The gospel of Matthew appears to have followed Mark’s school of thought because of the arrangement of ideas that resonate across the two New Testament books. In this regard, religious scholars have indicated that before writing Matthew, Jesus’ disciple must have had a copy of Mark by his side, which enabled him to reflect upon various issues using Mark’s gospel as a pointer (Lo & Dembele, 2015). Mark 6:45-52 addressed the concept of faith when Jesus walked on water. Matthew 14:25-33 introduces a new concept where Peter doubts Jesus’ ability to walk on water.
It should be noted that Matthew’s gospel is an advanced version of Mark that highlights the missing details in Mark. In this regard, Matthew 14:25-33 identifies Peter as the disciple who cried out after seeing a shadow of Jesus while walking on water. Unlike Matthew, Mark uses a collective approach to define the disciples’ lack of faith, which hindered them from realizing the full glory of God (Allen, 2018). Similarly, Matthew 17:1-13 offers additional information about the transfiguration of Jesus, whose details are missing in Mark 9:2-10. From this realization, Matthew included additional information that would enable Christians to understand the true nature of God.
Matthew highlights the events that took place during various instances that Mark captured. By offering additional information, Matthew hopes to enlighten the Christians by exposing them to an enabling environment where they can acquire knowledge and use it to enhance their relations with other people (Wilfand, 2016). By reading Matthew’s gospel, one can understand the importance of the events surrounding the existence of Jesus here on earth. Comparing the two instances where Matthew edits Mark’s gospel allows the readers to grasp the nature of Christ and His approach of ministering to the people.
