New Testament
The Gospels
Four accounts of Jesus of Nazareth · Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
The Gospels are not biographies in the modern sense but proclamations: 'good news' (evangelion) about Jesus, shaped for worship, teaching, and mission.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the 'Synoptics' because they see with a common eye; John stands apart in structure, chronology, and theological register.
Period
The events they narrate are set c. 4 BCE–30/33 CE. The books themselves are written between c. 65 CE (Mark) and c. 90–100 CE (John).
Themes
- ·The kingdom of God
- ·The identity of Jesus as Messiah and Son
- ·Cross and resurrection
- ·Discipleship and the shape of a new community
- ·Fulfilment of Israel's scriptures
Authorship — traditional
Church tradition, going back to Papias (early 2nd c.) and Irenaeus, attributes Matthew to the apostle Matthew (originally, per Papias, 'in the Hebrew dialect'), Mark to John Mark writing down Peter's preaching in Rome, Luke to Paul's physician companion, and John to the apostle John son of Zebedee in Ephesus. The four-Gospel canon is settled by the late 2nd c.
Authorship — historical-critical
Critical scholarship generally accepts Markan priority: Mark was written first, and Matthew and Luke drew on Mark plus a shared sayings source (Q) and their own material. Most scholars treat the Gospels as anonymous works given traditional names in the 2nd c. and shaped by their communities — a Jewish-Christian setting for Matthew, a Gentile Roman setting for Mark, a broader Greco-Roman setting for Luke-Acts, and a distinct Johannine community for the Fourth Gospel.
The books
Click a book to open it in the reader at chapter 1.
- Matthew28 ch
c. 80–90 CE, in a Jewish-Christian setting (traditionally Antioch).
The Gospel that most self-consciously reads Jesus in the light of Israel's scriptures. Structured around five great teaching blocks, including the Sermon on the Mount.
- Mark16 ch
c. 65–70 CE, near or just after Nero's persecution.
The shortest, fastest Gospel — 'immediately' is its favourite word. It shows Jesus as the crucified Son of God and his disciples as slow to understand.
- Luke24 ch
c. 80–90 CE, addressed to Theophilus in the Greco-Roman world.
The most literary Gospel, with unique material about Jesus' compassion for outsiders, women, and the poor. Volume one of Luke–Acts.
- John21 ch
c. 90–100 CE, from a distinctive Johannine community.
A meditative Gospel of signs and long discourses. Jesus is the Word made flesh, the light of the world, the way, the truth, and the life.