besquared.org Blog

People are often curious about the multiplicity of gospels. Even in the early centuries of the church, there were some negative reactions. The early heretic Marcion rejected all the gospels except the gospel of Luke. (Believe me this was the least of his problems.) Others produced gospel harmonies that attempted to combine the gospels and resolve the details that differ between the various accounts. [Of these, Tatian's Diatessaron, is the most notable.]

I’m sympathetic with these concerns. Having four does present some difficulties. They differ in order and in detail. They differ in focus and theological outlook. These differences can cause trouble for those looking for an excuse not to believe. Occasionally the same event is narrated in ways that are different enough that reconciling the accounts is quite difficult. If your into that kind of thing you can check out the two versions of Judas’s death as recorded by Matthew in 27:1-10 and by Luke in Acts 1:18 and 19. By my reckoning this is by far the most challenging of these differences.

Despite these difficulties, I am so glad that we have four gospels. I have at least two broad reasons for this gladness: The reliability of the witness and the fullness of our understanding of Christ.

1. I think that the multiplicity of witnesses supports their reliability.

If there were a grand conspiracy to concoct false tales of a false Lord, they certainly could have managed to get a detail like how Judas died correct. Anyone who has watched enough crime dramas knows that when multiple witnesses have identical stories, one can be sure they have concocted a mutual lie. But when witnesses tell basically the same story – but each from their own perspective – then reliability is more likely.

I think that this is the kind of situation we have with the gospels. We know that at least some of the gospel writers knew of other accounts of Jesus life, so they could have manufactured artificial agreement if they had wanted to. Instead they chose to report the stories they knew from the witnesses they trusted. The first century church who knew the stories from independent sources validated these stories. The importance of these texts is demonstrated by the reality that the church trusted the texts even when it complicated the story.

2. Having four gospels helps me devotionally and theologically.

The second reason I like having four gospels is pretty different. I think that these four gospels each give us a distinct lens with which to examine Jesus. Certainly all the same information could have been contained in one book, but since I have trouble getting all of Jesus in my head at one time, I appreciate being able to think about a few aspects of Jesus at a time. Often in my devotion I find it very fruitful to read a gospel as a gospel (rather than one little story at a time) to let myself get a full-scale encounter with a picture of Jesus. For these purposes I am regularly blessed by making sure that I spend time in each of the gospels.

I hope that as we read through Luke we can recognize and enjoy his beautiful and unique reflection of Jesus. We will be noticing how his record is in sync with the rest of the Gospel and the ways in which he offers us a unique glimpse into the values, ministry and purposes of Christ.

Remember we just have two days till we hit the text. So get ready.

-Ethan