Guide

The four Gospels

4 min read

“Gospel” means good news. The first four books of the New Testament are called the Gospels because they tell the good news about Jesus: his life, his teaching, his death and his rising again.

Why four? Think of four friends describing the same person. Each one noticed different things and wrote for different readers. Together they give a fuller picture of who Jesus is.

  1. Matthew: the promised King

    Matthew often shows how Jesus fulfills promises made long before in the Old Testament. It has long sections of teaching, like the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7.

    Read it when you want to know what Jesus taught about living God’s way.

  2. Mark: the servant in action

    Mark is the shortest Gospel. It moves fast, from one scene to the next, and shows Jesus serving, healing and giving his life for others.

    It is a great first book to read. You can finish it in a week.

  3. Luke: good news for everyone

    Luke says he wrote a careful, orderly account (Luke 1:1–4). He pays close attention to people others overlooked: the poor, the sick, women, and outsiders.

    Luke 15 has three stories about lost things being found. They show how much God cares about each person.

  4. John: so that you may believe

    John reads differently from the other three. It focuses on a few signs Jesus did and on who he said he was, such as “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35).

    John tells us plainly why he wrote:

“These are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.”

John 20:31 (WEB)

What they share

All four tell of Jesus calling followers, teaching about God’s kingdom, healing people, dying on a cross, and rising from the dead. The details and order sometimes differ, the way honest witnesses do, but the center is the same: Jesus.

Where to start

Reading more than one Gospel is not repeating yourself. When the same story shows up twice, compare them. What did one writer include that the other left out? Small differences often point to what each writer wanted you to see.

If you are new, start with Mark or John. Read one chapter a day and ask: What does Jesus do? What does he say? How do people respond to him? Then, when you’re ready, read the others. Each one will add something new.

The 7-day reading plan is a gentle way to taste all four in a week.

Finished?

Mark it as read. It shows up in your progress on theword.tools and jesustools.org.