The four Gospels in your Bible are actually MORE different than most Christians realize and once you understand HOW, it completely changes the way you read them. Let me explain. First, you need to keep this in mind. Each Gospel was written by a real person, with a unique personality, a different purpose, and a particular audience in mind. Let’s start with Matthew. Ironically, Matthew was a former tax collector, a profession widely despised by the Jewish people... yet he writes his Gospel primarily for a Jewish audience. This is why he makes more than 60 references to the Old Testament. He also organizes Jesus' teachings into 5 major discourses, which many scholars see as paralleling the 5 books of Moses... And he presents Jesus as the new and GREATER Moses. His point? Moses gave us a law written in stone. Jesus gives us a new law written in our hearts. Mark is next. The book of Mark is the shortest gospel and was likely written primarily for Roman Gentiles. How do we know? Because Mark repeatedly explains Jewish customs and traditions that a Jewish audience would have already understood. Also, Roman society placed enormous value on power, authority, and status. And here comes Mark talking about how Jesus has those things but exercises his authority and power as a *servant.* That would've been a radical message to his audience. Luke is next. The Gospel of Luke was written with a broader Gentile Greek speaking audience in mind. Luke, traditionally identified as a physician, was incredibly detailed and organized. In fact, Luke is the longest Gospel…and the longest individual book in the New Testament. He also wrote the *second* longest book in the New Testament… Acts (which is a sequel to the book of Luke). Luke is also the only Gospel that gives us detailed accounts of *both* the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus. He also places special emphasis on women, the poor, the marginalized and those that had been rejected by society. Why? Because salvation had reached beyond the religious, social, and ethnic boundaries people had established. Lastly, the book of John. It has been traditionally attributed to Jesus' best friend, his beloved disciple who very humbly referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved." Traditionally, many believe John was the youngest disciple, possibly even a teenager when Jesus called him. Now, John tells us why he writes his gospel in John 20:31. Basically, he just wants to tell people about Jesus so people can trust in Him and be saved. Interestingly enough, around 90% of John's Gospel contains material not found in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. It's almost as if he's saying: "I knew Him intimately. And you can know Him too." Here’s the bottom line. These are not four different stories. It’s one truth seen from four different angles, all pointing to the same King. And His name is Jesus.