The Gospels

NOTES FROM THE BEMA PODCAST · EPISODES 83–87
Four views of one story — why we have four Gospels and why we shouldn't blend them into one.

Bema podcast — Marty Solomon & Brent BillingsBema podcast — Marty Solomon & Brent Billings

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1)

Euangelion

“Good news” is not a Christian invention. The word existed long before the New Testament — it was a word of empire: the announcement that a new kingdom is coming, and with it a new world order.

When the New Testament writers called their text “euangelion”, it was a subversive provocation: there is another King.

Alexander's euangelion
“The kingdom of Greece is coming.”

Hellenism spread through gifts: education · healthcare · athletics · the arts. A beautiful world — with man at the centre.

Caesar's euangelion
“The Pax Romana is coming.”

Peace, security and order for everyone — enforced by military might. Caesar as “son of god” and saviour of the world.

Jesus' euangelion
“The kingdom of God is coming.”

Not through the sword or consumption, but through the cross and a table for everyone. A direct challenge to both empires.

Four intentions,
not four versions

Harmonising the Gospels means asking the wrong questions. The right question isn't “how does it all fit together?” but “why did the author write it this particular way?”

An example: near Jericho, according to Mark and Luke, Jesus heals one blind man; according to Matthew, two (Mark 10:46 · Luke 18:35 · Matt 20:30). That's neither a mistake nor a contradiction — it's Matthew's deliberate pattern (among other things, the testimony of two witnesses, cf. Deut 19:15). Every difference is an invitation to ask about the author's intention.

Four voices

Each Gospel speaks to its own audience — and selects, arranges and emphasises accordingly. Know the addressee and you understand the book.

Matt

Matthew

tax collector · a Jew writing to Jews
BEMA 84
◆ mamzer — “illegitimate”, a person without a pure lineage, excluded from the assembly (Deut 23:3). Matthew's agenda: God cares about the mamzers — the outsiders.
  • Audience: Jews in Israel and in the diaspora — readers who know the Torah by heart.
  • The genealogy (Matt 1) invites four women in — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba: foreigners and “scandalous” stories. That's exactly who this Gospel is about.
  • 3 × 14 generations — the stylisation is deliberate; rabbinic tradition allows skipping in a genealogy.
  • “Kingdom of heaven” instead of “of God” — Jewish reverence for the name of God.
  • The pattern: whoever is sure they're in is out — and whoever is “out” is in (Matt 8:11–12 · 21:31).
  • Jesus as the new Moses: five great discourses = the five books of the Torah; the mountain, the wilderness, the calling out of Egypt (Matt 2:15).
  • Marty's minority view: Matthew may have been written first — in Hebrew.
“Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matt 9:13
Mark

Mark

John Mark, Peter's companion · a Jew writing to Romans
BEMA 85
◆ euthys — “immediately”: 41 times in sixteen chapters. “And immediately… and immediately…” Mark's agenda: Jesus the man of action — the real Saviour.
  • Audience: practical, militaristic Rome — won over by performance, not discourse.
  • The shortest Gospel: no genealogy, no birth story — Romans aren't interested in ancestors, but in deeds.
  • He explains Jewish customs and translates Aramaic words (Mark 7:3–4 · 5:41) — his audience doesn't know them.
  • Fewer long speeches, more miracles and pace; a Jesus who is strong, fast, with authority.
  • “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41)
  • Written into a world where soldiers worship Mithras, the “god of salvation” — Mark presents the real Saviour.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45
Luke

Luke

physician, Paul's companion · writing to the Greek world
BEMA 86
◆ parashah — the weekly Torah reading in the synagogue. Marty's reading: Luke is a “companion to the parashah” — he walks alongside the synagogue cycle. Agenda: salvation for the lost, to the ends of the earth.
  • Audience: Theophilus, a Greek patron (Luke 1:3) — and with him the whole Gentile world.
  • Luke–Acts: one work in two volumes — “all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1).
  • “In an orderly way” (Luke 1:3) — the order is theological, not chronological.
  • More of Jesus' prayers, more joy and more Holy Spirit than in any other Gospel.
  • Jesus = a prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15 · Luke 24:19) — and at the same time the saviour of the whole world.
  • The heroes of the stories: a tax collector, a widow, a Samaritan, a prodigal son — the lost and found; the poor, women, Gentiles.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:10
J

John

shepherd of the churches in Asia · writing to Jews and Greeks alike
BEMA 87
◆ logos + ◆ ego eimi. John's agenda: grafting — the Greek world grows into the olive tree of Israel (cf. Rom 11).
  • Audience: the Greek world of Asia Minor (Ephesus) — Jew and Gentile in one community.
  • The prologue (John 1:1–18) = a new Genesis: “In the beginning was the Word.”
  • logos — a concept of the Greek philosophers (from Heraclitus to the Stoics); John takes it over and says: the Logos has a face — the face of Jesus.
  • 7 signs (semeia) and 7 “I AM” sayings (ego eimi) — an echo of God's name (Ex 3:14): the bread of life · the light of the world · the door · the good shepherd · the resurrection and the life · the way, the truth and the life · the true vine.
  • He arranges things not chronologically but theologically — he selects “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God” (John 20:31).
  • The image of grafting: a foreign branch set into the old trunk — and carrying its sap.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen his glory.”
John 1:14
Side by side

So we don't ask which Gospel is “more accurate”. We ask what each author wants us to see — and we let all four voices sound side by side.

Matthew Mark Luke John
Author Matthew, tax collector John Mark, with Peter Luke, physician, with Paul John, disciple
Audience Jews Romans Theophilus and the Greek world the Greek world of Asia Minor
Key word mamzer — outsider euthys — “immediately” parashah — walks with the Text logos · ego eimi
Jesus as the new Moses, King of the Jews the Son of God in action, the servant a prophet like Moses, saviour of the lost the incarnate Word, “I AM”
Begins with a genealogy from Abraham straight with action — the baptism in the temple, with Zechariah “In the beginning” — before creation
Typical 5 discourses, “kingdom of heaven”, fulfilment of the Scriptures pace, miracles, explanations of customs prayer, the poor, women, Samaritans; continues in Acts 7 signs, long conversations, “the hour”
Closing thought · BEMA 83–87

Matthew writes to the mamzers · Mark to the Romans · Luke walks with the parashah · John grafts the Greek world into Israel. Together: a complete picture of Jesus for the whole world.

Sources
Bema podcast (Marty Solomon, Brent Billings) — episodes 83 Gospel Narrative · 84 Matthew — Mamzer · 85 Mark — the Roman Gospel · 86 Luke — in order · 87 John — grafted in
Bible quotations loosely based on Czech translations · bemadiscipleship.com

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