Christianity enters history not as a system, a creed, or a philosophy, but as glad tidings—the radiant proclamation of salvation through the incarnate life, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection of Jesus Christ. The New Testament thus fittingly opens with the Gospels: four distinct yet harmoniously united witnesses, each presenting the same Christ from a unique perspective. These are not biographies in the modern sense, but reverent, Spirit-breathed portraits of the divine Redeemer. They are living images, drawn not with artistic exaggeration but with spiritual fidelity, depicting him who is both the Son of Man and the Son of God.
General Character and Aim of the Gospels
The four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—offer variations on one eternal theme. Each was composed for a different audience, shaped by the temperament and mission of its author, yet all breathe the same spiritual atmosphere and converge upon the same glorious Person. These texts do not aim at chronological comprehensiveness or biographical detail; they are not cold engravings, but living portraits—rendered from repeated contemplation, embodying the Evangelists’ experience with the living Christ.
Marked by unadorned simplicity, their language recalls the Hebrew narratives of old: straightforward, earnest, and free of rhetorical flourish. The authors step aside in humble reverence, refusing to intrude their personalities upon the sacred narrative. Their voice is not their own but the echo of their Master’s. It is this self-effacing objectivity that grants their work enduring universality.
Their purpose is unwavering: to elicit faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah and Savior of the world. In this respect, they are evangelistic in essence, not simply historical documents but spiritual proclamations aimed at the redemption of mankind.
Common Origin and Apostolic Authority
Two of the Evangelists—Matthew and John—were apostles and direct eye-witnesses. The other two—Mark and Luke—were close companions of apostles: Mark reflecting the voice of Peter, and Luke that of Paul. Their testimony rests not upon hearsay but upon intimacy with Christ and communion with those whom he trained and commissioned.
The uniformity in style and content among the Synoptic Gospels is best explained by their common origin in the oral traditions of the apostolic community. The early disciples revered the words and deeds of Jesus with such holy awe that his sayings were repeated in fixed forms, gaining liturgical and catechetical consistency. Luke expressly acknowledges the use of both oral tradition and early written sources. Mark, drawing from Peter’s vivid recollections, may also have employed personal Hebrew notes made by the apostle under the fresh impact of memory.
Individual Characteristics and Symbolism
Despite their shared foundation, each Gospel bears a distinct spiritual hue. Matthew writes as a teacher, presenting Jesus as the Messianic King and new Lawgiver—thus suited for Jewish readers. Mark portrays the mighty Son of God in action—Jesus as miracle-worker and conqueror—befitting a Roman audience. Luke emphasizes Christ’s humanity and compassion, painting him as the Friend and Savior of all men—a message for the Greek world. John ascends into the highest realms of theology, unveiling the eternal Logos made flesh, addressing mature believers who seek deeper spiritual truths.
Early Christian tradition expressed this variety through symbolic imagery, drawn from the prophetic visions of Ezekiel and Revelation. Matthew is the man, highlighting Christ’s human lineage; Mark the lion, roaring in the wilderness with divine power; Luke the ox, sacrificial and priestly; John the eagle, soaring into the heavenly mystery of the divine nature. These symbols, echoed in the poetry, iconography, and liturgy of the Church, reflect the manifold majesty of the Gospel witness.
Time of Composition
Both internal evidence and external testimony suggest that the Synoptic Gospels were written during the seventh decade of the first century, and John’s Gospel in the ninth decade. The Synoptics refer to the destruction of Jerusalem as a future event, and none allude to its aftermath—indicating a date prior to A.D. 70. Yet they were not written immediately after the resurrection, for references like “until this day” and Luke’s allusion to prior narrative attempts imply a span of years had passed.
The precise dates remain uncertain. Luke’s Gospel, being the first part of a two-volume work with Acts, must precede the latter, which ends with Paul’s imprisonment in Rome (circa 61–63). Hence, Luke was likely completed around A.D. 64, perhaps in Caesarea. The Hebrew version of Matthew may have come first, followed by Mark, and then the Greek texts of Matthew and Luke.
John’s Gospel, universally recognized as the last, was likely composed between A.D. 80 and 100, after the fall of Jerusalem and the formal separation between Christianity and Judaism. John assumes the reader’s familiarity with the Synoptic tradition, omitting many episodes and discourses already known. He does not refer to the sacraments explicitly and focuses instead on the deeper meaning of Christ’s identity and mission. His Gospel, carried in memory and prayer, took its final form late in his life.
Credibility of the Gospels
Few writings in human history bear such transparent honesty as the Gospels. They tell their story without ornament, without personal agenda, and without rhetorical embellishment. They record the failures of the apostles, their doubts, fears, and even betrayals. Mark’s Gospel, likely echoing Peter’s own confession, lingers with painful candor on his denial of Christ. This brutal honesty demolishes the notion of fabrication or legend. The Evangelists name themselves nowhere; they seek no glory, only to bear witness to Jesus of Nazareth.
Indeed, the subtle differences among the Gospels—far from discrediting them—confirm their authenticity. In legal testimony, harmonious variation is a mark of truth. A conspiracy would have eliminated inconsistencies. Instead, the Gospels invite comparison, and through that process, they impress their message more deeply on the soul.
By contrast, the apocryphal Gospels—extravagant, fanciful, and historically implausible—serve as a negative foil. Their artificiality highlights the organic purity of the canonical texts. Only divine inspiration can account for the literary modesty and moral grandeur of the Evangelists’ portrayal of Christ. “It would take more than a Jesus to invent a Jesus.”
Poetic and Artistic Symbolism
The Church Fathers, poets, and artists saw in the Gospels more than text—they discerned symbols of divine revelation. Drawing on the visions of Ezekiel and John, they likened the Evangelists to the four cherubim, carrying God’s presence to the ends of the earth. Irenaeus first applied this symbolism, later refined by Jerome and enshrined in the tradition. Artists from the catacombs to the basilicas adorned the Evangelists with wings and emblems, crafting a theological iconography that endures to this day.
Latin hymns, such as those by Adam of St. Victor, celebrate this vision in musical verse. The Evangelists are the four rivers of paradise, flowing from the eternal fountain of Christ. Each carries the waters of salvation across the landscape of time, nourishing the souls of men. Religious poetry, art, and commentary have kept this vision alive, reminding the Church that the Gospels are not only literature but living streams of divine life.
The Final Word on Credibility
Modern skepticism, often driven by dogmatic naturalism, would explain away the supernatural essence of the Gospels. Yet even thinkers far from orthodoxy have recognized their sublime truth. W. E. Channing, the leading Unitarian voice of his age, declared the Gospels “simple records of a being who could not have been invented.” Goethe, no friend of theological orthodoxy, called them the highest manifestation of the divine ever revealed on earth—surpassing all moral systems and intellectual achievements.
If such luminous testimony, framed in such pure prose, drawn from such humble sources, can be dismissed as fabrication, then the very idea of historical truth becomes suspect. But for all who hunger for truth and thirst for righteousness, the Gospels stand as the imperishable witness to God’s redeeming work in Jesus Christ, “whose words shall never pass away.”
