WRITINGS

 

Writings

 

            The men who wrote these books were eyewitnesses to the life of Christ in one way or another.  All together there are 89 chapters in the combined writings of these men.  The first three, are called the Synoptic Gospels, synoptic means, “seeing together.”  Many of the accounts are the same and in the same order in the gospels.  John however follows lines of his own.  They are merely pamphlets in size to many other writings and yet there is more truth in the gospels then all other writings put together.  The gospels tell of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ who is the Son of God.  They tell of His divine message and His plan of redemption for all mankind.

            The word gospel means, “Good news.”  Each gospel has its own character.  The lion to Matthew, the ox to Mark, the man to Luke, and the eagle to John.  Matthew presents Jesus the King.  Mark presents Jesus the King.  Luke shows Him as the Son of Man and John presents Him as the Son of God.  The early Christians considered the gospels to be a garden of truth that all must drink from to quench their thirst.  Matthew’s gospel is written for the Jews.  It is a gospel of the past and is didactic.  Mark’s gospel is written for the Romans, it is for the present and anecdotal.  Luke gospel is written for the Greeks, it for the future and is historical.  John’s gospel is written to the church, it is for eternity and is spiritual in application.

            Matthew knew Jesus well, yet we see from his writings that he used some of the information that Mark had brought forth.  It is known that Matthew spent much time researching his writings because of the accounts of Old Testament prophecies contained in them.  Mark relied much on the writings and sermons of Peter, however he was in Jerusalem when Jesus died, was buried and rose again.  It was in his house that the last supper took place and where the Day of Pentecost happened.  Dr. Luke was very thorough in his research, he not only had the apostle Paul to rely upon but he went to other sources for his book.  John gave many account and background to incidences that only an inside observer would know. 

            There is some controversy on John’s authorship.  We will now examine the facts that will bring light on this subject. 

 

1. The church fathers backed up the claim that John wrote this book.
2. It is known that the writer of the book was a Jew from Palestine.
3. The writer was an eyewitness to what he saw.
4. He was an apostle and John was known as the apostle or disciple whom Jesus loved.
5. He was a close personal friend or cousin to Jesus.
6. John was known as the person who took care of Jesus’ mother Mary.
7. John was accustomed to Jewish culture and traditions.
8. The Old Testament was the religious life of the writer.
9. The writer knew the people involved, the times, the number of people involved, the places and the manner in which the events took place.
10. The writer knew the inside details and John was the closest of all the disciples.