All four Gospels tell the story of one person, Jesus Christ, and in all of them you can see many similar stories, while they are unique in their own way.
The Gospels of Matthew , Mark, Luke are known as synoptic, that is, “see together, consider together.” These three Gospels are considered together.
The gospel is a genre of religious literature with sayings and biography of Christ
So, the gospel is not a specific book, not the Bible, not the New Testament, but a genre of religious literature. This is part of the New Testament, more precisely, its first 4 books.
Perhaps it’s worth saying right away how the Greek is translated. εὐαγγέλιον: “good news.” This is the message about Salvation that Jesus Christ gives to Christians.
Gospel
This is a genre of religious literature
It would be wrong to understand the Gospel as: a biography of Jesus Christ. The gospel writers make it clear that this topic does not interest them.
Almost the entire life of Jesus up to the age of thirty has been ignored. There are no details about His personal life, hobbies, etc. Those who wrote these texts did so to convey the teachings of the Savior, and not to build a cult around His person.
Publication of the Gospels - the first four books of the New Testament
Which Synoptic Gospel was written first?
Which Synoptic Gospel was written first? This question has been interpreted in different ways lately. In different ways - among Protestants, whose Christian scholars for some reason are considered by Muslims to be PATRIARCHES in the interpretation of the Bible. It doesn’t matter that these patriarchs belong to various branches of Protestant-Reformed churches, of which there are dozens in the United States alone, the stronghold of world Protestantism. But we will not analyze the opinions of those who are not authoritative for us, but will turn to the opinion of St. fathers who lived in the first centuries of Christianity.
The Gospel of Matthew is the first of the Synoptic Gospels, the first book of the New Testament and therefore the most frequently read, written in Aramaic, and later rewritten in Greek. The Gospel of Matthew (as can be seen from the nature of the book) was written to convince the Jews that Jesus Christ is their promised Messiah, King. The Gospel contains many passages from the Old Testament and lengthy sermons and conversations of the Savior Himself (chapters 5-7; 23; 24-25).
This Gospel is the Gospel of fulfilled prophecies and the Kingdom of Heaven (this expression is not found in other Gospels). The Gospel was written by Saint Matthew in the year 42 (after the Nativity of Christ) in contemporary Hebrew and translated into Greek. The Hebrew text has not reached us, but many linguistic and cultural-historical features of the Greek translation of the text remind us of it.
Scientific-critical theories of the origin of the Gospels developed mainly in conflict with the teachings of the Church; European scientists perceived the position of St. fathers as one of the hypotheses among other possible ones.
In reality, patristic exegesis rested on completely different foundations than scientific-critical approaches. In addition to the difference in hermeneutical attitudes, none of the ancient Christian writers and St. fathers (with the exception of St. Augustine) did not consider the problem of the origin of the Gospels in the light of literature. the dependence of one Gospel on another: even pointing out that one of the Gospels was written before the others, St. the Fathers noted only chronological sequence, without drawing conclusions about influence or dependence (even though their apologetic efforts were aimed at explaining the differences between the canonical Gospels).
St. Theophylact of Bulgaria noted: “Of course, one was enough, but in order for the truth to be revealed more clearly, it is allowed to write four. For when you see that these four did not meet and did not sit in one place, but were in different places, and yet wrote about the same thing as if it had been said with one mouth, then how can you not marvel at the truth of the Gospels and say what the evangelists said at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit! Don't tell me they don't agree on everything. Because look at what they disagree on. Did any of them say that Christ was born, and the other: “was not born”? Or did one of them say that Christ was risen, and the other: “not risen”? No no! They agree on what is necessary and most important. And if they do not disagree on the main things, then why be surprised that they apparently disagree on the unimportant; for from the fact that they do not agree on everything, their truth is most evident. Otherwise they would have been thought to have written by getting together or conspiring with each other. Now it seems that they do not agree, because what one of them omitted the other wrote” (Theoph. Bulg. In Math. Praef.). Thus, the patristic works do not provide a solution to the synoptic problem in the form in which it was formulated in modern times.
At schmch. Irenaeus of Lyon, the order of writing the Gospels is already clearly defined: “Matthew published the writings of the Gospel among the Jews in their own language, while Peter and Paul preached the gospel in Rome and founded the Church. After their departure, Mark, Peter's disciple and translator, gave us in writing what was preached by Peter. And Luke, Paul's companion, set forth in a book the Gospel he preached. Then John, the disciple of the Lord, reclining on His chest, also published the Gospel during his stay in Ephesus of Asia" (see: Iren. Adv. haer. III 1. 1; cf.: Euseb. Hist. eccl. V 8. 2 -4).
