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The Gospels - Coggle Diagram
The Gospels
Matthew
Author
The Gospel of Matthew was originally believed to have been written by Matthew the Apostle, however, scholars now debate it as the accounts in this Gospel are similar to that of other Gospels.
Setting
The Gospel of Matthew is believed to have been written between the years 75-80 CE. It was written in Antioch, Syria.
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Purpose
There are two main purposes of the Gospel of Matthew; to be written as a message of encouragement to Jewish Christians, and to prove that Jesus truly was the Messiah. He does this by quoting the Old Testament more than any other Gospel.
Themes
Matthew's Gospel explores lots of themes, most notably that Jesus is in fact the true Messiah. That he is truly the King of the Jews, and that is emphasised from the start as seen in Matthew 2:2. He also provides a genealogy of Christ, his first verse (Matthew 1:1) being "A genealogy of Jesus Christ the Son of David, the Son of Abraham."
Mark
Author
The author of the Gospel of Mark is a second-generation Christian, usually known as a follower of Peter. Mark is known as Mark the Evangelist.
Setting
Mark's Gospel was written between 65-70 CE; the first Gospel to be written. He wrote this in a time of increasing tensions, and the Romans had started to take persecuting Romans seriously. A superior Roman force was subduing armed Jewish rebellions, and this would eventually lead to the destruction of Jerusalem in the subsequent wars.
Audience
The Gospel of Mark was written with the audience of a Gentile Christian community in Rome undergoing persecution. Again, this is was a time of increasing persecution of Christians and Jews.
Purpose
The purpose of Mark's Gospel was to provide a recount of the life of Jesus' teachings. His aim was to encourage Christians throughout Rome, despite the ongoing persecution. Unlike the other Gospels, there is little to no genealogy of Jesus' family.
The following excerpt from Mark sums up his views on martyrdom: "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the Gospel will save it.'" (Luke 8:34-35)
Themes
The themes explored in Mark's Gospel is that Jesus is a servant. He is referred to as a healer, miracle worker, teacher, and that he is often misunderstood by those closest to him.
Luke
Author
The author of the Gospel is Luke, a Gentile Christian. He is typically known as Luke the Physician and he travelled with the Apostle Paul.
Setting
Luke's Gospel was written during the years of 80-85 CE. The location he wrote this is not certain, but believed to be in either Rome or Caesarea (modern day Italy).
Audience
The Gospel of Luke is written to 'Theophilus', which means 'Friend of God' in Greek. It is typically addressed to any follower of God.
Themes
Throughout Luke's Gospel, he portrays Christ as the 'Son of Man'. There is much emphasis on his 'human traits' including his birth in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-20) and his childhood, as well as focusing on his genealogy especially within the first 2 chapters.
Purpose
Unlike the other Gospels, Luke was probably the most historically accurate Gospel, as most of his work was thoroughly researched. His Gospel is also the longest in terms of word count. Luke's Gospel what written during a time of intensifying persecution of Jews and Christians. Similar to John, a large reason for why Luke made the Gospel was to allow his audience (a larger population than John) to continue to keep their faith alive through the reading of the Gospel and teachings of Jesus.
John
Author
The Author of the Gospel of John is (with the possible exception of Matthew) is the only Gospel to ever meet Jesus personally. However, he is known to be the Apostle John.
Setting
The Gospel of John is believed to have been written in Ephesus, which is in modern times, East Turkey. Despite being an original Apostle, John's Gospel was written the latest and also took the longest to write, being written from 90-110 CE. During the time of writing, Christians had been banned from Jewish synagogues.
Themes
The theme of John's Gospel was very personal. It was a very personal account of the life of Christ, for example, the frequent use of "I am" throughout the account. He also talks a lot about the 'Word' of the Lord, as his opening statement says 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'
Purpose & Audience
The Gospel of John was written in a time where Jews and Christians were banned from synagogues, which made any sort of religious practise hard. Therefore, John wrote his Gospel to help educate and allow Jews and Christians to celebrate their faith, which for a teacher like him gave him more of an incentive to write this book for all Jew's and Christians. His book is also directly addressed to Gentiles and Samaritans.