The careful student of the Scripture who carefully compares the four Gospels will perceive that each Evangelist sets forth the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ from his own point of view, which differs from the rest. This gives rise to what is well called "The characteristic differences of the Gospels," throwing much golden light on the purpose and scope of each.
Matthew reveals The Lord Jesus Christ as KING, the Son of David, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The genealogy, the account of His birth, the adoration of the wise men, His triumph in the Temptation, the Sermon on the Mount - containing a minute and detailed description of his Kingdom - together with all the Parables and many other peculiarities in Matthew all point to the fact that it sets forth Christ as King. It is the Gospel of the
Kingdom.
Mark shows the Lord Jesus as the SERVANT, of which the Ox is an appropriate symbol. In it the Lord Jesus appears as the Worker, doing and fulfilling His Father's Will, accomplishing the great work of Redemption given and committed to Him. The descriptions of the Saviours human feelings are numerous and graphic in Mark. See for example the account of the raising of Jairus's daughter in (5:22-43).
Mark is the Gospel of Service.
Luke shows the Lord Jesus as MAN. ("Behold the Man"). The Son of Adam, we note together the genealogy in Chapter 3, traces back to Adam. Luke by profession was a medical doctor, and from the seventeen nautical terms he uses in his writing some scholars infer that he exercised his skill in the crowded merchant ships that were incessantly coasting from harbour to harbour in the Mediterranean.
Luke is the Gospel of Christ's Humanity.
John reveals the Lord Jesus Christ as GOD. ("Behold thy God"). The first chapter opens with a wonderful description of the divine Word. His teachings are recorded at greater length than in the others. The corresponding symbol is that of the Eagle. John the "beloved disciple" was the first to appear on the scene of the Gospel story, he is the last to leave it; his life covers about seventy years of the first Christian century.
John is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ's Divinity.