Introduction To The Gospels And Acts

This makes the profound theological point that people may have witnessed a given miracle of Jesus (the sign) and yet missed the point (its significance): the way in which Jesus’s act pointed to his own nature and identity as the God-sent Messiah. Many other examples could be given: the differing placement of the temple cleansing; showing Jesus’s glory throughout, not merely at the transfiguration; replacing the Olivet Discourse with references to believers’ experience of eternal life already in the here and now; etc.

In fact, John’s theological acumen was recognized by the early church and earned his account the epithet “the spiritual Gospel” (Clement of Alexandria’s term). By “spiritual,” however, these early Fathers did not mean unhistorical; rather, they were struck by John’s unmatched theological profundity. Rather than allowing theological concerns to override historical accuracy, John grounded his theological reflection in historical eyewitness testimony. Reflecting unity in diversity, John and the other three canonical Gospels thus make up the fourfold Gospel, complementing rather than contradicting each other.

Luke opens the book of Acts with the statement, “I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up . . .” (Ac 1:1-2a). By implication, then, Luke conceived of his Gospel and the book of Acts as a coherent two-part narrative, viewing Acts as the sequel to his Gospel that picked up where it left off (i.e., the time following Jesus’s ascension, with minimal overlap; Ac 1:2b-8).

In his Gospel, Luke narrates the fulfillment of messianic prophecy in and through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (see e.g., Lk 24:26-27,44-47). In the sequel, the book of Acts, Luke narrates the fulfillment of Jesus’s vision that the believing community “will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses . . . to the end of the earth” (Ac 1:8). In this way, Jesus’s mission is shown to be extended through the church’s global, Spirit-empowered witness.

If, then, Luke’s Gospel is a biography, centering on the life of Jesus in continuation of the Old Testament (OT) story (see especially Lk 1-2), what is the genre of Acts? Clearly, both books are historical narrative. If Acts, like the Gospel, has biographical elements, attention is divided between Peter (Ac 1-12) and Paul (Ac 13-28; though see chap. 9). Luke may have conceived of his narrative in Acts as a sort of biography of the Holy Spirit, the ultimate agent standing behind the Acts of the Apostles.

The fourfold Gospel canon has strong early support. The earliest canonical list, the Muratorian Canon (which most likely dates to ca AD 180), includes Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and only these four Gospels. The Church Father Irenaeus, likewise, attests to the fourfold Gospel, contending that it is in the nature of things that there are four Gospels, just as there are four winds and four corners of the earth. Other canonical lists and patristic writers, likewise, reference these, and only these, four Gospels, and the Fathers cite only these as Scripture. Conversely, there is no mention of the Gospel of Thomas or other Gospels in any canonical lists alongside Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

It is therefore far from accurate to say, as some scholars have done, that the four Gospels were selected for inclusion in the canon only in the fourth century AD. While it is true that the canon was formalized and finalized at that time, a “canon consciousness” was present in the church at least by the second century, as canonical lists and patristic citations attest. In fact, of the handful of possible rivals to the Gospels included in the NT none comes even close in terms of date (first century), connection to apostolic eyewitness testimony, and other characteristics. The Gospel of Thomas, for example, is not only late but also constitutes a mere collection of some of Jesus’s alleged sayings, completely lacking any narrative structure. Thus to call Thomas a “Gospel” is really a misnomer.

The Gospels are properly interpreted as coherent narratives centering on Jesus’s messianic mission culminating in his cross-death and resurrection. Along these lines, each Gospel exhibits a distinctive structure and literary plan as well as particular theological emphases. This unity in diversity results in a fourfold portrait of Jesus that highlights certain aspects of his messianic identity and mission that together provide a rich, full-orbed testimony to this most remarkable individual who came to secure salvation for those who place their trust in him.

Matthew’s Gospel presents Jesus as the son of Abraham and son of David, showing how Jesus fulfilled God’s promises to both Abraham and David. Matthew structures his Gospel around five major discourses of Jesus, beginning with the Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5-7) and continuing with Jesus’s commissioning discourse (chap. 10), instructions in (kingdom) parables (chaps. 13; 18), and teaching on the end times (chaps. 24-25). These discourse sec-tions oscillate with narrative portions, showing Jesus to be the Messiah in both word and deed.

Mark’s Gospel presents Jesus as the “Son of God” (Mk 1:1) who wields unparalleled authority over nature, sickness, death, and even the evil supernatural (demons). The plot of the Markan narrative pivots on Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah halfway through the Gospel (Mk 8:29) and climaxes in the Roman centurion’s confession of Jesus as the “Son of God” (Mk 15:39). Otherwise, mostly demons confess Jesus as the “Son of God” (e.g., Mk 3:11; 5:7), while Jesus’s true identity remains largely veiled even for his closest followers.

Luke’s Gospel follows a similar literary plan as Matthew and Mark, tracing Jesus’s ministry from the early beginnings in Galilee to his later ministry in Judea. The latter is narrated in an extended “travel narrative” that spans ten chapters and builds drama and suspense as Jesus moves inexorably to Jerusalem, the eventual site of his confrontation with the Jewish authorities culminating in his crucifixion (Lk 9:51-19:27). Like Matthew and Mark, Luke tells the story of Jesus’s demise in an extended passion narrative, featuring several distinctive resurrection appearances of the risen Jesus.

John structures his Gospel in four parts. The account is framed by a prologue (Jn 1:1-18) and epilogue (chap. 21). In between, the first half tells the story of Jesus’s mission to the Jews (Jn 1:19-12:50), featuring seven messianic signs of Jesus. Once rejected by his own people (Jn 12:36-50), Jesus turns to the Twelve, the new messianic community (chaps. 13-17). Like the other Gospels, John includes a passion narrative, though focusing on the Roman rather than Jewish phase of Jesus’s trial. The second half of the Gospel (chaps. 13-20) culminates in a commissioning scene and purpose statement.

The Gospels and Acts lay an indispensable foundation for the NT canon as a whole. In narrating the life of the earthly Jesus and the continued activity of the exalted Jesus through the Holy Spirit, they build on the OT foundation of messianic predictions, sym-bols, and types. At the same time, the Gospels and Acts themselves lay the foundation for the remain-der of the NT, both the letters of Paul and others and the book of Revelation.

The letters probe the implications of Jesus’s coming and of his vicarious death and resurrection for believers, while Revelation envisions Jesus’s second coming as the victorious, conquering King who brings about the final judgment and the consummation of human history in the new heavens and the new earth. In this way, the Gospels and Acts constitute an integral part of the canon of Scripture and occupy a central location at the very heart of the church’s message of forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ.

Andreas J. Köstenberger