For most religious people it is no mystery that the Christian Bible is divided into two parts: The Old Testament and the New Testament. In the latter, different texts can be highlighted, known as the gospels. Although it is true that it is a term that sounds familiar to us from religion, not everyone knows exactly what the gospels are.
To get you out of doubt and clarify this concept well, we are going to explain in this article what these Bible scriptures are, how many there are, and a brief summary of each. So if you are not clear about what the gospels are, I recommend that you keep reading.
What are the gospels that we find in the Bible?
The term "Gospel" comes from Latin and would be translated as "good news". It is about the narration of the life and the words of Jesus of Nazareth. In other words: It is the good news (or good news) of the fulfillment of the promise that God made to Isaac, Jacob and Abraham. In it he promised that he would redeem his offspring from sin through the death of Jesus Christ, his only begotten son. He would die to expiate the sin that concerns all Humanity, but would rise after three days to give both repentance and forgiveness to everyone who believes in him.
Therefore, to answer the question of what the gospels are, we can say that they are writings made by the first Christians. These collect the original preaching of the disciples of the son of God, Jesus of Nazareth. The central message they convey is one related to both the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
How many are the gospels?
The New Testament of the Bible contains a total of four gospels, also known as the canonical gospels. These are considered part of the Revelation, according to the Christian confessions. Although some experts propose early dates of their creation, the vast majority of them speculate that the four gospels were written approximately 65 to 100 years AD Each of them is known by the name of its respective author and they appear in this order:
- Mateo
- Mark
- Lucas
- Juan
Apart from the canonical gospels, there are also other writings, which are known as apocryphal gospels. Unlike the previous ones, these are not recognized by the Christian Church as reliable nor as divinely inspired texts. However, some factions from the division of Christianity, which took place during the first centuries of its existence, do consider them to be scriptures. One of the most insistent currents in this is the Gnostic, which is the one that contributed most of these apocryphal gospels. Other Christian communities that do consider these texts to be reliable tend to be those that maintain a closer relationship with the Jewish tradition.
Summary of the canonical gospels
Now that we know what the gospels are, let's see what they are about. It must be said that the four canonical gospels can be subdivided into two groups. The first would be the synoptic gospels, which include Mark, Matthew and Luke, that keep certain similarities and affinity with regard to the narration and the content. On the other hand, the Gospel of John, or Fourth Gospel, is classified separately, since it has very marked thematic and stylistic differences in relation to the other three. Let's see them in more detail.
Gospel of Matthew
The first gospel of the New Testament is that of Matthew. In the, this apostle relates that Jesus of Nazareth is rejected as Israel's Messiah and consequently executed. Subsequently, Jesus Christ pronounces judgment on Israel and ends up becoming the only salvation for good and gentle people.
Through this scripture, the conflicts and struggles that existed between the evangelical community and the other Jews are reflected. From the latter, after rejecting Christ, the so-called "Kingdom of Heaven" has been taken away, which has become the Church's. The main objective of the Gospel of Matthew was to show these Jews that Jesus Christ was that Messiah they had been waiting for so long.
Gospel of Mark
Then comes the Gospel of Mark. It recounts the life, miracles, words, and ministry of Jesus Christ. Unlike Matthew, who presents Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, Mark gives more importance to the servant aspect of God. It should be noted that it is the shortest canonical gospel, but also the oldest, according to experts.
Gospel of Luke
In third place is the Gospel of Luke, the longest of the canonical ones. This writing recounts the life of Jesus, giving special importance to his birth, the public ministry he created, his death, his resurrection and finally his ascension. Luke's goal was to reach people who did not follow this culture, who were outside the faith, to make them understand what the message of salvation was. Therefore, Luke's Gospel clearly has a pastoral purpose. The intention of this apostle is to show Jesus Christ as the Savior, highlighting above all his mercy.
Gospel of John
Last but not least, we still have to talk about the fourth gospel: The Gospel of John. As we have already mentioned before, this text differs quite a bit from the others, both in its narration style and in its content. Among the most notable features of this writing is its liturgical and symbolic character. This text focuses primarily on the public ministry of Jesus and the successive Jewish festivals, including the Feast of Dedication, the Feast of Tabernacles, and Passover. According to many experts and scholars of the Bible, the Gospel of John has a very marked mystical character.
I hope that with all this information I have clarified what the gospels are. Although it is true that we can know more or less what they are about and intuit their intentions, it is best to read them ourselves to understand them in depth, even without being believers.