THE GOSPELS

While the New Testament contains four writings called "gospels,"

there is in reality only one gospel running through all of the
Christian scriptures, the gospel of and about Jesus Christ. Our
English word "gospel" translates the Greek term euangelion,
meaning "good news or message."

It was Mark who first applied the term

"gospel" to a book telling the story of
Jesus. This form of presenting Jesus' life,
works, teachings, passion, and
resurrection was developed further by the
other evangelists. The first three of the
canonical gospels, Matthew, Mark, and
Luke, are so similar at many points when viewed together,
particularly when arranged in parallel columns or lines, that they
are called "synoptic" gospels. The fourth gospel, John, often
differs significantly from the synoptics in outline and approach.
John never uses the word "gospel"; nevertheless, its message
concerns the same Jesus, and the reader is urged to believe in
him as the Messiah, "that through this belief you may have life in
his name" (John 20:31).

From the second century onward, the practice arose of

designating each of these four books as a "gospel," understood
as a title, and of adding a phrase with a name that identified the
traditional author, e.g., "The Gospel according to Matthew."

THE GOSPEL ACC. TO MATTHEW

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 The position of the Gospel according to
Matthew as the first of the four gospels
in the New Testament reflects both the
view that it was the first to be written, a
view that goes back to the late second
century A.D., and the esteem in which it
was held by the church. Although the
majority of scholars now reject the
opinion about the time of its
composition, the high estimation of this
work remains. The reason for that
becomes clear upon study of the way in
which Matthew presents his story of
Jesus, the demands of Christian discipleship, and the breaking-in
of the new and final age through the ministry but particularly
through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The ancient tradition that the author was the disciple and apostle
of Jesus named Matthew (see Mat 10:3) is untenable because the
gospel is based, in large part, on the Gospel according to Mark
(almost all the verses of that gospel have been utilized in this),
and it is hardly likely that a companion of Jesus would have
followed so extensively an account that came from one who
admittedly never had such an association rather than rely on his
own memories. The attribution of the gospel to the disciple
Matthew may have been due to his having been responsible for
some of the traditions found in it, but that is far from certain.

The unknown author drew not only upon the Gospel according to
Mark but upon a large body of material (principally, sayings of
Jesus) not found in Mark that corresponds, sometimes exactly, to
material found also in the Gospel according to Luke. This
material, called "Q" (probably from the first letter of the German
word Quelle, meaning "source"), represents traditions, written
and oral, used by both Matthew and Luke. Mark and Q are

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sources common to the two other synoptic gospels; hence the
name the "Two-Source Theory" given to this explanation of the
relation among the synoptics.

In addition to what Matthew drew from Mark and Q, his gospel

contains material that is found only there. This is often designated
"M," written or oral tradition that was available to the author. Since
Mark was written shortly before or shortly after A.D. 70, Matthew
was composed certainly after that date, which marks the fall of
Jerusalem to the Romans at the time of the First Jewish Revolt
(A.D. 66-70), and probably at least a decade later.

As for the place where the gospel was composed, a plausible

suggestion is that it was Antioch, the capital of the Roman
province of Syria. That large and important city had a mixed
population of Greek-speaking Gentiles and Jews. The tensions
between Jewish and Gentile Christians there in the time of Paul in
respect to Christian obligation to observe Mosaic law are partially
similar to tensions that can be seen between the two groups in
Matthew's gospel. The church of Matthew, originally strongly
Jewish Christian, had become one in which Gentile Christians
were predominant. His gospel answers the question how
obedience to the will of God is to be expressed by those who live
after the "turn of the ages," the death and resurrection of Jesus.

THE GOSPEL ACC. TO MARK

This shortest of all New Testament
gospels is likely the first to have been
written, yet it often tells of Jesus'
ministry in more detail than either
Matthew or Luke. It recounts what Jesus
did in a vivid style, where one incident
follows directly upon another. In this

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almost breathless narrative, Mark stresses Jesus' message about
the kingdom of God now breaking into human life as good news
and Jesus himself as the gospel of God. Jesus is the Son whom
God has sent to rescue humanity by serving and by sacrificing his
life.

The opening verse about good news in Mark serves as a title for
the entire book. The action begins with the appearance of John
the Baptist, a messenger of God attested by scripture.

The Gospel of Mark ends in the most ancient manuscripts with an

abrupt scene at Jesus' tomb, which the women find empty (Mar
16:1-8). His own prophecy of Mar 14:28 is reiterated, that Jesus
goes before the disciples into Galilee; "there you will see him."
These words may imply resurrection appearances there, or Jesus'
parousia there, or the start of Christian mission, or a return to the
roots depicted in Mar 1:9,14-15 in Galilee. Other hands have
attached additional endings after Mar 16:8.

