An Introduction to the Gospels is designed to be a textbook for courses on the Gospels, for use at the college and beginning seminary level. Reflecting the most recent scholarship and written in an accessible style, the volume covers all four of the Gospels, including a survey of "the world of the Gospels". The book opens with a discussion of the origin, development, and interrelationships of the Four Gospels. After a chapter-length treatment of each canonical Gospel and the non-canonical Gospels, the work concludes with a discussion of the "historical Jesus" debate. In An Introduction to the Gospels, Mitchell G. Reddish: - provides a solid, convenient survey of the Gospels in an accessible textbook format - presents up-to-date scholarship in a field that has been dominated by older texts - gives a balanced presentation of the content of the Gospels Mitchell Reddish is an associate professor in the Religion Department of Stetson University, Deland, Florida. An Introduction to the Gospels By Mitchell G. Reddish Abingdon Press Copyright © 1997 Abingdon Press All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-687-00448-5 Contents Preface, Chapter 1. The Formation of the Four Gospels, Chapter 2. The World of the Gospels, Chapter 3. The Gospel of Mark, Chapter 4. The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5. The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 6. The Gospel of John, Chapter 7. The Other Gospels, Notes, Selected Bibliography, Index, CHAPTER 1 The Formation of the Four Gospels Since the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—begin the New Testament, readers often assume that these works were the earliest written products of the Christian church. This assumption is often coupled with the beliefs that the authors of the four Gospels were eyewitnesses of the events they narrate and that the composition of the Gospels was a relatively simple process of preserving in writing what they had seen and heard firsthand. Such assumptions about the Gospels, however, are inaccurate. All the letters of Paul in the New Testament were written prior to any of the Gospels being completed. The authors of the Gospels, or at least the persons responsible for the final form of the Gospels, were almost certainly not eyewitnesses; and the Gospels themselves are the end products of traditions that were transmitted and preserved in various forms, both oral and written. From Oral Traditions to Written Records Jesus of Nazareth left behind no written records. He was not an author, but a teacher and preacher. His method of communication was exclusively oral. Furthermore, there is no indication that Jesus expected or desired that his message would be preserved in writing and passed along for generations. He was addressing a first-century audience, dealing with their concerns and situations. The reason his stories and sayings are available to modern readers is that some of his followers considered them important enough to remember and pass on. These Jesus traditions were almost certainly preserved at first only in oral form. This statement may seem surprising, even incredulous, to readers today. We live in a highly literate society in which the printed media are extremely important. Books, newspapers, magazines, and journals are found in almost every household. Computers, a relatively recent communication tool, present visual representations of words on computer monitors. For many of us, even a trip to the grocery store necessitates a written shopping list, lest we forget the items we need to purchase. First-century Palestine, however, was primarily an oral culture. The ability to read and write was a privilege of the upper class of Palestinian society, as was true of the Mediterranean world in general. Jesus and the crowds to whom he spoke were primarily peasants. They were not a part of the educated elite. The Gospels give scant information about Jesus' education and literacy. The Gospel of Luke contains the story of Jesus as a precocious twelve-year-old engaged in dialogue with the teachers in the Temple. Luke reports, "And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers" (2:47). If this story is historically accurate, it still tells us nothing about Jesus' formal education. Likewise, the additional statement that "Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor" (Luke 2:52) is no evidence for Jesus' ability to read or write. A person can be wise, yet remain uneducated and illiterate. Later in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus during his ministry in Galilee is described as reading from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth, "where he had been brought up" (4:16-30). If this passage is historically authentic, then we certainly have here evidence of Jesus' ability to read. Many scholars, however, have raised questions about the historical reliability of what is described in this passage. Luke 4:16-30 seems to be an expansion of Mark 6:1-6. The Markan text tells of Jesus teaching in the syn