The New Testament begins with four Gospels written by four different men, sometimes call evangelists, because they are witnessing to the Good News about Jesus Christ, they tell us about the life and ministry of Jesus from just prior to His birth to His ascension back to the Father. Almost everything we know about the person and ministry of Jesus Christ is found in the Gospels.
We are given four Gospels because they each approach the life of Jesus from different perspectives, with different emphasis, depending somewhat on their target audience. Broadly: Matthew presents Jesus as the King of the Jews, who has come to offer His kingdom to them upon the condition of repentance. Mark focuses on the servanthood of Jesus, while Luke gives us the most information on the humanness of Christ. John, on the other hand, emphasizes the deity of Jesus. Put together, we have a comprehensive portrait of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who took on humanity, lived on the earth for over 30 years, died, resurrected and ascended.
There is considerable overlap among the Gospels, but especially among the first 3, which are often call the Synoptic Gospels, meaning “similar”. These were all written probably in the AD 60s, all before the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of the Jews in AD 70. They stress the humanity of Christ and details His sermons, miracles and parables. There is of course, theology in the Synoptics, but their focus is on what Jesus did, while John is much more theological in nature. John is written some 30 years after the Synoptics and was needed to provide answers to questions the early Christians had.
There are no contradictions between the Gospels but since each looks at events from different angles they see things differently. Put together they provide a rich picture of Jesus Christ our Savior.
