Author | Date | Audience | Picture of Jesus | |
Matthew | Tax collector turned follower of Christ; one of the Twelve | 50s or 60s | Jews | Jesus is the Jewish Messiah predicted in the OT, the son of David who comes to establish the kingdom of heaven |
Mark | Close associate of the Apostle Peter; may be the young man in Mark 14:50-51 | mid to late 50s | Gentiles in Rome | Jesus is the authoritative, suffering son of God who gives his life as a ransom for many |
Luke | Gentile physician and companion of the apostle Paul who interviewed eyewitness for his two-volume work (Lk 1:2) | 58-60 | a man named Theophilus | Jesus is the Savior of the world who seeks and saves the lost in fulfillment of the OT promises to Israel |
John | The beloved disciple; not only one of the Twelve but in the inner circle of Jesus’ closest friends (with Peter and James) | mid to late 80s or early 90s | the church in Ephesus | Jesus is the messiah who demands belief and the lamb of God who dies for the sins of the world and gives those who believe eternal life |
For a short and accessible introduction to this, see T. Desmond Alexander’s Discovering Jesus: Why Four Gospels to Portray One Person?