Historical reliability of the Gospels#Formation and sources

In evaluating the Gospels' historical reliability, scholars consider authorship and date of composition,{{harvnb|Blomberg|2009|p=425}}. intention and genre,Paul Rhodes Eddy & Gregory A. Boyd, The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition. (2008, Baker Academic). 309-262. {{ISBN|978-0801031144}} gospel sources and oral tradition,Craig L. Blomberg, Historical Reliability of the Gospels (1986, Inter-Varsity Press).19–72.{{ISBN|978-0830828074}}Paul Rhodes Eddy & Gregory A. Boyd, The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition. (2008, Baker Academic).237–308. {{ISBN|978-0801031144}} textual criticism,{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|p=424}} and the historical authenticity of sayings and narrative events.

"Gospels" is the standard term for the four New Testament books carrying the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, each recounting the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth (including his dealings with John the Baptist, his trial and execution, the discovery of his empty tomb, and, at least in three of them, his appearances to his disciples after his death).{{sfn|Tuckett|2000|p=522}}

The genre of the gospels is essential in understanding the authors' intentions regarding the texts' historical value. New Testament scholar Graham Stanton writes, "the gospels are now widely considered to be a sub-set of the broad ancient literary genre of biographies."Graham Stanton, Jesus and Gospel. p.192. Charles H. Talbert agrees that the gospels should be grouped with the Graeco-Roman biographies, but adds that such biographies included an element of mythology, and that the synoptic gospels do too.Charles H. Talbert, What Is a Gospel? The Genre of Canonical Gospels pg 42 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977). E. P. Sanders writes, "these Gospels were written with the intention of glorifying Jesus and are not strictly biographical in nature." M. David Litwa argues that the gospels belonged to the genre of "mythic historiography", where miracles and other fantastical elements were narrated in less sensationalist ways and the events were considered to have actually occurred by the readers of the time.{{Cite book |last=Litwa |first=M. David |title=How the Gospels Became History: Jesus and Mediterranean Myths |date=2019 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0300242638|pages=4, 11–12}} Craig S. Keener argues that the gospels are ancient biographies whose authors, like other ancient biographers at the time, were concerned with describing accurately the life and ministry of Jesus.{{Cite book |title=Christobiography: Memory, History, and the Reliability of the Gospels |last=Keener |first=Craig S. |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4674-5676-0}} Ingrid Maisch and Anton Vögtle, writing for Karl Rahner in his encyclopedia of theological terms, say that the gospels were written primarily as theological, not historical, texts.Encyclopedia of theology: a concise Sacramentum mundi by Karl Rahner 2004 {{ISBN|0-86012-006-6}} pages 730–741 Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis writes, "we must conclude, then, that the genre of the Gospel is not that of pure 'history'; but neither is it that of myth, fairy tale, or legend. In fact, 'gospel' constitutes a genre all its own, a surprising novelty in the literature of the ancient world."{{sfn|Leiva-Merikakis|1996}}

Scholars tend to consider Luke's works (Luke-Acts) closer in genre to pure history,{{harvnb|Grant|1963|loc=ch. 10}}.{{sfn|Bauckham|2008|p=117}} but they also note that "This is not to say that he [Luke] was always reliably informed, or that – any more than modern historians – he always presented a severely factual account of events." Regardless EP Sanders claimed that the sources for Jesus are superior to the ones for Alexander the Great.{{cite book |last= Sanders |first= EP |year= 1996 |title= The Historical Figure of Jesus |publisher= Penguin |page= 3 |isbn= 0140144994}}

Jeffrey Tripp observes a scholarly trend advocating for the reliability of memory and the oral gospel traditions.{{Cite journal |last=Tripp |first=Jeffrey |title=The Eyewitnesses in their Own Words |journal=Journal for the Study of the New Testament |volume=44 |issue=3 |pages=411–12|doi=10.1177/0142064X211051299 }}

New Testament scholar James D.G. Dunn believed that "the earliest tradents within the Christian churches [were] preservers more than innovators...seeking to transmit, retell, explain, interpret, elaborate, but not create de novo...Through the main body of the Synoptic tradition, I believe, we have in most cases direct access to the teaching and ministry of Jesus as it was remembered from the beginning of the transmission process (which often predates Easter) and so fairly direct access to the ministry and teaching of Jesus through the eyes and ears of those who went about with him."James D.G. Dunn, "Messianic Ideas and Their Influence on the Jesus of History," in The Messiah, ed. James H. Charlesworth. pp. 371–372. Cf. James D.G. Dunn, Jesus Remembered. Anthony Le Donne, a leading memory researcher in Jesus studies, elaborated on Dunn's thesis, basing "his historiography squarely on Dunn’s thesis that the historical Jesus is the memory of Jesus recalled by the earliest disciples."{{cite web |first=Benjamin I. |last=Simpson |date=April 1, 2014 |title=review of The Historiographical Jesus. Memory, Typology, and the Son of David |url=https://voice.dts.edu/review/historiographical-jesus-le-donne/ |website=The Voice |publisher=Dallas Theological Seminary}} According to Le Donne as explained by his reviewer, Benjamin Simpson, memories are fractured, and not exact recalls of the past. Le Donne further argues that the remembrance of events is facilitated by relating it to a common story, or "type." This means the Jesus-tradition is not a theological invention of the early Church, but rather a tradition shaped and refracted through such memory "type." Le Donne too supports a conservative view on typology compared to some other scholars, transmissions involving eyewitnesses, and ultimately a stable tradition resulting in little invention in the Gospels. Le Donne expressed himself thusly vis-a-vis more skeptical scholars, "He (Dale Allison) does not read the gospels as fiction, but even if these early stories derive from memory, memory can be frail and often misleading. While I do not share Allison's point of departure (i.e. I am more optimistic), I am compelled by the method that came from it."{{cite book |last= Le Donne |first= Anthony |year= 2018 |title= Jesus: A Beginner's Guide |publisher= Oneworld Publications |page= 212 |isbn= 978-1786071446}}

Dale Allison emphasizes the weakness of human memory, referring to its 'many sins' and how it frequently misguides people. He expresses skepticism at other scholars' endeavors to identify authentic sayings of Jesus. Instead of isolating and authenticating individual pericopae, Allison advocates for a methodology focused on identifying patterns and finding what he calls 'recurrent attestation'. Allison argues that the general impressions left by the Gospels should be trusted, though he is more skeptical on the details; if they are broadly unreliable, then our sources almost certainly cannot have preserved any of the particulars. Opposing preceding approaches where the Gospels are historically questionable and must be rigorously sifted through by competent scholars for nuggets of information, Allison argues that the Gospels are generally accurate and often 'got Jesus right'. Dale Allison finds apocalypticism to be recurrently attested, among various other themes.{{cite book |last= Allison |first= Dale |author-link= Dale Allison |year= 2010 |title= Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History |publisher= Baker Academic |page=2-8, 8-9, 16-18, 20, 23-26, 33-43|isbn= 978-0801048753}} Reviewing his work, Rafael Rodriguez largely agrees with Allison's methodology and conclusions while arguing that Allison's discussion on memory is too one-sided, noting that memory "is nevertheless sufficiently stable to authentically bring the past to bear on the present" and that people are beholden to memory's successes in everyday life.{{cite journal |last= Rodriguez |first= Rafael |year= 2014 |title= Jesus as his Friends Remembered Him |journal= Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus |volume= 12 |issue= 3 |pages= 224–244 |doi= 10.1163/17455197-01203004}}

According to Bruce Chilton and Craig Evans, "...the Judaism of the period treated such traditions very carefully, and the New Testament writers in numerous passages applied to apostolic traditions the same technical terminology found elsewhere in Judaism [...] In this way they both identified their traditions as 'holy word' and showed their concern for a careful and ordered transmission of it."{{cite book |last1=Chilton |first1=Bruce |author-link=Bruce Chilton |last2=Evans |first2=Craig |author-link2=Craig A. Evans |year=1998 |title=Authenticating the Words of Jesus & Authenticating the Activities of Jesus, Volume 2 Authenticating the Activities of Jesus |publisher=Brill |pages=53–55 |isbn=978-9004113022}}David Jenkins, a former Anglican Bishop of Durham and university professor, has said: "Certainly not! There is absolutely no certainty in the New Testament about anything of importance."[http://www.church.org.uk/resources/csdetail.asp?csdate=01/04/2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404151506/http://www.church.org.uk/resources/csdetail.asp?csdate=01%2F04%2F2007|date=2014-04-04}}, retrieved 15nov2010

