Matthew / Mark / Luke / John
A Four-Dimensional View of Jesus
Go ahead and pick up your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter one. We are going to be walking through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—entering into the New Testament. If you have been part of our Generation series, we have traveled through the entire Old Testament so far, and we have marked this significant moment of stepping into the New Testament. I am incredibly excited about this. It is a chance to look at the Bible from a thirty-thousand-foot level.
In my Bible, the last page of Malachi—the final book of the Old Testament—and the first page of Matthew are separated by one single sheet of paper. That one page represents four hundred years. It is amazing. Often, we just flip the page and think, “Okay, let’s keep going.” If you have not had a chance yet, go online to thewellcommunity.org and check out the thirty-minute teaching that Rick Taylor, one of our teachers, put together about this intertestamental period. It is what we often call the “silent period” because there was no recorded prophetic word from God, but it was definitely not quiet historically. There is a chart that goes with it to help put things in historical and cultural context so you do not find yourself wondering where certain groups and traditions suddenly came from in the New Testament.
Today, we are looking at Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John together. You might wonder why we are looking at all four of these books at once. One reason is that they have profound things in common. They are called the Gospels—the good news of a salvation provided for everyone. These four books represent the pinnacle of all Scripture. Everything promised in the Old Testament, reaching all the way back to Genesis where God first promised redemption, actually happens here in history. These books record Jesus coming to die, being buried, rising from the dead to give us forgiveness of sins, and providing a way for us to have a relationship with the one true God. Without Jesus and what He accomplished, we would be eternally separated from God, completely helpless and hopeless. But because of what Jesus did, when we put our faith in Him, we stand righteous before God—something we could never accomplish on our own. That is genuinely good news.
All four of these books cover the same time period: the life of Jesus, focusing particularly on His three years of public ministry, His death, burial, resurrection, and the days leading up to His ascension into heaven. Yet, even though they cover the same foundational story, they are remarkably distinct. When we get to John, you will see that about ninety percent of his content cannot be found in any of the other three Gospels. It is written from a completely different perspective.
The other three—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—are called the Synoptic Gospels, from a word meaning to see together with a common view. Yet even they are not identical copies. They cover many of the same accounts and teachings, but each writer provides a unique perspective. If you look at Jesus through just one Gospel, you see one dimension of who He is. If you read two, you see two dimensions. Read three, you get three dimensions. But when you read all four, you get a full, four-dimensional portrait of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes people say, “Well, the Gospels are all about Jesus’ life, so I’ll just read Mark because it’s the shortest. Once I read that, I’ve got the story down, so I don’t need to read Matthew, Luke, or John because it would be redundant.” Do not make that mistake. Don’t settle for a one-dimensional view of Jesus when God has given you a four-dimensional view. My prayer is that you will walk out of here inspired and encouraged to open these Gospels and read them again with each writer’s distinct perspective in mind.
Matthew: Jesus Is the Promised King
If you pull out your Matthew chart, you will see the central theme clearly: Jesus is King. Matthew was a Jewish tax collector who left his booth to follow Jesus as one of the twelve disciples. In Mark and Luke, he is called Levi, but in his own Gospel, he refers to himself as Matthew. He walked with Jesus personally for those three years.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke were likely written twenty-five to thirty-five years after Jesus ascended. The writers looked around at their communities and considered what people were missing and what needed to be preserved in writing. Matthew looked at his fellow Jewish people and saw that decades after Jesus’ resurrection, many were still looking for the Messiah. They were still waiting for the King who would sit on David’s throne, rescue them from the Roman Empire, and reign forever. Matthew’s heart was practically shouting, “Are you kidding? He was already here! Let me show you that Jesus is the very Messiah and King you have been waiting for.”
From the very opening line, Matthew sets out to establish Jesus’ royal lineage.
Matthew 1:1 (NASB)
The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Why does Matthew begin with a genealogy, while none of the other Gospels start this way? Because he is proving Jesus’ legal right to the throne of David. Matthew traces the lineage through David and through every king of Judah, through the exile, all the way down to Jesus. He demonstrates that Jesus meets every royal criterion. Jesus is the King.
Because Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience, he constantly connects Jesus’ life directly to the Hebrew Scriptures.
Matthew 1:22 (NASB)
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
Matthew 2:15 (NASB)
He remained there until the death of Herod. [This was] to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.’
Matthew 2:17 (NASB)
Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
Matthew 3:3 (NASB)
For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, ’THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’’
More than any other Gospel writer, Matthew continually emphasizes that these events fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets. The Jewish people believed they would never miss the Messiah because they had all the prophecies to guide them. Matthew gently points out that they missed Him anyway, and he shows how Jesus fulfilled every single prophetic word.
