How the Gospel Writers Introduce the Divinity of Jesus Christ

This message examines how the four Gospel writers introduce Jesus Christ as divine, each through a distinct lens shaped by their audience and purpose—Matthew as the promised King and Immanuel, Mark as the Son of God who serves, Luke as the Savior for all peoples, and John as the eternal Word made flesh—while together revealing one unified Savior. These high-level openings show that Scripture’s multiple accounts are not competing but complementary, fulfilling God’s plan to present the same Jesus through varied perspectives. Why did God inspire four different introductions to Jesus’ divinity, and how do they together deepen our grasp of who He is?

**Full Transcription**

Good morning, everyone. As you may have noticed, there is a handout that is getting passed around today. It was kind of a last-minute addition for me, but hopefully it will help with understanding a lot of information we’re covering today, kind of summarize it, and good for you to have as a reference. It’s my first attempt. It was last minute, but hope it is helpful for you today.

I also would like to welcome all of you back from the Feast of Tabernacles. Hope you all had a great feast. My family and I really enjoyed our time down in Lake Janaliska, beautiful, enjoying the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. But hope you, we had many inspiring messages and hope you all did as well.

So in the message today, we’re gonna be covering the Gospels, and the purpose of the writers of the Gospel, what was their purpose. God inspired four different men to record the life of Jesus Christ. Each had a unique perspective through which to convey who Jesus Christ was and is.

Now often with our Western worldview, we may only notice one or two of the Gospels as communicating the truth that Jesus was divine. Many people immediately think of the Gospel of John, because he comes right out and begins by directly stating that Jesus is God. But the other Gospel writers also communicate this truth. Just with a slightly different approach because of their audiences and how best to communicate that truth to their original readers or their intended audience in their present day.

In the message today, though, we want to explore how each gospel writer introduces Jesus Christ as divine through those different lenses. We know that scripture is God-breathed, that’s in 2 Timothy, and there is only one Jesus Christ. But at the same time, God inspired four different men with different backgrounds and perspectives to put his story into writing.

But why would God see fit to give us four accounts of Jesus Christ’s life? Well, in his concluding remarks, John says in chapter 21 that Jesus did many other things that were not recorded, and that if they were all written down, the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

John acknowledges that Jesus did far more than any single written account could contain. Each gospel writer selected and presented particular aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry, communicating the truth about the same person through different emphases. Most translations title each gospel as the gospel according to, insert whichever author it is, and this conveys the idea that these are distinct accounts of Jesus Christ’s life on earth.

Instead of viewing their different perspectives as competing with one another, we can recognize how they work together with each other to give us a fuller picture of who Jesus was and is.

Now, I mentioned that each writer shaped what they shared based on their purpose and their intended audience. At the same time, they were unified in sharing the good news connected with Jesus Christ coming to earth. We can see that, even in their opening passages. There’s four different introductions, but the same person, Jesus Christ.

Because we’re limited to covering all four in one message today, our goal today is to take a very, very high-level look at it. We’re not gonna be getting too much into the weeds, but we’re gonna take a high-level look at how each gospel writer introduces Jesus Christ as divine, and how each approaches that truth based on his perspective and purpose.

There are multiple ways that we could approach this, but today we’re simply gonna go, we’re simply gonna examine each gospel at a time, in their canonical order. And a lot of, like, the audience and cultural background and context is covered in that handout I have. I won’t be reading directly from it, but I will reference some of the things.

So the first gospel we know is the gospel of Matthew. If you’ll turn there with me, most of our scriptures are gonna be focused on, in each gospel, mostly the beginning. I’ll have some, there’s gonna be references sprinkled in, to gospel passages as well as other books of the Bible, but it’s gonna be about half and half.

So if we’ll start by turning to Matthew chapter one. Matthew was a Jewish tax collector who became one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. So he has a Jewish background, he knows his audience is Jewish. His account places considerable emphasis on showing how Jesus Christ is the Messiah and King promised throughout the scriptures, and those scriptures being the Old Testament.

Matthew does not begin by simply writing, Jesus is God. Instead, he opens with the genealogy, tracing Jesus back to David and Abraham.