Chris Keith has called for the employment of social memory theory regarding the memories transmitted by the Gospels over the traditional form-critical approach emphasizing a distinction between 'authentic' and 'inauthentic' tradition. Keith observes that the memories presented by the Gospels can contradict and are not always historically correct. Chris Keith argues that the Historical Jesus was the one who could create these memories, both true or not. For instance, Mark and Luke disagree on how Jesus came back to the synagogue, with the likely more accurate Mark arguing he was rejected for being an artisan, while Luke portrays Jesus as literate and his refusal to heal in Nazareth as cause of his dismissal. Keith does not view Luke's account as a fabrication since different eyewitnesses would have perceived and remembered differently.{{cite journal |last= Keith |first= Chris |year= 2011 |title= Memory and Authenticity: Jesus Tradition and What Really Happened |journal= Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der Älteren Kirche |volume= 102 |issue= 2 |pages= 172, 176 |doi= 10.1515/zntw.2011.011}}

While believing that the study of the process of conversion from memories of Jesus into the Gospel tradition are too complicated for more simplistic a priori arguments the Gospels are reliable,{{cite journal |last= Kirk |first= Alan |year= 2017 |title= The Synoptic Problem, Ancient Media, and the Historical Jesus: A Response |journal= Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus |volume= 15 |issue= 2–3 |page= 257| doi= 10.1163/17455197-01502006}} Alan Kirk criticizes allegations of memory distortion common in Biblical studies. Kirk finds that much research in psychology involves experimentation in labs decontextualized from the real world, making use of their results dubious, hence the rise of what he calls 'ecological' approaches to memory. Kirk claims that social contagion is one phenomenon that is greatly lessened or even ruled out by new study. Kirk claims that there is also an imprudent reliance on a binary distinction between exact information and later interpretation in research.{{cite book |last= Kirk |first= Alan |year= 2019 |title= Memory and the Jesus Tradition |publisher= T&T Clark |pages= 209–216 |isbn= 978-0567690036}} Kirk argues that the demise of form criticism means that the Gospels can no longer be automatically considered unreliable and that skeptics must now find new options, such as the aforementioned efforts at using evidence of memory distortion. Reviewing Kirk's essay "Cognition, Commemoration, and Tradition: Memory and the Historiography of Jesus Research" (2010), biblical scholar Judith Redman provides a reflection based on her view of memory research: {{blockquote| They [The Gospels] are not ordinary historical accounts and cannot be treated as though they are, but nor are they simply ahistorical materials designed to convince the reader of the author's particular theological perspective. That we have increasing scientific evidence of this has important implications for Christians, but does not, I think, invalidate the preceding two millennia of faith.{{cite web |last=Redman |first=Judy |title= Alan Kirk on Cognition, Commemoration and Tradition (3) - memory, tradition & historiography |url=https://judyredman.wordpress.com/2015/12/13/alan-kirk-on-cognition-commemoration-and-tradition-3-memory-tradition-historiography/ |website= Judy's research blog |date= 13 December 2015 |language= en |access-date= 27 October 2024}}}}

Alongside his work defining the Gospels as ancient biography, Craig Keener, drawing on the works of previous studies by Dunn, Kirk, Kenneth Bailey, and Robert McIver, among many others, utilizes memory theory and oral tradition to argue that the Gospels are in many ways historically accurate.{{cite book |last= Keener |first= Craig |author-link= Craig Keener |year= 2019 |title= Christobiography: Memory, History, and the Reliability of the Gospels |publisher= Eerdmans |isbn= 978-0802876751}} His work has been endorsed by Richard Bauckham, Markus Bockmuehl, and David Aune, among others.

Critical scholars have developed a number of criteria to evaluate the probability or historical authenticity of an attested event or saying in the gospels. These criteria are the criterion of dissimilarity; the criterion of embarrassment; the criterion of multiple attestation; the criterion of cultural and historical congruency; and the criterion of "Aramaisms". They are applied to the sayings and events described in the Gospels to evaluate their historical reliability.

The criterion of dissimilarity argues that if a saying or action is dissimilar or contrary to the views of Judaism in the context of Jesus or the views of the early church, then it can more confidently be regarded as an authentic saying or action of Jesus.Norman Perrin, Rediscovering the Teaching of Jesus 43.Christopher Tuckett, "Sources and Method" in The Cambridge Companion to Jesus. ed. Markus Bockmuehl. 132. Commonly cited examples of this are Jesus's controversial reinterpretation of Mosaic law in his Sermon on the Mount and Peter's decision to allow uncircumcised gentiles into what was at the time a sect of Judaism.

The criterion of embarrassment holds that the authors of the gospels had no reason to invent embarrassing incidents such as Peter's denial of Jesus or the fleeing of Jesus's followers after his arrest, and therefore such details would likely not have been included unless they were true.{{sfn|Meier|2016|p=168–171}} Bart Ehrman, using the criterion of dissimilarity to judge the historical reliability of the claim that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, writes, "it is hard to imagine a Christian inventing the story of Jesus' baptism since this could be taken to mean that he was John's subordinate."Bart D. Ehrman, The New Testament:A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings.194-5.

The criterion of multiple attestation says that when two or more independent sources present similar or consistent accounts, it is more likely that the accounts are accurate reports of events or that they are reporting a tradition that predates the sources.The criteria for authenticity in historical-Jesus research: previous discussion and new proposals, by Stanley E. Porter, pg. 118

The criterion of cultural and historical congruency says that a source is less credible if the account contradicts known historical facts, or if it conflicts with cultural practices common in the period in question.The criteria for authenticity in historical-Jesus research: previous discussion and new proposals, by Stanley E. Porter, pg. 119

The criterion of "Aramaisms"Bart D. Ehrman, The New Testament:A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings.193. is that if a saying of Jesus has Aramaic roots, reflecting his Palestinian cultural context, it is more likely to be authentic than a saying that lacks Aramaic roots.Stanley E. Porter, The Criteria for Authenticity in Historical-Jesus Research: previous discussion and new proposals.127.

{{Main|Authorship of the Bible|Dating the Bible}}

File:The Evangelist Matthew Inspired by an Angel.jpg, 1661]]

Most scholars believe that the historical Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet who predicted the imminent end or transformation of the world, though others, notably the Jesus Seminar, disagree.{{Cite web |date=29 May 2013 |title= Historical Jesus Scholarship and Christians |url=https://ehrmanblog.org/historical-jesus-scholarship-and-christians-for-members/ |access-date=24 October 2024 |website=The Bart Ehrman Blog|language=en}} As eyewitnesses began to die, and as the missionary needs of the church grew, there was an increasing demand and need for written versions of the founder's life and teachings.{{sfn|Reddish|2011|p=17}} The stages of this process can be summarised as follows:{{sfn|Burkett|2019|pp=128–29}}

1. Oral traditions – stories and sayings passed on largely as separate self-contained units, not in any order;
2. Written collections of miracle stories, parables, sayings, etc., with oral tradition continuing alongside these;
3. Written proto-gospels preceding and serving as sources for the gospels;
4. Canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John composed from these sources.

