Four Evangelists of the Bible

In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists of the Bible that Christians honor as Saints, are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The authors are attributed with the creation of the Four Canonical Gospel accounts (Canonical order in which they were written and what the Early Church considered Divinely inspired writings that have spiritually enriched people throughout the centuries and had an impact on shaping the way Christians live their faith.
The authors were Divinely mandated by God (Jer. 30:1-2) to open the eyes of humanity to spiritual pathways that lead to our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ our Savior and to the ultimate, everlasting life that never ends.
"This is the way" to a life of spiritual treasures that beautify and are everlasting through love, faith, humility, forgiveness and service.
The Four Evangelists of the Bible applied in their lives the Scriptural Virtues of love, justice, piety, fidelity, fortitude and gentleness.
In the New Testament, they bear the following titles:
1. Gospel of Matthew
2. Gospel of Mark
3. Gospel of Luke
4. Gospel of John
The formation of the 27 books of the New Testament were written in the first century AD starting with Saint Paul's 1 Thessalonians dating to as early as 49 AD.
The New Testament is linked to the ancient spiritual heritage of the Jews through their belief in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The authors of the Gospels were two of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, John and Matthew, as well as two "Apostolic Disciple", Mark and Luke, whom Orthodox Tradition records as members of the 70 Apostles (Luke 10).
They are called Evangelists because their books tell the "Good News" ("Gospel") of Jesus.

Four Evangelists of the Bible

Four Evangelists of the Bible
The Old and New Testaments make up the Holy Bible - it is God's Book.
The Bible is the sacred Book of the Christian and Jewish religions.
There are thirty-nine Books of the "Old Testament" written before Christ (BC)
The Old Testament, written in Hebrew (with a few passages in Aramaic) was translated into Greek from the Septuagint in the 3rd century BC.
It is also the history of Israel and its people, their conquests, travels, the building of their cities and most of all, the way in which the Teachings of God was revealed to them and their struggles to keep faithful to it.
Four Evangelists of the Bible-The Septuagint
The Septuagint became the central literary work of Hellenistic Judaism.
Greek, was the common language spoken and written throughout the Hellenistic Period (323 - 31 BC), the Roman Empire (27 BC - 476 AD) and the Byzantine Empire (395 - 1453 AD).
The Septuagint ("seventy") is the Greek translation of the Old Testament during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC which refer to the seventy-two translators of the Old Testament, from Six of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Jesus Christ not only read the Septuagint, He quoted from it.
The New Testament
There are twenty-seven Books of the 'New Testament," written after Christ (AD) that are sacred to the people of the Christian faith. making sixty-six Books in all.
The New Testament was written in Greek and tells of God's Message and His Promises to humanity, revealed through people's lives and through the sayings of the Jewish Prophets.
The New Testament reveals the Human and Divine Nature of Jesus Christ.
It tells the Story of His Life and Sayings, His miracle workings and the supernatural events that attended His Life.
The Old and New Testaments are regarded as Sacred Scripture by Christians.
Even though ancient Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists and Historians penned the Scriptures of the Sixty-Six Books of the Holy Bible, they were written under the Divine Inspiration and Power of the Ultimate Author - God Himself.

Matthew the Evangelist

Four Evangelists of the Bible
Matthew the Evangelist (Greek: Ματθαῖος - Matthaîos) is one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ.
He was also one of the Four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist.
Saint Matthew's name means gift of God - his name was originally the Hebrew, Levi the son of Alphaeus and identified as a Galilean.
The name"Matthew" comes from the Greek, “Ματθαῖος” (Matthaios) who worked as a tax collector in Capernaum which means he was well educated.
The Gospel of Matthew is the most Jewish of the four Canonical Gospels, containing many references to the Hebrew scriptures and reveals Jesus Christ came with a Divine Mission.
Jesus Christ was not just another prophet or king; He was Israel's long-awaited Messiah Who is the ultimate fulfillment of God's Promise to Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing to all the world (1:1; Gen. 12:1–3).
Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” serves as a guiding principle to treat others with the kindness, respect, and empathy we desire for ourselves.
Matthew proclaims the good news that Jesus is Emmanuel (“God with us”) and the promise of the Kingdom of God.
It is the only Gospel that mentions the Magi at Jesus' Birth (the “Three Wise Men”) who came to worship “the King of Kings”.
Matthew died by the sword in Ethiopia while celebrating Mass, martyred at the direction of King Hirtacus whom he had rebuked for lusting after Ephigenia, a nun and
therefore was the bride of Christ.
The enraged King thus ordered his bodyguard to kill Matthew who stood at the altar of his church making him a martyr.
A winged man, or angel, came to represent St Matthew, because his book opens with the human descendants of Jesus.

