Gospel

Fragment of a flyleaf with the title of the Gospel of Matthew, ευαγγελιον κ̣ατ̣α μαθ᾽θαιον (Euangelion kata Maththaion). From Papyrus 4 (c. AD 200), it is the earliest manuscript title for Matthew and one of the earliest manuscript titles for any gospel.

Gospel (Greek: εὐαγγέλιον; Latin: evangelium) originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported.^[1] In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words and deeds of Jesus, culminating in his trial and death and concluding with various reports of his post-resurrection appearances.^[2]

The canonical gospels are the four which appear in the New Testament of the Bible. They were probably written between AD 66 and 110.^[3]^[4]^[5] According to the majority of scholars, Mark was the first to be written, using a variety of sources,^[6]^[7] followed by Matthew and Luke, which both independently used Mark for their narrative of Jesus's career, supplementing it with a collection of sayings called "the Q source", and additional material unique to each.^[8] There is near-consensus that John had its origins as the hypothetical Signs Gospel thought to have been circulated within a Johannine community.^[9]

Many non-canonical gospels were also written, all later than the four canonical gospels, and like them advocating the particular theological views of their various authors.^[10]^[11] Important examples include the gospels of Thomas, Peter, Judas, and Mary; infancy gospels such as that of James (the first to introduce the perpetual virginity of Mary); and gospel harmonies such as the Diatessaron.

^ Cross & Livingstone 2005, p. 697.
^ Alexander 2006, p. 16.
^ Perkins 1998, p. 241.
^ Reddish 2011, pp. 108, 144.
^ Lincoln 2005, p. 18.
^ Goodacre 2001, p. 56.
^ Boring 2006, pp. 13–14.
^ Levine 2009, p. 6.
^ Burge 2014, p. 309.
^ Petersen 2010, p. 51.
^ Culpepper 1999, p. 66.

[FOOTNOTECrossLivingstone2005697-1] Cross & Livingstone 2005, p. 697.

[FOOTNOTEAlexander200616-2] Alexander 2006, p. 16.

[FOOTNOTEPerkins1998241-3] Perkins 1998, p. 241.

[FOOTNOTEReddish2011108,_144-4] Reddish 2011, pp. 108, 144.

[FOOTNOTELincoln200518-5] Lincoln 2005, p. 18.

[FOOTNOTEGoodacre200156-6] Goodacre 2001, p. 56.

[FOOTNOTEBoring200613–14-7] Boring 2006, pp. 13–14.

[FOOTNOTELevine20096-8] Levine 2009, p. 6.

[FOOTNOTEBurge2014309-9] Burge 2014, p. 309.

[FOOTNOTEPetersen201051-10] Petersen 2010, p. 51.

[FOOTNOTECulpepper199966-11] Culpepper 1999, p. 66.

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