The New Testament preserves signs of these oral traditions and early documents:{{sfn|Valantasis|Bleyle|Haugh|2009|p=7}} for example, parallel passages between Matthew, Mark and Luke on one hand and the Pauline epistles and the Epistle to the Hebrews on the other are typically explained by assuming that all were relying on a shared oral tradition,{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} and the dedicatory preface of Luke refers to previous written accounts of the life of Jesus.{{sfn|Martens|2004|p=100}} The early traditions were fluid and subject to alteration, sometimes transmitted by those who had known Jesus personally, but more often by wandering prophets and teachers like the Apostle Paul, who did not know him personally.{{sfn|Valantasis|Bleyle|Haugh|2009|pp=7, 10, 14}} Jens Schroter argued that a mass of material from various sources, such as Christian prophets issuing sayings in the name of Jesus, the Hebrew Bible, miscellaneous sayings, alongside the actual words of Jesus, were all attributed by the Gospels to the singular historical Jesus.{{cite book |last= Horsley |first= Richard |year= 2006 |title= Performing the Gospel: Orality, Memory, and Mark |publisher= Augsburg Books |pages= 104–46 |asin= B000SELH00}} Helen Bond also argues that many chreia found in the gospels are literary creations composed by the evangelists rather than reservoirs of oral tradition; while many are rooted in actual history, they have been reshaped to emphasize various aspects of Jesus.{{Cite book |last=Bond |first=Helen |title=The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2024 |isbn=978-0802882707 |pages=121-122}} James DG Dunn and Tucker Ferda point out that the early Christian tradition sought to distinguish between their own sayings and those of the historical Jesus and that there is little evidence that the claims of new "prophets" often became mistaken as those of Jesus himself; Ferda notes that the phenomena of prophetic sayings merging with those of Jesus is more relevant to the dialogue gospels of the second and third centuries.{{cite book |last= Ferda |first= Tucker |year= 2024 |title= Jesus and His Promised Second Coming: Jewish Eschatology and Christian Origins |publisher= Eerdmans|page= 282|isbn=9780802879905}}{{sfn|Dunn|2013|pp=13–40}} The accuracy of the oral gospel tradition was insured by the community designating certain learned individuals to bear the main responsibility for retaining the gospel message of Jesus. The prominence of teachers in the earliest communities such as the Jerusalem Church is best explained by the communities' reliance on them as repositories of oral tradition.{{sfn|Dunn|2013|pp=55, 223, 279–280, 309}} The early prophets and leaders of local Christian communities and their followers were more focused on the Kingdom of God than on the life of Jesus: Paul for example, says very little about him such as he was "born of a woman" (meaning that he was a man and not a phantom), that he was a Jew, and that he suffered, died, and was resurrected: what mattered for Paul was not Jesus's teachings or the details of his death and resurrection, but the kingdom.{{sfn|Valantasis|Bleyle|Haugh|2009|p=11}} Nonetheless, Paul was personally acquainted with Peter and John, two of Jesus’ original disciples, and James, the brother of Jesus.{{cite journal |last1=Evans |first1=Craig |title=Mythicism and the Public Jesus of History. |journal=Christian Research Journal |date=2016 |volume=39 |issue=5}}{{harvnb|Ehrman|2013|pp=145–146}}. Paul's first meeting with Peter and James was approximately 36 AD, close to the time of the crucifixion (30 or 33 AD.) Paul was a contemporary of Jesus and, according to some, from Paul's writings alone, a fairly full outline of the life of Jesus can found: his descent from Abraham and David, his upbringing in the Jewish Law, gathering together disciples, including Cephas (Peter) and John, having a brother named James, living an exemplary life, the Last Supper and betrayal, numerous details surrounding his death and resurrection (e.g. crucifixion, Jewish involvement in putting him to death, burial, resurrection, seen by Peter, James, the twelve and others) along with numerous quotations referring to notable teachings and events found in the Gospels.Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey by Craig L. Blomberg 2009 {{ISBN|0805444823}} pp. 441-442The Jesus legend: a case for the historical reliability of the synoptic gospels by Paul R. Eddy, et al 2007 {{ISBN|0-8010-3114-1}} pp. 202, 204, 209-228

Between 120 and 150, Justin Martyr, who lived in 2nd century Flavia Neapolis (Biblical Shechem, modern day Nablus) mentioned the "memoirs of the Apostles" in his First Apology. Later, around 173, Tatian, who was a student of Justin Martyr, assembled a single gospel account, working from the four canonical gospels.{{Sfn|Williams|2018|p=34}} Around 185 Iraneus, a bishop of Lyon who lived c.130–c.202, attributed them to: 1) Matthew, an apostle who followed Jesus in his earthly career; 2) Mark, who while himself not a disciple was the companion of Peter, who was; 3) Luke, the companion of Paul, the author of the Pauline epistles; and 4) John, who like Matthew was an apostle who had known Jesus.{{Sfn|Williams|2018|p=38}} According to Bart Ehrman, most scholars agree that they are the work of unknown Christians,{{sfn|Ehrman|2005|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=URdACxKubDIC&pg=PA235 235]|ps=: "Why then do we call them Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? Because sometime in the second century, when proto-orthodox Christians recognized the need for apostolic authorities, they attributed these books to apostles (Matthew and John) and close companions of apostles (Mark, the secretary of Peter; and Luke, the traveling companion of Paul). Most scholars today have abandoned these identifications,¹¹ and recognize that the books were written by otherwise unknown but relatively well-educated Greek-speaking (and writing) Christians during the second half of the first century."}} though according to Dale Allison the traditional attributions of Mark and Luke still have "learned defenders,"{{Cite book |last=Allison |first=Dale |title=Interpreting Jesus |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2025 |isbn=978-0802879196 |pages=610}} with Raymond Brown judging critical opinion on Luke’s authorship to be roughly evenly divided near the end of the twentieth century.{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Raymond E. |author-link=Raymond E. Brown |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontone00brow_0/page/267 |title=Introduction to the New Testament |publisher=Anchor Bible |year=1997 |isbn=0-385-24767-2 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontone00brow_0/page/267 267–8]}} The gospels were composed c.65-110 AD.{{sfn|Valantasis|Bleyle|Haugh|2009|p=19}} The majority of New Testament scholars also agree that the Gospels do not contain direct eyewitness accounts, though this may partly be the result of dubious assumptions based on form criticism.{{sfn|Eve|2014|p=135}}{{refn|group=note|Eve:To be sure the majority view of New Testament scholarship is that the Gospels do not contain eyewitness accounts, but this may in part be due to a habit of thought arising from the long dominance of form-critical assumptions, which the previous chapters of this book have shown to be suspect.}} The gospels thus present the theologies of their communities rather than the testimony of eyewitnesses.{{sfn|Bellinzoni|2016|p=336}}{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|p=97}} Nevertheless, they preserve sources that go back to Jesus and his contemporaries,{{sfn|Reddish|2011|pp=21-22}}{{sfn|Sanders|1995|pp=4-5}}{{cite book |last=Nolan |first=Albert |author-link=Albert Nolan |year=2001 |title=Jesus Before Christianity |publisher= Orbis books |page=13 |isbn=9781626984929}} and the Synoptic writers thought that they were reconfiguring memories of Jesus rather than creating theological stories,{{cite book |last= Allison |first= Dale |author-link= Dale Allison |year= 2010 |title= Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History |publisher= Baker Academic |page= 459 |isbn= 978-0801035852}}{{refn|group=note|Allison: "Despite the required hesitation, my inference, after taking everything into account, remains conventional: our Synoptic writers thought that they were reconfiguring memories of Jesus, not inventing theological tales. Such a supposition, however, does nothing to clarify whether or not the evangelists were right about the mnemonic nature of their traditions."}}, "draw[ing] on direct memories of the first generation of Jesus' disciples."{{cite book|last= Dunn |first= James |author-link= James DG Dunn|year= 2017 |title= Who Was Jesus? (Little Books of Guidance) |publisher= Church Publishing |page= 4 |isbn= 978-0898692488}}

{{Main|Synoptic Gospels|Source criticism (biblical studies)}}

File:Relationship between synoptic gospels-en.svg

Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the synoptic gospels because they share many stories (the technical term is pericopes), sometimes even identical wording; finding an explanation for their similarities, and also their differences, is known as the synoptic problem,{{sfn|Puskas|Robbins|2011|pp=86, 89}} and most scholars believe that the best solution to the problem is that Mark was the first gospel to be written and served as the source for the other two, {{sfn|Reddish|2011|pp=27, 29}} though alternative theories are growing in popularity among scholars.{{Cite book |last=Runesson |first=Anders |title=Jesus, New Testament, Christian Origins |date=2021 |publisher=Eerdmans |isbn=9780802868923}}{{Cite book |title=The Synoptic Problem 2022: Proceedings of the Loyola University Conference |publisher=Peeters Pub and Booksellers |year=2023 |isbn=9789042950344}} {{sfn|Reid|1996|p=18}} Since the third quest for the historical Jesus, the four gospels and noncanonical texts have been viewed with more confidence as sources to reconstruct the life of Jesus compared to the previous quests.{{cite book |title=The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415880886 |page=283|chapter=Historical Criticism}}

Matthew and Luke also share a large amount of material which is not found in Mark; this appears in the same order in each, although not always in the same contexts, leading scholars to the conclusion that in addition to Mark they also shared a lost source called the Q document (from "Quelle", the German word for "source);{{sfn|Reid|1996|p=18}} its existence and use alongside Mark by the authors of Matthew and Luke seems the most convincing solution to the synoptic problem.{{sfn|Tiwald|2020|pp=13–14}}

