Conclusion

At the end of our enquiry, we can say that we have seen both the wood and the trees of that wonderful phenomenon which is the apostolic witness to the mysterious reality of Jesus, Son of God, Son of man, Messiah and Saviour. The wood is the fourfold Gospel, the trees are the four Gospels. The wood is the Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John; the trees are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. To conclude, I think, we may pause for one further moment on the basic twofold shade of the One Gospel which we noticed in the last paragraph. This twofold shade is the unified duality of outer and inner vision.

The Gospel of John, and so also the four Gospels, close with a reflection on this duality of outward and inward vision. "Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them[...]. When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, 'Lord, what about him?' Jesus said to him, 'If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" (John 21:20-22).

Jesus wants John to remain until he comes again. Almost 2000 years have passed since Jesus pronounced these words. Throughout these years Peter and John have remained as the two crown witnesses of the Jesus event. Peter with his outward public proclamation. John with his inward personal contemplation.

While distinguishing between the two apostles, we must not separate them. There is John in Peter, and there is Peter in John. Through them, the One spoken Gospel and the Four written Gospels, or better the Fourfold Gospel, call upon us to become contemplatives in action of the Good News, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of man. Only by being such contemplatives in action shall we also be good evangelizers. To be such contemplatives in action we must imitate both Peter and John. Imitate Peter's courageous witness to the facts: "We cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4, 20) Imitate John, the Beloved Disciple, for, as Origen says: "[T]he Gospels are the first fruits of all the Scriptures, but [...] of the Gospels, that of John is the first fruits. No one can apprehend the meaning of it except he have lain on Jesus' breast and received from Jesus Mary to be his mother also."