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The Gospels are collections of sayings or narratives about the life of Jesus of Nazareth, written by his followers.

Overview

None of the extant Gospels was written in its final form by eyewitnesses, or during Jesus' lifetime, or in the years or decades immediately following the death of Jesus. The Christian message first spread orally. Only when the first Christian generation passed away, the need to write down their teachings became urgent. The earliest gospels were the work of the disciples of the disciples of Jesus (see Papias).

No Gospel was written with the purpose of providing "objective" historical narratives; the aim was to deliver the religious message of the messiahship of Jesus. The narratives of the Gospels are shaped by their faith in Jesus and profoundly influenced by the theology and concerns of their own audience. In this sense the Gospels must be treated as works of theology not history. The Gospels do however reflect the words and deeds of an historical character, Jesus of Nazareth. Critical scholars struggle to go back from the theological narratives of the Gospels to the Historical Jesus.

Earliest Gospels

• Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Luke
• Gospel of Thomas
• Gospel of John

The Gospel of Mark (written around 70 CE) is today universally recognized as the earliest extant Gospel. Both the Gospel of Matthew (ca. 75 CE) and the Gospel of Luke (ca. 85 CE) depend on Mark. The parallels between Mark, Matthew and Luke are so close to make possible a synoptic reading of them. A well-established scholarly theory explains the presence of additional material in Luke and Matthew with the existence of a common source, now lost, the so-called Q Gospel. Other scholars claim that the additional material comes from Matthew and that the Gospel of Luke depended on both Mark and Matthew.

There are two other independent Gospel traditions, which had access to the earliest oral tradition about Jesus--the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of John. Although these Gospels took their final shape after Mark, Matthew and Luke, they preserve valuable independent material which goes back to the same oral tradition that generated the Synoptics.

Later Gospels

There are many more Gospels written by Christians after the first century. They provide valuable information about the diversity of Christian groups and theologies, and the conflicts within the early Church. Their significance for the understanding of the Historical Jesus, however, is quite limited, as they all depend on the earliest Gospels.

External links

• Wikipedia (Gospel)