Religion and Theology

The gospel is good news, a word used to refer mostly to the four canonical gospels of Mark, Mathew, Luke and John (Neils, 1962). The four gospels in the bible bring out a complete picture of Jesus life and ministry. As much as the authors had different audience in mind still they do not give a contradicting picture of Christ. Every audience had its expectation of Jesus such that the author recognized this fact and emphasized on particular events in Jesus life (Gundry, 1981). For instance Mathew had the Jewish audience in mind. For this reason he emphasized the fact that Jesus came as king or messiah in order to fulfill the Old Testament prophesies. According to this gospel the expected messiah is Jesus Christ of Nazareth and both his resurrection and genealogy proof this point. On the other hand the gospel of Mark which is said to be the oldest gospel is addressed to Roman gentiles. In this gospel the humanity of Christ is emphasized. There is a repeated use of the phrase son of man. Again, the fact that Jesus came as a servant of God is emphasized. Similarly, in the gospel of Luke Jesus is presented as a man. Just like Mark, Luke had the Gentiles as his audience (Laymon, 1991).

Finally, the fourth gospel of John seems to depict a slight variation from the three synoptic gospels. It has the general population or the whole world as its audience. The divinity of Jesus is accentuated. His existence in the world is traced back from the beginning of the world. He is simply a divine word of God and there is no mentioning of the genealogy of Jesus (Abrams, 1996). In the synoptic gospels the ministry of Jesus is handled from the beginning till the end where Jesus resurrects to heaven. This great commission is the core message of the gospels. Despite the slight difference in the rendering of the story of Jesus, the gospel of John gives an accurate account of the life and ministry of Christ.

The Gospel According to Mathew
The gospel of Mathew just like the two other synoptic gospels deals with the ministry and life of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The book gives a detailed account of the genealogy of Jesus, birth, great commission, and resurrection after death. The emphasis is on the fulfillment of prophesies. Jesus did not only fulfill the Jewish prophesies but also preserved and obeyed the biblical law. The main theme of this gospel is the kingdom of heaven and the specific address of Jesus coming for the Jewish audience. In the former theme Mathew as opposed to the other authors of the gospels uses the kingdom of heaven as opposed to kingdom of God. It is noted that many Jews at the time felt that the name of God was too holy to be written. This is reason enough to have made Matthew to change the phrase such that it varies slightly from the other gospels. Again, too much reference to the Old Testament supports the idea that the gospel had a Jewish audience in mind. Prophesies made in the past were fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ.

Another notable theme in the gospel of Matthew is the elements of Jewish customs, laws and way of expression. Matthew does not make an effort to translate or explain some of these customs a reason to believe that he wrote it to the Jews. According to Matthew Jesus is the promised messiah that had been long awaited by the Jews. He traces back his roots from the Old Testament in order to show the genealogy of Jesus. It becomes apparent that Jesus descended from the tribe of Judah and is the long awaited messiah as foreseen by the prophets. Matthew likens Jesus to Moses only that he is greater (Dale, 1993). The throne of King David and the title of a Jewish king rightfully belong to Jesus (The Gospel According to Matthew, 2002). Similarly, according to the gospel, Jesus did not come to do away with the Law of Moses but actually to uphold it. In many instances Jesus had to explain the reason behind some of his actions. This is because he got strong opposition from those who were advocates of the law. The author found it important to demonstrate Jesus understanding and close adherence to the laws of the land. As much as he was accused by the Pharisees to be breaking the law, Matthew emphasizes the fact that Jesus came to strengthen it.

The Gospel According to Mark
Unlike the gospel of Matthew, Mark addresses his gospel to gentiles in Rome. For this reason he goes an extra mile to explain some of the traditions of the Jews. This definitely served well his audience who were predominantly non-Jews (Cline, 2010). The life and ministry of Jesus Christ is addressed from baptism till the resurrection. There is particular attention given to the happenings in the end of Jesus life. The portrayal of Jesus is that of a man of action who is heroic in his deeds. In performing various miracles such as exorcising demons and healing the sick Jesus is referred as the messiah, son of God, Christ or simply son of man. The primary concern and address of the gospel of Mark is the messianic secret. No other gospel has tacked this issue in a profound manner compared to Mark. In this gospel Jesus commanded the disciples to shun from revealing the fact that he was the messiah.  In order to fulfill prophesy and better explain his message, Jesus uses parables. His method of teaching not only perplexes the audience but also his own disciples who are portrayed as obtuse. There is also failure on the part of the disciples to understand some of the miracles performed by Jesus.

