Four Canonical Gospels

Christian History | Article # 2

Image Credit : Wikimedia Commons/Joshua Keller

In the New Testament, there are four gospels that Christians have accepted from the very beginning. Although many early gospels circulated among Christian communities, only these four eventually became widely accepted. These books were not written during Jesus’s lifetime. They were composed decades later, with Mark around 60–70 CE, Matthew around 70–85 CE, Luke around 80–90 CE, and John around 90–100 CE. The original manuscripts do not name their authors, and modern scholars agree that these texts were not written by eyewitnesses. The acceptance of these four gospels by early Christian communities was influenced not only by their connection to apostles but also by their theological alignment with emerging church doctrines.

The word disciple means a follower or student. Jesus had many disciples who followed him, listened to his teaching, and tried to live by it. From among those followers, he chose twelve men for a special mission. These twelve are called the apostles. According to Christian belief, the apostles witnessed Jesus’s teachings, his miracles, and his resurrection. Early church tradition later connected each of the four gospels to an apostle or someone who knew an apostle, and this traditional connection is one reason they were accepted, even though modern scholarship does not confirm direct authorship by those individuals.

The names of the twelve apostles, as listed in the New Testament, are: Peter (also called Simon), Andrew, James son of Zebedee, John son of Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew (also called Levi), Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus (also called Judas son of James in some lists), Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot. After Judas Iscariot’s betrayal and death, Matthias was chosen to replace him.

When we say “The original manuscripts do not name their authors, and modern scholars agree that these texts were not written by eyewitnesses,” here is exactly what that means.

If you look at the earliest copies of these gospels, nowhere inside the text does it say, I, Matthew, wrote this or I, John, am giving you my eyewitness account. The writings start straight into the story without identifying who wrote them. The titles we see today like The Gospel According to Matthew or According to Luke were added later by early church tradition, not by the authors themselves.

Modern scholars across the board confirm this. For example:

Bart Ehrman writes: “The Gospels are all anonymous. Their titles—‘According to Matthew,’ ‘According to Mark,’ and so on—were added later.” (Jesus, Interrupted, p. 146)

Helmut Koester explains: “The oldest manuscripts of the Gospels have no names attached. The ascriptions to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were given by tradition.” (Ancient Christian Gospels, p. 35)

Raymond Brown also states: “The Gospel titles do not come from the authors themselves but from second-century church tradition.” (An Introduction to the New Testament, p. 158)

Because of this, scholars agree that these writings were not produced by identified eyewitnesses but by unknown authors within early Christian communities who were passing on the traditions they had received.

There is also the issue of timeline. Jesus’s ministry ended around 30 to 33 CE, yet the earliest gospel, Mark, was not written until around 60 to 70 CE, decades later. Matthew, Luke, and John came even later, up to 90 or 100 CE. That long gap means these writings were not made during the events but after years of oral tradition in different communities. By then, most original eyewitnesses would no longer have been alive. On top of that, the gospels themselves sometimes show differences in the order and timing of events, indicating the authors were not recording history like modern journalists but shaping stories and teachings they had received. This timeline is one key reason historians do not see the gospels as direct eyewitness reports.

What Christians Traditionally Believe and What Scholars Have Found