Comparing Gospels: Matthew & Luke

The Catholic Church views the entire Bible as the inspired and error-free work of God and the Gospels as especially so, since they chronicle Jesus's time on Earth. As we've stated numerous times in earlier posts, the Church believes the Bible is sacred literature, and should be interpreted literally in some parts and figuratively in others. Since they are a narrative, the Gospels are primarily interpreted literally.

Matthew opens his Gospel with a long genealogy of Jesus, starting with Abraham and ending with Joseph, Mary's husband and the human "father" of Jesus. Matthew was likely addressing converts from Judaism, linking Jesus back to the legendary founder of their religion.

Luke offers a similar genealogy, but not until Chapter 3, and he starts with Jesus and works all the way back to Adam. Luke was a Gentile physician whose audience was almost exclusively Gentile (not Jewish). Neither Matthew nor Luke used editorial fiction, but both selected events from Jesus's life (Christians say with inspiration from the Holy Spirit) that would be appropriate for their respective audiences. A Gentile audience would not have cared about the link to Abraham, but would have cared about Jesus's link to the first man, Adam. The idea of Jesus being connected with the very beginning of mankind had a certain appeal amongst the Greeks. For example, notice St. Paul's Epistle. The Epistles are written letters that make up a part of the New Testament. St. Paul's Epistle even went as far as to call Christ the "New Adam," saying that the original Adam caused man to die, but the New Adam offered all a reborn life. A Gentile audience would be more interested in Jesus's link to the dawn of humanity, whereas Jews would have wanted an authentic link to Abraham from Jesus.

One seeming contradiction between the two Gospels can be found in Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. Matthew mentions that immeditately prior to his sermon, Jesus "went up the mountain" (Matthew 5:1), but Luke says Jesus gave his sermon on "a stretch of level ground" (Luke 6:17). Both men quote the teachings from this sermon, now called the Beatitudes ("Blessed are the poor in spirit, Blessed are they who mourn, Blessed are the meek, etc.,).

So why the difference between mountain and plain? Any good preacher knows that a good sermon can be used more than once, especially when you're moving from town to town, as Jesus was. It would not be unreasonable to assume that Jesus preached the Beatitudes more than once, since no one in the next town would have heard the message addressed to the previous town.

Matthew mentions the Sermon on the Mount because his Jewish audience would have been keen on such a detail. Why? Moses was given the Law (the 10 Commandments) on Mount Sinai. Jesus was giving the law of blessedness while also standing on a mountain. Matthew also wrote Jesus's words that he "had not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it," (Matthew 5:17) which also appealed to the Jewish crowd. Moses gave Ten Commandments that came as Law from God, while Jesus said he would fulfill that Law. Luke, meanwhile, mentions that the sermon was given on a plain. Why this obscure detail? Luke was writing for a Gentile audience. The Gentiles were accumstomed to philosophy and debate in the Greek manner. Greek philosophers would debate each other on level ground: shoulder-to-shoulder and eye-to-eye, in order to give a sense of equality and fairness in their discussion. Since his Gentile audience would have more interest in a speech given in such a fashion, Luke retells one.

Even a slight difference can be detected in the wording of the Beatitudes in Luke's edition when contrasted with Matthew's. Luke added an additional "woe to you" after each "blessed are you" - something not found in Matthew's account. Again, if we take the perspective that these speeches were the same sermon given at different times, it is very possible that Jesus adapted his older sermon for a different audience. The Church maintains the discrepancy comes from changes Jesus made to his own speech, since neither sacred author would feel free to alter anything Jesus said.

History of the Gospel

Sts. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were not taking notes as Jesus preached and performed his ministry. As a matter of fact, only Matthew and John even met Jesus. In short, don't think of the Gospel as a biography reporting on Jesus's life. Before the Gospels were written, the words and deeds of Jesus were passed down orally. In other words, the Gospel was preached before it was written. The spoken word (tradition) again preceded the written word. Even after it was recorded, the papyrus scrolls were so fragile and rare that most people didn't read the Word, but learned it through Mass. The Church divides the Word into three layers: the actual sayings and teachings of Christ, the oral tradition the apostles preached, and the written Scripture that ensured the message would be consistent.

The New Testament was written between the years 35-100 A.D. The actual Tetramorph (the four Gospels put together) can be dated to at least 188 (when St. Irenaeus mentions it), but it wasn't until the Council of Carthage (397 A.D.) that the Church explicitly stated the 27 books of the New Testament, including the four Gospels. St. Jerome was the first to combine the New and Old Testament into one volume and to translate the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek into one single language-Latin. It took him an incredible 23 years to complete this task, but the final product was the first Christian Bible in 405.

Catholic Beliefs on the Gospel

Even though each Gospel was written by a different man, the same Holy Spirit is believed to have inspired each man. Inspiration is a gift of the Holy Spirit granted to the sacred authors (the physical writers of the Bible) so they would only write the exact words that God wished to be recorded.

