Question

How was Jesus characterized differently in each of the four Gospels (Mark, John, Mathew, Luke)? Did each of the four Gospels characterize him differently?

Answer 1

Hint:
- The authors had different backgrounds and thoughts on Jesus.
- The authors wrote the Gospels targeting certain groups of people.

Complete answer:
Yes, it is very evident that all the four Gospels have characterized Jesus very differently. They wrote about them in the following manner:
Mark – He wrote the Gospel for the Romans. He refers to Jesus very frequently, as the Son of Man. He also portrayed Jesus as a man of action, a man who could do miracles and a man who challenged the Jewish authorities (who were at that time in rebellion against the Romans).
John – His was the last Gospel to be written and hence was targeted towards Christians who already had faith in Jesus Christ and his teachings. According to him Jesus was truly a man and a God who freely imparted the knowledge about God the Father, God the Spirit and himself (God the Son).
Mathew – He wrote the Gospel for a Jewish audience. He speaks of Jesus as the Messiah and the anointed one. He writes that Jesus is the descendant of King David and rightfully the King of the Jews.
Luke – He was Greek, and so was his audience. He calls Jesus Christ as the Son of the ‘Most High’ (God). The Greeks believed that the son of God would be a demigod i.e. half human and half God. But Luke portrayed that Jesus, even though he was the son of God, he himself was God too and was superior to any man or demigod.

Note: All the four Gospels talk about the more or less about the events in the life of Jesus Christ, but even then, each Gospel is unique and all of them have special importance in the Holy Bible.
This was mainly because of the individual characteristics of the authors themselves and their opinion about Jesus.
Another factor which could add to the difference in their writing was the target audience for which each of them wrote.