Matthew also highlights accounts that the other writers leave out, such as the Magi coming to bow before the young child and presenting Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Why? Because those are gifts fit for a king. Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ sovereign authority throughout His teachings and interactions. For instance, in chapter 17, when the collectors of the temple tax approach Peter, Jesus asks who pays taxes to earthly kings—their sons or strangers? Peter responds, “From others.” Jesus tells him, “Then the sons are free.”
Matthew 17:24-26 (NASB)
When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma [tax] came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma [tax]?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?’ When Peter said, ‘From strangers,’ Jesus said to him, ’Then the sons are exempt.
Jesus was subtly indicating His royal identity: as the King’s Son, He was exempt from the tax, yet He provided for it anyway. When Jesus tells parables in Matthew, notice how often they center on royalty.
Matthew 18:23 (NASB)
’For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
He records parables about a king who arranged a wedding for his son, a king who went on a journey, and a king sitting on his glorious throne dividing the sheep from the goats.
Finally, look at how Matthew concludes his Gospel with the Great Commission—or what we might rightly call the King’s Commission.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB)
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ’All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’
Notice the royal language: “All authority has been given to Me. Therefore, go as My ambassadors, make disciples, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” It is a King commissioning His servants. Matthew’s message is unmistakable: Jesus is the Messiah, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords for all mankind.
Mark: Jesus Is the Servant and Slave of All
When you turn to the Gospel of Mark, you encounter a totally different vantage point. Mark focuses on the same Jesus, but he highlights a different aspect of His character.
Mark himself is a fascinating character. Early on in his life, he was something of an unreliable kid. In Mark 14, during Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane, Mark includes a curious detail that no other Gospel mentions: a young man following Jesus with only a linen cloth wrapped around his body was seized by the guards, but he slipped out of the cloth and ran away naked. That was Mark’s signature—an honest admission of, “That was me; I was that scared kid who ran away.”
Later, in the book of Acts, Paul and Barnabas took Mark along on their first missionary journey. When the road grew difficult, Mark deserted them and went home. When it came time for the next trip, Paul refused to take him because Mark had bailed when things got tough. But Barnabas did not give up on him. Barnabas took Mark under his wing, and eventually Mark connected with the Apostle Peter. Peter mentored Mark, discipling him like a son. Years later, Peter shared his eyewitness accounts with Mark, who recorded this Gospel. God took a young man who once ran from hardship and used him to pen a Gospel that has impacted millions of lives across centuries. God can use anyone.
Mark’s Gospel is fast-paced and action-oriented. He skips genealogies, the birth narrative, and Jesus’ childhood, diving straight into His public ministry. Mark records far fewer extended discourses than the other Gospels because his emphasis is on what Jesus did.
Mark’s central theme is that Jesus is the Servant—the slave of all. Writing primarily to a Roman audience, Mark addressed a culture that defined greatness by conquest, dominance, and how many people you could enslave. Mark turns that entire worldview upside down. He shows that true greatness in the Kingdom of God comes not through forcing others to serve you, but through humbling yourself to serve everyone else.
Throughout chapters one through ten, Jesus patiently guides His disciples toward this truth. It culminates in chapter ten when James and John ask if they can sit at Jesus’ right and left hands in His glory. The other disciples get angry, and Jesus calls them all together to correct their understanding of power.
Mark 10:43-45 (NASB)
’But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. ‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’
That 45th verse is the key verse of the entire book: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” From that pivotal moment, Jesus sets His face toward Jerusalem. Chapters eleven through sixteen depict Jesus willingly walking toward the cross, performing the ultimate, humble act of a servant laying down His life for others. Matthew shows us the King of kings; Mark shows us the Slave of all.
Luke: Jesus Is the Compassionate Son of Man
When we turn to Luke, we encounter the work of a meticulous historian and physician who traveled with Paul. Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts as a two-part historical account.
Luke 1:1-4 (NASB)
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write [it] out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.
Luke dedicated his writing to “most excellent Theophilus” and aimed his Gospel at the Greek-speaking world. His aim was to present Jesus as the perfect Man—fully human, deeply compassionate, and relating directly to everyday people.
Because Luke sought to write an orderly, chronological account, his Gospel is the best place to turn if you want a timeline of Jesus’ three-year ministry. Matthew and Mark arranged their material thematically, but Luke carefully organized his historical record while consistently highlighting Jesus’ humanity.