Obviously, sschmch. Irenaeus sought to prove the authenticity of the canonical Gospels on the basis of direct (Gospel of Matthew and John) or indirect (Gospel of Mark and Luke) apostolic authority (as opposed to heretical writings, which did not have it).
Clement of Alexandria, according to Eusebius, relying on the words of “the ancient presbyters about the order of the Gospels,” argued that “the Gospels, where there are genealogies, were written first” (Euseb. Hist. eccl. VI 14.5). The Gospel of Mark therefore appeared on the 3rd. However, some researchers, based on syntax, believe that the phrase about the Gospel of Mark is an insertion and that the Gospels with genealogies are contrasted only with the Gospel of John. Clement says further: “John, the latter, seeing that those Gospels proclaimed the earthly affairs of Christ, wrote, prompted by his disciples and inspired by the Spirit, a spiritual Gospel” (ap. Euseb. Hist. eccl. VI 14. 7). Eusebius cites Clement’s account of the composition of the Gospel of Mark twice: “Peter, being in Rome and preaching the teaching of Christ, expounded, filled with the Spirit, what is contained in the Gospel. Those who listened - and there were many of them - convinced Mark, as Peter’s longtime companion, who remembered everything he said, to write down his words. Mark did so and gave this Gospel to those who asked. Peter, having learned about this, did not forbid Mark, but did not encourage him either” (Ibid. 14. 5-7; in Euseb. Hist. eccl. II 15. 1-2, only the ending differs: “As they say, the Apostle [Peter] , having learned by the revelation of the Spirit what had happened, rejoiced at people's zeal and allowed this Gospel to be read in the Churches. Clement cites this story in the 6th book of his Essays (῾Υποτυπώσεις). The testimony of the Bishop of Hierapolis Papias agrees with him. Patriarch Photius , the last who read this work of Clement, noted that it was filled with fables and delusions (Phot. Bibl. Cod. 109. P. 89a).However, a similar story about the origin of the Gospel of Mark is given in the Latin language preserved in the catenae under named after Clement's interpretation on 1 Peter 5:3 (PG. 9. Col. 732).In any case, in the subsequent church tradition (with the exception of a dubious place in Sedulius Scotus (IX century)) the Gospel of Mark is always called the second.
A special role in the history of the solution of the synoptic problem belongs to Origen. Although he gives the same diagram as the schmch. Irenaeus (see the prologue to the interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew in: Euseb. Hist. eccl. VI 25. 3-6), the historical sequence of writing the Gospels in his exegesis does not matter, since the 4 Gospels were written by one Spirit of God through 4 being in different places people. The apparent contradictions between them are only indications of the need to apply the allegorical method of interpretation (Orig. In Ioan.10:2-4). At the same time, Origen noted the existing handwritten readings for each Gospel (about the many discrepancies in the Gospel manuscripts - Idem. In Matt. 15:14) and used the handwritten tradition in solving the synoptic problem (for example, he declares the verse Matthew 19:19b to be an interpolation on on the basis that this commandment is not found in parallel passages in the Gospels of Mark and Luke (see: Mark 10:19; Luke 18: 20); for a similar example for Luke 23:43, see: Orig. In Ioan. 32:19).
The main patristic work, in which the synoptic problem is considered systematically, is the creation of St. Augustine "On the Concord of the Evangelists." Blzh. Augustine, probably relying on the canons of Eusebius, formulated the theory of the sequential dependence of the evangelists on each other: Matthew wrote first, his work was shortened by Mark (Aug. De cons. evang. I 2.4; 3.6; III 4.11), then Luke wrote, and John wrote last. Some researchers believe that in the course of studying the topic of blzh. Augustine changed his point of view and came to the conclusion that Mark also used the Gospel of Luke to a certain extent (cf.: Aug. De cons. evang. IV 10. 11; Peabody. 1983).
However, blzh. Augustine rather speaks of the symbolic relationships of the evangelists, appealing to their images in Revelation 4:7 (Matthew, who depicted Christ as a King, is represented there first as a lion, Luke, who paid most attention to the high priestly ministry of Christ, is second as a calf, Mark is third under the form of a man, and John is the fourth and likened to an eagle).
The Chronicle of Isidore of Seville (VII century) notes that the Gospel of Matthew was written in Judea during the reign of Emperor. Caligula (37-41), and the Gospel of Mark - under the emperor. Claudius (41-54) in Alexandria (Euphemius Zigaben also points to Egypt as the place of origin of the Gospel of Mark), the Gospel of John - under the emperor. Nerve (96-98), when the evangelist returned from exile to Ephesus (Isid. Hisp. Chron. 68, 69, 74).