Matthew 1:1  
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Now, why specifically are those called out in that first verse? Why specifically David and Abraham? Well, God had made promises to both those men. He promised Abraham that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him, and he promised David that his throne and kingdom would be established forever. Matthew starts by connecting Jesus to those promises. Even before the account of his birth, Matthew establishes Jesus’ identity as the promised Messiah and King.

He then explains the significance of Jesus’ birth in verses 21 and 23, and we’ll go ahead and read that.

Matthew 1:21-23  
And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us.

So we, the person speaking here is the angel speaking to Joseph, and he’s telling Joseph that Mary will bear a son, and that his name is to be Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew then goes on to quote the prophecy concerning Immanuel. They shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us. And this is a very important introduction to Jesus’ divine identity. Matthew is not merely telling us that a new king has arrived. He’s presenting the one through whom God comes to dwell with his people.

Throughout his gospel, Matthew repeatedly notes that events happen to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophets, just like we read there in verse 22. It says, this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet.

For Matthew’s original audience, which is primarily a Jewish audience, these connections to the Old Testament would have been especially meaningful. He wanted his readers to recognize that Jesus’ life and ministry were not isolated events. Rather, they were the fulfillment of God’s long established plan.

But Matthew also shows us more than Jesus’ messianic credentials. He demonstrates Jesus’ divine authority, and we’ll see that pattern throughout all the Gospels. In Matthew 9, verses 2 through 8, Jesus forgives a paralyzed man’s sins. The scribes recognize the significance of this claim and question who can forgive sins but God alone. Jesus then goes ahead and heals the man to demonstrate that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

Later in Matthew 14, verses 25 through 33, Jesus walks on water, the famous account of him walking on water. After he enters the boat and the wind ceases, the disciples worship him, saying, Truly, you are the Son of God. If you’ll notice, these themes tie together. Jesus is the promised king, the fulfillment of scripture, and the one who exercises divine authority.

Matthew’s gospel concludes, if you’ll turn to chapter 28 of Matthew, his gospel account concludes with Jesus declaring that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him, and he promises his disciples, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Let’s go ahead and read, we’ll go ahead and read that entire thing to get the full context.

Matthew 28:18-20  
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Notice how that connects back to the beginning of Matthew’s gospel. Matthew introduces Jesus as Emmanuel, which he says is translated God with us, and then he also concludes with Jesus promising his continuing presence with his people, the disciples at that time, and then his people down through the ages.

So we see in the gospel of Matthew that Jesus Christ is God’s promised king, he is the fulfillment of scripture, and he is Emmanuel, or God with us.

The next gospel is Mark. Mark’s gospel is the shortest of the four, and it is primarily to gentile, written to gentile Christians, particularly Romans. Mark’s gospel is the shortest of the four, and its narrative moves quickly from one event to another. You could kind of describe it as an action-packed book, or it’s a book of action, or an active, he takes an active approach to the story. And it frequently emphasizes what Jesus does to show the authority that he exercises.

Mark’s opening is direct and to the point. If you read with me in verse one, he simply begins by saying,

Mark 1:1  
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

There’s no genealogy like in Matthew. There’s no account of Jesus’ birth. Rather, Mark immediately tells his readers what this gospel account is about, and that’s Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

But Mark does something else in the beginning verses that is worth noting. If you’ll read here in the next couple of verses, two and three,

Mark 1:2-3  
As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you, the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight.

So here he quotes the Old Testament prophets concerning that messenger who prepares the way of the Lord. Mark then introduces John the Baptist as preparing the way for Jesus. Now this is significant because Mark is not telling us that Jesus is merely a remarkable teacher or a prophet. Rather, he starts by connecting Jesus’ arrival with Old Testament language about the coming of the Lord.

Then in chapter one, verses nine through eleven, about Jesus’ baptism.

Mark 1:9-11  
It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan, and immediately, coming up from the water, he saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

So we see here the heavens open, the Spirit descends upon him, and the Father’s voice declares, You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. He establishes that he is the Son of God. The Father’s declaration establishes Jesus’ identity at the very beginning of his public ministry.

