Canonical Gospels

Canonical Gospels

intro here

Jesus of the Canonical Gospels

The Christian Church's recognition of books of the Old Testiment and the New Testiment and of the four gospels- the four "canonical gospels", (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) occurred gradually during the first four centuries. The writings that we have from the second century leaders show that local churches and leaders preferred one or more gospels. Most often quoted were Matthew and Luke. Mark and John were also quoted from as well. The Gospel of Peter was quoted in the church at Rhossos and by their bishop. Irenaeus of Lyons was particularly outspoken, writing in 170 AD, in support of the proposition that there must be four--no more, no less--partly by analogy with the four regions of the world and the "four universial winds." He was the first catholic theologian and he believed that these four gospels were the only gospels written by first century church leaders, apostles. He wrote that they present the direct record of the apostolic record. By the year 200 most church leaders had accepted that only these four Gospels were to be accepted. By Tertullian, the great theologian and writer, who lived from 155-230 AD, the OT and NT were settled execpt for the inclusion of Hebrews and Revelation. (The Formation of the Christian Bible by Hans Von Campenhausen) The popular Christian-inspired image of Jesus is derived mainly from these four, but other apocryphal works have also influenced traditional Christian beliefs, including the Apocalypse of Peter, Protevangelium of James, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, and Acts of Peter. Several Christian traditions (such as Veronica's veil and the Assumption of Mary) are found not in the canonical gospels, but in these and in other apocryphal works.

Geneaology

Matthew 1:1 ff and Luke 3: 23 ff give accounts of Jesus's genealogy which appear contradictory (e.g. Joseph's father is called "Jacob" in Matthew, and "Heli" in Luke), though several theories attempting to harmonize them have been proposed. Matthew traces Jesus's ancestry to Abraham and King David; Luke, to God by way of Adam. Cross-culturally, such geneaologies are often fictitious; and many of the characters listed here appear to be mythical. Although, these gospels affirm that Jesus's true father was God rather than Joseph, they also recount the exact ancestry of Joseph. This might be explained by the importance of a legal relationship (as with adoption), that existed during Jesus' lifetime.

Nativity

The Gospels of Matthew and of Luke contain nativity stories, which are often conflated for popular commemoration. Matthew 2 (perhaps recalling Isaiah 45) has the infant Jesus reverenced by magi (rather than kings), who expected the imminent birth of the Messiah based on the appearance of a "star". Its nature is unclear, as no known celestial phenomenon precisely matches Matthew's description. The number of magi is traditionally assumed to be three, based on the three gifts which they present. In Luke 2, angelic choirs announce the Messiah's birth to shepherds in the fields.

Both Matthew and Luke report that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, although the gospels usually refer to him as a Galilean. Matthew explains that Jesus's parents lived in Bethlehem, but fled to Egypt to escape the Massacre of the Innocents, returning to Nazareth after after the death of Herod the Great. (Matthew's account may recall the stories of Moses and Joseph from the Book of Genesis.) According to Luke, the couple were residents of Nazareth, who were required to travel to Bethlehem for tax purposes (the Census of Quirinius). The two accounts seem contradictory, and each fails to refer to events in the other. External historical sources such as Josephus do not record Herod's massacre, and the only known census of Quirinius was after Herod's death, and would have applied only to Judea, not Nazareth. Many historians suspect that the story is an attempt to link Jesus to Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David, to bolster his messianic claim.

Perhaps the most striking claim of the Nativity stories is that Mary conceived Jesus while a virgin. Matthew explicitly cites this as a fulfillment of Isaiah 7:4, an interpretation which relies on the (Greek) Septuagint translation. The original Hebrew text could mean either "a virgin shall conceive" or "a young woman shall conceive"; the Septuagint affirmed the former meaning with its choice of parthenos as the Greek term. Among scholars who reject the possibility of the supernatural, some assume Joseph to have been Jesus's true father (making Jesus legitimate according to then-prevailing standards), while others (e.g. Jane Schaberg) propose that Mary was impregnated by rape. The gospels have Jesus's enemies, the Pharisees, pointedly introduce the topic of illegitimacy, as if alluding to a familiar scandal.