In our readings from mid March to mid-April we again have parts of two gospels with doctrinal epistles “sandwiched” between. Reverting to the thought of the intent, between the narratives of Luke and John. “Church Fathers” as early as the second century realized that the differences between the four Gospels were not accidental or haphazard, but that each writer was, by inspiration, emphasizing a particular aspect of the person and work of Christ. They compared it with other four-fold features of God’s revelation — the four camps of Israel, the four colours in the veil of the tabernacle, the four faces of the cherubim, the four living creatures of the Apocalypse, and others.
Irenaeus, in the latter part of the second century, was probably the first to put in writing the idea that, in relation to the several aspects of Christ, there is a definite correspondence between the four Gospels and the four faces of the cherubim, the lion, the ox, the man, and the eagle, which according to Jewish tradition were also the emblems on the standards of the four camps. The idea is expressed in hymns and poems of the early church, and was represented pictorially in mosaics in some very old churches. Writers differed, however, in their allocation of the four faces to the respective Gospels.
In more recent times several brethren have studied the subject (see references at end), and have been unanimous in the following allocation. Matthew, corresponding to the Lion face, presents Christ as God’s King; Mark, corresponding to the Ox, presents him as God’s servant; Luke (the Man face), as God’s perfect Man; and John (the Eagle face), as God’s Son.
Dr. Bullinger, in the “Companion Bible”, agrees that these are the aspects dealt with by the four evangelists, except that, as a Trinitarian, he gives John’s phase as “Jehovah Himself”. Strangely, he rejects any association with the faces of the cherubim, because of his wrong view of the meaning of the cherubim.
Matthew (ch. 2. 23), tells us that, when Joseph and Mary took the child Jesus to live at Nazareth, it provided a fulfilment of the prophecy, “He shall be called a Nazarene”. No such prophecy can be found in the Old Testament, and it has been suggested that the passage involves a play upon words, a literary device that is common in the Hebrew and Greek scriptures, but is lost when translated into another language. There are several Old Testament prophecies in which Christ is referred to as “The Branch”. In Isaiah 11. 1 we are told, “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots”. The Hebrew word translated “Branch” is netser, which, in Hebrew letters, is very similar to the word for Nazarene.
There are several other prophecies concerning “The Branch” which have a special interest in connection with our thoughts on the Gospels, because they mention the different aspects of Christ. The Hebrew word used in these passages is not netser, but another word of similar meaning, tsemach.
First take Jer. 23. 5-6, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, . . . and this is the name whereby he shall be called, ‘The Lord our Righteousness’.” The kingly aspect of the Branch is here emphasized. Another prophecy on this view is that of Zechariah (ch. 9. 9), “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, . . . Behold, thy King cometh unto thee”.
Corresponding to Mark’s gospel we have Zech. 3. 8, “Behold, I will bring forth my servant, the Branch”, with which we may associate Isaiah 42. 1, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect in whom my soul delighteth”.
Appropriate to Luke’s narrative are the words in Zech. 6. 12, “Behold the man whose name is the Branch, . . . he shall build the temple of the Lord”. For a companion text we may take the scornful, but perhaps divinely controlled, exclamation of Pilate, “Behold the Man”.
For the fourth gospel, Daily too, there is the “Branch” prophecy of Is. 4. 2, “In that day shall the Branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious”; with which we may link Is. 40. 9, “Lift up thy voice with strength, . . . say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God”. Jesus was much more than God’s representative; as the only begotten Son, he was the Branch of the Lord, an extension of Jehovah, His arm stretched out for the salvation of men.
We can surely see a significance in the fact that the prophecies of “the Branch”, only half a dozen or so all told, attach themselves so clearly to the four gospel records. It would extend our Notes unduly to present the evidence that the four evangelists do, in fact, concentrate on the aspects set out above. This is very thoroughly done in Bro. Fred Bilton’s book, “Apocalypse and Gospels”.
Some commentators, recognizing the sacrificial aspect of Christ as a major one, have sought to find place for it among the four symbols, usually by regarding the ox as a sacrificial animal. Apart from the fact that the lamb is the Scriptural symbol in this connection, the attempt fails because all four gospels deal almost equally with the facts of Christ’s death, and the underlying principles are mainly left for the epistles. The sacrifice of Christ is not just another aspect. It is the major feature of the Redeemer, to which the various aspects each contribute their part.
A noticeable point about the prophecies quoted above is that almost all are introduced by the word “Behold”. Jesus is set forth as the object of our faith, of whom our attention must be strongly focused. This wa one of the reasons why God chose crucifixion as the way in which His Son should die. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish” (John 3 14-15). As in the days of Moses, repentant sinners must lift up their eyes to “behold” God’s provision for them, and through their faith to be healed. Christ; lifted up on the cross, is the focal point to which faithful beholders are drawn. (John 12. 32).
The same point is brought out in our readings in Galatians (ch. 3. 1). The New English Bible renders’ the verse, “You stupid Galatians! You must have been bewitched — you before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly displayed upon his cross”. Moffatt is even more emphatic you who had Jesus Christ the crucified placarded before your very eyes”. Bro. John Carter has pointed out that this is the literal meaning of the word used by Paul, which was often used in connection with public announcements.
If then we wish to comply with the condition for eternal life, to “know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent”, let us behold the Branch of the Lord in all the aspects in which he is portrayed in the Gospels and interpreted in the Epistles.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One