When people talk about the “gospel,” they only mean one thing: the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. matthew, mark, luke, and john are the four books of the bible that record almost everything we know about jesus. If we want to learn about the things that Jesus said and did, we have to turn to these ancient texts, which are believed to have been written by eyewitnesses or people who spoke to them during the first century.
then why are there four separate versions of the jesus story? or maybe you are wondering, why are there only four, if he was such an influential figure?
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Those are valid questions, but before we can answer them we need to know what constitutes a “gospel” and how it differs from other written works.
what does the term “gospel” mean?
while jesus probably spoke aramaic, the new testament was written in greek. The English term gospel comes from the Old English godspell, a translation of the Greek noun euangelion.
euangelion means “good news” or “good news” and eventually became a term for good news about Jesus Christ.
In the New Testament world, this term accompanied announcements of victory in battle or the enthronement of a Roman ruler. an inscription for the birthday of the roman emperor augustus reads: “good news [euangelia] to the world!”
in the old testament, the “good news” sometimes referred to god’s deliverance of his people:
- “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news. . . those who proclaim salvation, those who say to Zion: your god reigns!” —Isaiah 52:7 niv
- “You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. you who bring good news to jerusalem, raise your voice with a shout, raise it up, do not be afraid; say to the cities of judah, “here is your god!”’” —isaiah 40:9
- “the spirit of the sovereign lord is upon me, for the lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor'”. —Isaiah 61:1
- “Sing to the Lord, praise his name; he proclaims his salvation day after day.’” —Psalm 96:2.
euangelion soon became a technical term for the good news about Jesus Christ. In 1 Thessalonians 1:5, Paul writes that “our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the holy spirit, and with deep conviction.” this is one of the first letters of the new testament, and paul uses euangelion for the oral proclamation of the good news about jesus christ.
Finally, euangelion was used to describe the written versions of the good news about Jesus Christ. Mark introduces his work with the words “beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God” (Mark 1:1, emphasis added). the church eventually came to call these four accounts gospels.
The term “gospel” tells us how the early church viewed these works. these were not dry historical accounts of the life of christ, but written versions of the best news ever shared. the gospels were meant to be proclaimed. . . and he believed.
the genre of the gospels
how we classify a text determines how we read it and what we can expect from it:
- when we read the newspaper, we expect to read news.
- when we read a tabloid, we expect gossip.
- a novel is a story, and we know that it is fiction in the moment when we start reading.
to answer questions like “why are there four gospels?” and “why are there only four gospels?”, we need to know the type of literature we are dealing with.
the gospels are historical literature
Three things tell scholars that the Gospels are historical literature:
1. they have a history of composition. the authors drew on available traditions and sources to compile their works.
2. they are set in a specific historical context. Each of the four Gospels takes place in first-century Palestine during the Roman occupation.
3. they are intended to convey historically accurate information. the details included in the gospels, the way the writers organize them, and the similarities in composition imply a conscious effort to include the correct information. John and Luke explicitly state their intentions, and Luke leaves no doubt that she intends to write the story:
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“many have undertaken the task of recounting the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they have been transmitted to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it has also seemed good to me to write you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things that have been taught to you. —Luke 1:1-4
luke claimed to be writing an accurate story. We could question whether he was a reliable historian or whether his sources were reliable, but the point is that his intentions were historical.
Whether or not these events actually happened confirms or denies the truth of Christianity. Christianity rises or falls based on the historical accuracy of key gospel events:
- the words and deeds of jesus
- his death on the cross
- his resurrection
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching and your faith is in vain.” To some extent, we have to consider this literature historical, but that’s not all it is.
the gospels are narrative literature
the gospels are not simply collections of reports or sayings of jesus. they are also narratives with plot, characters, and setting. Although all four gospels deal with the same historical events: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, they present different versions of these events. They portray characters from different perspectives, sometimes using the same event to highlight something different about Jesus. they develop the plot in different ways, occasionally rearranging the order of events. they emphasize different settings, including stories not recorded by the other writers.
