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What are the differences between the Gospel accounts?
Resource: Video Lecture on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke by Dr. Derek Morris.
(This is a 1 hour lecture about the Synoptic Gospels)
The Gospel of Luke
Luke was not a disciple of Jesus. Born and raised in Greece, Luke was not and did not claim to be an eyewitness of Jesus. Luke was a doctor who traveled with Paul as he preached the message of Jesus throughout the world. He was a historian as well as a doctor. Luke’s gospel, the third gospel, was based on the thousands of eyewitness accounts he meticulously gathered from people in the cities where Jesus lived and taught. Many historians regard Luke as one of the most competent historians of his time. In the first lines of his gospel, Luke explains how and why he wrote his account ( Luke 1:1-4 ).
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.” ( Luke 1:1-4, NASB ).
Luke explains clearly in this introduction that he carefully investigated all accounts of everything that happened from the very beginning of Jesus’ life. Many of these had already been written down by eyewitnesses. Many were oral eyewitness accounts told to and recorded by Luke.
Considering Luke’s methodology, it is not surprising that his gospel is the most detailed and chronologically ordered. Neither Mark nor Matthew wrote their gospels in chronological order, a point that ancient writer Irenaeus stresses. Luke being Greek focused his gospel on explaining that Jesus is the savior for the entire world. He was well educated. His gospel, originally written in perfect Greek, contains over 40 pieces of information not recorded in any other gospel account. The Gospel of Luke recounts the highest number of the parables taught by Jesus.
As a close friend, companion, and doctor to Paul, it is believed that 
Luke wrote his gospel from 62 A.D. to 65 A.D. when he was forced to leave Paul because of his imprisonment and later execution in Rome (62 A.D. to 68 A.D.). One of the things historians use to date the Gospel of Luke is that at the end of his gospel, Paul is still alive. Because Paul was beheaded in 68 A.D., Luke’s gospel has to have been written before that time, and completed in 65 A.D.
Historical evidence identifying Luke as Paul’s doctor, friend, and companion is found at the end of Paul’s letter to the Colossians (Colossians 4:14 ).
“Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas.” (Colossians 4:14, NASB)
Paul wrote about Luke (and Mark) in his second letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:11).
” Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.”
After Paul’s imprisonment in 62 A.D. , Luke is believed to have traveled to Judea to begin his investigations of the eyewitness accounts about Jesus. This date is important because it places the beginning of Luke’s investigation of eyewitness accounts within 29 years after Jesus’ crucifixion, when most of those who knew and observed Jesus would have still been alive.
Paul refers to Luke’s gospel in his second letter to the church in Corinth, written while he was in prison ( 2 Corinthians 8:18 ).
“We have sent along with him the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches;”
Luke also wrote the book of Acts in the New Testament, which records the teachings and experiences of Paul and the other apostles. Information about Luke is corroborated by the works of many ancient writers including Irenaeus of Lyons, Papias of Hierapolis, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Jerome, and Augustine (See Ancient Christian Writers). Irenaeus described Luke as a kind, gentle, and beloved doctor.
Resource: You can read the Gospel of Luke at this link
Gospel According to Luke (Bible Gateway)
The Gospel of John
Resource: Video Lecture on the Gospel of John by Dr. Derek Morris.
(This is a 1 hour lecture about the Gospel of John)
John is regarded by many as the disciple who was closest to Jesus. One of the twelve, John is believed to be the disciple referred to as the “beloved disciple” in the gospel accounts. John was the only one of the twelve disciple present at Jesus’ crucifixion. It was John whom Jesus asked to take care of His mother as He was dying on the cross. He was the youngest disciple and lived the longest. Although John was tortured and imprisoned, he survived execution in a pot of boiling oil and was the only one of the apostles to die of old age.
John’s gospel, written in 90 A.D., was the last gospel account to be written. It was composed toward the end of John’s life while he was at Ephesus in Asia, several years after the other three gospels were written. In many ways it is different from the other gospels, which are called the synoptic gospels due to their similarities. Many historians and theologians recognize that John presents a deeper understanding of who Jesus was and said that He was, as well as His importance. 
