Gospel of Matthew in Jesus' lifetime on earth, at his baptism and transfiguration. Matthew and Luke go back further still, showing Jesus as the Son of God from his birth. Matthew more than all the other gospels identifies how his coming to earth was the fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies. Finally John calls God the Word (Jesus) pre-existent before creation, and thus before all time. Matthew is a creative reinterpretation of Mark, stressing Jesus' teachings as much as his acts, and making subtle changes in order to stress his divine nature: for example, Mark's "young man" who appears at Jesus' tomb becomes
Development of the New Testament canon on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle"—equivalent to the "four-formed" gospel, is the origin of the conventional symbols of the Evangelists: lion (Mark), ox (Luke), eagle (John), man (Matthew). Irenaeus was ultimately successful in declaring that the four gospels collectively, and exclusively these four, contained the truth. By reading each gospel in light of the others, Irenaeus made of "John" a lens through which to read "Matthew", "Mark" and "Luke". Based on the arguments Irenaeus made in support of only four authentic gospels, some interpreters deduce that the "fourfold Gospel" must have still been