Mark the Evangelist

Four Evangelists of the Bible
Mark the Evangelist (Greek: Μᾶρκος - Mârkos), is the author of the second of the four New Testament Gospels (recounting the Life and Death of Jesus Christ).
He was a nephew of Saint Barnabas (Greek: Βαρνάβας), a Cypriot Jew who together whith Saint Paul evangelized among the Gentiles (non-Jew) in various Hellenized cities of Anatolia (Asia Minor).
Saint Mark played a vital role as a missionary travelling with Saint Barnabas and Saint Paul during the Early Church era so people could worship and grow in faith through the Message of the Gospel (Greek-εὐαγγέλιον).
Although he was not a direct Disciple of Jesus, he was one of Christ's 70 Apostles in Eastern Christianity (Greek: ἑβδομήκοντα απόστολοι) mentioned in the Gospel of Luke and as one of the Four Evangelists.
Mark the Evangelist wrote the firsthand sermons of Saint Peter and the events surrounding Jesus' Life, thus composing the Gospel according to Mark.
The Gospel of Mark is the shortest and portrays Jesus Christ as our Savior who is Truly Divine, Truly Man, Who gives His Life for the atonement of the sins of people that culminated in His Death - Mark emphasized that even sinners and outcasts are welcomed by Jesus.
The Gospel emphasizes Christ's Passion and devotes the final third of his Gospel (11–16) to the last week of Jesus' Life.
Mark's Gospel stresses the determination of Jesus in overcoming the forces of evil and defying the power of imperial Rome.
The most important verse in Mark: “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45).
Mark the Evangelist founded the church of Alexandria in 49 AD which was one of the five most important early Christian churches and became its first bishop.
His Feast Day is celebrated on April 25, and his symbol is the winged lion.
Mark the Evangelist died on April 25, 68 AD in Alexandria, Egypt when the pagans of the city placed a rope around his neck and dragged him through the streets until he was dead.
By the time Mark's Gospel was written, many of Jesus' followers were Gentiles.

Luke the Evangelist

Four Evangelists of the Bible
Saint Luke {Greek: Λουκάς - Loukas} the Evangelist is the only Gentile (non-Jewish) writer of the Bible who was born in the Hellenistic (Greek) city of Antioch, Asia Minor, between 1 AD and 16 AD to a prosperous Greek family and was trained as a physician.
Saint Luke the Evangelist, Beloved Physician and Christian Historian (whose writings have been proven historically accurate) is the third of the Four Evangelists.
The Early Church ascribes to Saint Luke, authorship of both the third Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles - he wrote 27.5% of the New Testament, the largest contribution by a single author.
The Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles make up a two-volume work which scholars call Luke–Acts in the New Testament.
The Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke was written between 85 AD and 95 AD highlights Jesus Christ's love and care with which He treated people.
Written in the Pauline Christianity, it is one of the three Synoptic Gospels written for Gentile converts that focused on:
The Christmas Story
The Origins, Birth, Ministry, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ.
Evangelizing Gentiles (non-Jews) to Christianity.
Compassion for the less fortunate and for those who suffer.
The role women in Christ's Ministry.
Stories such as Lazarus, the Rich Man and the Parables of the Good Samaritan and Prodigal Son.
Luke's Gospel also considers God's historical purpose and the role of the church in Christian life.
Popular Bible Verse is Luke 6:37. 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Acts of the Apostles
The Book of Acts is the fifth Book of the New Testament written between 62 AD and 70 AD documents the Early Christian church and the spread of the Gospel immediately after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Luke was martyred at age 84 in the Greek city of Thebes.
His remains were transferred to Constantinople about 338 AD and later moved to Padua, Italy, where they are kept in the Basilica of Santa Giustina.
Four Evangelists of the Bible-Iconographer
Saint Luke was the first iconographer to paint the image of our Blessed Virgin Mary, holding the Infant Jesus in her arms - in particular, the icon of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) which became known as the Hodegetria image in Constantinople.
Author
Saint Luke the Evangelist was writing in the latter decades of the first century AD during the Hellenistic era and, being the most highly educated of the authors of the New Testament, his quality of the Greek language used in Luke and Acts are considered the most beautiful of all that greatly influenced the spread of Christianity throughout the world.
Saint Luke chronicled events as an eyewitness through his travels with Saint Paul and speaking with many of the Apostles of Jesus Christ and others who witnessed the Special Events in the Lord's Life in the tradition of Greek historiography.
As a historian, he referenced ancient Classical and Hellenistic Greek authors, such as Homer, Aesop, Epimenides, Euripides, Plato, and Aratus that revealed a command of Greek literature and vocabulary unmatched by the other Gospel writers.
Physician
As a physician, he followed the Hippocratic philosophy (Hippoctrates, the Father of Medicine) and was the personal physician and Disciple to the Saint Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles (non-Jew) - Saint Luke was the first Christian physician.

