The four writers of the gospels were different men with different backgrounds. Two of the writers Matthew and John were disciples of Jesus Christ. Three were Jews; Luke was a Gentile.
Matthew
Matthew, son of Alphaeus was a tax collector, a Levite and a writer. When Jesus called him as a disciple, he immediately stood up, left everything, and followed Jesus. Matthew wrote about the Messiah, the King. His audience he wrote to was the Jews. The book of Matthew that refers to Jewish customs without explaining them, because his audience was familiar with the customs. He uses Jewish terminology and often quotes from the Old Testament.
-
Mark
John Mark was the son of Mary, a friend of the apostles. His mother owned a house and he was the cousin of Barnabas. Mark travelled with Paul and Barnabas; he left them on the journey and was the cause of a dispute between Barnabas and Paul. He is probably the young man we read about in Mark 14:51-53 that followed Jesus and then hid in the garden of Gethsemane. When Jesus was captured he fled naked. The book portrays the Servant to those in need. The audience he wrote to was probably the Romans. The book is evangelic in nature, full of actions and one do not need a Jewish religious background to understand the book. The book is written in the common language of the day.
-
Luke
Luke the doctor was an Antiochian Gentile, Greek speaking, highly educated and was probably converted to Christianity in Antioch. He was friends with Paul and travelled with him to Asia and Jerusalem. He remained behind in Philippi as the pastor there. His audience was the Greeks, the Gentiles. Luke wrote two books and both the books Acts and Luke were addressed to Theophilus. Acts summarises and follows on the book of Luke. Luke writes about the resurrection and places the emphasis on the Holy Spirit. He portrays the humanity of Jesus Christ.
-
John
John the beloved disciple of Jesus wrote 5 books, the book of John, John I, John II, John III and Revelation. He is one of the sons of Zebedee, was a fisherman of Galilee and his mother, Salome was probably the sister of Mary.- The book of John is written to the church and written in gentile surroundings in Asia Minor, most likely in Ephesus. He portrays the Son of God; the gospel of John is the gospel of beli
