Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.
   - Psalm 119:89

The more prayerfully we study the four gospels, the more clearly we see the perfect design of the Holy Spirit in each, even in the most minute details. The grand theme of each is Christ; but in no two of the gospels is He presented in the same way.

In Matthew, we have Him as the Messiah---Son of Abraham, Son of David, Heir of the promises made to the fathers, Heir of the throne of David, Fulfiller of the prophecies. He is presented to Israel, according to their own scriptures, and is deliberately rejected.

In Mark, we have our blessed Lord as the Servant---the perfect Workman and divine Minister, Preacher, and Teacher, whose days were given to work, and His nights to prayer. He could hardly find time to eat or sleep. Mark tells us what the Savior did and how He did it. His gospel is a marvelous record of work from first to last.

Luke gives us the Man, Christ Jesus. It is not the Messiah, nor the Jew, nor the Worker, but the Man [that is emphasized]. All that is exquisitely human we have in Luke, just as we have all that is purely Jewish in Matthew, all that is directly ministerial in Mark.

The gospel of John has a character peculiarly its own. In it, the Holy Spirit unfolds to our view the person of the Son of God---the Word, the Eternal Life, the true God---and what He was in Himself from all eternity.

Study the gospels for yourself. Compare the passages diligently. You will see that those very passages in which the skeptic has sought to find discrepancies present the most striking and exquisite proofs of divine wisdom. The internal evidence is perfectly irresistible.

Charles H. Mackintosh