The Gospel According to John presents his eyewitness account of
the life, teachings, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus in the order in which events occurred. It is the most accurate chronology of the complete ministry of Jesus, much of which was left out of the synoptic gospels. None of the parables of Jesus are recounted in the Gospel of John. Because the Gospel of John provides a great deal of information about Jesus that is not found in the other gospels (about 2/3 of the manuscript), many historians and theologians believe that John wrote his gospel in order to fill in the gaps left by the gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. Ancient Christian writers such as Clement of Alexandria corroborate this idea.
Clement of Alexandria wrote:
“St. John (last of the Evangelists) when he saw the outward facts had been set forth in the Gospels, impelled by his friends, and divinely moved by the Spirit, he made a spiritual Gospel.” (Church History, VI, 14)
The Gospel of John focuses on the ministry of Jesus in Jerusalem and recounts the sayings of Jesus that were metaphors about
Himself. Here are several examples of the “I Am” statements made by Jesus as recounted by John.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.; no one comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6 )
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” (John 6:35)
“Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12, NASB)
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” (John 11:25, NASB)
One of the most remembered verses in the bible recounts the words of Jesus to Nicodemus in the Gospel of John, John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not parish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NASB)
Some historians have questioned whether the John who wrote the gospel of John was John of Zebedee later John the Apostle, one of the twelve disciples, or one of the other disciples of Jesus named John. Several pieces of evidence point to John of Zebedee (John the Apostle).
The author of the Gospel of John identifies it as the eyewitness account of the “disciple whom Jesus loved” who is mentioned in several other gospel accounts as one of the twelve disciples. The eyewitness information given in the gospel of John is reported in the other gospels as having only been observed by John of Zebedee. In John 1:14 the author of the fourth gospel in referring to Jesus says, “and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (NASB). The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke report only three people who ever observed Jesus’ divine glory: John of Zebedee, his brother James, and Peter (Matthew 17:1–9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28–36).
The many geographical details given in the Gospel of John could only have been written by someone who lived in Palestine and Judea for a good part of their lives. Irenaeus and Papias present strong corroborating evidence in their writings that John of Zebedee, one of the twelve called the “beloved disciple”, was the writer of the Gospel of John as well as other information.
Irenaeus wrote:
“Afterwards, John, the disciple of the Lord, who also had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia.” (Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies III, 1, 1)
This evidence is important because John the Apostle being the beloved disciple and the author of the fourth gospel is consistent with the depth of the eyewitness information presented in John’s gospel. It is also consistent with what is written about John of Zebedee in the other gospel accounts.
Over the years some historians have disputed the date the Gospel of John was written. Some claimed it was written in the second century between 190 A.D. and 200 A.D. This is important because if the Gospel of John was written in the second century, it could not have been an eyewitness account written by a disciple of Jesus. None would have still been alive. John, the last surviving disciple is believed to have been born in 6 A.D. and to have died in 100 A.D. at age 94. If this later date for the writing of the Gospel of John was true, the Gospel of John could not have been written by John the Apostle aka John of Zebedee.
The 90 A.D. date for the writing of the Gospel of John has been corroborated by several pieces of archeological evidence. The earliest ancient church writers dated the Gospel of John as having been written in 90 A.D. This date was corroborated by the translation of the Rylands Papyrus Number P52 in 1935. The Rylands Papyrus P52 had been purchased in Egypt in 1920 among a huge collection of ancient papyri. The 1935 translation revealed Papyrus P52 as a piece of Chapter 18 of the Gospel of John, translated into a Greek dialect read by people in southern Egypt. Papyrus P52 was dated as being written in 125 A.D.
What did this mean? If the Gospel of John had already spread to Egypt and been translated into the language of the people by 125 A.D., it would have to have been written much earlier, most likely at the end of the first century, around 90 A.D. This agreed with the date given for the writing of John’s Gospel by ancient Christian writers. This evidence proved that the Gospel of John could not have been written between 190 A.D. and 200 A.D. as some historians had claimed (For more information see the page about the Ryland’s Papyrus P52).
Papyrus P52 in the Rylands Library Collection. (Right-click and go to “Open Link in New Window”.)
Rylands Library Papyrus Collection Website
Historical writings describing how the Gospel accounts were written. (Right-click and go to “Open Link in New Window”.)
Resource: You can read the Gospel of John at this link
Gospel According to John (Bible Gateway)