MATTHEW, MARK JOHN.

 THE NEW TESTAMENT OPENS WITH MATTHEW , MARK, LUKE, AND JOHN.  NONE OF THE GOSPELS STATE THE NAME OF THE AUTHORS. HOW EVER THAT DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE ANONYMOUS. THE EARLY CHURCH IN WHOSE MIDST THE GOSPELS WERE WRITTEN. AND TO WHOM THEY WERE ORIGINALLY ADDRESSED TESTIFIES AS TO THEIR AUTHORS.  WE HAVE NO REASON AS TO DOUBT THEIR TESTIMONY. THE CHURCH HISTORIAN EUSEBIUS, WHO LIVED A.D. 275-339, IN HIS ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. QUOTES FROM A LOST BOOK OF THE CHURCH FATHER PAPIAS (A.D. 140). IN THIS QUOTATION PAPIAS CITES JOHN THE APOSTLE CALLING HIM THE ELDER, THE VERY TERM BY WHICH JOHN OF HIMSELF IN 2 AND 3 JOHN. THE QUOTATION IN EUSEBIUS READS: THE ELDER " THE ELDER SAID THIS ALSO MARK, WHO BECAME PETERS : INTERPRETER, WROTE ACCURATELY, THOUGH NOT IN ORDER, ALL THAT HE REMEMBERED OF THE THINGS SAID OR DONE BY THE LORD.  FOR HE HAD NEITHER HEARD THE LORD NOR BEEN ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS, BUT AFTERWARDS, AS I SAID, HE HAD FOLLOWED PETER, WHO USE TO COMPOSE HIS DISCOURSES WITH A VIEW TO THE NEEDS OF HIS HEARERS, BUT NOT AS THOUGH HE WAS DRAWING UP A CONNECTED ACCOUNT OF THE LORD'S SAYINGS. SO MARK MADE NO MISTAKE IN THUS RECORDING SOME THINGS JUST AS HE REMEMBERED THEM. FOR HE WAS CAREFUL OF THIS ONE THING, TO OMIT NONE OF THE THINGS HE HAD HEARD AND TO MAKE NO UNTRUE STATEMENTS THEREIN." THUS THE APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY  OF PETER AS WELL AS THE APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY OF JOHN SUPPORT THE GOSPEL OF MARK., NOT TO MENTION THE AUTHORITY OF PAUL 2 TIMOTHY 4:11.
 MORE THAN THAT. MARK'S  GOSPEL WAS ALSO WRITTEN BY INSPIRATION AND THUS CONTAINS WHAT GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT WANTED THE CHURCH TO KNOW., BOTH THE FIRST READERS AND ITS PRESENT READERS, INCLUDING YOU AND ME. THOUGH PAUL WAS SPECIFICALLY SPEAKING OF THE OLD TESTAMENT WHEN HE WROTE THE WORDS 0F 2 TIMOTHY 3:16,17: "ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD BREATHED AND IS USEFUL FOR TEACHING, REBUKING CORRECTING AND TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, SO THAT THE MAN OF GOD MAY BE THOROUGHLY EQUIPPED FOR EVERY GOOD WORK.,"  YET THESE WORDS ALSO APPLY TO EVERYTHING RECORDED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, INCLUDING THE GOSPEL OF MARK. WHY DID THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVE US FOUR GOSPELS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT? THOUGH THERE IS MUCH REPETITION OF MATERIAL IN THEM, YET ALL FOUR HAVE THEIR OWN WAY OF APPLYING IT AND THEIR OWN REASON FOR INCLUDING IT. A COMPARISON OF WHAT THEY HAVE IN COMMON SHOWS NO DISTORTION OR AMENDING OF THE FACTS.  THE GOSPEL  WRITERS WERE CHOSEN AND MOVED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD TO RECORD THE GOSPEL. ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN SPECIAL ABILITIES AND INTERESTS, THUS TO MEET YOUR NEEDS AND MIND. MATTHEW IS IS CLEARLY INTERESTED IN PRESENTING CHRIST AS AS THE FULFILLMENT OF OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY. HIS GOSPEL WOULD THEREFORE HAVE BEEN OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO THOSE WHO CAME TO CHRIST AMONG ISRAEL. LUKE'S PURPOSE MEETS THE NEED OF A MAN NAMED THEOPHILUS, SEEMLY A RECENT CONVERT WHO NEEDED TO BE "ASSURED."