And as we read throughout the gospel account of Mark, we see a pattern emerge. The opening declaration that Jesus is the Son of God is reinforced throughout his teaching, his miracles, and his authority over nature. In Mark four, chapter four, verses thirty-five through forty-one, Jesus calms that storm. His disciples respond by asking, who can this be that even the wind and sea obey him?

Now, the question there is important because Mark is repeatedly inviting his audience or his readers to think about and consider the identity of the person they are watching do these things, these actions that he is sharing with them.

Mark also emphasizes that Jesus has not come simply to exercise power or to be served by others. That’s key with the audience being mostly Gentile and Roman. Instead, he has come to serve others and to give his life for others. And let’s go ahead and we’ll read an account that points toward that in chapter ten, Mark chapter ten. And we’re gonna be reading verses forty-two through forty-five. And this, if you look at the sheet, like one of the themes with the book of Mark is Jesus as a suffering servant, and that draws from this passage.

Mark 10:42-45  
But Jesus called them to himself and said to them, You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them, yet it shall not be so among you. But whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.

And this shows that, this last statement here shows that the Son of Man, while possessing extraordinary authority on earth and in heaven, still would willingly give his life for others. Mark demonstrates this by showing that through sharing Jesus’ actions. His greatest action was on the cross, after Jesus gave his life by dying on the cross. But we see that in chapter 15 verse 39, the centurion that was standing at the base of the cross, he says, truly, after he died, truly this man was the Son of God.

The Gospel of Mark begins by identifying Jesus as the Son of God, and after his death on the cross, that identity is confirmed again. So while Mark does not begin with an extended explanation of Jesus’ eternal existence, he immediately identifies him as the Son of God and then demonstrates his authority through his actions, through his teaching and his sacrifice on the cross. Mark’s presentation reminds us that Jesus’ divinity is not contradicted by his humility. Rather, the Son of God came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many, as it says in Mark.

Now, the third gospel is Luke. So if you’ll turn there with me, we’re going to be beginning in chapter one as well. Now, Luke is traditionally identified as the physician and the known companion of Paul. The Gospel of Luke is like part one of a two volume work. He also writes the book of Acts. And one interesting fact I discovered while preparing this message I didn’t realize it before is that Luke is not only the longest gospel account but it’s also the longest book in the entire New Testament. Just unique little interesting detail that I found there that I thought was interesting and wanted to share.

But Luke also stands out from the other gospels because he specifically identifies the audience to whom he is writing and we know that is Theophilus and we’ll go ahead and read that in verses one through four.

Luke 1:1-4  
Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you are instructed.

So we see, so we know the gospel of Luke is written by a Gentile for a Gentile audience. And as we went through that section there, we see here that Luke explains how he carefully investigated the events surrounding Jesus Christ’s life, and he decided to write an orderly or like an organized, accurate account so that Theophilus could know the certainty of what he had been taught. And of the four gospels, that is, of the four, this approach is, you could say, the most similar to how a modern historian would write the biography of a historical figure. So, like, he’s very steeped in the Greek and the Roman world, and a lot of that has influenced our Western culture. So that is something we can connect with really easily. We, that kind of stands out from the other writers.

And this historical, organized, orderly approach gives us a glimpse into Luke’s mindset. He wants his reader to have confidence in the account of Jesus’ life and ministry. Like Matthew, Luke also shows that Jesus is the promised Messiah, but Luke also emphasizes that God’s salvation through Jesus reaches beyond Israel to all peoples.

Consider, we’ll go ahead and read verse thirty, we’ll see the angel’s announcement in verses thirty through thirty-five. This is the angel’s speaking here.

Luke 1:30-35  
Then the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Then Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I do not know a man? And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, therefore also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

So here we see Mary is told by the angel that she will bear a son and that his name is to be Jesus, and that he will be called the Son of the Highest. The angel also says here that God will give him the throne of his father David and that his kingdom will have no end. Here we see several themes combined together in one place. Jesus is the Son of the Most High. He is the promised king, and he is the one whose reign will never end.

Then in chapter two, verse ten, the angel announces to the shepherds after Jesus’ birth,

Luke 2:10-11  
The angel says to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

So we see in these short verses, even in the angel’s declaration to the shepherds, he is introduced to them as Savior, Christ, and Lord.

