The New Testament: What I would have learned in Seminary if I had been paying attention

     Before I begin I must preface this post by saying that I am an early morning seminary graduate.  Notice that I bolded and underlined 'early morning'.  It is not an excuse but rather a badge of courage.  Six thirty in the morning comes pretty early, when you are a crabby kid.   Most mornings I got right up, got dressed (which was a rule at our house... no pjs at seminary), and car pooled to seminary.   For the most part I loved seminary.  I am not going to lie and say that I never complained.  I remember the year I turned 15 being the hardest one for me.  I was only bribed out of bed with the promise of getting to drive Dad to seminary... a real treat for any kid with a learner's permit.  So my 2nd year in seminary was rough.  I did learn and my testimony did grow.  I just remember being less than enthusiastic.   What should we happen to be studying that year?  The New Testament.  This may explain why what I am about to reveal escaped me in seminary.
What I am about to reveal could be a little bit shocking... I mean it could shock you that I didn't know it until now.   In fact, dear reader, you probably already know the information that I am about to reveal.  I feel  a little bit dumb and utterly unstudied for not realizing this sooner.  Here goes....
     The New Testament is divided into several books/gospels.  The first four are titled: The Gospel According to St. Matthew; The Gospel According to St. Mark; The Gospel According to St Luke; The Gospel According to St. John.  I have always know that the other books (Acts through Jude) were letters or Epistles that the apostles wrote to members of the ancient church... with the exception of Revelations. So... here's the big bombshell:  I just realized that the gospels are the accounts of 4 different disciples (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that tell what they saw and heard when they were with Jesus Christ.  That is amazing to me.
     You, dear reader, are probably rolling your eyes at me.  You probably already know this.  But I didn't until just recently.... I was reading the account of Christ's atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane and of His Crucifixion.  I was in awe of His sacrifice and the ill treatment that He suffered for me... a sinner... least of all deserving.  I realized that some of the details that I had been taught... specifically about the sacrament and the last supper were a bit different.   I went searching and that's when I noticed the titles of the these four books: the gospel according to..., meaning this account was seen by the specific disciple named for the book.  That's when I figured it out.  Each of these apostles walked with Jesus and each of them had different memories or perspectives.  I imagine that most of them heard the same things but they did not all write the same things.  For example, it is not until John that I read that Jesus washed his disciples feet (John 13: 4-12).  In Luke's account he tells of the disciples being in contention with each other over who was the greatest among them (Luke 22:24).  I never knew this before. That is pretty amazing to me.  How could this have escaped my attention?   Truly there are many things to learn and to remember.  I think this is why were are told to read and re-read our scriptures.