PerryDox – BeJustAChristian

4 Directions of the Gospel to Stay on Course
The gospel has a history – Matthew
The gospel has a challenge – Mark
The gospel has a compassion – Luke
The gospel has a theology – John 
None of the above exhausts how each writer explores the gospel of Jesus. What my synopsis does is focus on the beginning of each biography. 
Matthew demonstrates that the coming of Jesus was not accidental nor did it take place in a vacuum. Jesus, “the son of Abraham and the son of David” is the completion of Israel’s place in God’s plan as its final and perfect king. Are we willing to accept God’s plan?
Mark challenges his Roman audience as to who is their king and what kind. “This is the beginning of the gospel (a term used for military victories) of Jesus the Son of God (a phrase used of Augustus)”. Are we willing to accept Jesus as the servant authority figure in our life and imitate?
Luke begins with God showing compassion to an elderly, childless couple. They will know the love of a child. But compassion has a purpose. Their son would be the forerunner of Jesus. Are we willing to be used by God in response to His compassion?
John has possibly the boldest and most shocking first verse – “in the beginning was the Word (OK, that’s acceptable), and the Word was with God (of course, where else would He be?) and the Word was God (What? A plural oneness?)”. Are we willing to go beyond surface knowledge and even be awed by our inability to fully grasp, yet try?
I’ve become more convinced people fall away from the gospel because they’ve never known the gospel. It is a long story (Matthew), that challenges what kind of King we need (Mark), while demanding deep empathy (Luke), and hard thinking (John). It’s exactly what keeps us from falling away as we look backwards (Matthew), inwards (Mark), outwards (Luke), and upwards (John).