Getting to Know the Four Evangelists

What is an evangelist?
Someone who tells the story of Jesus! In the New Testament, there is not just one but four different books that tell the story of Jesus life. These books were written by four different men, whom we honor as saints. They are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

MATTHEW
Saint Matthew was Jewish, like Jesus, but he worked for the Roman government as a tax collector. That made him very unpopular with his fellow Jews. One day, he was at work when Jesus passed by. Jesus called him, saying, Follow me. And without a moment s hesitation, Matthew did! (Read more about the call of St. Matthew.)

In images, Matthew is often shown writing his gospel.

Matthew's Symbol
His symbol is an angel, because the first story he tells in his gospel is about how an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. (Read the story of Joseph and the angel.)

MARK
Saint Mark was a young boy when he became a follower of Jesus. Though he was not one of the twelve apostles, he was a disciple of Jesus and an eyewitness of many of the things Jesus did. Mark s Gospel is the shortest of the four. It s a fast-paced, exciting telling of Jesus story. Mark writes almost like a newspaper reporter, telling all the facts. (Matthew and Luke both consulted Mark s gospel in writing their own accounts.)

Mark's symbol
In art, Mark is shown with a lion, because his Gospel begins with John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness. (Read the beginning of Mark s Gospel.)

LUKE
Saint Luke s gospel is longer and more detailed than Matthew s or Mark s. In Luke s Gospel, we learn a lot about Mary. (Read the story of the angel Gabriel s visit to Mary from Luke s Gospel.) There are also a lot of great stories that we don t hear anywhere else, like the story of the Good Samaritan. (Read it!) It is thought that Saint Luke was a physician, because he has so many stories about Jesus power to heal sick people. (Read a story of healing from Luke s Gospel.)

Luke's symbol
In art, Luke is shown with an ox, because his Gospel begins with Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, offering sacrifice in the temple at Jerusalem. Sometimes he is shown painting an icon of Mary and Jesus.

JOHN
Saint John was the younger brother of Saint James, for whom our Cathedral is named. John s gospel tells the story of Jesus in a different way from the others. John s gospel is less about facts than about symbols. He doesn t tell the Christmas story as the others do; instead, he begins his gospel with a beautiful poem about what happened at Christmas: the word became flesh, and dwelt among us. (Read the beginning of John s Gospel here.) John doesn t tell the story of the Last Supper; but he is the only one to tell about Jesus washing his disciples feet on the night before he was crucified.

John was thought to be the youngest apostle, so in art he is shown as a young man, without a beard, in contrast to the others.

John's symbol
His symbol is an eagle, because his writing soars to the mystical heights of heavenly things, and doesn t spend much time on the ground!

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