Four reasons why Matthew Mark Luke John are

Four reasons why Matthew, Mark, Luke & John are in the Bible.

1. The Gospel writers eyewitnesses were ______ of the power and teachings of Jesus.

• Matthew & John are Apostles.

• John Mark who is known as Mark accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary tour but fled the field and returned home when things got tough. Acts 13: 13. The young man in Mark 14: 51, 52 is thought to be Mark which makes him an eyewitness to the passion of Christ.

• Luke was a physician who traveled with Paul and wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. Colossians 4: 14;

Read: Luke 1: 1 -4 & Acts 1: 1 -2

2. The Four Gospels were read and accepted _____ by the early Christians.

After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. Colossians 4: 16 (NIV)

Competing 3. ______ ideas of Christianity were corrected.

Read: Colossians 2: 1 -4, 8

Persecution 4. ______ made it essential to know which books were authentic.

What should we do with God’s word, the Bible? The next statement from 2 Peter is a summation of the basis upon which the 27 books of the New Testament were selected.

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 2 Peter 1: 16 (NIV)