If the Bible is the word of God, why are the 4 gospels different?

[RigMedic]

Why are the 4 gospels not the same if the Bible is the word of God. If the gospels come from 4 different people the way they saw it, then did God speak through them?

And if it is the word of God, why is each gospel different?

These were questions asked to me, I didn't really know how to answer them. Can anyone help me?

[Trusting Jesus]

Any eye-witness account of something will give the view of the individual. If you ask two people about the same event each one will add a little to the whole picture. For instance, if two people see a parade and then describe what they saw you will get similar descriptions but each will stress what was of interest to themselves. Maybe both liked the horses but one really liked the marching band and the other really liked the floats. In the 4 Gospels we get four views of Jesus and each one who wrote his account stressed something we need to know. Here is and article from http://www.gotquestions.org.

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Nathele

Question: "Why did God give us four Gospels?"

Answer: Here are some reasons why God gave four Gospels instead of just one:

(1) To give a more complete picture of Christ. While all of the Bible is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16), He used human authors with different backgrounds and personalities to accomplish His purposes through their writing. Each of the Gospel authors had a distinct purpose behind his Gospel and in carrying out those purposes, each emphasized different aspects of the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Matthew was writing to a Hebrew audience and one of the purposes of his Gospel was to show from Jesus' genealogy and fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies that He was the long-expected Messiah, and thus should be believed on. Matthew's emphasis is upon Jesus as the promised King, the "Son of David" who would forever sit upon the throne of Israel (Matthew 9:27; 21:9).

Mark, a cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10), was an eyewitness to the events in the life of Christ as well as being a friend of the Apostle Peter. Mark wrote for a Gentile audience as is brought out by his not including things important to Jewish readers (genealogies, Christ's controversies with Jewish leaders of His day, frequent references to the Old Testament, etc.). Mark emphasizes Christ as the suffering Servant, the One who came not to be served but to serve and give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

Luke, the "beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14), evangelist, and companion of the Apostle Paul, wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Luke is the only Gentile author of New Testament. He has long been accepted as a diligent master historian by those who have used his writings in geological and historical studies. As an historian, he states that it is his intent to write down an orderly account of the life of Christ based on the reports of those who were eyewitnesses (Luke 1:1-4). Because he specifically wrote for the benefit of Theophilus, apparently a Gentile of some stature, his Gospel was composed with a Gentile audience in mind, and his intent is to show that a Christian's faith is based upon historically reliable and verifiable events. Luke often refers to Christ as the "Son of Man," emphasizing His humanity and shares many details that are not found in the other Gospel accounts.

The Gospel of John, written by John the Apostle, is distinct from the other three Gospels and contains much theological content in regard to the person of Christ and the meaning of faith. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are often referred to as the "Synoptic Gospels" because of their similar styles and content, and because they give a synopsis of the life of Christ. The Gospel of John begins not with Jesus' birth or earthly ministry but with the activity and characteristics of the Son of God before His becoming man (John 1:14). The Gospel of John emphasizes the deity of Christ as is seen in his use of such phrases as "the Word was God" (John 1:1), "the Savior of the World" (4:42), the "Son of God" (used repeatedly), "Lord and...God" (John 20:28) in describing Jesus. In John's Gospel, Jesus also affirms His deity with several "I Am" statements, most notable among them is John 8:58, in which He states that "...before Abraham was, I Am" (compare to Exodus 3:13-14). But John also emphasizes the fact of Jesus' humanity, desiring to show the error of a religious sect of his day, the Gnostics, who did not believe in Christ

[RigMedic]

Great stuff, this has been alot of help.

Thank you so much!!

[EricH]

Why are the 4 gospels not the same if the Bible is the word of God. If the gospels come from 4 different people the way they saw it, then did God speak through them?

And if it is the word of God, why is each gospel different?

These were questions asked to me, I didn't really know how to answer them. Can anyone help me?

They are different but not contradictory in any way. They are complimentary

[irishcowboy]

take 100 people, stand each of htem on a mark facing the same direction towards Pikes Peak, and give each a camera, the same camera, and have each of htem take one picture, a snap shot. every one of them will be different, all of them will be 100 % accurate, but all will be different...... The Bible gives us a snap shot into knowing God..... we could study it for an entire lifetime and still not know God as Abraham did, or Moses, or some of the other forefathers....

some detail is not listed cause the author may not have believed all the detail was relivent for the description they were writing about.... and... the Gospels were written by 4 different people of 4 different backgrounds, one being that of a Physician.... a physician would be more interested in one type of detail then another from a fisherman.....

mike