6 - Calvin as commentator on the Synoptic Gospels

Summary

Beginning this section on Calvin as a commentator on the New Testament with his Commentary on the Harmony of the Three Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, and Luke is somewhat ironic because these gospels were the last of the New Testament writings to receive Calvin's attention. Calvin began his New Testament commentaries with Romans, followed by the other letters. He then turned to Acts and the Gospel of John before finally publishing the Commentary on the Harmony in 1555. T. H. L. Parker argues that this order is “not only closer to the literary history of the New Testament” and the understanding of Jesus in the early church, but also was in keeping with how Calvin understood “the theological demands of the New Testament.” In fact, in the Argumentum to the Commentary on the Gospel of John, Calvin argued that it was better to begin reading the gospels with John in order to know why Christ “was manifested,” because John serves as “a key to open the door into the understanding of the others.”

So, what then is the purpose of the other three Evangelists? Calvin began the Argumentum to the Commentary on the Harmony by defining “Gospel” in the words of Romans 1:2: “promised by God in the Scriptures through the Prophets concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David, revealed to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead.”