is the reason why certain parts of each of the gospels are of varying length. Each of the Evangelists has omitted certain events and teachings and given greater importance to some others. Some events are removed from the contexts in which they occurred and placed in other circumstances. John states that all the things that Jesus taught and did are not recorded in the gospels. "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name"(Jn 20:30-31). All the gospels have been written so that through faith in Jesus, we may attain everlasting life. They were not written as books of history. The Evangelists are presenting theology and the science of salvation through history. Study of the gospels becomes easy if we understand the respective theology, social background and the needs of the community as we read each of them.
 
  Life Situation  
The message of each gospel becomes clearer if we understand correctly its life situation and the background against which it was written. For example, the life situation in St Luke's gospel was the problem of the wide gap between the rich and the poor in Luke's community which consisted of Gentiles including Greeks and Romans.
 
The rich were reluctant to share their wealth with the poor. Luke wrote his gospel with this purpose also: to persuade the rich to love their neighbours and share their riches with them. This gospel is, therefore, known as the "Gospel of the Poor." That is why there are more teachings on the importance of poverty and the danger of wealth in the third gospel. Mathew's gospel has numerous quotations from the Old Testament because it was written to catechise the Jewish Christians. There are reproaches and woes uttered against the Pharisees and Scribes in greater numbers in this gospel than in the others. It is because it was written for the Jews. There is here a concentration of the discourses of Jesus which are divided into five sections for the benefit of catechesis. (Mt 5-7;10;13;18;24-25). In the light of the discourses mentioned above, this gospel can be divided into five parts like the Pentateuch. The life situation of Mark's gospel was the problem of the sufferings and constraints of the Gentile community of Romans. There is, therefore, a detailed description of the passion of Jesus in this gospel. Scholars consider it as the "History of the passion of Christ with a prologue". Mark's gospel was written during the time of religious persecution during the reign of Emperor Nero. John's gospel saw the light of day after 90 AD at Ephesus. This gospel becomes more comprehensible when read against the background of Greek philosophy. John's purpose was to establish the faith of the Jewish Christians residing in Asia Minor. This book was written also to refute the heresy of Gnosticism. Its structure differs from that of the synoptic gospels. In order to discover the deletions and additions made by the Evangelists in each of their gospels, it is absolutely necessary to know their linguistic style and their theological strain of thought.     Conclusion  
We cannot hold that the Evangelists have given a Christ-experience that has been adulterated. They have maintained extreme fidelity to the word of God. They have not recorded anything that did not take place. But they have presented to their communities the words and actions of Jesus, in a new and living manner, from their mature Christ-experience. There is nothing wrong in such a presentation. Their aim and purpose was not to give the words of Jesus in the same linguistic style or literary form as if they were tape-recorded speeches, or the actions of Jesus as if they were photographic reproductions.
 
If we need to know the words of Jesus in the same manner as he used then, we should procure them in the Aramaic! They will then be incomprehensible to us. They will not be alive, but mechanical. The gospels are not like a running commentary of a football match. What we see throughout the gospels are the true meaning, depth and joy that the Christ-experience evokes. The Evangelists are presenting to us the faith that we should have in the Person of Jesus who is the same yesterday, today and forever and the power of his glorious Personality. The gospels came to be written taking into account new circumstances and needs, with perfect fidelity maintained to the words and works of Jesus. During the time of the Evangelists, several circumstances that Jesus had not envisaged, came to be, so much so, that they assimilated his words and interpreted them accordingly. They did not view the word of God as something that should be kept confined to a particular framework or set of circumstances. Nor did they consider it as a curio exhibited in a museum. We do not regard the words of great men in this manner. For example, take the memorable slogan of Indira Gandhi: "Eradicate Poverty"! It is not important where, when or in which language it was uttered. We are concerned with the necessity of doing away with poverty. We need to do as the Apostles did: understand correctly the meaning of the Christ-experience, rejoice in it, and transmit its power to others. We have to assimilate the gospel, interpret it and give spiritual energy to others. Then will the purpose of writing the gospels be fulfilled through us.    [ Contents ]