In the Byzantine tradition, dating varies somewhat. According to Theophylact of Bulgaria, the Gospel of Matthew was written in the 8th year from the Ascension of the Lord (i.e., in 39 AD; this dating is found in Blessed Jerome in the Latin translation of Eusebius’ “Chronicle” - PL. 27 . Col. 578), the Gospel of Mark - in the 10th year (in 41 AD), the Gospel of Luke - in the 15th year (in 46 AD), the Gospel of John - in the 32nd year (in 63 A.D.) (Theoph. Bulg. In Math. Praef.). St. Epiphanius of Cyprus says that John wrote the Gospel at the age of 90 (Epiph. Adv. haer. 51.12), i.e. closer to the end. I century In the “Easter Chronicle” (beginning of the 7th century) under the 1st year of Vespasian (70 AD) about (Chron. Pasch. P. 246). Consequently, he wrote the Gospel in Ephesus between 94 and 119 AD. Euthymius Zigaben also testifies that the Gospel of John was written many years after the destruction of Jerusalem (Euth. Zigab. In Ioan. Praef.). Judging by the Easter Chronicle, there were discrepancies in the ancient Church regarding the dating of the Gospel of Matthew. Under the 6th year of Claudius (46 A.D.) it says: “Matthew was the first there in Jerusalem to write the Gospel, as Chrysostom says. I think... [lacuna]” (Chron. Pasch. P. 233). Nicephorus Callistus notes that the Gospel of Matthew was written in the 15th year after the Ascension, and the Gospels of Mark and Luke - long after that, at the command of the apostles Peter and Paul; the Apostle John wrote down the Gospel 36 years after the Ascension (Niceph. Callist. Hist. eccl. 2.45).
Thus, in the era of the ancient Church, the Gospel of Matthew was indeed the most famous, widely revered and accepted by everyone since ancient times, while the Gospel of Mark, although recognized as canonical, attracted less attention, as evidenced by the lack of ancient commentaries on it ( the only interpretation is the catenas of Victor of Antioch, compiled in the 6th century based on the interpretations of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of Matthew).
Thus, we see that all St. The fathers of the early Christian church are unanimous in the opinion that the first of the Synoptic Gospels was written by the apostle from the 12th - Matthew Levi.
We do not know the authors of the Gospel
The names “From Matthew”, “From Mark”, “From Luke” and “From John” are a tribute to tradition. The fact is that the first Christian analysts collected bit by bit the traditions that had survived to their days. It was, for example, known that there were certain written testimonies from Matthew, which he addressed to the Jewish people.
But were there other, compelling reasons to attribute authorship to Matthew? No.
It is impossible to determine the real authors of the gospels.
It’s the same with the “Gospel of Luke.” According to legend, it was allegedly written by Luke. He is also credited with the authorship of the Acts. And in the books they actually find a number of parallels. But a deep analysis of the text shows that the author of Acts was simply familiar with the Gospel of Luke—hence the similarities.
Plus, the question remains, which Luke are we talking about? In Acts, for example, Lucius of Cyrene is mentioned, which in short is also Luke, but he has nothing to do with Luke, the disciple of the Apostle Paul. It is possible that he is also the author of the third Gospel. Although, the author could have a different name.
The Gospel of John is also named as such based on an arbitrary interpretation of the phrase:
In. 21:24
“This disciple testifies to this, and wrote this; and we know that his testimony is true.”
There is no reason to believe that this is specifically about John the Theologian. And from the manner of writing it is indisputably clear that this text was not written by the same person who created the Revelation of John the Theologian.
Translation of the titles of the gospels as “Gospel of Mark”, etc. incorrect. It would be correct to write in Russian: “Gospel according to Mark”, “Gospel according to Luke”, etc.
In addition to linguistic accuracy, such a title is more consistent with reality: the gospel texts may indeed be a presentation of events according to the version of one or another narrator, but not be their direct work.
In other words, someone could write down the Gospel from the words of John the Theologian, so that it is truly “according to John,” but not “from John.”
So, do we know the authors of the Gospels, at least one?
No. All authors of the Gospel remained anonymous. The names as they exist today are convenient labels, but nothing more.
See also the article The Gospel of Judas
Meaning of Animals
1. Leo - King of kings (Gospel of Matthew). There Jesus is mentioned as the King of the Jews. The genealogy of Jesus Christ tells us that He is of royal descent and that He has the right to the throne on both the paternal and maternal sides. Of course, Joseph was not His father, but Christ was born into the family of Joseph. Joseph and Mary were descended from two sons of David, so there is a double right to David's throne.
(Matthew 1:1)
Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham.
Jesus Christ was not born to be a king, He was born a King.
(Matthew 2:2)
Where is the born King of the Jews? for we saw His star in the east and came to worship Him.
