The Gospels Part 8 of 9: Beauty And Symmetry Of The Gospels

Matthew 1:23
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name “Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

The beauty, glory, and symmetry that are found in the Gospels never cease to amaze me. There is a progression of themes as well as beginnings and endings that echo each other. Their overall message is the most beautiful divine poetry. 🥰 Let’s check out a few examples.
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Themes By Alliteration.
Matthew is all about Jesus as The Sovereign. Mark tells the story of The Servant. Luke is the story of The Man Who became The Savior. Finally, John recounts for us the story of The Son.
Matthew details His Majesty, Mark speaks of His Ministry, Luke speaks of His Beauty, and John tells of His Glory.

See what I mean?  Pure poetry! Even the way each gospel begins is reflected in the way they end. They are perfectly symmetrical. No wonder the Bible is such a special book!

Next let’s study the symmetry of each book.
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The Symmetry Of Matthew.
In the very first chapter, Matthew writes, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name, “Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us,” in verse 23.

So we have chapter 1 which opens up with, “GOD WITH US. (Immanuel).” That’s what Immanuel means.  Here’s how it ends in chapter 28, verse 20 “…lo, I am with you (Immanuel) always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

He is still with us.  He is now and always “Immanuel.” HE NEVER LEAVES US!

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The Symmetry Of Mark.
The Gospel of Mark opens up with Jesus being busy, busy, busy, going, going, going, and doing, doing doing. He goes over to be baptized of John in the river Jordan and immediately goes into the wilderness for those 40 days and afterward calls His disciples. All throughout the book He is going here and going there, healing, ministering, saving, delivering from devils. It is a continual stream of activity!  He really is the Tireless Worker! I get tired just thinking about it all! 😂

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And notice how this Gospel ends: Mark 16:20 “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen”
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You see? He never stops working, even in heaven! He is always with us and always working and always right alongside us. We are never alone.
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What a Savior! That’s the message of the Gospel of The Divine Worker. Isn’t it beautiful? No wonder we love Jesus so much and love His word!

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The Symmetry Of Luke.
Now let’s look at the Gospel of Luke. It begins, as you know (if you read that part of the series), with the story of the dumb or mute priest,”Zacharias,” a story which, again, is not found in anywhere else.

Luke 1:5
“There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias…”

Luke begins his narrative with the story of this priest because this is the priestly Gospel. What does a priest do?  He represents the people TO God.  A prophet is just the opposite:  He speaks TO the people FROM God.  A priest must be a man, familiar with the trials, troubles, and turmoils of humans.  This is one of the reasons why Jesus had to become Man, in order to adequately represent us TO God.

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When the angel told Zacharias that he and his wife would have a child, he didn’t believe the angel.  As a consequence, he was struck dumb…unable to speak…until the birth of the child. 😮  Now no negative confession could come out of his mouth that would prevent his miracle from happening.

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When he returned to the courtyard where the people were waiting for him, they were expecting the customary blessing to be SPOKEN over them, as he had done many times before. But he was unable to speak and was unable to bless the people.  What good is a priest that cannot bless the people?

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If you have been following along this series, you learned that he wasn’t only rendered dumb, but deaf as well.  In case you missed that part, you may follow the link below and read all about it:

The Gospels Part 6 of 9: Luke

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As you can see, this Gospel opens up with the story of a priest of the old Levitical order who is unable to speak and unable to bless the people. But look how it ends: With our Great High Priest, after the order of Melchizedek, after the power of an endless life, not according to the Law!
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Luke 24:50
“And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.”  This is the priestly act Zacharias, was unable to do.

Look what happened in the next verses, 51-53:  “Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen”
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Jesus didn’t leave them: “He was parted” (passive voice) from them, as if He didn’t want to go.  Leaving was not His idea.  He wanted to stay and continue blessing them.  Passive voice indicates that this is an action that is done TO you, not one you initiate. Isn’t that beautiful? It’s as if His Father was saying to Him, “Son, time to go.”
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So, Luke opens with a dumb priest who cannot bless the people but closes with a glorious priest Who cannot stop blessing the people.

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Jesus Continually Blesses His People.
He is still doing that in heaven; right now. He has never stopped blessing us.  See Him as blessing you, as giving to you. As you see Him in His love for you, He sees you in your faith. As your faith increases by beholding Him, He sees you in your faith and blesses you accordingly.
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After He was taken from their sight, they all worshipped Jesus, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were, as priests after the order of Melchizedek, and were “CONTINUALLY IN THE TEMPLE PRAISING GOD.”

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Where there was only one, deaf and dumb priest after the weakness of the law in the beginning, now there is a whole host of priests of the New Covenant, according to the order of Melchizedek, in the Temple, continually praising and blessing God!”
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Symmetry Between Old And New Testaments.

