The Gospels

Four books start out the New Testament, each a different account of the life of Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  The word “gospel” translates to “good news.”

Interestingly enough, these four accounts often do not align—with the birth and resurrection narratives serving as prime examples. Traditionally, Matthew and John were considered eyewitness accounts but scholars tend to believe that none of the four were actual eyewitnesses, mainly because the Gospels were written well after the fact, with the earliest being the Gospel of Mark in 65 AD. (Remember, Jesus was crucified about 33 AD) It was only as the eyewitness generation began to pass away that the Gospel writers decided they’d better write it down. Here’s a brief rundown of each:

The Gospel of Matthew was written in Syria about 85 AD.  No one is certain who Matthew was, but his Gospel is packed with the most information. It is believed he was writing for a Jewish community due to his emphasis on the law of Moses.

The Gospel of Mark was written first, around 65 AD, and is the shortest. It is believed that Mark was St. Peter’s translator.  Both Matthew and Luke seem to have used Mark’s Gospel as their template, and many portions are copied word-for-word. Mark is believed to be a foreigner, in that he tends to make mistakes when it comes to geography and appears to be writing for a non-Jewish community.

The Gospel of Luke was written about 90 AD. He was a physician who traveled with St. Paul, and was not Jewish. His is called the “universal gospel” because he directed his writings toward the poor and toward foreigners. He mentions women more than the other three.

The Gospel of John was written around 90-95 AD. It does not follow Mark’s template, but instead uses imagery to great effect (e.g., light; living water.) John omits many of the miracles, and also omits the baptism, the parables, and the trial. Many people argue that the writer of this Gospel was also John the Apostle (and thus an eyewitness) as well as the writer of the Book of Revelation. It is possible, if he was a young teen during Jesus’ life and lived to be quite old.

The only common stories in all four Gospels are the feeding of the five thousand, and John the Baptist, which is who we will cover next.