Later in the chapter, we see the story of Simeon, and we’ll read chapter two, verses twenty-five through thirty-two.

Luke 2:25-32  
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed him and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.

So we see here that as Simeon takes the infant Jesus in his arms and praises God, he describes Jesus as God’s salvation, prepared in the presence of all peoples, and a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and also the glory of your people Israel. And this is a major theme in Luke’s gospel. Jesus is Israel’s promised Messiah, but God’s work through him is not restricted to the one nation of Israel.

Luke then reinforces this theme through the genealogy of Jesus, and he puts the genealogy of Jesus after Christ’s birth. Like Matthew, Luke includes that genealogy, but the two genealogies differ in their structure. Matthew begins with Abraham and traces the genealogy forward to Jesus. Luke instead traces Jesus’ genealogy backward from Jesus through David and Abraham and then all the way to Adam. And that’s in chapter three of Luke. And that connection to Adam gives Luke’s presentation the broad spectrum of humanity. Jesus comes into the very story of humanity itself, not just the story of one nation, Israel.

Luke also demonstrates Jesus’ divine authority through his ministry. In Luke five, verses seventeen through twenty-six, there Jesus forgives that paralytic’s sin and heals him. And demonstrates the authority he has as the son of man.

Luke also emphasizes the reach of Jesus’ mission through encounters with people who are often overlooked or regarded as outsiders. In chapter nineteen, Jesus visits Zacchaeus, and he declares that the son of man came to seek and to save the lost.

And at the end of Luke’s gospel, after his resurrection, if you’ll start turning there, in chapter twenty-four, after his resurrection, Jesus explains that repentance and forgiveness of sins are to be proclaimed in his name to all nations. We’ll go ahead and read verses 46 through 47 to see that there.

Luke 24:46-48  
And then he said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.

So here he, Luke, presents Jesus as the promised son of David, the son of the most high and the savior and lord, the one through whom God’s salvation reaches the entire world. Luke’s emphasis is that the divine son and promised messiah has come to bring God’s salvation to all peoples.

Now for the final gospel, the gospel of John, John is typically thought to be written quite a bit after, so he, his approach, it explains why his approach stands out. But John also stands apart from the other three gospels, which are commonly called the synoptic gospels because they’re seen together because of their substantial similarities in perspective and content. It’s easier to harmonize their stories, and see where they overlap. John has a completely different feel from the beginning, and as I say, it’s due mostly to his gospel being written much later.

Our focus for us today has been on how each gospel writer introduces Jesus to his audience, and this is one of the clearest differences between John and the other gospels. Matthew begins with Jesus’ genealogy and his place in Israel’s history. Mark begins by announcing the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and immediately introduces his public ministry. Luke begins by explaining his purpose in writing an orderly and organized account, and then narrates the events surrounding Jesus’ birth, followed by the genealogy as well. But John takes us all the way back to the beginning of the Bible.

John 1:1  
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And this echoes Genesis 1:1. If you’ll remember, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. John is not beginning with Jesus’ earthly birth or life like the other gospel writers did. Rather, he’s introducing the eternal existence of the Word, or the Logos.

Continuing in verses 2 through 3,

John 1:2-4  
He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

So here we see that the Word was in the beginning with God, and that all things were made through him, and it says nothing was made that was made without him.

Then, dropping down to verse fourteen, John kind of begins that second section of his introduction by making a pretty extraordinary declaration.

John 1:14  
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

And this is the focus of John’s introduction. The one through whom all things were made entered his own creation. The eternal Word became human and lived among us, lived among humanity as one of us. John introduces Jesus as the eternal Word who was God and who became flesh.

Throughout the gospel, John repeatedly emphasizes Jesus’ unique relationship with the Father and his divine identity. In John chapter eight, I’ll just reference it. In John 8:58, Jesus himself declares, before Abraham was, I am. That’s the famous I am statement. And that’s a striking statement, especially considering who Jesus was talking to. Because Jesus does not merely say that he existed before Abraham. He’s using the expression I am, which recalls God’s revelation of his name to Moses in Exodus 3. In the context of John 8, Jesus’ statement provokes a hostile response from his hearers, the scribes and Pharisees, because he is self-proclaiming his divinity.

