Bible & Christianity › The apostles & the New Testament › The New Testament
The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
Mark c. 70; Matthew & Luke c. 80–90; John c. 90–100· Book of the Bible· Books & writings
Mostly agreed by scholarsMost historians agree; some details uncertain.
Four accounts of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, written about AD 70–100 and named for Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
'Gospel' means 'good news'. Mark, the shortest, came first, around 70. Matthew and Luke, around 80–90, each reuse much of Mark and share other sayings, probably from a lost source scholars call 'Q'. Because these three see events alike they are called 'synoptic'. John, around 90–100, differs: long speeches, other events, and a ministry spanning three Passovers. All four were written in Greek and were originally anonymous; the titles were added in the 100s.
Why it matters
They are the church's portrait of Jesus, read at every Mass and service, and almost everything known about his life comes from them.
Sources and history
Irenaeus (about AD 180) is the first to insist on exactly four. Papyrus fragments survive from the 100s–200s. Their rulers, customs and places, such as the Pool of Bethesda (John 5), fit 1st-century Judea.
Questions and debates
Authorship is debated: tradition names two apostles (Matthew, John) and two companions (Mark of Peter, Luke of Paul); many critical scholars think the authors were later, unknown Christians using earlier sources.
Inside this (1)
Connections (5)
▸Rome destroys the Temple (AD 70) is reflected in the writing of The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)Mostly agreed by scholars
The connection
The Gospels were written around or after AD 70, and the catastrophe shaped them. Mark 13 has Jesus predict the Temple's destruction; Luke 21:20 speaks of 'Jerusalem surrounded by armies'. Matthew's sharp conflict with the Pharisees probably mirrors rivalry with the rabbis after 70.
When and where
Mark about AD 70, perhaps in Rome; Matthew and Luke about 80–90; John about 90–100; all in churches around the eastern Mediterranean.
How do we know?
Most scholars date the Gospels partly by these echoes of the war; the link is inferred from the texts, not stated in them.
Questions and debates
Conservative scholars argue Jesus truly foresaw the fall and that some Gospels predate 70; others see the predictions as written after the event.
▸The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) are the main sources for Jesus of NazarethHistorical record
The connection
Almost everything known about Jesus' life, teaching and death comes from the four Gospels. They draw on memories passed on by word of mouth, perhaps written collections of sayings, and in Luke's case careful inquiry (Luke 1:1–4). They are portraits of faith, not neutral biographies, but resemble ancient Greek and Roman 'Lives'.
When and where
Written about AD 70–100, some 40 to 70 years after Jesus' death, in Greek, for Christian communities around the Mediterranean.
Historical evidence
Historians sift them with tests such as multiple independent sources and embarrassing details; brief outside mentions by Josephus and Tacitus confirm the outline.
Questions and debates
How reliable the Gospels are as history is the core question of 'historical Jesus' research, from skeptics to scholars who see eyewitness testimony behind them.
▸Acts of the Apostles is the sequel to Luke, one of The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)Mostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Both Luke and Acts are addressed to one 'Theophilus' (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1), and Acts begins by recalling 'the first book' about Jesus. Luke ends with the Ascension; Acts opens by retelling it. Together 'Luke–Acts' makes up about 27% of the New Testament, more than any other author's work.
When and where
Written about AD 80–90, place unknown; tradition credits Luke, a physician and companion of Paul (Colossians 4:14).
How do we know?
The shared dedication, style, vocabulary and themes convince nearly all scholars of one author; Irenaeus (c. 180) already credits both to Luke.
Questions and debates
Who Theophilus was (a patron, or any 'friend of God'), and why the canon separated the two books with John's Gospel, are open questions.
▸The New Testament opens with The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)Historical record
The connection
The New Testament puts the four Gospels first, telling Jesus' story before Acts and the letters that followed. Matthew leads because the early church thought it the oldest, and it opens with a family tree linking Jesus to Abraham and David, a bridge from the Old Testament.
When and where
The order Matthew, Mark, Luke, John was standard by the 300s, as in Athanasius's list of 367 and Jerome's Latin Vulgate.
Historical evidence
Early manuscripts and lists confirm it, though some, such as Codex Bezae (about 400), use the order Matthew, John, Luke, Mark.
Questions and debates
Most scholars now think Mark, not Matthew, was written first, so the traditional order no longer reflects the order of writing.
▸Gnostics and Marcion produced rival gospels to The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)Historical record
The connection
Gnostic and other groups wrote alternative gospels: the Gospel of Thomas (114 sayings of Jesus, some close to Matthew, Mark and Luke), the Gospel of Truth, the Gospel of Philip, the Gospel of Judas. Most date to the 2nd–3rd centuries, later than the four. Irenaeus argued there must be exactly four Gospels, like the four winds.
When and where
Egypt, Syria and Rome, 2nd–3rd centuries; rediscovered at Nag Hammadi, Egypt (December 1945), and in the Codex Tchacos (published 2006).
Historical evidence
Manuscripts: the Nag Hammadi books (4th century, in Coptic), Greek fragments of Thomas from Oxyrhynchus (c. 200), and Irenaeus's Against Heresies.
Questions and debates
The Gospel of Thomas's date is debated: some scholars place parts in the 1st century, most in the 2nd; whether it is Gnostic at all is also disputed.