Matthew and Luke contain some material unique to each, called the M source (or Special Matthew) for Matthew and the L source (Special Luke) for Luke.{{sfn|Reid|1996|p=18}} This includes some of the best-known stories in the gospels, such as the birth of Christ and the Parable of the Good Samaritan (unique to Luke){{sfn|Meier|2016|p=200}} and the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price (unique to Matthew).{{sfn|Isaak|2011|p=108}}

The Hebrew scriptures were also an important source for all three, and for John.{{sfn|Valantasis|Bleyle|Haugh|2009|p=14}} Direct quotations number 27 in Mark, 54 in Matthew, 24 in Luke, and 14 in John, and the influence of the scriptures is vastly increased when allusions and echoes are included.{{sfn|Yu Chui Siang Lau|2010|p=159}} Half of Mark's gospel, for example, is made up of allusions to and citations of the scriptures, which he uses to structure his narrative and to present his understanding of the ministry, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus (for example, the final cry from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" is an exact quotation from Psalm 22:1{{sfn|Valantasis|Bleyle|Haugh|2009|pp=82–83}}). Matthew contains all Mark's quotations and introduces around 30 more, sometimes in the mouth of Jesus, sometimes as his own commentary on the narrative,{{sfn|Moyise|2011|p=33}} and Luke makes allusions to all but three of the Old Testament books.{{sfn|Kimball|1994|p=48}}

Tradition holds that the gospel was written by Mark the Evangelist, St. Peter's interpreter, but its reliance on several underlying sources, varying in form and in theology, makes this unlikely.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=24–27}} Most scholars believe it was written shortly before or after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple in the year 70,{{sfn|Reddish|2011|p=74}} and internal evidence suggests that it probably originated in Syria among a Christian community consisting at least partly of non-Jews who spoke Greek rather than Aramaic and did not understand Jewish culture.{{sfn|Schroter|2010|pp=273–274}}

Scholars since the 19th century have regarded Mark as the first of the gospels (called the theory of Marcan priority). Marcan priority led to the belief that Mark must be the most reliable of the gospels, but today there is a large consensus that the author of Mark was not intending to write history.{{sfn|Williamson|1983|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=SEDB-Rg9mBoC&pg=PA17 17–18]}} Mark preserves memories of real people (including the disciples), places and circumstances, but it is based on previously existing traditions which have been selected and arranged by the author to express his understanding of the significance of Jesus.{{sfn|Schroter|2010|pp=273–274}}

In 1901 William Wrede demonstrated that Mark was not a simple historical account of the life of Jesus but a work of theology compiled by an author who was a creative artist.{{sfn|Strickland|Young|2017|p=3}} Among the works that the author of Mark may have drawn from are the Elijah-Elisha narrative in the Book of Kings, the Pauline letters, notably 1 Corinthians, as well as the works of Homer.{{sfn|Nelligan|2015|p=xivxv}} According to Adam Winn, Mark is a counter-narrative to the myth of Imperial rule crafted by Vespasian.{{sfn|Winn|2018|p=45}}

Advancing a minority view among scholars, Maurice Casey argued that Mark's gospel contains traces of literal translations of Aramaic sources, and that this implies, in some cases, a {{Lang|de|Sitz im Leben}} in the lifetime of Jesus and a very early date for the gospel.{{sfn|Casey|1999|pp=86, 136}}

The consensus of scholars dates Matthew and Luke to 80-90 AD.{{sfn|Reddish|2011|p=144}}Matthew and Luke both use Mark, composed around 70, as a source, and both show a knowledge of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 (Matthew 22:1-10 and Luke 19:43 and 21:20). These provide an earliest possible date for both gospels; for end-dates, the epistles of Ignatius of Antioch show a familiarity with the gospel of Matthew, and as Ignatius died during the reign of the Emperor Trajan (r.98-117), Matthew cannot have been written later than this; and Acts, which scholars agree was written by the author of Luke, shows no awareness of the letters of Paul, which were circulating widely by the end of the 1st century. See Sim (2008), pages 15-16, and Reddish (2011), pages 144-145. The scholarly consensus is that Matthew originated in a "Matthean community" in the city of Antioch, located in modern-day Turkey;{{sfn|Sim|2008|pp=15–16}} Luke was written in a large city west of Judaea,{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=32}} for an educated Greek-speaking audience.{{sfn|Green|1995|pp=16–17}}

Scholars doubt that the authors were the apostles Matthew and Luke: it seems unlikely, for example, that Matthew would rely so heavily on Mark if its author had been an eyewitness to Jesus's ministry,{{sfn|Burkett|2019|p=177}} or that the Acts of Apostles (by the same author as the gospel of Luke) would so frequently contradict the Pauline letters if its author had been Paul's companion,{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=32}}{{sfn|Ehrman|2005|pp=172, 235}} though most scholars still believe the author of Luke-Acts met Paul.{{cite book |last= Keener |first= Craig |author-link=Craig Keener |year=2015 |title=Acts: An Exegetical Commentary (Volume 1) |publisher= Baker Academic |page=402 |isbn=978-0801039898}} Instead, the two took for their sources the gospel of Mark (606 of Matthew's verses are taken from Mark, 320 of Luke's),{{sfn|Augsburger|2004|p=unpaginated}} the Q source, and the "special" material of M and L.

Mark has 661 verses, 637 of which are reproduced in Matthew and/or Luke.{{sfn|Augsburger|2004|p=unpaginated}} Matthew and Luke share a further 200 verses (roughly) which are not taken from Mark: this is called the Q source.{{sfn|Augsburger|2004|p=unpaginated}}The existence of the Q source is a hypothesis linked to the most popular explanation of the synoptic problem; other explanations of that problem do away with the need for Q, but are less widely accepted. See Delbert Burkett, "Rethinking the Gospel Sources: The unity or plurality of Q" (Volume 2), page 1. Q is usually dated about a decade earlier than Mark;{{sfn|Moyise|2011|p=87}} some scholars argue that it was a single written document, others for multiple documents, and others that there was a core written Q accompanied by an oral tradition.{{sfn|Burkett|2009|p=33ff}} Despite ongoing debate over its exact content - some Q materials in Matthew and Luke are identical word for word, but others are substantially different - there is general consensus about the passages that belong to it.{{sfn|Gillman|2007|p=1112}} It has no passion story and no resurrection, but the Aramaic form of some sayings suggests that its nucleus reaches back to the earliest Palestinian community and even the lifetime of Jesus.{{sfn|Strecker|2012|pp=312–313}}

Identifying the community of Q and the circumstances in which it was created and used is difficult, but it probably originated in Galilee, in a movement in opposition to the leadership in Jerusalem, as a set of short speeches relating to specific occasions such as covenant-renewal, the commissioning of missionaries, prayers for the Kingdom of God, and calling down divine judgement on their enemies, the Pharisees.{{sfn|Burkett|2009|p=46}} A large majority of scholars consider it to be among the oldest and most reliable material in the gospels.{{sfn|Powell|1998|p=38}}

The premise that Matthew and Luke used sources in addition to Mark and Q is fairly widely accepted, although many details are disputed, including whether they were written or oral, or the invention of the gospel authors, or Q material that happened to be used by only one gospel, or a combination of these.{{sfn|Jones|2011|pp=10, 17}}

The Gospel of John is a relatively late theological document containing little accurate historical information that is not found in the three synoptic gospels, which is why most historical studies have been based on the earliest sources Mark and Q.{{sfn|Casey|2010|p=27}} Nonetheless, since the third quest, John's gospel is seen as having more reliability than previously thought or sometimes even more reliable than the synoptics.{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=W. D. |last2=Sanders |first2=E.P. |editor1-last=Horbury |editor1-first=William |editor2-last=Davies |editor2-first=W.D. |editor3-last=Sturdy |editor3-first=John |title=The Cambridge History of Judaism. Volume 3: The Early Roman period |date=2008 |publisher=Cambridge Univiversity Press |isbn=9780521243773 |page=620 |chapter=20. Jesus: From the Jewish Point of View}}{{cite book |title=The Jesus Handbook |date=2022 |publisher=William. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company |isbn=9780802876928 |pages=138–140}}{{cite book |last1=Blomberg |first1=Craig |title=The Historical Reliability of John's Gospel: Issues and Commentary |date=2011 |publisher=IVP Academic |isbn=978-0830838714}} It speaks of an unnamed "disciple whom Jesus loved" as the source of its traditions, but does not say specifically that he is its author except in John 21, which is widely regarded as a later addition, though a growing minority view it as part of the earliest text.{{sfn|Burkett|2019|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=w1N-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA218 218]}} {{Cite book |last=Keith |first=Chris |title=The Gospel as Manuscript: An Early History of the Jesus Tradition as Material Artifact |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0199384372 |pages=132, 155}} Christian tradition identifies him as John the Apostle, but the majority of modern scholars have abandoned this or hold it only tenuously.{{sfn|Lindars|Edwards|Court|2000|p=41}}For the circumstances which led to the tradition, and the reasons why the majority of modern scholars reject it, see {{harvnb|Lindars|Edwards|Court|2000|pp=41–42}} Most scholars believe it was written c. 90–110 AD,{{sfn|Lincoln|2005|p=18}} at Ephesus in Anatolia (although other possibilities are Antioch, Northern Syria, Judea and Alexandria){{sfn|Aune|2003|p=243}} and went through two or three "edits" before reaching its final form, although a minority continue to support unitary composition.{{sfn|Edwards|2015|p=ix}}{{sfn|Lincoln|2005|p=18}} There has been a decrease in arguing for the existence of hypothetical sources behind the Gospel of John in scholarship.{{cite book |last= Keith |first= Chris |year= 2020 |title= The Gospel as Manuscript: An Early History of the Jesus Tradition as Material Artifact |publisher= Oxford University Press |page= 142 |isbn= 978-0199384372}}

