Gospel

A gospel is a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words and deeds of Jesus Christ, culminating in his trial and death, and concluding with various reports of his post-resurrection appearances. It originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century AD, the term euangélion (Koine Greek: εὐαγγέλιον, lit. 'good news') came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported, through which the English word "gospel" originated as a calque. Gospels represent a variation of Greco-Roman biography, for example, in similar vein as Xenophon's Memoirs of Socrates. Ancient biographies were typically written shortly after the subject's death and included substantial historical material. They are meant to convince people that Jesus was a miracle-working holy man and provide examples to emulate. As such, they present the Christian message of the second half of the first century AD. Biblical scholars are therefore cautious of relying on the gospels uncritically as historical documents, and although they afford a good idea of Jesus' public career, critical study has largely failed to distinguish his original ideas from those of the later Christian authors, and the focus of research has therefore shifted to Jesus as remembered by his followers, and understanding the Gospels themselves. The canonical gospels are the four which appear in the New Testament. They were written between AD 70 and 100. The texts are anonymous, as was common for ancient biographies, such as those of Plutarch and Suetonius which were originally anonymous. They were attributed to the apostles very early and their authorship is debated in scholarship. Mark was the first to be written, followed by Matthew and Luke, which forms a two-volume work with the Acts of the Apostles. The author of John may have been aware of the synoptic gospels, and the gospel's historical...