But the gospels aren’t just a collection of stories, either.
the gospels are theological literature
the gospels have an agenda. they record historical events, but they are also theological documents. Through the narrative of Jesus’ ministry, the Gospels instruct and encourage believers, and try to convince unbelievers. that is why we call evangelists evangelists (from euangelizō, “announcing good news”). They are heralds of the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the coming of the kingdom of God.
note john’s statement of intent in john 20:30-31:
“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
The recognition that the gospel writers are theologians in their own right is one of the most important contributions of recent evangelical scholarship. each evangelist has a story to tell and a perspective to emphasize. each highlights unique aspects of the identity of jesus. see how each gospel presents its work:
mark emphasizes jesus as the christ and the son of god. matthew jumps to the jewish ancestry of jesus, focusing on how jesus fulfills the promises made to israel. Luke tells us that he wants to write an accurate historical account. John presents Jesus as the preexistent divine word, the self-revelation of God.
Viewing the gospel writers as theologians has important implications for how we read their accounts. we should read each gospel seeking to discern these theological issues.
Are the gospels ancient biographies?
There is a growing consensus among scholars that while the Gospels are unique, they also have much in common with Greco-Roman works, especially the genre known as “biographies” (bioi) or “lives”. these works were written to preserve the memory and celebrate the virtues, teachings, or deeds of famous philosophers, statesmen, or rulers. Examples of this genre are the Parallel Lives of Plutarch, the Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius, and the Life of Moses by the Jewish philosopher Philo. Since the Gospels arose in the first-century Greco-Roman world, it is helpful to compare them with other writings from this time to identify common literary characteristics and narrative techniques.
At the same time, we must remember that the Gospels are unique. they arose in the context of the needs and concerns of early Christian communities. and they were not written to commemorate the teachings of a great leader. The gospels were written to proclaim the good news of salvation and to call people to faith in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord and Savior.
so what genre are the gospels?
The gospels are historical narratives motivated by theological concerns. Its intent is to convey accurate historical material about Jesus and also to explain and interpret these salvation-bringing events. The gospels were not written by distant and disinterested observers, but by evangelists, “good news announcers”, announcing the good news of Jesus Christ and calling people to believe in him.
why do we have four gospels?
Each of the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—paints a unique portrait of Jesus. they show us the same jesus but they portray him from different perspectives.
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what are these four unique portraits?
1. matthew presents jesus as the jewish messiah, the fulfillment of the hopes of the old testament.
2. Mark portrays him as the suffering son of god, who offers himself as a sacrifice for sins.
3. luke’s jesus is the savior of all people, who brings salvation to all nations and people groups.
4. In John, Jesus is the eternal son of God, the self-revelation of God the Father.
having four gospels gives us a deeper understanding of who jesus is and what he did.
why did the church keep four gospels in the canon?
but why did the church retain all four in the canon of scripture? matthew, mark and luke are very similar. Is it worth keeping all of them?
The most famous early attempt to synthesize the four gospels into one is the diatessaron (“through four”), compiled by the church father tatian around 170 a.d. Tatian brought together portions of all four Gospels into a single story. There have been many attempts to synthesize the gospels into a single story since then, but in the end, the church recognized each gospel as a unique literary account and an authorized and inspired work of the holy spirit.
why are there only four gospels?
There are more than four ancient documents that claim to be gospels, or contain stories of Jesus, including works such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, and various “Infancy Gospels” – fanciful accounts of Jesus. birth and childhood. then why are they not included in the bible?
The historical value and reliability of these “apocryphal gospels” are hotly debated. These Gospels may preserve an occasional authentic saying or story about Jesus, but there are three reasons why scholars find them unreliable:
- were written too late to be reliable accounts
- were falsely written under an assumed (pseudepigraphic) name
- depend on the canonical gospels
the greatest value of these later gospels is that they provide insight into the first three centuries of church history, especially the second century movement known as Gnosticism. Some people claim that the orthodox church suppressed and silenced the apocryphal gospels, which describe the “real jesus”, but the argument does not hold up under critical scrutiny. Like most modern scholars, the church rejected these later writings because they failed the test of historical accuracy and because they lacked the spiritual power and authority that indicated inspiration from the holy spirit.
In short, there are other “gospels”, but they didn’t make the cut.
key points
The Gospels we have were carefully vetted against a body of early church literature, and the four Gospels in the Bible are the most historically accurate and God-inspired accounts of Christ.
The good news of Jesus Christ is only good news if it is true.
for two millennia, matthew, mark, luke, and john have been used to inspire billions of people to believe in jesus and the salvation he brings. each of them has unique things to show us about his life and ministry and what it means to follow him. and each one of them has stood the test of time.
image by edal anton lefterov, used under a creative commons license.
this post is adapted from material found in four portraits, one jesus, an online course on jesus and the gospels taught by mark strauss.
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