The fact that the format of John follows that set by Mark need not imply that the author knew Mark, for there are no identical or almost-identical passages; rather, this was most probably the accepted shape for a gospel by the time John was written.{{sfn|Dunn|2011|p=73}} Nevertheless, John's discourses are full of synoptic-like material: some scholars think this indicates that the author knew the synoptics, although others believe it points instead to a shared base in the oral tradition.{{sfn|Dunn|2011|pp=76–77}} John nevertheless differs radically from them:{{sfn|Burkett|2019|p=218}}{{sfn|Dunn|2011|pp=72–73}}

File:Byzantinischer Maler um 1020 003.jpg

{{Main|Textual variants in the New Testament}}

{{See also| List of Bible verses not included in modern translations}}

Textual criticism resolves questions arising from the variations between texts: put another way, it seeks to decide the most reliable wording of a text.{{sfn|Wegner|2006|pp=23–24}} Ancient scribes made errors or alterations (such as including non-authentic additions).{{sfn|Ehrman|2005b|p=46}} In attempting to determine the original text of the New Testament books, some modern textual critics have identified sections as additions of material, centuries after the gospel was written. These are called interpolations. In modern translations of the Bible, the results of textual criticism have led to certain verses, words and phrases being left out or marked as not original.

For example, there are a number of Bible verses in the New Testament that are present in the King James Version (KJV) but are absent from most modern Bible translations. Most modern textual scholars consider these verses interpolations (exceptions include advocates of the Byzantine or Majority text). The verse numbers have been reserved, but without any text, so as to preserve the traditional numbering of the remaining verses. The biblical scholar Bart D. Ehrman notes that many current verses were not part of the original text of the New Testament. "These scribal additions are often found in late medieval manuscripts of the New Testament, but not in the manuscripts of the earlier centuries," he adds. "And because the King James Bible is based on later manuscripts, such verses "became part of the Bible tradition in English-speaking lands."{{sfn|Ehrman|2005b|p=265}} He notes, however, that modern English translations, such as the New International Version, were written by using a more appropriate textual method.{{sfn|Ehrman|2005b|loc=ch. 3}}

Most modern Bibles have footnotes to indicate passages that have disputed source documents. Bible Commentaries also discuss these, sometimes in great detail. While many variations have been discovered between early copies of biblical texts, most of these are variations in spelling, punctuation, or grammar. Also, many of these variants are so particular to the Greek language that they would not appear in translations into other languages.Strobel, Lee. "The Case for Christ". 1998. Chapter three, when quoting biblical scholar Bruce Metzger Three of the most important interpolations are the last verses of the Gospel of MarkGuy D. Nave, The role and function of repentance in Luke-Acts,p. 194John Shelby Spong, "The Continuing Christian Need for Judaism", Christian Century September 26, 1979, p. 918. see {{cite web |url=http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1256 |title=The Continuing Christian Need for Judaism |access-date=2010-10-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615090018/http://religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1256 |archive-date=2010-06-15}}Feminist companion to the New Testament and early Christian writings, Volume 5, by Amy-Jill Levine, Marianne Blickenstaff, pg. 175 the story of the adulterous woman in the Gospel of John,{{cite web | title = NETBible: John 7 | publisher = Bible.org | url = http://net.bible.org/bible.php?book=Joh&chapter=7#n139 | access-date = 2009-10-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070228091803/http://net.bible.org/bible.php?book=Joh&chapter=7#n139 | archive-date = 2007-02-28 | url-status = live }} See note 139 on that page.{{cite journal | last = Keith | first = Chris | title = Recent and Previous Research on the Pericope Adulterae (John 7.53–8.11) | journal = Currents in Biblical Research | volume = 6 | issue = 3 | pages = 377–404 | year = 2008 | doi = 10.1177/1476993X07084793| s2cid = 145385075 }}{{harvnb|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc="Pericope adulterae"}}. and the explicit reference to the Trinity in 1 John to have been a later addition.{{sfn|Ehrman|2005b|p=166}}Bruce Metzger "A Textual Commentary on the New Testament", Second Edition, 1994, German Bible Society

The New Testament has been preserved in more than 5,800 fragmentary Greek manuscripts, 10,000 Latin manuscripts and 9,300 manuscripts in various other ancient languages including Syriac, Slavic, Ethiopic and Armenian. Not all biblical manuscripts come from orthodox Christian writers. For example, the Gnostic writings of Valentinus come from the 2nd century AD, and these Christians were regarded as heretics by the mainstream church.Bruce, F.F. (1981). P 14. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?. InterVarsity Press The sheer number of witnesses presents unique difficulties, although it gives scholars a better idea of how close modern bibles are to the original versions. Bruce Metzger says "The more often you have copies that agree with each other, especially if they emerge from different geographical areas, the more you can cross-check them to figure out what the original document was like. The only way they'd agree would be where they went back genealogically in a family tree that represents the descent of the manuscripts."

In "The Text Of The New Testament", Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland compare the total number of variant-free verses, and the number of variants per page (excluding spelling errors), among the seven major editions of the Greek NT (Tischendorf, Westcott-Hort, von Soden, Vogels, Merk, Bover and Nestle-Aland), concluding that 62.9%, or 4,999/7,947, are in agreement.K. Aland and B. Aland, "The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions & to the Theory & Practice of Modern Textual Criticism", 1995, op. cit., p. 29-30. They concluded, "Thus in nearly two-thirds of the New Testament text, the seven editions of the Greek New Testament which we have reviewed are in complete accord, with no differences other than in orthographical details (e.g., the spelling of names). Verses in which any one of the seven editions differs by a single word are not counted. ... In the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation the agreement is less, while in the letters it is much greater" Per Aland and Aland, the total consistency achieved in the Gospel of Matthew was 60% (642 verses out of 1,071), the total consistency achieved in the Gospel of Mark was 45% (306 verses out of 678), the total consistency achieved in the Gospel of Luke was 57% (658 verses out of 1,151), and the total consistency achieved in the Gospel of John was 52% (450 verses out of 869). Almost all of these variants are minor, and most of them are spelling or grammatical errors. Almost all can be explained by some type of unintentional scribal mistake, such as poor eyesight. Very few variants are contested among scholars, and few or none of the contested variants carry any theological significance. Modern biblical translations reflect this scholarly consensus where the variants exist, while the disputed variants are typically noted as such in the translations.{{sfn|Ehrman|2005b|loc=ch. 3}}

A quantitative study on the stability of the New Testament compared early manuscripts to later manuscripts, up to the Middle Ages, with the Byzantine manuscripts, and concluded that the text had more than 90% stability over this time period.{{cite book|last1=Heide|first1=K. Martin|editor1-last=Stewart|editor1-first=Robert B.|title=Bart D. Ehrman & Daniel B. Wallace in Dialogue: The Reliability of the New Testament|date=2011|publisher=Fortress Press|isbn=9780800697730|pages=134–138, 157–158|chapter=Assessing the Stability of the Transmitted Texts of the New Testament and the Shepherd of Hermas}} It has been estimated that only 0.1% to 0.2% of the New Testament variants impact the meaning of the texts in any significant fashion.