John also records several statements in which Jesus reveals his identity through powerful images. Now, he uses the same English phrase, I am, but not necessarily in the same way. In John 6:35, Jesus says, I am the bread of life. In chapter 8, verse 12, he says, I am the light of the world. In chapter 11, he says, I am the resurrection and the life. And in chapter 14, he declares, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

Now, these statements are not all pointing back to that I am statements necessarily, but these statements reveal that Jesus is not simply a messenger pointing people towards those attributes, like bread of life, light, resurrection. Rather, he himself is the one in whom those attributes are fully realized.

Another important passage in chapter 14 is at the tail end of that first statement in chapter 14 of John. We’ll go ahead and turn there. Verses six through eleven, he’s talking to, or addressing Philip’s question. He was addressing Thomas.

John 14:6-11  
Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also, and from now on you know him and have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; so how can you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves.

Jesus continues by explaining that here, after addressing Thomas and Philip, he continues by explaining that he is in the Father and the Father is in him. They are a reflection of each other. So if we want to know what God the Father is like, we can simply look at Jesus Christ’s example, his life, his sayings, and know the Father through that.

John’s gospel repeatedly demonstrates this through Jesus’ words and deeds. Earlier in John 2 verses 1 through 11, Jesus turns water into wine, and John tells us that this specific sign manifested his glory. Then in John 11, Jesus also, another example is Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, but before he even resurrects Lazarus from the dead, he declares, I am the resurrection and the life.

These deeds or examples were not chosen merely as demonstrations of miraculous power, but John selects them to reveal Jesus’ glory.

The gospel of John reaches a remarkable moment in chapter 20. When Thomas encounters the resurrected Jesus Christ, and he responds, John 20:26-29, and he’s known as Doubting Thomas, but after he sees the resurrected Christ, he says, my Lord and my God.

So we see here, in that instance, John has brought his readers from the opening declaration that the Word was God, to Thomas’s personal realization of Jesus as Lord and God.

John tells us explicitly that this is why he has written his gospel in chapter twenty, verses thirty through thirty-one.

John 20:30-31  
And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

So this is John’s stated purpose. He just comes out and states it. Unlike a biography intended to record every event in a person’s life, John deliberately selects particular signs, conversations, and encounters to reveal who Jesus is, and to encourage his readers to believe in him because of those signs, encounters, and conversations.

John’s gospel is especially explicit about Jesus’ divinity. He introduces Jesus as the eternal word. Identifies him as God, presents him as the creator who became flesh, records his claims about his own unique relationship with the Father, and concludes with Thomas’s statement and the encouragement to believe in Jesus Christ.

So that was a pretty quick and high-level overview there, but to kind of wrap it up, like we see all four gospel writers communicate the divine identity of Jesus Christ, but they introduce and demonstrate that truth in different ways.

Matthew introduces Jesus as the promised Messiah and King, the fulfillment of scripture, and Emmanuel, God with us. Mark introduces Jesus as the Son of God, demonstrating his authority through his works and showing us that the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Luke introduces Jesus as the Son of the Most High, the promised Savior, and the one through whom God’s salvation reaches all people. John introduces Jesus as the eternal word who was with God, but also was God, the one through whom all things were created, who became flesh and revealed the Father to us.

Four accounts, four distinct perspectives, but one person, Jesus Christ. And these truths were not merely abstract theological concepts, they reveal who Jesus is and why he came. Philippians 2:5-11 tells us that Christ humbled himself, took the form of a servant, and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. The one who created all things entered his creation. The promised king came to serve. The Savior came to seek and save the lost, and the eternal word became flesh and dwelt among humanity. And as Jesus told Philip, he who has seen me has seen the Father.

So when we read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we’re not simply collecting four different accounts of a historical figure. We’re being shown the identity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world, and God revealed to us in the flesh. And John’s purpose also is the purpose that we should share in when we read these accounts. I’m going to read this from my own perspective or our own perspective, that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing we may have life in his name.