This is why Luke spends so much time detailing the conception, birth, and childhood of Jesus. He wants us to understand that Jesus experienced genuine human growth.
Luke 2:52 (NASB)
And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Jesus grew in wisdom, in physical stature, and in favor with God and people. He experienced genuine human development. At Jesus’ birth in Luke, it is not wealthy Magi who visit, but blue-collar shepherds working in the fields. Luke consistently highlights Jesus’ deep empathy for the poor, the marginalized, and the broken.
When Luke records Jesus’ genealogy in chapter three, he does not stop at Abraham or focus exclusively on the royal line of kings as Matthew did. Instead, Luke traces Jesus’ lineage all the way back to Adam. Why? Because every single human being goes back to Adam. By tracing Jesus back to the first man, Luke demonstrates that Jesus is related to all of humanity. He is one of us, our true Kinsman-Redeemer.
Luke is the only Gospel that preserves the parable of the rich fool who hoarded his wealth and died unprepared for eternity. He alone records the rich man and Lazarus, contrasting callous self-absorption with eternal reality. Only Luke shares the story of the prodigal son, where a compassionate father runs to embrace a broken, undeserving child. And only Luke records the Good Samaritan, where an outcast stops to bind up the wounds of a dying man when religious leaders walked right past. Luke’s heart beats with the compassion of Christ: Jesus is the Son of Man who entered our world to seek and save the lost.
John: Jesus Is God in the Flesh
Finally, we arrive at the Gospel of John. Writing thirty to thirty-five years after the other three Gospels, John likely had Matthew, Mark, and Luke in front of him. At the close of his long life, John looked at those accounts and asked, “What gaps need to be filled? What theological misunderstandings must be answered?”
Near the end of the first century, false teachings were emerging that denied Jesus had come in a real physical body, claiming that physical matter was inherently evil. John wrote clearly to affirm both the true humanity and the absolute deity of Christ. He demonstrates that Jesus died in a real body, was buried, and rose bodily from the grave.
Above all, John begins where no other writer could:
John 1:1 (NASB)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 (NASB)
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is the eternal Word made flesh. Jesus is God. Everything in John’s Gospel builds upon this foundational reality. When religious leaders opposed Jesus, John points out the core conflict.
John 5:18 (NASB)
For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
John records seven distinct “I AM” statements made by Jesus: “I am the bread of life” (chapter 6), “I am the light of the world” (chapter 8), “I am the door” and “I am the good shepherd” (chapter 10), “I am the resurrection and the life” (chapter 11), “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (chapter 14), and “I am the true vine” (chapter 15). Every single one of these declarations echoes the divine name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. Jesus was openly declaring, “I am God.”
This theme culminates after the resurrection with Thomas. When Thomas sees the risen Christ, he falls before Him and declares, “My Lord and my God!” John then explicitly states the driving purpose of his entire Gospel.
John 20:30-31 (NASB)
Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
The Complete Picture of Our Savior
When you step back and look at all four Gospels together, you see the brilliant wisdom of God’s design.
What kind of Savior do we need?
We need a King with supreme authority who has the power to lead us and conquer our greatest enemies—and Matthew shows us Jesus the King.
We need a Servant willing to humble Himself to the uttermost and pay the ransom for our debt—and Mark shows us Jesus the Servant.
We need a Man who can represent us, empathize with our weaknesses, and pay the penalty for human sin—and Luke shows us Jesus the Son of Man.
And we need God Himself, because no mere creature could ever bear the weight of our salvation or grant eternal life—and John shows us Jesus the Son of God.
King, Servant, Man, God. That is the four-dimensional portrait of Jesus Christ. You cannot afford to read just one, and you certainly cannot afford to ignore them. We follow Jesus; let us get to know Him fully.
I encourage you to take these charts, open your Bibles, and read through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John again. Look for these themes as you read. Let your heart be overwhelmed by the depth and beauty of who Jesus is. And if you have never placed your faith in Him, look at Him in these pages. He truly is the only one who can save you.
Let’s pray together.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the Gospels—the good news that Jesus Christ came to provide salvation for anyone who believes in Him. Lord, we stand in awe of the vastness and greatness of Your Son. In Matthew, we see Him as King of kings. In Mark, we see Him as the humble Servant of all. In Luke, we see Him as our Kinsman, fully human and full of compassion. And in John, we see Him as God in the flesh among us. There is no one like Jesus. We acknowledge that He is the only way to You, and we thank You for sending Him to rescue us. We place our complete trust and dependence in Jesus Christ alone. In His name we pray, Amen.