Why Are The Gospels The Heart Of The Bible?

Here are why there are four different gospels and why they’re the heart of the Bible.

Four Witnesses

Most of the authors of the four gospels say nearly the same thing in one place in their books but each one are unique but one thing that they all have in them is the reason that these gospels were written; “so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:4) through the gospels. Luke wrote, “In my former book (Luke), Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen” (Acts 1:1-2) as a way to provide evidence that these things were true. The Apostle John wrote, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31). Later he wrote “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (1st John 1:1-4). John explains his own purpose for writing his gospel; “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). That’s the most important reason of all.

By Two Witnesses

God established a law that there needed to be at least two witness or more when trying to convict someone of some crime. When there are two or even three witnesses, then something can be established as true but God upped it even more than that. The gospels are not just not two or three witnesses, but four witnesses in four different testimonies or accounts of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It’s like four men standing at an intersection and each witness an accident. All four give corroborating evidence but from four different vantage points. For the Jews, the Gospel of Matthew ties in the Old Testament prophecies fulfillment as being completed in Jesus Christ, Mark is fast paced, action-oriented gospel but it’s actually the Apostle Peter’s testimony as recorded by John Mark and written to non-Jews or to the Gentiles. The Gospel of Luke, who also wrote the Book of Acts, was written for historical reasons (Luke 1:1-4) but Luke the Physical also wrote more about Jesus’ humanity than the other authors did. The Apostle John is writing to everyone in general to show them that Jesus is fully God. By having these four gospels, we exceed that which was required in the Old Testament and that was “One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Deut 19:15).

The Heart of the Bible

The four gospels are said to be the hinge on which the Old Testament door is closing while the New Testament door is opening. As one shuts, the other opens and John the Baptist who was preparing the way for Christ while these doors were moving closed or shut was the last of the Old Testament prophets and his ministry was one which overlapped the prophetic work of God that touched on the very last of the Old Testament prophets and introduced the New Testament by announcing the coming Messiah who was clearly Jesus Christ. That was John the Baptist’s mission; to prepare the way and make straight the path for Jesus Christ’s coming. John’s coming signaled the beginning of the “preaching the kingdom of God” and fit in with the Old Testament prophets who had long ago prophesied about the kingdom of God. This is why Jesus said, “And the law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it” (Luke 16:16). John’s mission was to be a preparatory messenger of the covenant as stated by Malachi where he wrote, “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 3:1). John the Baptist and the four gospels are at the center or heart of the Bible; not in the page numbers but at the heart of the plan of salvation that God long ago began, knowing that the fall in the garden would come and where it was first prophesied in speaking of Christ’s victory over Satan that “he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15). That was accomplished at the cross by Christ.

Conclusion

In God’s sovereignty, He has intentionally caused the four gospels to be at the very beginning of the New Testament because that is the heart of the Bible; the fulfillment of the plan that God has foreordained from before the creation and came to completion in the work of Christ at Calvary.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.