{{further|Internal consistency of the Bible}}

Authors such as Raymond Brown point out that the Gospels contradict each other in various important respects and on various important details.{{Cite book | last=Brown | first=Raymond Edward | author-link=Raymond E. Brown | title=The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library) | url=https://archive.org/details/birthmessiahcomm00brow | url-access=limited | date=1999-05-18 | publisher=Yale University Press| isbn=978-0-300-14008-8 | page=[https://archive.org/details/birthmessiahcomm00brow/page/n36 36]}} W. D. Davies and E. P. Sanders state that: "on many points, especially about Jesus' early life, the evangelists were ignorant … they simply did not know and, guided by rumour, hope or supposition, did the best they could".W.D Davies and E. P. Sanders, 'Jesus from the Jewish point of view', in The Cambridge History of Judaism ed William Horbury, vol 3: the Early Roman Period, 1984.

The gospel of John begins with a statement that the Logos existed from the beginning, and was God.{{Why|date=February 2024|reason=It's unclear why the opening of John's gospel is an example of contradiction, as there is no critical commentary or sourcing.}}

The genealogy, birth and childhood of Jesus appear only in Matthew and Luke, and are ascribed to Special Matthew and Special Luke.

Only Luke and Matthew have nativity narratives. Modern critical scholars consider both to be non-historical.{{Cite book | last=Vermes | first=Géza | author-link=Géza Vermes | title=The Nativity: History and Legend | date=2006-11-02 | publisher=Penguin Books Ltd | isbn=978-0-14-102446-2 | page=64}}{{harvnb|Sanders|1995|pp=85–88}}.Marcus Borg, 'The Meaning of the Birth Stories' in Marcus Borg, N T Wright, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions (Harper One, 1999) page 179: "I (and most mainline scholars) do not see these stories as historically factual." Many biblical scholars view the discussion of historicity as secondary, given that gospels were primarily written as theological documents rather than historical accounts.Interpreting Gospel Narratives: Scenes, People, and Theology by Timothy Wiarda 2010 {{ISBN|0-8054-4843-8}} pp. 75–78Jesus, the Christ: Contemporary Perspectives by Brennan R. Hill 2004 {{ISBN|1-58595-303-2}} p. 89The Gospel of Luke by Timothy Johnson 1992 {{ISBN|0-8146-5805-9}} p. 72Recovering Jesus: the witness of the New Testament Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld 2007 {{ISBN|1-58743-202-1}} p. 111

The nativity narratives found in the Gospel of Matthew ({{bibleverse|Matthew|1:1–17|NASB}}) and the Gospel of Luke ({{bibleverse|Luke|3:23–38|NASB}}) give a genealogy of Jesus, but the names, and even the number of generations, differ between the two. Some authors have suggested that the differences are the result of two different lineages, Matthew's from King David's son, Solomon, to Jacob, father of Joseph, and Luke's from King David's other son, Nathan, to Heli, father of Mary and father-in-law of Joseph.Warren, Tony. [http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/faq/birth2.html "Is there a Contradiction in the Genealogies of Luke and Matthew?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114001045/http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/faq/birth2.html |date=2012-11-14 }} Created 2/2/95 / Last Modified 1/24/00. Accessed 4 May 2008. However, Geza Vermes argues that Luke makes no mention of Mary, and questions what purpose a maternal genealogy would serve in a Jewish setting.Geza Vermes, The Nativity: History and Legend, (Penguin, 2006), page 42.

{{see also|Date of birth of Jesus of Nazareth }}

Both Luke and Matthew date Jesus' birth to within the rule of King Herod the Great, who died in 4BC.{{cite book |last1=Blackburn |first1=Bonnie |author-link1=Bonnie J. Blackburn |first2=Leofranc |last2=Holford-Strevens |author-link2=Leofranc Holford-Strevens |title=The Oxford companion to the Year: An exploration of calendar customs and time-reckoning |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-214231-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00blac/page/770 770] |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00blac/page/770 }} However, the Gospel of Luke also dates the birth ten years after Herod's death, during the census of Quirinius in 6 AD described by the historian Josephus.Encyclopedia of theology: a concise Sacramentum mundi by Karl Rahner 2004 {{ISBN|0-86012-006-6}} p. 731 Raymond E. Brown notes that "most critical scholars acknowledge a confusion and misdating on Luke's part."Raymond E. Brown, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Co8Mh-GliPIC An Adult Christ at Christmas: Essays on the Three Biblical Christmas Stories] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821232211/https://books.google.com/books?id=Co8Mh-GliPIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0 |date=2016-08-21 }}, (Liturgical Press, 1988), p. 17.

According to John P. Meier, only a few of the parables can be attributed with confidence to the historical Jesus, although other scholars disagree.{{sfn|Meier|2016|p=366}} Meier argues that most of them come from the M and L sources (rather than Mark or Q), but marked by the special language and theology of each of those gospels; this leads to the conclusion that they are not the original words of Jesus, but have been reworked by the gospel-authors.{{sfn|Meier|2016|p=369-370}}

The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem recalls the entry of Judas Maccabeus; the Last Supper is mentioned only in the synoptics.{{sfn|Smith|2010|p=440}}

There is a contradiction regarding the death of Judas Iscariot with the account of his death in Acts differing from the one given in Matthew.Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, p.114. In Matthew 27:3–8, Judas returns the bribe he has been given for handing over Jesus, throwing the money into the temple before he hangs himself. The temple priests, unwilling to return the defiled money to the treasury,Alfred Edersheim [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/lifetimes.x.xiv.html Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 5.xiv] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052813/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/lifetimes.x.xiv.html |date=2017-12-22 }}, 1883. use it instead to buy a field known as the Potter's Field, as a plot in which to bury strangers. In Acts 1:18 Peter says that Judas used the bribe money to buy the field himself, and his death is attributed to injuries from having fallen in this field. Some apologists argue that the contradictory stories can be reconciled.[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/lifetimes.x.xiv.html Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 5.xiv] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052813/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/lifetimes.x.xiv.html |date=2017-12-22 }}, 1883.Inter-Varsity Press New Bible Commentary 21st Century edition p1071

File:Hombre de Giv'at ha-Mivtar..jpg, 1st-century CE crucifixion victim from Givat HaMivtar in Jerusalem, with a nail still lodged inside the heel bone]]

{{Main|Biblical archaeology}}

Archaeological tools are very limited with respect to questions of existence of any specific individuals from the ancient past.{{cite book|last1=Cline|first1=Eric H.|title=Biblical Archaeology : A Very Short Introduction|date=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0195342635}} According to Eric Cline, there is no direct archaeological evidence of the existence of a historical Jesus, any of the apostles, or the majority of people in antiquity. Bart Ehrman states that having no archeological evidence is not an argument for the non-existence of Jesus because we have no archaeological evidence from anyone else from Jesus's day either.{{harvnb|Ehrman|2013|p=42}}: "This is not much of an argument against his existence, however, since there is no archaeological evidence for anyone else living in Palestine in Jesus's day except for the very upper-crust elite aristocrats, who are occasionally mentioned in inscriptions (we have no other archaeological evidence even for any of these). In fact, we don't have archaeological remains for any non-aristocratic Jew of the 20s CE, when Jesus would have been an adult." Craig Evans notes that archaeologists have some indirect information on how Jesus' life might have been from archaeological finds from Nazareth, the High Priest Caiaphas' ossuary, numerous synagogue buildings, and Jehohanan, a crucified victim who had a Jewish burial after execution.{{cite web|last1=Evans|first1=Craig|title=The Archaeological Evidence For Jesus|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-a-evans/archaeological-evidence-for-jesus_b_1370995.html|publisher=Huffington Post|date=2012-03-26|access-date=2015-03-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320122803/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-a-evans/archaeological-evidence-for-jesus_b_1370995.html|archive-date=2015-03-20|url-status=live}} Archeological findings from Nazareth refute claims by mythicists that Nazareth did not exist in the 1st century and also give credibility to brief passages in the Gospels on Jesus' time in Nazareth, his father's trade, and connection to places in Judea.{{cite book |last1=Dark |first1=Ken |title=Archaeology of Jesus' Nazareth |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780192865397 |pages=159–160}} Archaeologists have uncovered a site in Capernaum which is traditionally believed, with "no definitive proof" and based only upon circumstantial evidence, to have been the House of Peter, and which may thus possibly have housed Jesus.{{cite web|title=The House of Peter: The Home of Jesus in Capernaum?|url=http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/the-house-of-peter-the-home-of-jesus-in-capernaum/|publisher=Biblical Archaeology Society|date=2018-04-22|access-date=2015-03-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324131639/http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/the-house-of-peter-the-home-of-jesus-in-capernaum/|archive-date=2015-03-24|url-status=live}} Some of the places mentioned in the gospels have been verified by archaeological evidence, such as the Pool of Bethesda,James H. Charlesworth, Jesus and archaeology, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2006. p 566 the Pool of Siloam, and the Temple Mount platform extension by King Herod. A mosaic from a third century church in Megiddo mentions Jesus. A geological study based on sediments near the Dead Sea indicate that an earthquake occurred around 31 AD ± 5 years, which plausibly coincides with the earthquake reported by Matthew 27 near the time of the crucifixion of Christ.{{cite web |title=Is Jesus' Crucifixion Reflected in Soil Deposition? |url=https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/crucifixion/jesus-crucifixion-reflected-in-soil-deposition/ |publisher=Biblical Archaeology Society |date=June 4, 2012}}{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=Jefferson B. |last2=Schwab |first2=Markus J. |last3=Brauer |first3=A. |title=An early first-century earthquake in the Dead Sea |journal=International Geology Review |date=23 December 2011 |volume=54 |issue=10 |pages=1219–1228 |doi=10.1080/00206814.2011.639996|s2cid=129604597 }} A statistical study of name frequency in the Gospels and Acts corresponded well with a population name distribution database from 330 BC - 200 AD and the works of Josephus, but did not fit well with ancient fictional works.{{cite journal |last1=Weghe |first1=Luuk van de |last2=Wilson |first2=Jason |title=Why Name Popularity is a Good Test of Historicity: A Goodness-of-Fit Test Analysis on Names in the Gospels and Acts |journal=Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus |date=2024 |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=184–214|doi=10.1163/17455197-bja10035 |arxiv=2403.14883 }}

