Signatures of the Gospel Writers - A companion article for the "Father, Forgive Them" Sermon Series
Signatures of the Gospel Writers
This Sunday, I’ll be preaching a sermon through John
19:23-27, about Jesus providing Mary with care on the cross once He departed. It
is generally believed that this person is John, the writer of this Gospel
(although other candidates come up from time to time; one will be brought up
later). Why do we believe it? Because we see what he says as a kind of
signature, or identifier.
Do the other evangelists of the Gospels identify themselves
in any way, and if they do, how? Especially since they don’t do it in any obvious
ways (like Paul does in his epistles)? Two of the men we believe were inspired
by the Holy Spirit to pen their respective Gospels were Apostles, while the
other two do not have any significant roles in the Gospel narrative.
One of the major reasons we believe Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John to be the Gospel writers comes from the 2nd-century work of
Irenaeus that is now called “Against Heresies.” He’s also the one who first
called them the Four Evangelists. Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp, who was
a disciple of an aged Apostle John; so, just two generations removed from the Twelve.
Other early Church fathers also confirm the same identities, even if some of
them were drawing from Irenaeus.
Matthew
Matthew is one of the Twelve, and he identified himself by
using his well-known name. However, since he was an Apostle, it doesn’t stick
out unless you compare to the other Gospel accounts. When Jesus called him, he
was sitting at the tax booth, doing his duty as a tax collector. Jesus passed
by, said, “Follow Me,” and he did just that. The disciples ate at his house,
along with other tax collectors and miscreants. When questioned by the
Pharisees, Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but
those who are sick” (Matt. 9:9-12). The Gospels of Mark and Luke refer to him as
Levi (most likely another name for Matthew; many people in the New Testament
have two names.), but Matthew owns up to his greedy and exploitative past by
using his own name. His signature, so to speak!
To add some icing on this cake, all three of these synoptic
Gospels use the name Matthew when listing the Twelve Apostles (Matt. 10:3, Mark
3:18, Luke 6:15).
Mark
Mark was not an Apostle. In fact, he was still a boy living
at home. We are introduced to him by name as a young man in Acts 12:25,
accompanying Barnabas and Saul (before the text called him Paul) back to
Antioch from Jerusalem. He then began the first missionary journey with them,
but turned back and sailed to Jerusalem upon reaching Asia Minor in Acts 13:13.
Clearly not for the best of reasons, since Paul and Barnabas debated about it fiercely
many months later and went their separate ways for the next journey (Acts
15:37-40). This was probably about a decade after Jesus’s ministry.
Yet, he still may have found a way to be an eyewitness of
Jesus’s arrest. Recorded in Mark 14:51-52, a boy, wearing nothing but a linen
cloth (like he’d just gotten out of bed), and apparently watched in the
background. Someone must have attempted to seize him by grabbing at the cloth,
but the boy escaped the cloth and ran away in nothing but his birthday suit!
The boy is not named, but it would make sense that it was Mark himself, and he included
this tidbit as a sort of signature.
Luke
The writer of what we call the
Gospel of Luke is the same writer of the Acts of the Apostles. We see the
connection at the beginning of each book.
·
Luke 1:3-4 – “It seemed good to me also, having
had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee
in order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of
those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.”
o
The receiver of this account is “most excellent
Theophilus.”
·
Acts 1:1-3 – “The former treatise have I made, O
Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in
which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given
commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he showed
himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them
forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
o
Referring to “the former treatise,” or the first
book, that he made, and what it was about. Also written to Theophilus.
Luke, however, is not mentioned in either one of these books;
he’s only mentioned in the text of Scripture three times. In Colossians 4:14,
the Apostle Paul introduces him as “Luke the beloved physician;” and in
Philemon 1:24, Luke is listed as one of Paul’s fellow workers. Then in 2
Timothy 4:11, Luke is stated as one of the only workers to remain close to Paul
in what was most likely his final imprisonment before his execution. All of
these epistles were written when Paul was in prison. So, a faithful worker of
the Lord and loyal companion to Paul, and probably a learned man (since he’s
said to be a physician); but not a celebrated star of the text of Scripture. It
probably makes no sense for any church father to pretend he’s the writer, since
he seems content to serve in the background.
In the original Greek, both prologues (Luke 1:1-4 & Acts
1:1-3) are single sentences and ornate, in keeping with Greek treatises of the
day. But the rest of the books are stated in plain, easy-to-understand
language, much like the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament). This Evangelist would
be familiar with Greek literature and an educated, gifted wordsmith. Luke fits
the description, and there’s not much reason to disbelieve Irenaeus and the
others. Not much of a signature here.
John
Here’s the reason I’m writing this! John never mentions his
name in this Gospel, nor any of the letters attributed to him (1, 2, & 3
John). The only reference is saying “the sons of Zebedee” were present in the
last chapter (Jn. 21:2. He never mentions his brother’s name either). He did place
his name in Revelation 1:1-2 – “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave
unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and
he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of
the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that
he saw.”
This Gospel has a far different purpose than the other
three: to declare Jesus as the Son of God, and focusing on certain miracles and
teachings to share the gospel. Seven miracles. Seven declarations of “I AM.”
And five descriptions of a “disciple whom Jesus loved” (some
say more). First, this disciple is reclining at table by Jesus’s side during
the last supper, asking who it is of them that will betray Him (Jn. 13:23-25).
Then, this disciple is at the foot of the cross (19:26-27). On the first day of
the week, this man and Simon Peter hearing of the empty tomb then running there
(20:2-8). Some time later, while the Apostles were fishing, this beloved
disciple recognized his Lord (21:7).
But many will refer to an earlier
Bible verse in this Gospel about one whom Jesus loved becoming sick. This time
the identity is obvious: Lazarus (Jn. 11:3). Is this a clue as to this disciple
whom Jesus loved? Many believe so, including those of the Eastern Orthodox faith.
A lot of positives to make Lazarus the caretaker:
·
He’s wealthy (at least wealthy enough to afford
a tomb cut from a rock).
·
Many believe he and his sisters devote their
time to helping the poor (Bethany means “house of the poor,” widely believed to
be the place the impoverished in Jerusalem go to find help and solace [think
Mother Teresa].)
· He was clearly close to Jesus (and probably also His family).
But the final reference makes it clear that the man
referenced during the last supper reclining at table by Jesus’s side is the one
who wrote this Gospel account (Jn. 21:20-25). So, while it may be possible that
Lazarus wrote this account, outran Peter to the tomb, took his Lord’s mother into
his household, and was present and near Jesus during the last supper, the
Apostle John is a far better match. He’s within the inner circle of disciples,
accompanying Jesus up the mountain for the transfiguration, and near Him in at
Gethsemane. Given these clues, along with never stating his name in the Gospel,
I believe John would be this beloved disciple.
And love remained his signature
throughout his writings. In his Gospel:
·
“For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son” (3:16)
· “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (15:13)”
And in 1 John:
·
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath
given unto us, that we should be called the sons of God” (3:1)
·
“Beloved, let us love one another” (4:7)
·
“He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is
love” (4:8)
· “We love Him because He first loved us” (4:19)
We learn from John that love should permeate the entirety of
a Christian’s life. Since love comes from God, we should desire to emulate His
love. Since the love of God provided a way for our sins to be forgiven, may we
love and give grace to one another. Since Jesus took the place we deserve,
paying the penalty we owe due to sin, let us walk in the light as He is in the
light (1 Jn. 1:7).
JOY! - Dan