2. Taurus - always serves (Gospel of Mark).
Taurus is strong and tireless in work, this is our Lord Jesus Christ. He always works, always serves, so there is no His pedigree here, because the servant is not asked about His origin.
3. Man - Son of Man (Gospel of Luke)
Jesus is presented as the Son of Man and is found in the Gospel of Luke more often than anywhere else and speaks of the glory of Christ. In Luke, the genealogy of Jesus is traced back to Adam, from whom all people descended.
4. Eagle - flies higher than all birds (Gospel of John).
In the Gospel of John, Jesus is presented as the Son of God, as God.
(John 1:1)
In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; and we have seen His glory as the only begotten of the Father.
Why were the four Gospels written?
The answer is in the Gospel of John.
(John 20:30)
Jesus did many other miracles before His disciples, which are not written about in this book.
(John 20:31)
These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.
What does this tell us?
When your faith weakens, take it and read about it. If you are sick, read about miracles so that you may believe. This is not a one-time event. The gospel is designed to create faith in you.
The Gospel of John alone tells us that Jesus was bound. The first to be bound was Isaac, the beloved son of his father Abraham.
(Genesis 22:9)
And they came to the place that God had told him about, and
Abraham an altar there, laid out the wood and, having bound his son Isaac, laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
This story is about sonship and it is a testimony to see that Jesus is the true Isaac.
(John 18:4)
Jesus, knowing everything that would happen to Him, went out and said to them: Whom are you looking for?
If you look up the Greek word, a company of soldiers was a thousand men. And Jesus says, “I Am,” which is the name of God spoken in the burning bush to Moses.
(John 18:6)
And when he said to them: “It is I,” (which means “I Am”), they stepped back and fell to the ground.
People with spears, swords and torches fell in front of the One Who was to be captured. Jesus took power over them and waited until they stood up to arrest Him.
A comment!
Only John tells us that Jesus was not taken by force, He gave Himself into their hands. This is why He came, to give His life and take it up again.
Oil and anointing
(Exodus 30:23-24)
Take for yourself the best fragrant substances: pure myrrh five hundred shekels, fragrant cinnamon half as much as that, two hundred and fifty, fragrant cane two hundred and fifty, cassia five hundred shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil;
Why did God take the time to explain the ingredients and measures?
There are 4 canonical Gospels in the Bible
The four gospels are called canonical. This means that they were included in the New Testament almost from the first codes; for example, they are already present in the Codex Sinaiticus.
The canonical gospels are not questioned by the Church, even though it is unknown who wrote them.
The texts of the four canonical Gospels are considered divinely inspired.
But at the same time, it is believed that all the authors did not write, as receivers, the words of God, but passed the text through themselves, which is why the texts acquired their own character:
Gospel of Matthew. Written for a Jewish audience. The author is definitely a Jew, well versed in the realities of his time. The text is written competently and thoroughly. It is precisely established that there was an original in Hebrew, but only a translation into Greek has reached us.
Leaf "Gospel of Matthew"
Gospel of Mark . Very short, clear and impulsive text. Created for a Roman audience. The author paid special attention to miracles. It is clear that he is not gifted with literary talent and uses artless expressions and vernacular. The text is written in colloquial Greek.
Gospel of Luke . From a literary point of view, it is the best of the four gospels. The author is certainly a literate person. But there is no reason to consider him a doctor (which some interpreters insist on): the author used the same words and expressions that were known to any of his contemporaries. The text is in Greek.
80-100
the latest text of the Gospel of John dates back to these years
Gospel of John . This is the latest text (80–110). It differs from the three previous Gospels (synoptic) in the depth of thought. The details of this text are not found in the works of other evangelists. There is a lot of philosophy, one of the central themes is love. The text is in Greek.
Gospel of John
The Gospel of John, unlike the other three, forms a class of its own. It not only contains milk for young believers, but also solid food. Even if believers walk with the Lord for a while, they always return to the Gospel of John.
A comment!
Heavenly Father provided for there to be four Gospels, four stories about His life.
Look at the book of Hebrews, “where there is forgiveness of sins, there is no need for an offering for them.” No matter what we did, the blood of bulls and goats only covered sins, but the Blood of Jesus Christ took away sins forever.
(Hebrews 10:18) But where there is forgiveness of sins, there is no need for an offering for them.
(Hebrews 10:19-20) Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter into the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus Christ, a new and living way, which He again revealed to us through the veil, that is, His flesh.
It is unknown why the Gospels in the Bible are arranged in this order
The order of the Gospels in the Bible does not correspond to the time they were written. The tradition of arranging them as it is today did not appear immediately. There was, for example, this option: “Matthew, John, Luke, Mark.” The apostles were placed first, and the last two authors were placed along the length of their manuscript.
