Are there really contradictions in scripture, particularly in the Gospels. Can these apparent contradictions in the Gospels be purposeful, demonstrating something deeper, painting a more complete picture of Christ. One reason there are four Gospel's is that each one covey's a different aspect of Christ's mission and character. The book of Ezekiel alludes to these different perspectives of the Messiah hundreds of years before Jesus earthly ministry, "Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year...the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God...Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming...from within it came the likeness of four living creatures... As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man;... the face of a lion... the face of an ox... and the face of an eagle."
The Face of a Man: The Gospel of Luke emphasizes Jesus' humanity and starts off with His unbroken linage and genealogy through His mother going back to Adam. This Gospel was geared more towards a Greek/gentile audience. Luke was the perfect author being a Greek, much of Greek philosophy revolved around humanity and the quest for perfection in man. He was also a physician and used terms related to his profession, pointing to Christ as the perfect man.
The Face of a Lion: The Gospel of Matthew presents Christ as Messiah and King, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and is geared towards a Jewish audience. It starts off showing Jesus' right to the thrown of David through Joseph's genealogy, qualifying Him to be King. There are numerous OT passages that present Christ as the fulfillment of prophecy and demonstrate Him as King. This Gospel also contains numerous parables, the Olivet Discourse and the Sermon on the Mount that all point to the Kingdom. "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?"
The Face of an Ox: The Gospel of Mark presents Jesus Christ as the Ox, being a servant. Mark speaks more of what Jesus did, rather than what He said. This Gospel was written for Roman Christians, who being persecuted were encourage to be servants like their Lord. This Gospel also explains many Jewish customs that would have been foreign to a Roman audience. The most common word found in Mark is the conjunction "and", which is continually used to connect the actions of Christ. You'll find very few OT quotes in this Gospel, because it's focus is the servitude of Jesus Christ.
The Face of a Eagle: The Gospel of John reveals Jesus Christ to be God, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." An Eagle, particularly a flying eagle, is a picture of God and how He saves His people. Also Jesus consistently refers to Himself as the "I Am" throughout John's Gospel, which is an Old Testament term for God. And John makes numerous points to demonstrate the deity of Christ. This Gospel also demonstrates the other three aspects of Christ's character, but the emphasis is on His deity.
The Apostle John pointed to this fourfold purpose of the Gospels and demonstrated this in his version, but was given a deeper understanding when he penned the book of Revelation. The Lord demonstrated the order the Gospels were to be presented in scripture and what each Gospel revealed about Jesus, inspiring John to write about the four living creatures that surrounded Christ's throne. Revelation 4:7, "The first creature was like a lion (Gospel of Matthew), and the second creature like a calf (Gospel of Mark), and the third creature had a face like that of a man (Gospel of Luke), and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle (Gospel of John)."
You can claim that this was all collusion on part of the Gospel writers, but that leaves the skeptic with even bigger questions to answer. They don't have a construct to deal with this sort of thing, because in reality they don't completely understand God's word. However it goes much deeper than this one example could even touch upon. How deep is the rabbit hole???
When He calls me I do not walk, I run...
The Face of a Man: The Gospel of Luke emphasizes Jesus' humanity and starts off with His unbroken linage and genealogy through His mother going back to Adam. This Gospel was geared more towards a Greek/gentile audience. Luke was the perfect author being a Greek, much of Greek philosophy revolved around humanity and the quest for perfection in man. He was also a physician and used terms related to his profession, pointing to Christ as the perfect man.
The Face of a Lion: The Gospel of Matthew presents Christ as Messiah and King, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and is geared towards a Jewish audience. It starts off showing Jesus' right to the thrown of David through Joseph's genealogy, qualifying Him to be King. There are numerous OT passages that present Christ as the fulfillment of prophecy and demonstrate Him as King. This Gospel also contains numerous parables, the Olivet Discourse and the Sermon on the Mount that all point to the Kingdom. "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?"
The Face of an Ox: The Gospel of Mark presents Jesus Christ as the Ox, being a servant. Mark speaks more of what Jesus did, rather than what He said. This Gospel was written for Roman Christians, who being persecuted were encourage to be servants like their Lord. This Gospel also explains many Jewish customs that would have been foreign to a Roman audience. The most common word found in Mark is the conjunction "and", which is continually used to connect the actions of Christ. You'll find very few OT quotes in this Gospel, because it's focus is the servitude of Jesus Christ.
The Face of a Eagle: The Gospel of John reveals Jesus Christ to be God, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." An Eagle, particularly a flying eagle, is a picture of God and how He saves His people. Also Jesus consistently refers to Himself as the "I Am" throughout John's Gospel, which is an Old Testament term for God. And John makes numerous points to demonstrate the deity of Christ. This Gospel also demonstrates the other three aspects of Christ's character, but the emphasis is on His deity.
The Apostle John pointed to this fourfold purpose of the Gospels and demonstrated this in his version, but was given a deeper understanding when he penned the book of Revelation. The Lord demonstrated the order the Gospels were to be presented in scripture and what each Gospel revealed about Jesus, inspiring John to write about the four living creatures that surrounded Christ's throne. Revelation 4:7, "The first creature was like a lion (Gospel of Matthew), and the second creature like a calf (Gospel of Mark), and the third creature had a face like that of a man (Gospel of Luke), and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle (Gospel of John)."
You can claim that this was all collusion on part of the Gospel writers, but that leaves the skeptic with even bigger questions to answer. They don't have a construct to deal with this sort of thing, because in reality they don't completely understand God's word. However it goes much deeper than this one example could even touch upon. How deep is the rabbit hole???
When He calls me I do not walk, I run...
And if a double decker bus crashes into to us, to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die...there's a Light and it never goes out.
