Introduction Study # 2
August 14, 2022
Broadlands, Louisiana
(Download Audio)
Thesis: We have four "Gospels" because we have four major concerns in the light of eternity.
Introduction: In our introductory study last week we considered God's choice of the name "John" to be the shortest, most concise, summary of the entire theological upheaval of the first century. Israel had come to its final failure as God's representative of Himself to the nations: the murder of their Creator and Redeemer. Thus, there had to be a major "T"heological "re-start" for the hearts and minds of men for whom God had plans to install them in an eternal kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy.
Hebrews 2:10 says it this way: "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in
bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the Author of their salvation". This "Author of their salvation" is "Jesus", a Person whose name was chosen by God because it means "He will save His people from their sins" (
Matthew 1:21). This "perfecting" was the entire process of guiding Jesus through every minute of His earthly life so that the end result would be a Person whose "credential" for the saving of His "many sons" was "absolute sinless perfection". It is, and has always been, God's intention to produce a "Champion" for His people whose "righteousness" would be perfect and would be a "gift" to all those whose "repentance/faith" brought them "into" this Jesus.
The issue before us this morning is this: Why do we have four records of the life and activities of this "Jesus"? And the answer is this: for men to have a "perfect" salvation through a "perfected" Savior, this "Savior" must be the answer to the four major "problems" that exist between God and men. Because there are four "problems", there must be a "Jesus" for each of them. This "Jesus" is the same "Jesus" in all four of the records, but the focus of each Gospel is upon a particular aspect of the problems.
This is what we are going to consider this morning.
- I. The Four "Problems" Between God and Men.
- A. First, the "sins" which are generated by those men who are over-committed to satisfying the desires that arise out of their physical make-up (the Bible calls this "the lust of the flesh" in 1 John 2:16).
- B. Second, the "sins" which are generated by those men who are over-committed to satisfying the desires that arise out of their "souls" (the Bible calls this "the lust of the eyes" in 1 John 2:16).
- C. Third, the "sins" which are generated by those men who are over-committed to satisfying the desires that arise out of their "spirits" (the Bible calls this "the boastful pride of life" in 1 John. 2:16).
- D. Fourth, the consequence of any/all of those sins, whatever their origins: Death (the Bible describes this as the fact that "the world is passing away, and its lusts, but the one who does the will of God lives forever" in 1 John 2:17, with the understanding that "the world's passing" means loss to those who invested in its faulty principles: i.e., "Death" as in "the wages of sin is death").
- II. The Four "Solutions" To The "Problems".
- A. These Four "Solutions" were first presented to men in the pictorial terms of four "living creatures" in Ezekiel 1, in Ezekiel 10, and in Revelation 4.
- 1. In the case of Ezekiel.
- a. All four had four faces, and the first was the face of a "man".
- b. All four had a second face; that of a "lion".
- c. All four had a third face; that of an "ox" and/or a "cherub".
- d. All four had a fourth face; that of an "eagle".
- 2. In the case of Revelation.
- a. There were four living creatures who had only one face each.
- 1. There was a "living creature" who "was like a lion".
- 2. There was another "living creature" who was like a young bullock".
- 3. There was a third "living creature" who had a face as a man".
- 4. There was the fourth "living creature" who was like a "flying eagle".
- b. These four "living creatures" signified the four aspects of the major characteristics of the glory of God.
- 3. These four present "the glory of God" in four basic ways.
- a. The "lion" represents the "King of the Earth": 2 Chronicles 20:18-19; Revelation 5:5.
- b. The "man" represents the primary "Creation of God": Hebrews 1:5-13.
- c. The "bullock" represents the primary characteristic opposite to the "King": "The Servant": Matthew 23:11; Isaiah 42:1.
- d. The "eagle" represents "deity" as the Victor over man's greatest problem: Death; He is the "Destroyer of Death": 1 Corinthians 15:54; John 11:25.
- B. These four "solutions" all come together in "Jesus of Nazareth.
- 1. There is a "Jesus" Who never over-committed to the physical desires of the "body".
- 2. There is a "Jesus" Who never over-committed to the desires of the "soul".
- 3. There is a "Jesus" Who never over-committed to the spirit's desire to be able to "boast about personal accomplishments in life".
- 4. There is a "Jesus" who has over-turned the universal outcome of any sin ("Death") by resurrection from the dead.
- III. The Four Authors Of The Gospels As Representatives Of The "Problems" Who Found "Jesus" To Be the "Adequate Answer To Their Particular Problem".
- A. Matthew, the tax collector, who "sold his soul" to the accumulation of material wealth in order to put his "soul" at rest.
- B. Mark, the ministry-drop-out, who "sold his spirit" to escape having to deal with his desire to be applauded by men rather than persecuted by them.
- C. Luke, the doctor, who had invested his physical life in attempting to be the solution for men in respect to their physical problems.
- D. John, the "son of thunder", who had invested his "Life" in attempting to stave off the "Death" of his existence by participating in all of the problems identified above.
- IV. The Four Messages Of The Four Authors.
- A. Each of the four authors present Jesus in terms of a combination of two of the major aspects of the glory of God.
- 1. Matthew saw Jesus as "The King Of Humanity" who could provide "rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29).
- 2. Mark saw Jesus as "The Servant King" Who was the solution to the "fear" of men and their attitudes toward him (Mark 16:8).
- 3. Luke saw Jesus as "The Human Servant" Who was the One Who could resolve all of the physical problems that men have to face in this fallen world (1 Corinthians 15:45).
- 4. John saw Jesus as "The King Of Heaven" Who is the Resurrection and the Life; the Ultimate Solution to Death.
- B. John's particular message is "Jesus" the "Creator King Of Heaven" Who, like the flying eagle, is the One Who is "God Who Is The Ultimate King Over Heaven And Earth" Whose ultimate "solution" for men in their sinful excesses is to destroy the last great enemy: the Death decreed upon all who sin.
