There is a slight difference between the gospels of Mark and Matthew in the Bible. The way that each of them view Jesus is different. Mark views Jesus as a miracle worker while Matthew views him as a teacher. Mark and Matthew each used a different term to refer to Jesus. One would also be able to see why these gospels should be considered the same. Mark and Matthew each essentially contain the same stories and have the same events. The following is a more complex reasoning of why Mark and Matthew are slightly different.
Mark sees Jesus as a miracle worker while Matthew considers him to be more like a teacher. From Mark 1:1 to 8:29, there is a focus on the ministry of Jesus while he is an adult. There is a significant point that Jesus was a miracle worker that attracts big crowds. For example, in Mark 2:11, Jesus told a paralyzed man to stand up and go home. After this, the man stood up and walked. Everybody was amazed at what Jesus had done to this man. This is an example of Jesus being portrayed as a miracle worker. Switching over to Matthew, there is a sense of Jesus being a teacher in the text. His teaching includes five discourses. These discourses include: Sermon on the Mount, the Missionary Discourse, the Parabolic Discourse, the Discourse on the Church and the Discourse on End Times. These are all mentioned in Mark, but in less detail compared to Matthew. Matthew portrays Jesus as more of a teacher than a miracle worker. Another difference in Matthew is the inclusion of Jesus as an infant. The first two chapters of Matthew show key events surrounding the birth of Jesus. None of this is included in Mark.
Mark refers to Jesus in at least three different ways. In Mark 1:1, Jesus is referred to as the Son of God. This also appears in Mark 15:39. “Truly this man was God’s Son!” is the verse that also shows Mark referring to Jesus as the Son of God. Christ is another name used for Jesus. This appears in the very first verse of Mark. Christ also appears in many other verses throughout Mark. Jesus is also referred to as a servant in Mark. Looking at Mark 10:45, it says: “Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” This justifies that Mark considers Jesus to be a servant. On the contrary, Matthew uses different names when referring to Jesus. In fact, the first verse of Matthew refers to Jesus as “the son of David.” Matthew uses this to refer to Jesus multiple times, and he is not called by this name in any other gospel. Also in the first chapter of Matthew, verse 23 refers to Jesus as Emmanuel. There are many different names that are used to refer to Jesus. Some of these names are similar throughout the gospels. Matthew refers to Jesus as the Son of God in 14:33. Even though this is a similarity, it does not appear nearly as much as it does in Mark. Finally, Matthew refers to Jesus as Lord. “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:2) Lord is perhaps the most critical term that Matthew uses for Jesus, as it is referring to Jesus as having divine power. It is easy to see that there are differences between Matthew and Mark, but some people remain persuaded that these stories are the same.
It is plausible to think that these are the same stories. They include many of the same stories in a similar order. The stories also use the same wording in many spots. Matthew contains almost everything that was in Mark. In fact, 97% of Mark is duplicated in Matthew. This is a significantly high number and has many people persuaded that the stories are identical. However, readers often do not look outside of this realm. While Mark and Matthew both contain the story of Jesus being baptized, this is where Mark starts. Matthew does not start at the baptism of Jesus. There is a birth narrative in Matthew, and as I mentioned above, Matthew goes a little
in depth about the infancy of Jesus. Fast forward to the end of Mark, which is the empty tomb of Jesus. In Matthew, this is not the end. The end does not occur until after some resurrection appearances by Jesus. If this does not persuade people enough that the stories have a slight difference, within the middle of the stories there are more differences. Matthew includes five portions on ethics, mission, kingdom, church, and the end of the world. These ethics do not appear in Mark. There are clear differences within these two gospels.
Mark and Matthew may be similar gospels, but the differences in each are obvious. The way that Jesus is portrayed in each is different and the names he is referred by changes. Mark portrays as him as a miracle worker and calls him Christ, while Matthew thinks of him more as a teacher by the names of Emmanuel and Lord. While there are some legitimate reasons why people would find these stories identical, there are still many differences within them. Just because they contain the same stories does not make them identical. Mark and Matthew are two different gospels.