The gospel of Mark is structured in a way such that the death of Jesus is given much coverage and consideration. The dramatic events that follow the death of Jesus are narrated in great detail. The suffering on the cross for instance and mockery that Jesus receives from those that tormented him is for special purpose. This suffering and death of Christ on the cross is the cornerstone of Marks gospel (Cline, 2010). The gospel further gives the portrayal of Jesus as the son of God. He goes through too much suffering in order to fulfill the divine mission. This special emphasis on the suffering of Christ is deliberate. It appears that the gospel of Mark was addressed to Christians who were suffering due to their religion (Cline, 2010). Christians are made to identify their suffering with that of Jesus. In this way they understand better the reason for their suffering.

The Gospel According to Luke
The audience presumed to have been the target of Lukes gospels are educated Greeks. Just like Mark, the gospel of Luke was addressed to gentiles. The message in the gospel is positive on the especially to the Roman authorities and the educated Greeks (Knight, 1998). For instance in the gospel we find the Jews being accused of the crucifixion of Jesus. This is despite the fact that Pontius Pilate absolved him of any wrong. The gospel gives in detail the account of Jesus birth throughout his life, ministry and ascension.

The author of the gospel had a primary concern of societal issues. In this gospel Jesus is seen to mingle with people of all manner of walks including outcasts like Zacchaeus, Pharisees and natives from other races. This emphasizes his universality and redeeming power to all people. There is specific address to the oppressed groups in society question of women, the poor and in general social ethics (Neils, 1962). Some of the most common stories that address these themes include parable of the Good Samaritan, prodigal son which are exclusively to be found in the gospel of Luke. There is also emphasis on joyfulness, Holy Spirit and prayer. However, the primary concern of the author of Lukes gospel is the societys black sheep (Knight, 1998). The gospel has a central purpose to record a historical account and at the same time discuss whatever significance this account has on theology. The portrayal of Christianity is that of an international religion, respectable, divine and law-abiding.
It is only in the gospel of Luke that there is a thorough description of the birth of Jesus. From the beginning the gospel concentrates on the birth of Jesus. It commences with the visit of angel Gabriel to both Mary and Elizabeth (Neils, 1962). The miracle of the virgin birth is given much emphasis. These details of the angels visitation, virgin birth of Jesus have been a fascination of many Christians all over the world. It is also in Lukes gospel that the boyhood of Jesus is revisited (Aherene, 1910). His circumcision and presence in the temple are only to be found in Lukes gospel.

The Gospel According to John
There is great difference between the gospel of John and the three synoptic gospels. As much as the three agree on a number of issues and occasionally have similar wording the gospel of John stands out as different. The major theme is emphasis on Jesus as lord and the universality of his audience. The author speaks of Jesus as having existed since the beginning or creation of the world (Abrams, 1996). The saving power and grace of Jesus Christ is also given much consideration. It is for this reason than when compared to the other three, the gospel of John is perceived to be more spiritual and less historical. It is only in this gospel that the identity of Jesus is addressed in detail. In this gospel much about the divine role of Jesus is revealed. John declares Jesus as God and he lets him talk more about himself.

The ministry of Jesus is more divine and features miracles meant to bring about faith. There is much description of the divine nature of Jesus such that the book is considered to posses a profound Christology. The relationship between the father and son is given much focus compared to the synoptic gospels. Again, it is basically from this gospel that Christians derive understanding of the holy trinity (Laymon, 1991). According to the gospel the divine logos is incarnated in Jesus Christ. He is the word and a companion of God in creation. Some of the miracles such as raising Lazarus, turning water into wine, still the storm, healing the paralytic, blind man and noblemans son portray Jesus as an object of adoration. Apart from miraculous feeding of 5000 people mentioned in the other gospels, other miracles in Johns gospel do not appear in the synoptic gospels. Similarly, there are elements which feature in the synoptic gospels that are not included in the gospel of John. It is apparent for instance Johns gospel does not mention exorcisms and parables of Jesus.

Conclusion
The bible is a library of books it is therefore expected of different author to give varying accounts of events. However, since the authors of the gospels were recording same events, it is expected that the gospels should have great similarity. This is true of synoptic gospels. The three gospels of Matthew, Luke and Mark bare much similarity. The fourth gospel of John on the other hand has some minor differences.  In general however, even the three synoptic gospels differ though slightly. This is basically because of the audience which the authors were addressing. It was important at the time for the message to reach out to certain people. For instance since most of the biblical events (gospel) were centered on the Jews, it was imperative for the authors to explain some of the Jewish traditions to gentiles. This is what happens in the three gospels save for the gospel of Matthew. The fact that he was addressing the Jews, the gospel of Matthew need not explain the traditions of the Jews. On the contrary the gospel of Matthew emphasizes on fulfillment of prophesy and coming of the messiah. Likewise the other gospels had specific concerns which varied with the audience. All these varying views on Jesus are important since it gives an entire picture of the work and life of Christ. Many people from assorted cultures are able to identify with Jesus because of the different ways he has been portrayed in the gospels.