GOD, IN HIS goodness, having given us the history of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His journey through this world, we have a reliable, because inspired, account of events in which the eternal destiny of each one is involved. Moreover, through this account, God would have our hearts attracted to the living Christ as the all varied glories of His life, and death, and resurrection, pass before us.
To appreciate these glories God would have us discern the different relationships in which Christ may be viewed, as well as the varied characters in which He is presented. To this end we have four Gospels, each giving a distinct presentation of the glory of Christ. The study of the gospel of Matthew clearly shows that the special details that are given in connection with the incidents, as well as the teaching, have in view the presentation of the Lord Jesus as the long-promised Messiah―the Son of David, in connection with Israel.
In the gospel of Luke it is equally plain that the Lord Jesus is presented as the Son of Man, making known the grace of God to a world of needy sinners.
In the gospel of John we have the presentation of His divine glory as the Son of God.
In the gospel of Mark, the whole record is consistent with the presentation of the Lord Jesus as the Servant of Jehovah, serving others in love. Centuries before the coming of Christ, Isaiah had foretold that the Lord Jesus would come into the world as the Servant of Jehovah, for the word of the LORD came to the prophet saying, “Behold my Servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I will put my spirit upon Him; He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles” (Isa. 52:11Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. (Isaiah 52:1)). All the details of this gospel have in view the presentation of His perfect service for needy man, as the Servant of Jehovah carrying out His will.