{{Wikiquote}}

• {{annotated link|Authority (textual criticism)|Authority}}
• {{annotated link|Bible version debate}}
• {{annotated link|Biblical manuscript}}
• {{annotated link|Christ myth theory}}
• {{annotated link|Criticism of the Bible}}
• {{annotated link|Development of the New Testament canon}}
• {{annotated link|Gospel harmony}}
• {{annotated link|Jesus in comparative mythology}}
• {{annotated link|Jesus Seminar}}
• {{annotated link|Life of Jesus}}
• {{annotated link|Scholarly interpretation of Gospel elements}}

{{reflist |group="note"}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{refbegin|30em}}

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• {{Cite book

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• {{Cite book

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|edition = 2nd

}}

• {{Cite book

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|publisher = B&H Publishing

|year = 2009

|isbn = 978-0-8054-4482-7

}}

• {{Cite book

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|first = Delbert

|title = Rethinking the Gospel Sources: The unity or plurality of Q, Volume 2

|publisher = Society of Biblical Literature

|year = 2009

|isbn = 978-1-58983-412-5

}}

• {{Cite book

|last = Burkett

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|title = An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity

|publisher = Cambridge University Press

|year = 2019

|isbn = 978-1-107-17278-4

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• {{cite book |last1=Burridge |first1=Richard A. |last2=Gould |first2=Graham |year=2004 |title=Jesus Now and Then |publisher=William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-8028-0977-3}}
• {{Cite book

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• {{Cite book

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• {{Cite book

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|publisher = Oxford University Press

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• {{cite book |title=Jesus Remembered |first=James D. G. |last=Dunn |year=2003 |publisher=Eerdmans Publishing Company |isbn=0-8028-3931-2}}
• {{Cite book

|last = Dunn

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|title = Jesus, Paul, and the Gospels

|publisher = Eerdmans

|year = 2011

|isbn = 978-0-8028-6645-5

}}

• {{cite book |last = Dunn |first = James D. G. |title = The Oral Gospel Tradition |year = 2013 |publisher = Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company |isbn = 978-0-8028-6782-7 }}
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|publisher = Eerdmans

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|title = Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew

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|isbn = 978-0-19-518249-1

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• {{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |title=Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2005b |isbn=978-0-06-073817-4}}
• {{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |year=2011 |title=Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-207863-6}}
• {{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart |year=2013 |title=Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth |publisher=HarperOne |isbn=978-0-06-220644-2}}
• {{cite book |last1=Ehrman |first1=Bart D. |last2=Evans |first2=Craig A. |last3=Stewart |first3=Robert B. |title=Can we trust the Bible on the Historical Jesus? |date=2020 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-26585-4 }}
• {{cite journal |first=Craig |last=Evans |title=Life-of-Jesus Research and the Eclipse of Mythology |journal=Theological Studies |volume=54 |year=1993|pages=3–36 |doi=10.1177/004056399305400102 }}
• {{Cite book

|last = Eve

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|publisher = Fortress Press

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|last = Gillman

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|editor1-last = Espín

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|title = An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies

|publisher = Liturgical Press

|year = 2007

|isbn = 978-0-300-08457-3

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• {{cite book |last=Grant |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Grant (author) |year=2004 |title=Jesus |publisher=Orion |isbn=978-1-898799-88-7}}
• {{Cite book |last=Grant |first=Robert M. |chapter=Chapter 10: The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts |title=A Historical Introduction to the New Testament |publisher=Harper and Row |year=1963 |chapter-url=http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1116&C=1230 |via=Religion-Online.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621102923/http://religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1116&C=1230 |archive-date=21 June 2010 |df=dmy-all}}
• {{Cite book

|last = Green

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|title = The Theology of the Gospel of Luke

|publisher = Cambridge University Press

|year = 1995

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• {{Cite book

|last = Isaak

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• {{Cite book

|last1 = Jones

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|title = Matthean and Lukan Special Material

|publisher = Wipf and Stock

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• {{Cite book

|last1 = Kimball

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|title = Jesus' Exposition of the Old Testament in Luke's Gospel

|publisher = Bloomsbury

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}}

• {{cite book |last=Leiva-Merikakis |first=E. |year=1996 |title=Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word: Chapters 12-18 |volume=2 |publisher=Ignatius Press |isbn=978-0-89870-976-6}}
• {{Cite book

|last = Lincoln

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|title = The Gospel According to St John

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• {{Cite book

|last = Martens

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|chapter = Salvation Today: Reading Luke's Message for a Gentile Audience

|editor1-last = Porter

|editor1-first = Stanley E.

|title = Reading the Gospels Today

|publisher = Eerdmans

|year = 2004

|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OsPYJZCToq4C&pg=PA100

|isbn = 978-0-8028-0517-1

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• {{Cite book

|last1 = Meier

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|title = A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Volume V: Probing the Authenticity of the Parables

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• {{Cite book

|last1 = Moyise

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• {{Cite book

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|title = The Quest for Mark's Sources: An Exploration of the Case for Mark's Use of First Corinthians

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• {{Cite book

|last = Powell

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• {{Cite book

|last1 = Puskas

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|last2 = Robbins

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• {{Cite book

|last = Reddish

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|title = An Introduction to The Gospels

|year = 2011

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• {{Cite book

|last = Reid

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|title = Choosing the Better Part?: Women in the Gospel of Luke

|publisher = Liturgical Press

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• {{Cite book

|last1 = Sanders

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|title = The Historical Figure of Jesus

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• {{Cite book

|last = Schroter

|first = Jens

|chapter = The Gospel of Mark

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|year = 2010

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• {{Cite book

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|chapter = Reconstructing the Social and Religious Milieu of Matthew

|editor1-last = Van de Sandt

|editor1-first = Huub

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|editor2-first = Jurgen K.

|title = Matthew, James, and Didache

|publisher = Society of Biblical Literature

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• {{Cite book

|last = Smith

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|editor1-last = Harding

|editor1-first = Mark

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|title = The Content and the Setting of the Gospel Tradition

|publisher = Eerdmans

|pages = 437–455

|year = 2010

|isbn = 978-0-8028-3318-1

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• {{Cite book

|last1 = Strecker

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|title = Theology of the New Testament

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|last2 = Young

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|title = The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide

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• {{Cite book |last=Tuckett |first=Christopher |title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2000 |isbn=978-90-5356-503-2 |editor-last=Freedman |editor-first=David Noel |chapter=Gospel, Gospels |editor-last2=Myers |editor-first2=Allen C.}}
• {{Cite book

|last1 = Valantasis

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|last2 = Bleyle

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|last3 = Haugh

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• {{Cite book

|last = Vermes

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|title = The Authentic Gospel of Jesus

