Comment on the different presentations of Jesus in the Gospels of The Bible.

It is interesting to note how each Gospel has a slightly
different emphasis in terms of the picture that it presents of Jesus. Each Gospel writer
was trying to present Jesus to a particular audience, and based on the varying nature of
that audience, different aspects about Jesus and his ministry are
stressed.

The primarily Jewish audience of Matthew for
example shapes the way in which that Matthew attempts to prove to his Jewish readers
that Jesus is their Messiah. Clearly the way in which all of Jesus' actions and words
are presented as fulfilling various Old Testament prophecies supports
this.

Mark, however, seems to stress the role of Jesus as
being a teacher. Even though it is the shortest of the four gospels, the word "teacher"
in its various forms are applied to Jesus far more in this gospel than in others. In
addition, another principal theme of this Gospel regards the humanity of Jesus, combiend
with his divinity.

Luke's Gospel had a mainly Gentile
audience, which stresses the place of the Gentile Christian in the Kingdom of God that
Jesus came to announce. Thus it is that throughout the Gospel Luke places emphasis on
social outcasts of the day, such as the poor and
foreigners.

Lastly, the Gospel of John is recognised as
being very different from the other three gospels, and is not regarded as being a
"Synoptic Gospel," which is the title given to the other three to indicate their
similarities. Jesus is presented in very philosophical terms to appeal to a Greek
audience, which is why the first chapter famously refers to Jesus as "the
Word."