For new Christians or those new to reading the Bible, the Gospels are the perfect place to start. These four books focus on Christ, the foundation of all faith and salvation. The rest of the Bible also points to him (John 5:39-40), but the Gospels prove a great way to be inspired by the object of our love. Jesus.
As a literary genre, the Gospels represent a unique form, not truly found anywhere in history. While some elements are a product of their time, especially Luke’s academic approach, the Gospels blend biography, theology, and proclamation of Jesus as Messiah, the Son of God, and the savior of the world. Each Gospel tells the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. They are more than biographies since they take these historical events and use them to point to faith and salvation.
Other biographies existed two thousand years ago, but they usually dealt with a popular leader or historical figure to establish them as a hero or villain, even supernaturally endowed to some degree. Only Julius Caesar had four biographies about him, however. For Jesus, a completely obscure Jewish rabbi who was shamefully crucified to get four books about his life, a complete and radical anomaly in the world. And none of them made the universal and supernatural claims the Gospels did. The combination of religion and biography creates a unique format in the Gospels.
These four books also underscore important points. First, the Gospel is a real, historical person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Second, the Gospel is a story. One we’re still living in today.
Each of the four authors brought their unique background and perspective to present the Good News to their intended audience, giving us diverse and complex perspectives on the singular truth—Jesus as the Messiah and savior of the world.
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How to Read the Gospels with Discipline and the Spirit
The authors wrote the Gospels to encourage a direct relationship with Jesus through the Spirit. Therefore, we must approach the Gospels with this in mind, realizing the person we read about still lives, and we can engage with Christ while we read about him.
First, set aside specific and regular time to read. The change we experience will happen over time with discipline. Guard this time as sacred, a priority, free from any distractions. Whether you choose early morning, a lunch break, or later in the evening, make sure the time is one where you can be consistent and easily protected. Regular, dedicated time honors the treasure of the written Word and our desire to have a relationship with God.
Second, listen for the Spirit to speak as we read. The Spirit inspired the written Word, so he will share the truth and help us understand as we engage the Gospels. Begin with a prayer, inviting the Holy Spirit to give insight into the Scripture. As we read, we stay open and expect a moment of conviction or revelation. The Spirit brings these passages to life. Listening to the Spirit, he will speak, and we develop a greater ability to discern his voice in all aspects of life.
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The Gospel of John Explains Jesus as the Word of God
John was one of Jesus’ main twelve disciples, very close to Jesus. He writes later than the other four and addresses the developing heresies of his day with a focus on Jesus as the eternal Word of God and his divine nature. John also includes longer teachings for believers of his day and ours.
As we read, reflect on Jesus as the Word of God. John begins the whole book with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus as the Logos, the message of God, expresses God’s eternal nature, creativity, and the theme of how God must reveal himself to engage with humanity. We read passages where Jesus reveals these truths like in John 8:12, where he states, “I am the light of the world,” referring back to the first chapter of Genesis where God spoke light and it existed for creation.
Heresies of John’s day questioned either Jesus’ divinity or his humanity. John explores the reality and the paradox of Jesus as both God and human. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” We notice moments where Jesus shows people his divinity, like performing miracles or raising Lazarus from the dead. At the same time, Jesus reveals his humanity through times he wept or was exhausted from long days of ministry. John meant to encourage us—God understands our human frailty and infuses our life with his eternal nature to save us.
John also wrote a great deal about the Father’s love toward all people, expressed in the most famous Bible verse, John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life.” Jesus teaches and exemplifies his Father’s love through his words and actions like washing his disciple’s feet. He also calls his disciples to love one another as he loved them. Finally, Jesus’ love led to willingly laying down his life for humanity.
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The Apostle Matthew's Gospel Focuses on Christ as Fulfillment of Prophecy
Matthew was a former tax collector, considered an enemy of the Jewish people, and he became one of Jesus’ disciples. He wrote for a Jewish audience and referred back to many Old Testament prophecies and scripture passages as evidence Jesus was the Messiah they longed for. Matthew’s Gospel serves as a natural continuation of the Old Testament.
As we read, begin by recognizing the times Matthew links Jesus to Old Testament prophecies. For example, Matthew 1:22-23 connects Jesus’ birth to Isaiah’s prophecy of a virgin giving birth to a son named Immanuel, meaning “God with us.” To see how often he does it, we can underline moments where Matthew writes, “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet.” Jesus fulfills all of God’s promises and bridges the Old and New Testaments.
Being Messiah, Matthew focuses on Jesus as King, the descendant of David, the one who would bring an eternal kingdom. Matthew establishes Jesus’ royal lineage in Matthew 1, and the Magi’s visit to the child Messiah acknowledges him as not only the king of the Jews but the king of all people. However, Matthew clearly shows us how Jesus didn’t need political power to be King, nor did he need public affirmation. Christ demonstrated his Kingdom authority through teaching, healing, and calming the seas.