The framework of Mark's Gospel is partly geographical: Galilee,

through the area "across the Jordan" and through Jericho, to
Jerusalem. Only rarely does Jesus go into Gentile territory, but
those who acknowledge him there and the centurion who
confesses Jesus at the cross presage the gospel's expansion into
the world beyond Palestine.

Mark's Gospel is even more oriented to Christology. Jesus is the

Son of God. He is the Messiah, the anointed king of Davidic
descent, the Greek for which, Christos, has become in effect a
proper name. Jesus is also seen as Son of Man, a term used in
Mark not simply as a substitute for "I" or for humanity in general or
with reference to a mighty figure who is to come, but also in
connection with Jesus' predestined, necessary path of suffering
and vindication.

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The unfolding of Mark's story about Jesus is sometimes viewed
by interpreters as centered around the term "mystery." Jesus
teaches by parables, according to Mark, in such a way that those
"outside" the kingdom do not understand, but only those to whom
the mystery has been granted by God.

Mark thus shares with Paul, as well as with other parts of the New
Testament, an emphasis on election and upon the gospel as
Christ and his cross. Yet in Mark the person of Jesus is also
depicted with an unaffected naturalness. He reacts to events with
authentic human emotion: pity, anger, triumph, sympathy,
surprise, admiration, sadness and indignation.

Although the book is anonymous, apart from the ancient heading

"According to Mark" in manuscripts, it has traditionally been
assigned to John Mark, in whose mother's house (at Jerusalem)
Christians assembled (Act 12:12). This Mark was a cousin of
Barnabas and accompanied Barnabas and Paul on a missionary
journey. He appears in Pauline letters and with Peter. Papias (ca.
A.D. 135) described Mark as Peter's "interpreter," a view found in
other patristic writers. Petrine influence should not, however, be
exaggerated. The evangelist has put together various oral and
possibly written sources—miracle stories, parables, sayings,
stories of controversies, and the passion—so as to speak of the
crucified Messiah for Mark's own day.

Traditionally, the gospel is said to have been written shortly

before A.D. 70 in Rome, at a time of impending persecution and
when destruction loomed over Jerusalem. Its audience seems to
have been Gentile, unfamiliar with Jewish customs. The book
aimed to equip such Christians to stand faithful in the face of
persecution, while going on with the proclamation of the gospel
begun in Galilee.

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 THE GOSPEL ACC. TO LUKE
The Gospel according to Luke is the first
part of a two-volume work (the Acts of
the Apostles being the other volume)
that continues the biblical history of
God's dealings with humanity found in
the Old Testament, showing how God's
promises to Israel have been fulfilled in
Jesus and how the salvation promised
to Israel and accomplished by Jesus has
been extended to the Gentiles. The
stated purpose of the two volumes is to
provide Theophilus and others like him
with certainty—assurance—about earlier
instruction they have received. To accomplish his purpose, Luke
shows that the preaching and teaching of the representatives of
the early church are grounded in the preaching and teaching of
Jesus, who during his historical ministry prepared his specially
chosen followers and commissioned them to be witnesses to his
resurrection and to all else that he did. This continuity between
the historical ministry of Jesus and the ministry of the apostles is
Luke's way of guaranteeing the fidelity of the Church's teaching to
the teaching of Jesus.

Luke's story of Jesus and the church is dominated by a historical

perspective. This history is first of all salvation history. God's
divine plan for human salvation was accomplished during the
period of Jesus, who through the events of his life fulfilled the Old
Testament prophecies, and this salvation is now extended to all
humanity in the period of the church. This salvation history,
moreover, is a part of human history. Luke relates the story of
Jesus and the church to events in contemporary Palestinian and
Roman history for, as Paul says in Act 26:26, "this was not done

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in a corner." Finally, Luke relates the story of Jesus and the
church to contemporaneous church history. Luke is concerned
with presenting Christianity as a legitimate form of worship in the
Roman world, a religion that is capable of meeting the spiritual
needs of a world empire like that of Rome. To this end, Luke
depicts the Roman governor Pilate declaring Jesus innocent of
any wrongdoing three times. At the same time Luke argues in
Acts that Christianity is the logical development and proper
fulfillment of Judaism and is therefore deserving of the same
toleration and freedom traditionally accorded Judaism by Rome.

The prominence given to the period of the church in the story has
important consequences for Luke's interpretation of the teachings
of Jesus. By presenting the time of the church as a distinct phase
of salvation history, Luke accordingly shifts the early Christian
emphasis away from the expectation of an imminent parousia to
the day-to-day concerns of the Christian community in the world.
He does this in the gospel by regularly emphasizing the words
"each day" in the sayings of Jesus. Although Luke still believes
the parousia to be a reality that will come unexpectedly, he is
more concerned with presenting the words and deeds of Jesus as
guides for the conduct of Christian disciples in the interim period
between the ascension and the parousia and with presenting
Jesus himself as the model of Christian life and piety.