 LUKE GOES INTO GREAT DETAIL, PARTICULARLY CONCERNING THE EARLY YEARS OF OUR LORD'S LIFE. FURTHERMORE, WHAT LUKE WROTE WAS BASED ON THROUGH PERSONAL INVESTIGATION THAT INCLUDED INTERVIEWING EYE-WITNESSES  AND RESEARCHING PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN RECORDS OF OUR LORD'S LIFE NOW NO LONGER IN EXISTENCE, UNLESS THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW AND MARK ARE INCLUDED AMONG THEM. JOHN THE LAST OF THE GOSPELS WRITTEN SHORTLY BEFORE A.D. 1OO, SUPPLEMENTS THE EARLIER GOSPELS, WHERE NECESSARY AND REVEALS A DECIDEDLY THEOLOGICAL TREND PARTICULARLY DEALING WITH OUR LORD'S DEITY AND RELATIONSHIP TO THE FATHER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, OVER  ONE-HALF OF JOHN'S GOSPEL DEALS WITH CHRIST WORDS AND ACTS DURING HIS LAST DAYS HERE ON EARTH. BY CONTRAST MARK, THE SHORTEST OF THE GOSPELS DEALS IN GREATER DETAIL WITH OUR LORD'S ACTS THAN WITH HIS SAYINGS. MARK AS AUTHOR QUOTES THE OLD TESTAMENT ONLY ONCE AND THAT IN HIS OPENING STATEMENT. IT IS CLEAR HE WROTE FOR AN AUDIENCE WHO HAD HEARD THE GOSPEL MESSAGE BUT WAS NOT INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED WITH THE OLD TESTAMENT. HIS WAS UNDOUBTEDLY A PREDOMINANTLY  GENTILE READERSHIP, FOR HE MAKES IT A POINT TO TRANSLATE ALL ARAMAIC EXPRESSIONS AND TO EXPLAIN HEBREW CUSTOMS, SOMETHING THAT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN NECESSARY HAD A MAJORITY OF HIS READERS GROWN UP IN THE SYNAGOGUE  THAT HE ALSO USES NUMEROUS LATIN WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS SUGGESTS HIS FIRST READERS UNDOUBTEDLY WERE ROMANS OR FROM ITALY. WHEN READING JOHN'S GOSPEL ONE MUST PAUSE AND REFLECT AT ALMOST EVERY SENTENCE. NOT SO WITH MARK. HIS IS A BOOK OF ACTION THAT RAPIDLY PROCEEDS FROM ONE INCIDENT TO ANOTHER.IT PICTURES OUR LORD'S ACTIVE MINISTRY AS HE HELPS MEN AND WOMEN IN THEIR DISTRESS AND THEN IN HIS PASSION CARRIES OUT GOD'S GOOD AND GRACIOUS WILL TO SAVE US. JESUS IS A MAN AMONG MEN, BUT AT THE SAME TIME MARL'S NARRATIVE OPENS OUR EYES TO SEE THAT THIS MAN
IS AT THE VERY SAME TIME THE VERY "SON OF GOD" THE SAVIOR OF MANKIND. AS OUR LORD STEP BY-STEP TEACHES HIS DISCIPLES THROUGH WORD AND DEED TO RECOGNIZE WHO HE TRULY IS, WE TOO ARE SUPPORTED IN OUR FAITH TO SAY WITH PETER, " YOU ARE THE CHRIST" AND WITH THE CENTURION STANDING BENEATH THE CROSS, "SURELY THIS MAN WAS THE SON OF GOD!"