As King, Jesus taught on the Kingdom of God, and Matthew records the Sermon on the Mount, where Christ describes the culture of the Kingdom and what it means to live in heaven on earth. Jesus consistently expresses the Kingdom through stories and parables to reveal different aspects. In Matthew 13, he compares the Kingdom to a mustard seed, treasure, and a pearl to symbolize its value and expansive power. The Gospel recounts Jesus’ numerous invitations to enter the Kingdom through repentance (Matthew 4:17) and living in discipleship (Matthew 16:24-25).
Follow these themes of Jesus as King and Kingdom, helping us to transform our understanding of Jesus’ mission and how he calls us today to join him in bringing heaven to earth in the same way he lived. We should live now as citizens of the coming Kingdom to bring hope to a lost and dying world.
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Mark's Gospel Account Highlights Jesus’ Humanity
Mark likely traveled and ministered with the apostle Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples. Some scholars believe this Gospel was the first written, and the simple and fast-paced narrative hits the important highlights. Mark reveals Jesus’ humanity as the suffering servant and the Son of God. Mark writes to the broad church, including new Gentile Christians facing persecution.
Each Gospel expresses Jesus’ combined human and divine nature. While John taught more about the divine aspect, Mark focused on Jesus’ humanity. Christ’s identification and human experience show his compassion and ability to help us in our times of need and weakness, as he gives us his strength. Mark writes about how Jesus is moved to compassion before healing a leper (Mark 1:41), and we should note the moments Mark reveals Jesus experiencing hunger, frustration, and fatigue, falling asleep in the back of the boat during a raging storm. Jesus also shows righteous anger in the temple (Mark 11).
Mark further explores Jesus as the Suffering Servant prophesied in Isaiah 52:13-53:12, a person who would suffer, bear the sins of many, and bring redemption. In Mark 10:45, Jesus says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Throughout the Gospel of Mark, Jesus faces resistance and rejection. On the way to the cross, Christ experiences betrayal and mockery along with the physical torture of the crucifixion. Christ cries out on the cross, feeling abandoned by God. “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) These moments reveal the ultimate suffering on our behalf. However, as prophesied in the Old Testament, Jesus rises from the dead.
Reading about such suffering and sacrifice, we see how much God loved us and how willing he is to give us grace and mercy for our sins and weaknesses. Further, Jesus inspires us to serve others with selfless abandon, knowing God will reward and raise us with Christ.
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The Apostle Luke Teaches Compassion for the Poor
Luke spent time with the apostle Paul. As a highly educated physician, Luke researched Jesus to give a more historical account for Gentile believers, as he was a non-Jew, as well. Luke focused on Jesus’ compassion for the poor, for women, and for sinners. Luke also wrote Acts, so his Gospel creates a bridge to the explosive and miraculous early church and apostolic letters.
Throughout Luke, he records Jesus’ care for the marginalized people of society. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus quotes from the prophets to declare his mission to bring good news to the poor, freedom for the oppressed, and sight for the blind. Parables like the Good Samaritan (a supposedly unclean race of people, but who shows genuine love) and the Rich Man and Lazarus (a righteous leper God rewards in heaven) reveal the value of each person and how we shouldn’t ignore the needs of others. Luke shows us how Jesus engages the poor with love, welcomes sinners, and urges the wealthy to sell what they have and give to those in need to have reward in heaven. We should ask ourselves how we participate in acts of generosity and charity to fully express the Good News of Jesus in our communities.
Since Luke learned from Paul, his Gospel includes a Jewish context and also shows God’s plan going beyond the chosen people to all nations. Paul had been called to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles. Simeon’s Christmas prophecy states that baby Jesus would be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.” Luke includes Christ healing the Roman centurion’s servant and the Samaritan leper. God responds to faith, even those not Jews, and his love goes beyond previous racial boundaries. Jesus commissions every disciple to reach out across culture and social boundaries to give grace and declare the Gospel of God’s love.
In essence, this is part one of writing to a specific individual, Theophilus. He records and explains the life of Jesus to one person, teaching us how we should value each individual with the whole Gospel. We have part two, as well. As a participant in spreading the Gospel with Paul, Luke writes the book of Acts to Theophilus, too. From Luke’s Gospel, we can easily transition to Acts as one big story.
Since Jesus still lives in and through his people, he’s still writing his redemptive story through us. May we read these amazing Gospels with the Spirit and learn to live as Christ in our own story.
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Originally published Friday, 31 January 2025.