Throughout the gospel, Luke calls upon the Christian disciple to

identify with the master Jesus, who is caring and tender toward
the poor and lowly, the outcast, the sinner, and the afflicted,
toward all those who recognize their dependence on God, but
who is severe toward the proud and self-righteous, and
particularly toward those who place their material wealth before
the service of God and his people. No gospel writer is more
concerned than Luke with the mercy and compassion of Jesus.
No gospel writer is more concerned with the role of the Spirit in
the life of Jesus and the Christian disciple, with the importance of

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prayer, or with Jesus' concern for women. While Jesus calls all
humanity to repent, he is particularly demanding of those who
would be his disciples. Of them he demands absolute and total
detachment from family and material possessions. To all who
respond in faith and repentance to the word Jesus preaches, he
brings salvation and peace and life.

Early Christian tradition, from the late second century on,

identifies the author of this gospel and of the Acts of the Apostles
as Luke, a Syrian from Antioch, who is mentioned in the New
Testament in Col 4:14, Phil 1:24 and 2 Tim 4:11. The prologue of
the gospel makes it clear that Luke is not part of the first
generation of Christian disciples but is himself dependent upon
the traditions he received from those who were eyewitnesses and
ministers of the word. His two-volume work marks him as
someone who was highly literate both in the Old Testament
traditions according to the Greek versions and in Hellenistic
Greek writings.

Among the likely sources for the composition of this gospel were
the Gospel of Mark, a written collection of sayings of Jesus known
also to the author of the Gospel of Matthew (Q), and other special
traditions that were used by Luke alone among the gospel writers.
Some hold that Luke used Mark only as a complementary source
for rounding out the material he took from other traditions.
Because of its dependence on the Gospel of Mark and because
details in Luke's Gospel imply that the author was acquainted with
the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70,
the Gospel of Luke is dated by most scholars after that date;
many propose A.D. 80-90 as the time of composition.

Luke's consistent substitution of Greek names for the Aramaic or

Hebrew names occurring in his sources, his omission from the
gospel of specifically Jewish Christian concerns found in his
sources, his interest in Gentile Christians, and his incomplete

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knowledge of Palestinian geography, customs, and practices are
among the characteristics of this gospel that suggest that Luke
was a non-Palestinian writing to a non-Palestinian audience that
was largely made up of Gentile Christians.

THE GOSPEL ACC. TO JOHN

The Gospel according to John is quite
different in character from the three
synoptic gospels. It is highly literary
and symbolic. It does not follow the
same order or reproduce the same
stories as the synoptic gospels. To a
much greater degree, it is the product of
a developed theological reflection and
grows out of a different circle and
tradition. It was probably written in the
90s of the first century.

The Gospel of John begins with a

magnificent prologue, which states many of the major themes and
motifs of the gospel, much as an overture does for a musical
work. The prologue proclaims Jesus as the preexistent and
incarnate Word of God who has revealed the Father to us.

The whole gospel of John is a progressive revelation of the glory

of God's only Son, who comes to reveal the Father and then
returns in glory to the Father. The author's purpose is clearly
expressed in what must have been the original ending of the
gospel at the end of John 20: "Now Jesus did many other signs in
the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book. But
these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may
have life in his name."

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Critical analysis makes it difficult to accept the idea that the
gospel as it now stands was written by one person. Other
difficulties for any theory of eyewitness authorship of the gospel in
its present form are presented by its highly developed theology
and by certain elements of its literary style.

The gospel contains many details about Jesus not found in the
synoptic gospels, e.g., that Jesus engaged in a baptizing ministry
before he changed to one of preaching and signs; that Jesus'
public ministry lasted for several years; that he traveled to
Jerusalem for various festivals and met serious opposition long
before his death; and that he was put to death on the day before
Passover. These events are not always in chronological order
because of the development and editing that took place.
However, the accuracy of much of the detail of the fourth gospel
constitutes a strong argument that the Johannine tradition rests
upon the testimony of an eyewitness. Although tradition identified
this person as John, the son of Zebedee, most modern scholars
find that the evidence does not support this.

The fourth gospel is not simply history; the narrative has been
organized and adapted to serve the evangelist's theological
purposes as well.

The author of this gospel seems to take pains to show that

women are not inferior to men in the Christian community: the
woman at the well in Samaria (Jn 4) is presented as a prototype
of a missionary (Jn 4:4-42), and the first witness of the
resurrection is a woman (Jn 20:11-18).

The final editing of the gospel and arrangement in its present form
probably dates from between A.D. 90 and 100. Traditionally,
Ephesus has been favored as the place of composition, though
many support a location in Syria, perhaps the city of Antioch,

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while some have suggested other places, including Alexandria.
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