John the Evangelist

Four Evangelists of the Bible
Saint John the Evangelist (Greek: Ἰωάννης) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ and the author of the three Letters of John, the Fourth Gospel and Revelation (Apocalypse) in the New Testament - he was the youngest of the Apostles and survived all of them.
The Book of Revelation highlights the end of days erupting into a battle between good and evil, with good ultimately being triumphant.
He, along with his brother James and Peter, belonged to the inner circle of Disciples of Jesus and played a leading role in the Early Church at Jerusalem and ministering to the new Christian converts in Samaria (a region and a city in Biblical history).
John was the son of Zebedee of Galilee and Salome - together, with his father and brother James they were fishermen in the Sea of Galilee.
He is one of the two (the other being Andrew) who upon hearing John the Baptist point out Jesus as the "Lamb of God" became His first two Disciples.
In Holy Scripture, Saint John the Evangelist is referred to as the Disciple whom Jesus loved the most.
John was the Disciple who leaned on Jesus Christ's Breast at the Last Supper - he was also the only Disciple present at the Crucifixion of Jesus.
It was John who received Jesus last request entrusting him the care of His mother as He was Dying on the Cross.
Jesus said to His Mother, "Woman behold your son!"
To His Disciple, John, He said, Behold your Mother!"
From that moment, John became her guardian.
The Apostle John, his brother, Saint James and Saint Peter were the only three at the mountain where the Transfiguration of Jesus would occur.
It was at Saint John's house that the Dormition (Assumption) of the Theotokos occurred.
And, Saint John was the only Apostle who was not martyred and was the last to die.
The Gospel of John emphasizes Jesus as the Son of God.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
This one verse is the most important in the Gospel of John.
Saint John the Evangelist and Theologian's writings are some of the most magnificent and inspiring in the entire Bible.
On the island of Patmos, in 94 AD is where the Apostle John was exiled “for speaking about God and bearing witness to Jesus.” (Re 1:9) - a result of anti-Christian persecution under the Roman emperor Domitian.
Saint John the Evangelist lived to old age, dying of natural causes at Ephesus, Asia Minor sometime after 98 AD thus, becoming the only Apostle who did not die as a martyr.

Good News

Four Evangelists of the Bible
A world without God is deprived of spiritual values and realities.
A world without God brings forth philosophies such as atheism, agnosticism, secular humanism and antitheism that distorts what is good and wholesome.
Secularism could never inspire the imagination of being a part of Something Greater than one could ever imagine.
The word Evangelion (Greek: εὐαγγέλιον) means "Good News" referring to the Gospels in Christianity - a collection of Four Holy Books (the Gospels) written by the Four Evangelists, Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
He also said, “Let your light shine before others."
-(Matthew 5:16a).
We are called to be a light to the people around us by inspiring, encouraging and giving hope through God's Spiritual Paths.

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