Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart

(Matt. 5:28). He gave us the four Gospels also because they contain objects of four kinds, namely, dogmas and commandments, threats and promises. To those who believe in dogmas, but do not keep the commandments, they threaten with future punishments, and they promise eternal blessings to those who keep them. The Gospel (evangelism) is so called because it proclaims to us things that are good and joyful for us, such as: the remission of sins, justification, transmigration to heaven, adoption as sons of God, the inheritance of eternal blessings, and deliverance from torment. It also declares that we receive these blessings easily, for we do not acquire them by our labors, nor do we receive them for our good works, but we are worthy of them by the grace and love of God.

There are four Evangelists: two of them, Matthew and John, were of the twelve, and the other two, Mark and Luke, of the seventy. Mark was a companion and disciple of Peter, and Luke was a disciple of Paul. Matthew was the first to write the Gospel in Hebrew for the believing Jews, eight years after the Ascension of Christ. From the Hebrew language into Greek, it was translated by John. Mark, at the instruction of Peter, wrote the Gospel ten years after his ascension; Luke after fifteen years, and John after thirty-two years. It is said that, after the death of the former Evangelists, the Gospels were presented to him, at his request, in order to examine them and say whether they were written correctly, and John, since he had received a great grace of truth, added what was omitted in them, and about what they said briefly, he wrote in his Gospel at greater length. He received the name of Theologian because the other Evangelists did not mention the pre-eternal existence of God the Word, but he said in a divinely inspired way, so that they would not think that the Word of God is simply a man, that is, not God. Matthew speaks of the life of Christ only according to the flesh: for he wrote for the Jews, for whom it was enough to know that Christ was born of Abraham and David. For he who believes from among the Jews is comforted if he is convinced that Christ is from David.

You say: "Was not even one Evangelist enough?" Of course, one was enough, but in order for the truth to be revealed more clearly, it is permitted to write four. For when you see that these four did not come together and did not sit in one place, but were in different places, and yet wrote about the same thing as if it had been said with one mouth, how can you not be amazed at the truth of the Gospel, and say that the Evangelists spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit!

Don't tell me they don't agree on everything. For see where they disagree. Did any of them say that Christ was born, and the other, "He was not born"? Or did one of them say that Christ was risen, and the other: "He is not risen"? No, no! On the necessary and most important they agree. And if they do not disagree on the main thing, then why should it be surprising that they apparently disagree on the unimportant; for from the fact that they do not agree on everything, their truth is most evident. Otherwise, they would have been thought to have written when they came together, or by conspiring with each other. Now it seems that they disagree, because what one of them omitted, the other wrote. And this is really so. Let us proceed to the Gospel itself.

Chapter One

The Book of Kinship.

Why did St. Matthew not say "vision" or "word" like the prophets, for they wrote in this way: "The vision which Isaiah saw" (Isaiah 1:1) or "the word which came to Isaiah" (Isaiah 2:1)? Do you want to know why? Because the prophets addressed the hard-hearted and disobedient, and therefore they said that this was a Divine vision and the word of God, so that the people would be afraid and would not despise what they said. Matthew, on the other hand, spoke to the faithful, the well-meaning as well as the obedient, and therefore did not say anything like this to the prophets beforehand. I have something else to say: what the prophets saw, they saw with their minds, contemplating it through the Holy Spirit; That's why they called it a vision. Matthew, on the other hand, did not intellectually see Christ and contemplate Him, but morally dwelt with Him and sensually listened to Him, contemplating Him in the flesh; therefore he did not say, "The vision which I saw," or "contemplation," but said, "The Book of Kinship."

Jesus.