Evie Polsley is a member of the Bible team at Tyndale House Publishers, where she helps provide resources for people who want to better understand and apply the Bible in their lives. She loves sharing stories, especially the story of Jesus. Her passion is helping others fall in love with reading God’s Word and better understand their role in God’s beautiful story. It’s a grace to welcome Evie to the farm table today…
Guest post by Evie Polsley of Tyndale Bibles
Reading the four gospels together helps us…to meet not only a fascinating historical figure, but also the God of the universe…
Some of the best selling books in the world are biographies. Do you know why? We are fascinated by stories – especially stories of real people who have achieved amazing things. We put ourselves in their shoes and hope that, under the same circumstances, we would make the same inspiring decisions.
Although there are thousands (if not millions) of life touching biographies out there, only one has had a truly world-changing effect: the biography of Jesus. It sparked revolutions, transformed individuals and societies, and made people risk their lives to share its story.
Though an integral part of Christian theology, the story of Jesus invites us to engage with it beyond head knowledge or philosophical thinking. It forces us to confront who we are in light of who he is! The question Who is Jesus? has world-defining power, but it is also a very personal question that we all have to ask ourselves.
People are drawn to the life story of Jesus for many reasons. He has lived values that we believe are important, such as compassion, altruism, fairness and integrity. He was self-sacrificing, a great teacher, and unyielding in his mission. Those are all great qualities—but Who is Jesus? And what sets him apart from other great leaders?
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NLT)
Picking from the gospel writers, focusing on just one aspect of Jesus, or even emphasizing one gospel over another can distort our understanding of Jesus and the meaning of his story.
This is a life changing statement. Jesus explained who he was and he knew some people wouldn’t like it. Yet nothing could lessen his unwavering determination to do the Father’s will.
But how do we understand these words? Who is Jesus?
When we try to answer that question, it’s easy to get stuck trying to mold him into a reflection of what we want him to be. We focus on our values, our desires and lose track of who he really is.
Sometimes our confusion comes from the fact that Jesus’ biography was written differently than modern biographers would write it. We envision biographies that tell a person’s full story from birth to death, but Jesus’ biographers felt the most important thing was to help their audience connect to the truth about who Jesus is Isnot just who Jesus was and what he did.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John intentionally emphasized different parts of Jesus’ story because of the different audiences they were communicating with. For example, when I tell a story to my sister, the information I share is different than when I share the same story with my colleague. My sister already has the context, knows the people in my story, and doesn’t need much explanation, while my colleague doesn’t have the inside information. But it’s still the same story, even if I add different information and context depending on who I’m talking to.
Picking from the gospel writers, focusing on just one aspect of Jesus, or even emphasizing one gospel over another can distort our understanding of Jesus and the meaning of his story. By appreciating the unique perspective of each gospel writer and by seeing the four gospels as a unified story of the life of Jesus, we can better answer the question they confront us with: Who is Jesus?
In the introduction to his book God with us: the four gospels woven into one narrative, James Barlow gives an example of how reading the various gospels helps us understand them better:
Whether we are reading the story of Jesus for the first time or have read it many times, we can’t help but be in awe of who He is.
Why on earth would four humble fishermen suddenly leave their families and jobs without hesitation to blindly follow a man walking along the shore whom they didn’t know? . . . Matthew shows these four men ready to leave it all behind after hearing Jesus’ simple request: “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”
The answer to that question suddenly came to me as I read the Gospel of John, especially John 1:29-51. John provides the additional insights that John the Baptist first introduced Andrew and another disciple to Jesus, and that Andrew in turn introduced Jesus to Simon Peter. These disciples had spent time with Jesus, so they knew him when he finally called them to shore.
My whole perspective on why they left Jesus and followed him changed. I discovered background and context to the story that was not in Matthew’s account but could be learned by reading the Gospels together. This greatly increased my curiosity as to whether there were other aspects of the individual gospel accounts that might be confusing if not read from the perspective of the four gospels as a whole.
Whether we are reading the story of Jesus for the first time or have read it many times, we can’t help but be in awe of who He is. Reading the four gospels together helps us better understand the story and not only meet a fascinating historical figure, but also the God of the universe, the great I Am.
[ Our humble thanks to Tyndale for their partnership in today’s devotional. ]
