For each paragraph write in your book, one sentence which gives the main idea

of the paragraph
None of the Gospels gives a complete story of the life of Jesus. Each is a collection
of His acts and words, written as an expression of the faith of a particular Christian
community. All four Gospels describe the teachings and miracles of Jesus' ministry.
They also describe Jesus' betrayal, arrest, Crucifixion, and Resurrection.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke agree on additional details of Jesus' career.
These Gospels are so similar that they can be arranged side by side in parallel
columns. Such an arrangement is called a synopsis. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are
called Synoptic Gospels because they can be arranged in this way. Most scholars
explain the similarity of the Synoptic Gospels by assuming that Mark was the first
Gospel and was then used as a source for Matthew and Luke. Scholars also suggest
that Matthew and Luke used a second source, which they call Q. But no copy of the
Q source has been found.
The Gospel of Mark is the shortest of the Gospels. It was probably written shortly
before or after C.E. 70. A major focus of Mark is what scholars call the messianic
secret. This term refers to two features of Mark's presentation of Jesus. First, Jesus
often commands others not to reveal what they know about Him. Second, He gives
private instruction to His disciples, but they still fail to understand Him. Mark may
present Jesus in this way to remind the reader that Jesus is a mysterious figure and
that faith in Him cannot be taken for granted.
The Gospel of Matthew was probably written around C.E. 70. Matthew includes
almost all of Mark, but adds much more of Jesus' teaching. This teaching is arranged
in the form of long speeches. The most famous is the Sermon on the Mount. Thus,
Matthew presents Jesus as a messianic teacher. Matthew emphasizes that Jesus is the
fulfilment of God's promise to the Jews, the final interpreter of the law, and the
inaugurator of the Kingdom of God. Matthew also shows that the Kingdom of God is
meant to include all nations.
The Gospel of Luke was probably written about C.E. 85. It includes about half of
Mark. Luke has inserted most of his new material into his account of Jesus' journey
from Galilee to Jerusalem. In doing this, Luke presents Jesus mainly as the prophetmessiah going to His death. Luke shows that Jesus is the fulfilment of the hopes of
Israel and the means to salvation for all nations. These themes also underlie the
continuation of the Gospel of Luke in the Acts of the Apostles.
The Gospel of John was probably written sometime between C.E. 90 and 150. John's
presentation differs from that of the Synoptic Gospels. For example, in John's
account, Jesus travelled back and forth between Galilee and Jerusalem during His
public ministry. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus spent all of His ministry near Galilee
until He journeyed to His death in Jerusalem. The focus of John's presentation of
Jesus is the view that Jesus is the eternal Word of God who became human for the
salvation of the world. John tells the story of Jesus' acts and teachings to show how
He revealed Himself to the world as the Word or Son of God.
Websters encyclopaedia 2000