Not only is the beauty and symmetry of the Gospels, but between the Old Testament and the Gospels.  Check out the verse below.

Leviticus 22:4 “Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a (1) leper or has a (2) discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. And whoever touches anything (3) made unclean by a corpse,… (the dead)”
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In the book of Luke, look at what he records does Jesus doing first:  He heals a (1) leper in Chapter 5. In Chapter 8, he heals the woman with the (2) issue (discharge) of blood for 12 years, and immediately afterward, He went to the home of Jairus and (3) raised her from the dead.

These three events are in the exact same order as in the verse above from Leviticus. What would once have defiled and disqualified us from partaking of the holy things of God, does so no longer:  Jesus is our answer!

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That’s the beauty and symmetry of this wonderful book! How God speaks to us and assures us of His love and provision for us. Everything is lined up to speak blessing to us. No matter what your problem, how bad you were, no matter what your situation or state of your health, Jesus is the answer to all of it!

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The Holy Anointing Oil.

Exodus 30:22-24  “Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.”

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Holy anointing oil? Why all of a sudden are we now talking about the ingredients for the holy anointing oil in Exodus 30?  Wait till you see the blessing God has hidden for us to find in this Old Testament passage which unveils more amazing things about the Gospels!

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Whenever the Holy Spirit includes numbers in the text, there is great meaning and hidden significance behind the words.  (For more on that topic, you may follow the link below to a series on that topic:

Secrets In Bible Numbers Part 1.

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(Biblical Shekel.)

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Notice the verse says, “500 shekels of myrrh, 250 shekels of cinnamon and cane, then 500 shekels of cassia.”  Mix them all together in a “Hin,” of oil.  250 is exactly half of 500.  A hin of oil is 5L. What do these number mean?

Remember back to when we talked about why we have 4 gospels?  Matthew was all about Jesus as the King, Mark described the suffering Servant, Luke portrayed the Perfect Man, and John showed us the Son of God. In both Matthew and John, we see Jesus high and exalted.  But in Mark and Luke, He is a in the form of a Servant and as Man, “Half,” as it were, of His normal self.  The Bible says Jesus emptied Himself of His glory, humbled Himself and became Man.

Both Myrrh and cassia are very expensive as compared to cinnamon and cane, which are more common and less costly.  I submit to you that myrrh depicts the gospel of Matthew, cinnamon Mark, cane Luke, and cassia the Gospel of John.

Oil is a depiction of the Holy Spirit.  Now, we may call the book of Acts, “Acts of the Apostles,” but it is really “Acts of the Holy Spirit.”

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The Holy anointing oil is a picture of the four gospels and the book of Acts!

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The Symmetry Of John.
Last of all, we come to the Gospel of John which opens up with the following verse:
1:18 “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who IS in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”
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Jesus IS in “The bosom of the Father.”  This is the gospel of “LOVE.”  The phrase, “God SO LOVED the world,” is found ONLY in the gospel of John.  Jesus was continually conscious of the Father’s love for Him. That is why He was able to minister so effectively when He walked this earth. He didn’t come FROM the bosom of the Father, as if He left there and went back. It says, “Who IS (present tense) in the bosom of the Father.” He IS always living there.
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That’s a clue for us today: Be so mindful of the Father’s love FOR us that we do amazing things in this world, too. Jesus came down to bring you and I into that place of Love; into the bosom of the Father.

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Here is how the Gospel of John ends:
“21:20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper…”. It begins with “Breast;” it ends with “Breast,” the love of God!

Thank you Jesus!  It’s all about Your love!
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Progressive Endings Of The Gospels.
Best of all, the final messages of the Gospels are progressive.  Take a look:

Matthew 28:6  “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”  Resurrection.
Mark 16:19  “So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.:19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.”   Ascension.
Luke 24:49  “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” Pentecost.

John 21:22  “Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”  Second coming.

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In the last chapter of Matthew, it speaks of Jesus’ RESURRECTION. Mark mentions His ASCENSION in the last few verses. At the end of Luke, Jesus admonishes the disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they are endued with power from on high. That is a reference to PENTECOST. And finally, in the closing verses of the final gospel, John gives an account of the discussion between Jesus and Peter. He tells them that He will come back again, alluding to His SECOND COMING!  AWESOME!!!
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Prosper And Be In Health.
Finally, God gives us wonderful clues in His word to be prosperous and in the best health in these verses from Psalm 103:

“Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

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Remember what animal represents the Gospel of John?  THE EAGLE.  Want to renew your youth like the eagle’s?  MEDITATE ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN!
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You may follow the link below to the final article in this series, Part 9, where we’ll be discussing why the Gospels were written:

The Gospels Part 9 of 9: Why The Gospels Were Written