The approval of the current order was influenced by Eusebius and Jerome. Their version of order gained great popularity. We know nothing about the reasons why this order was chosen.
The Gospel of Mark was written first - in the 40s
It is quite difficult to find out when the Gospels were written. They came to us in their entirety late - in the 4th century, in the Codex Sinaiticus. It is this that today serves as the model that is considered to be the closest to the original.
All that has been found before Codex Sinaiticus are fragments. Moreover, the texts often differ from each other.
The earliest fragment found is a fragment of the Gospel of Mark.
It dates back to the 40s AD. Undoubtedly, this is the oldest of the Gospels. True, it cannot be argued that the oldest passages constituted a full-fledged text, and were not just notes.
We cannot say that before the Gospel of Mark there were no other texts of the Gospels. They are simply not discovered. A popular version is that even in the time of Christ, the disciples wrote down his sayings, and the Gospels are a later literary adaptation of these notes.
When were the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John written - is there an exact date?
Thanks for the question. For many people, the question of when the Gospel was written seems unimportant until the question of the accuracy of the Gospel is raised. If we were to assume that the Gospel of Mark was written in 70 AD, that would mean that Mark waited 40 years after the events to begin writing. Although 40 years is not that long. Don't forget that the Vietnam War ended over 40 years ago, and veterans of that war are still alive and telling stories about that time.
The problem is this: it is difficult to show that Mark was an eyewitness to those events. He is certainly not one of the apostles and his name is nowhere to be found in the Gospel. Some scholars have suggested that the young man who ran away naked in Mark 14:51-52 was Mark himself, but there is insufficient evidence for this. Scholars who hold this view believe so based on the fact that the naked youth did not seem to refer to the story itself, but was included to show that the author was there. In addition, Mark lived in Jerusalem (see Acts 12:12) and according to church tradition, Jesus and His apostles held the Passover Seder (last supper) in Mark's house [1].
But, as I said, the evidence that Mark included himself in the Gospel as the naked young man who ran away is quite weak. It is reasonable to conclude that Mark was not an eyewitness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But we learn a very interesting thing about him from several quotes from some of the early Church Fathers:
“Becoming Peter’s translator, Mark wrote down exactly everything he remembered. Although, he did not set out the words and deeds of Christ in the exact order. Because he did not hear the Lord and did not accompany Him. But, as I said, he subsequently accompanied Peter. Peter presented the doctrine according to the needs of [his hearers], but he had no intention of giving a consistent account of the Lord's words. Therefore, Mark did not make any mistake when he thus wrote down some things as he remembered them. On the one hand, he took special care not to leave out anything he heard, and at the same time not to insert anything fictitious.” – Papias, as quoted by Eusebius.
“After their death, Mark, Peter’s disciple and translator, also conveyed to us in writing what Peter preached.” - Irenaeus.
“Mark, the translator and follower of Peter, begins the Gospel in this way.” - Irenaeus.
“Mark was a follower of Peter. Peter publicly preached the Good News in Rome before Caesar's mounted knights, and presented many testimonies about Christ. In order that they might thereby remember what Peter said, Mark wrote in its entirety what is called the Gospel of Mark.” - Clement of Alexandria.
“Such a ray of piety shone upon the minds of Peter's hearers, that they were not satisfied with merely hearing or the unwritten teaching of the divine word. Thus, with all sorts of requests, they besought Mark, to whom the Gospel is attributed (and he was Peter's companion), to leave in writing a record of the teaching which he had received orally. And they didn't leave him alone until they got their way. And thus we owe to them the sacred book called “The Gospel of Mark.” Having learned what had been done, through the revelation of the Spirit, it is said that the apostle was delighted with the enthusiasm of these people and approved the work to be read in the churches, Clement relates in the sixth book of the Stromates.” – Eusebius, quoting Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.579.
Thus, Mark may not have been an eyewitness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but Peter certainly was. Peter was the chief disciple and the one to whom Jesus appeared in person after His death (see Luke 24:34 and 1 Corinthians 15:5; Simon and Cephas are two other names of Peter). Thus, Peter was the eyewitness that Mark needed to tell his story. It is interesting to note that Luke begins his Gospel by mentioning that many people made up accounts of Jesus' life based on eyewitness accounts (see Luke 1:1-4).
So the problem of where Mark got the information is cleared up. But what about the fact that the Gospel of Mark was written so late? If the Gospel of Mark was written in 70 AD. BC, and the other gospels were written later, then doesn't that mean that these other gospels (containing more information) were written too late to be written by eyewitnesses?