Both the Holy Spirit and the inspired author would write to a specific audience. This concept is clear in the Gospel According to Matthew. Matthew, a Jew himself, was addressing potential converts from Judaism and wished to assure them that Jesus was the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. To accomplish this, he made subtle comparisons between Christ and Moses. Matthew compared Jesus's deliverance of mankind from the slavery of sin to Moses's deliverance of the Chosen People from their slavery in Egypt. Both also delivered their people into a "Promised Land." In Moses's case, it was the nation of Israel, while in Christ's case, it was the Promised Land of Heaven.

Although each writer had a separate audience, each of the four Gospels still have relevance in today's world because the all four were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Church believes that inspired texts have several meanings, transcend time and space, and (unlike most historical documents) do not apply to one particular culture at one particular time. This is why the Catholic Church goes to the trouble of incorporating all four Gospels at the Sunday Mass over a three-year period.

Interestingly enough, the Book of Revelation (written by an inspired John) contains an image of four creatures that the Church has interpreted to be a metaphor for the four Gospels. According to St. Ambrose (who lived late in the 4th Century), the man with wings symbolizes Matthew, since he begins his Gospel with an account of the human origins of Jesus. Mark begins his Gospel with the regal power of Christ, so he is symbolized by a lion- held in high esteem by his Roman audience. Luke begins his version with an account of the father of John the Baptist, Zachary the priest, and is symbolized as an ox with wings. This is because priests of the temple sacrificed oxen on an altar. Finally, John is shown as an eagle, because he soars into heaven with his introduction to the Gospel of the pre-existence of Jesus as the Word.

The Gospel Truth

The New Testament contains four Gospels which tell about the life and teachings of Jesus. The four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) each wrote one of the four Gospels. It's important to note that the four aren't considered separate Gospels, but four versions of one Gospel. Hence they are called The Gospel According to Matthew or The Gospel According to Luke, and not Matthew's Gospel or Luke's Gospel. It's for this reason that the Church teaches the importance of considering the four Gospels as one entire unit. No one account gives the full picture, but together they form a complete (although not exhaustive) account of Jesus's ministry. The church faithful require all four versions in order to appreciate the full depth of Jesus of Nazareth and his impact. Catholicism respects each perspective from the four evangelists, but stresses that all four must be grouped together, along with other "inspired" Old Testament and New Testament writings, in order get a better portrait of Jesus.

Sunday Off-Topic: Satan's Jealousy

Every Introduction course always has its off-topic tangents, and Catholicism 101 is no different. On Sundays, we'll delve into some aspects of Catholicism that we might not otherwise get to. These areas are kind of up to my whim, but they will usually focus on unusual parts of Catholicism.

One Catholic belief is that angels were created before humans, and that their angelic will (unlike our own) is incapable of changing once a decision has been made. Angels have one irreversible act of will, and they know this. So when Lucifer (Satan) and his cohorts conspired to go against God's will, they sinned in a way that prevented them from ever seeking forgiveness, due to their very nature.

Humans, however, are quite capable of changing their minds - and this is how they can seek forgiveness and repentance. It's for this reason that Satan hates humans, because humans get a second chance that he never had. The fact that the Second Person of the Trinity had assumed the form of a man infuriated him still further, since God had never become an angel in any such manner.

Obedient Son of God

Catholicism views Jesus as the eternal Son of the Father and teaches that this relationship between Father and Son is one of profound love. It's not some kind of "Victorian" love, but very real. This belief that their relationship is so close led St. Thomas Aquinas to state that the third person of the Holy Trinity (the Holy Spirit) is the living, personified fruit of that love.

Obedience is a sign of love and respect, and Catholics believe Jesus obeyed the Father's will. To Catholics, the phrase "Thy will be done," is more than just a line from the Our Father. It's the unofficial motto of Jesus Christ. Catholic belief also maintains that God the Father's will for Jesus was to:
-Reveal God as a community of Three Persons united in divine love.
-Show His love for all mankind.
-Be humankind's Redeemer and Savior.

Divine Nature of Jesus

Catholics believe that Jesus perfomed miracles while on Earth, such as walking on water, expelling demons, and raising the dead. Christians believe Jesus also performed the ultimate miracle in saving all humankind, becoming its Savior. He founded the Catholic Church and instituted (both explicitly and implicitly) all seven sacraments. He is also the second person in the Holy Trinity-as God the Son. God the Son is just as much God as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

Although Christians, Jews, and Muslims all believe in one God (the same one, actually), Christians believe in a Triune God - one God in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), usually called the Holy Trinity. The mystery of the Holy Trinity is how there can be three persons, but not three Gods. Catholics don't view the Trinity as three seperate gods, but as three persons in a single God.