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• {{Cite book

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• {{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Peter J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9e2EDwAAQBAJ |title=Can We Trust the Gospels? |date=2018-12-10 |publisher=Crossway |isbn=978-1-4335-5298-4 |language=en}}
• {{Cite book

|last = Williamson

|first = Lamar

|title = Mark

|publisher = Westminster John Knox Press

|year = 1983

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• {{Cite book

|last = Winn

|first = Adam

|title = Reading Mark's Christology Under Caesar: Jesus the Messiah and Roman Imperial Ideology

|publisher = InterVarsity Press

|year = 2018

|isbn = 978-0-8308-8562-6

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• {{Cite book

|last = Yu Chui Siang Lau

|first = Theresa

|chapter = The Gospels and the Old Testament

|editor1-last = Harding

|editor1-first = Mark

|editor2-last = Nobbs

|editor2-first = Alanna

|title = The Content and the Setting of the Gospel Tradition

|publisher = Eerdmans

|year = 2010

|isbn = 978-0-8028-3318-1

}}

{{refend}}

{{further reading cleanup|date=April 2024}}

{{refbegin|30em}}

• {{Cite book |last=Barnett |first=Paul W. |title=Jesus and the Logic of History |series=New Studies in Biblical Theology |volume=3 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-385-49449-6 |location=Downers Grove, Illinois |author-link=Paul W. Barnett |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book |last=Barnett |first=Paul W. |title=Is the New Testament History? |publisher=Servant Publications |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-89283-381-8 |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last = Bird

|first = Michael F.

|title = The Gospel of the Lord: How the Early Church Wrote the Story of Jesus

|publisher = Eerdmans

|year = 2014

|isbn = 978-1-4674-4031-8

}}

• {{cite book |author-link=Darrell Bock |last=Bock |first=Darrell L. |title=Studying the Historical Jesus: A Guide to Sources and Methods |publisher=Baker Academic |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8010-2451-1 |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Raymond E. |url=https://archive.org/details/deathofmessiahvo00raym |url-access=registration |title=The Death of the Messiah: from Gethsemane to the Grave |publisher=Anchor Bible |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-85111-512-2 |author-link=Raymond E. Brown |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last = Charlesworth

|first = James H.

|title = The Historical Jesus: An Essential Guide

|publisher = Abingdon Press

|year = 2008

|isbn = 978-1-4267-2475-6

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• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last = Ehrman

|first = Bart D.

|title = Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium

|publisher = Oxford University Press

|year = 1999

|isbn = 978-0-19-983943-8

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• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last = Ehrman

|first = Bart D.

|title = Jesus Before the Gospels

|publisher = HarperCollins

|year = 2016

|isbn = 978-0-06-228523-2

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• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last = Eve

|first = Eric

|title = Writing the Gospels: Composition and Memory

|publisher = SPCK

|year = 2016

|isbn = 978-0-281-07341-2

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• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last = Fredriksen

|first = Paula

|title = From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament Images of Jesus

|publisher = Yale University Press

|year = 2000

|isbn = 0-300-08457-9

}}

• {{Cite book |last=Gerhardsson |first=Birger |title=The Reliability of the Gospel Tradition |publisher=Hendrickson |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-56563-667-5 |author-link=Birger Gerhardsson |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book |last=Gregory |first=Andrew |title=Challenging Perspectives on the Gospel of John |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |year=2006 |isbn=978-3-16-149113-9 |editor-last=Lierman |editor-first=John |chapter=The Relationship of John and Luke Reconsidered |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last = Hultgren

|first = Stephen

|title = Narrative Elements in the Double Tradition

|publisher = Walter de Gruyter

|year = 2014

|isbn = 978-3-11-089137-9

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• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last = Keith

|first = Chris

|chapter = The Indebtedness of the Criteria Approach

|editor1-last = Keith

|editor1-first = Chris

|editor2-last = Le Donne

|editor2-first = Anthony

|title = Jesus, Criteria, and the Demise of Authenticity

|publisher = A&C Black

|year = 2012

|isbn = 978-0-567-37723-4

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• {{Cite book

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|last1 = Kloppenborg

|first1 = John S.

|title = Synoptic Problems: Collected Essays

|publisher = Westminster John Knox Press

|year = 2008

|isbn = 978-1-61164-058-8

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• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last1 = Kloppenborg

|first1 = John S.

|title = Q, the Earliest Gospel: An Introduction to the Original Stories and Sayings of Jesus

|publisher = Mohr Siebeck

|year = 2014

|isbn = 978-3-16-152617-6

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• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last1 = Köstenberger

|first1 = Andreas J.

|last2 = Bock

|first2 = Darrell L.

|last3 = Chatraw

|first3 = Josh

|title = Truth in a Culture of Doubt: Engaging Skeptical Challenges to the Bible

|publisher = B&H Publishing

|year = 2014

|isbn = 978-1-4336-8227-8

}}

• Meier, John P., A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Doubleday,

:v. 1, The Roots of the Problem and the Person, 1991, {{ISBN|0-385-26425-9}}

:v. 2, Mentor, Message, and Miracles, 1994, {{ISBN|0-385-46992-6}}

:v. 3, Companions and Competitors, 2001, {{ISBN|0-385-46993-4}}

:v. 4, Law and Love {{ISBN|978-0300140965}}

:v. 5, Probing the Authenticity of the Parables {{ISBN|978-0300211900}}

• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last = Powell

|first = Mark Allan

|title = Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey

|publisher = Baker Academic

|year = 2018

|isbn = 978-1-4934-1313-3

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• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last = Sanders

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|title = The Historical Figure of Jesus

|publisher = Penguin Books

|year = 1996

|isbn = 978-0-14-014499-4

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• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last1 = Schmidt

|first1 = Karl Ludwig

|last2 = Riches

|first2 = John

|title = The Place of the Gospels in the General History of Literature

|publisher = University of South Carolina Press

|year = 2002

|isbn = 978-1-57003-430-5

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• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last = Senior

|first = Donald

|title = What are they saying about Matthew?

|publisher = Paulist Press

|year = 1996

|isbn = 978-0-8091-3624-7

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• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last = Senior

|first = Donald

|chapter = Directions in Matthean Studies

|editor1-last = Aune

|editor1-first= David E.

|title = The Gospel of Matthew in Current Study: Studies in Memory of William G. Thompson, S.J

|year = 2001

|publisher = Eerdmans

|isbn = 978-0-8028-4673-0

}}

• {{Cite book |last=Strauss |first=Mark L. |title=Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels |publisher=Zondervan Academic |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-310-86615-2 |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=Robert L. |title=Three Views on the Origins of the Synoptic Gospels |publisher=Kregel Academic |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8254-9882-4 |editor-last=Thomas |editor-first=Robert L. |chapter=Introduction }}
• {{Cite book |last=Tyson |first=Joseph B. |title=Marcion and Luke-Acts: A Defining Struggle |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-57003-650-7 |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last1 = Van Belle

|first1 = Gilbert

|last2 = Palmer

|first2 = Sydney

|chapter = John's Literary Unity and the Problem of Historicity

|editor1-last = Anderson

|editor1-first = Paul N.

|editor2-last = Just

|editor2-first = Felix

|editor3-last = Thatcher

|editor3-first = Tom

|title = John, Jesus, and History, Volume 1: Critical Appraisals of Critical Views

|publisher = Society of Biblical Literature

|year = 2007

|isbn = 978-1-58983-293-0

}}

• Wright, N.T. Christian Origins and the Question of God, a projected 6 volume series of which 3 have been published under:

:v. 1, The New Testament and the People of God. Augsburg Fortress Publishers: 1992.;

:v. 2, Jesus and the Victory of God. Augsburg Fortress Publishers: 1997.;

:v. 3, The Resurrection of the Son of God. Augsburg Fortress Publishers: 2003.

• {{cite book |last=Wright |first=N. T. |title=The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering who Jesus was and is |publisher=IVP |year=1996 |ref=none}}{{ISBN?}}
• {{Cite book

|ref = none

|last1 = Yamazaki-Ransom

|first1 = Kazuhiko

|title = The Roman Empire in Luke's Narrative

|publisher = A&C Black

|year = 2010

|isbn = 978-0-567-36439-5

}}

{{refend}}

{{Historicity}}

{{The Bible and history}}

{{Jesus footer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Historical Reliability Of The Gospels}}

Category:Canonical Gospels

Gospels