To do this, we need to examine the argument why scholars think the first Gospel was written in 70 AD. Historians are absolutely sure that in 70 AD. e. The Jewish temple was destroyed during the fall of Jerusalem. Interestingly, this event was predicted in Mark 13:2, Matthew 24:2 and Luke 21:6. Here's how Luke talks about this prediction:
“Some of the disciples talked about how the temple was decorated with beautiful stones and deposits dedicated to God. But Jesus Christ said: the days will come in which, from what you see here, there will not be left one stone upon another; everything will be destroyed.”
It is very interesting that Jesus made a prediction of something that has historically been proven to come true. This, of course, can serve as historical evidence that Jesus was in fact God. Although, to explain this phenomenon without recognizing the divinity of Jesus, skeptical scientists are forced to conclude that Jesus never predicted this. Instead, Mark, Matthew, and Luke all lived in the time after the destruction of the temple, and they put this prediction into the mouth of Jesus Christ. As Bishop John Robinson said in his book, Redating the New Testament:
“One of the strangest facts about the New Testament is that what in any account would seem to be the most dated and climactic event of this period is the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. e., and with it the collapse of institutional Judaism based on the temple - is never mentioned as a fact of the past. This is, of course, predicted; and these predictions, in some cases at least, are supposed to have been written (or detailed) after the event.”
The problem is that this assumption is based on the premise that Jesus is not God, and thus would be unable to predict the future, which is essentially the very thing that skeptical scientists need to prove. Therefore, this cannot be used as a premise to say that the Gospels were written that late. Arguing that the Gospels are unreliable accounts of the life of Jesus based on the fact that they are supposed to have been written late is nothing more than a circular argument. The logic is as follows:
- Premise 1: The Gospels cannot be trusted because they were written decades after the death of Jesus and are therefore legend-like.
- Premise 2: This is because three of the four Gospels mention that Jesus predicted an event (the destruction of the temple) that is known to have occurred 40 years after the supposed prediction.
- Premise 3: Jesus could not have predicted this because He is not God. Thus, the Gospels that contain this prediction were written after the event occurred.
- Conclusion: Therefore, the Gospels cannot be trusted because they were written several decades after the death of Jesus and therefore resemble a legend.
The texts of Luke and Matthew are written based on the text from Mark and the source Q
The Gospel of Matthew dates from 41 to 55 AD. The Gospel of Luke is a little later - from 70 to 100.
It is well established that both authors did not write on their own, but on the basis of the Gospel of Mark. Borrowings from this text are obvious and noticeable in both writings.
In addition, the texts of Luke and Matthew have many common episodes that are clearly taken from another source. It was called "Source Q". This is probably an even earlier Gospel.
Perhaps it was not a full-fledged text, but a collection of statements and notes. This is precisely what the authors of the canonical gospels used.
Graphic display of the contribution of the Gospel of Mark and source Q to the texts of Matthew and Luke
Early Church Fathers Quote the Gospels and Other Books of the New Testament
Clement of Rome (wrote around 97 AD, give or take five years, depending on the opinion of scholars), quoted the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Hebrews 1- e and 2 Peter. He quoted the books of the New Testament with the same respect as the books of the Old. He did not quote with the same respect from any other book.
Likewise, Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, who died in 107 AD. e. In his letter to the Ephesians, he quotes the gospels of Matthew, Luke, John, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, 2 Timothy, James, 1 Peter. In his other letters he quotes from 1 Timothy, 2 Thessalonians, Acts, Hebrews, Galatians, and Revelation.
Moreover, Polycarp, writing to the Philippians in 120 AD. quotes from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Hebrews, 1 Peter and 1 and John. Also, Justin around 150 AD. mentioned four “memoirs of the apostles” (Gospels), which with the “works of the prophets” were read in churches on Sundays. Quotations apply to all four Gospels, Revelation, and almost all other books of the New Testament.
Irenaeus around 180 AD. or quotes or refers to every book of the New Testament. In the middle of the second century there was some debate about five or six New Testament books (it is true), but a consensus was almost established by the middle of the second century. There have been some doubts about Revelation, 2 Peter, Hebrews, 2 and 3 John. But even they were widely used by the church fathers in the second century and enjoyed authority. The agreement at Ephesus in 382 AD simply confirmed a list that had already existed for over two hundred years. By the year two hundred AD. there was no doubt about the authenticity of the twenty-nine New Testament books. These are the facts from my research.
John Ochs Translation: Sergey Dyachenko
In addition to the 4 canonical Gospels there are apocrypha
What does apocrypha mean? Is it part of the Bible, like the New Testament? Or a genre like the Gospels? No, neither one nor the other.
An apocrypha is a text similar to the Bible that is not canonical for some reason:
- Contradicts current Christian teaching;
- Has disagreements with the canonical texts of the Bible;
- Recognized as not divinely inspired.
The process of determining what is canon and what is not took several centuries. The decisions of the Church have not always been uncontroversial, but today there is little chance that the canon will ever be revised.
Of course, a huge number of apocrypha are gospel texts. Among them are known:
- Gospel of Judas;
- Gospel of Peter;
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene on hranitel.club
- Gospel of the Egyptians;
- Gospel of the Jews;
- Gospel of the Ebionites;
- Gospel of the Egyptians;
Gospel of Judas on hranitel.club
- Gospel of Truth;
- Gospel of Mary;
- Gospel of Thomas;
- Gospel of Philip;
- Gospel of Nicodemus;
- Papyrus from Oxyrhynchus;
- Edgerton Papyrus;
Gospel of Barnabas on hranitel.club
- Gospel of Eve;
- The Secret Gospel of Mark;
- "Apocrypha of John" (partially).
Some of these texts on the list are particularly interesting. For example, the Gospel of Judas presents the traditional story about the betrayal of Judas in a completely different way: Jesus himself asks the apostle for this in order to accomplish an important mission.
An absolutely amazing text is the Gospel of Mary. Not only was it written by a woman, but the depth of this Gnostic text is simply amazing.
Some works have reached us only in the form of quotations.
We are talking about the Gospel of Eve, from which we know the passage:
“I was on a high mountain, and I saw a great man and a small one next to him, and I heard a thunderous voice, and I approached to hear what was said. And he said: “I am you, and you are Me, and where you are, there I am, and I am in everything, and wherever you wish, you gather Me, and by collecting Me, you gather yourself.”
Standing apart are the so-called Childhood Gospels, i.e. texts telling about what happened in the first years of Christ’s life and before His birth:
- "Gospel of Childhood";
- "The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew";
- "The Gospel of Jacob";
- "The Book of Joseph the Carpenter";
- Arabic "Gospel of Childhood";
- "Jesus in the Temple";
- "The Gospel of Apelles";
- "The Secret Gospel of Mark";
- "Proto-Gospel of Jacob";
- "The Gospel of Andrew";
- The Childhood Gospel of Thomas.
There are also fragments of the gospels, the names of which are not known, and another work - an agrapha.
Agrafa
a collection of sayings of Jesus Christ collected from various apocryphal sources
It cannot be said that the agrapha is a typical Gospel. This is simply a collection of sayings of Jesus Christ, collected from various apocryphal sources.
In addition to these texts, clear falsifications are known:
- "The Gospel of the Essenes";
- "Tibetan Gospel";
- "The Gospel of Barnabas."
These texts are relatively modern. The authors of these works can be named with a high degree of confidence. This is no longer a New Testament scripture from Matthew or Mark, but the work of people who wanted to convey their ideas, or simply become famous due to the hype.
If these Gospels are accompanied by at least mystery and depth of ideas, then there is a category of completely mediocre works that are only mistakenly classified as apocrypha.
These are completely modern texts, written literally yesterday and not worthy of attention. For example:
- Gospel of Saint Matthew;
- The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (not to be confused with the real apocrypha "Gospel of Mary").
By leaving a comment, you accept the user agreement
Part 1. Gospels
Faith:
“God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14-21); “If you can believe as long as you can, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23); “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29. See also Matt. 16:17–18; Luke 17:5–10; Mark 16:16).
God's will, follow it
: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10); “Not everyone who says to Me: Lord! God! He who does the will of My Father in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:2–27).
Gratitude to God
: “Were not ten cleansed, where are nine? How did they not return to give glory to God, except for this foreigner... Arise, go: your faith has saved you!” (story of the ten lepers, Luke 17:11–19).
Grace, Holy Spirit
: “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6); “Whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst, but the water that I give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life” (John 4:13-14); “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Luke 11:13); “The Comforter, the Spirit of Truth... He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). (See also John 7:37-39, John 14:5-21, John 16:13; Mark 4:26-29, the parable of the invisibly growing seed; Matthew 13:31-32, the parable of the mustard seed; Matthew 25: 1–13, parable of the ten virgins).
Wakefulness
: “Keep awake, because you do not know when the owner of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning, lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping” (Mark 13:33-37). (See also Luke 11:24-26; Luke 21:34-36; Matthew 8:24-30, parable of the tares).
To do good:
“In everything you want people to do to you, do so to them” (Matthew 7:12); “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:13–16); “Whoever gives one of these little ones to drink only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple will not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42. See also Luke 19:11-27; Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 10:25-37 , the parable of the Good Samaritan; see also the parable of the barren fig tree, Luke 13:6–9).
The Lord Jesus Christ constantly taught about developing good qualities in oneself. See, for example, His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7 chapters). and the Beatitudes, which outline the path to perfection (Matthew 5:3–12). In the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3–23). and especially in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30). It talks about the need to develop in ourselves those natural abilities that God gave us. The combination of grace-filled gifts with developed abilities (talents). constitutes a person's true wealth; therefore it is said that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).
Unity, the desire for it
: “There will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16); “That they all may be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21-26); “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).
Truth, love for it
: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I came into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth; everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37. See also Matthew 13:44–46, parable of the treasure in the field) .
Cross, carrying it, narrow path
: “Enter at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go in through it. For strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it” (Matthew 7:13–14); “The kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it by force” (Matthew 11:12); “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38. See also Luke 13:22-30; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 14:25-27; John 12:25 –26).
Love for God and people
: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength... thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Mark 12:28–34); “I want mercy, not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13); “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he loves Me; but whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father... and We will come and make our abode with him” (John 14:15-23); “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one another” (John 13:35); “Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13. See also Matt. 5:42–48; John 13:34–35).
Prayer:
“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7-11); “Whatever you ask in prayer in faith, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22); “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23–24. See also Matt. 6:5–15; Luke 18:1–8; Matt. 18:19–20; Mark 11:23; John 16:23–27; Mark 14:38; Luke 11:5–8; Luke 18:1–8, parable of the unjust judge).
Alms
: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom... for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison, and you came to Me...” (Matthew 25:34-46. See also Matthew 6:1-4; Luke 14:12-15; Luke 21:1-4).
Non-judgment
: “Judge not, lest ye be judged, for with the same judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged” (Matthew 7:1–6).
Hope in God:
“Are not five small birds sold for two assars? And not one of them is forgotten by God. And even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid: you are worth more than many small birds” (Luke 12:6–7, Matt. 6:25–34); “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God and believe in Me” (John 14:1); “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27); “The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
Non-covetousness, everyday worries
: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Enough for each day is your care... Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:19-34); “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? or what ransom will a man give for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26); “How difficult it is for those who trust in wealth to enter the Kingdom of God” (Mark 10:24. See also Luke 10:41-42; Mark 10:17-27, Luke 12:13-21, parable of the foolish rich man).
Repentance
: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2); “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:12–13); “Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin...if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-37); “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (like those crushed by the tower in Jerusalem, Luke 13:3. See also Matthew 4:17; John 5:14; Luke 7:47; Luke 13:1–5; Matthew 18 :11–14, the parable of the lost sheep; Luke 15:11–32, the parable of the Prodigal Son; Luke 18:4–14 the parable of the publican and the Pharisee).
Fast
: “This generation is driven out only by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:21. See also Mk. 2:19–22; Mk. 6:16–18; Mk. 9:29).
Righteousness, the desire for it
: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6); “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43); “Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
Reconciliation with neighbors, forgiveness of offenses
: “And forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors... If you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14); “Forgive until seventy times seven” (Matt. 18:22. See also Matt. 5:23–26; Luke 23:34; Matt. 18:13–35, parable of the evil debtor).
Communion, its necessity
: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:27-58. See also Luke 22:15-20; John 15:34-36).
Joy in God
: “Blessed are you... Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven” (Matthew 5:12); “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest... My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30); “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28); “No one can take away your joy” (John 16:22).
Discretion
: “Beware lest anyone deceive you” (Matthew 24:4. See also Luke 14:28–33; Luke 16:1–13, parable of the unfaithful steward).
Humility, modesty
: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3); “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11); “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29); “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26. See also Luke 10:21; Luke 18:9-14; Mark 10:42-45; John 13:4-17; Matt. 20:1–16, regarding workers receiving equal pay).
Temptations, fighting them
: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off: it is better for you to enter life maimed than to go into hell with two hands” (Mark 9:42-49); “Woe to the world because of temptations, for temptations must come, but woe to the man through whom temptation comes” (Matthew 18:7; Luke 17:1–2).
Patience
: “Through your patience save your souls” (Luke 21:19); “He who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22); “Bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). “Remember that you (the rich man) have already received good things in your life, but Lazarus received evil things. Now he is comforted here (in paradise), but you suffer” (parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Luke 16:19-31).
Chastity, marital fidelity
: (Matt. 5:27–32; Matt. 19:3–12).
Purity of heart
: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8); “Evil thoughts come from the heart... this defiles a person” (Matthew 15:19-20); “Keep the word (of God) in a pure heart” (Luke 8:15); “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it” (Mark 10:15); “You have already been cleansed through the word that I preached to you” (John 15:3; Mark 7:15-23).
Language, watch it
: “How can you say good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man brings good things out of a good treasure, and an evil man brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:34–37; Matt. 5:22–23).
