Valeriy Sterkh "Gospel harmony"

Gospel harmony
Valeriy Sterkh

Why are there four canonical Gospels? Who wrote them and when? Was there a В«Q sourceВ»? Are there errors in the Gospels? Do the Gospels contradict each other? Can we compile a coherent narrative based on all the four Gospels? This book attempts to answer these questions.

Gospel harmony

Compiled by Valeriy Sterkh

Interpreter Valeriy Sterkh

Interpreter Evgeniy Terekhin

ISBNВ 978-5-0055-5757-5

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Preface

Why are there four canonical Gospels? Who wrote them and when? Was there aВ В«Q sourceВ»? Are there errors inВ the Gospels? Do the Gospels contradict each other? Can we compile aВ coherent narrative based on all the four Gospels? This book attempts toВ answer these questions.

Part 1. Stating the facts

The oral Gospel tradition

The word «Gospel» means «good news» in Greek. It is used both in the Gospels and other books of the New Testament (see Mt 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; 26:13; Mk 1:1; 1:14—15; 8:35; 10:29; 13:10; 14:9; 16:15; compare Act 8:25; 14:21; 15:7; 20:24; 1 Pet 4:17; 1 Cor 9:14—23; 15:1; 2 Cor 9:13; 10:16; 11:7; Gal 1:11; 2:14; Eph 4:11; Php 1:27; Rev 14:6). Sometimes it is used in expressions, such as «the good news of the Kingdom», «the gospel of God», «the good news of the kingdom of God», «the gospel of the grace of God», «the gospel of Jesus Christ», «the eternal gospel».

At first, the word В«gospelВ» meant the news about the approaching Kingdom ofВ God. Jesus Christ used it inВ this sense when he was В«proclaiming the gospel ofВ the KingdomВ» (Mt 4:23; 9:35; Mk 1:14). Later, Jesus commissioned his apostles toВ go and preach the Gospel (Mk 13:10; 16:15; Mt 24:14). Their preaching was oral. The apostles were sharing with the people what they had seen and heard from Jesus Christ himself.

When Christianity spread widely, it became necessary toВ record the words ofВ Jesus and the story ofВ His life. Later, the word В«GospelsВ» started toВ be applied toВ the books that contained the story ofВ the life ofВ Jesus Christ.

The Gospel ofВ Mark

The Gospel ofВ Mark was written around the middle ofВ the 1st century. According toВ the tradition, it was written byВ John Mark (see Act 12:12), the nephew ofВ Barnabas (see Col 4:10), who was one ofВ the seventy apostles and aВ co-worker ofВ Peter (see 1В Pet 5:13). It is regarded as the earliest ofВ the four Gospels. It is the shortest ofВ them all, and it was used as aВ source for writing the Gospels ofВ Matthew and Luke.

«These are the words of the presbyter [Papias of Hierapolis]: „Mark was the interpreter of Peter; he accurately recorded everything that the Lord had said and done, but not in order, for he himself did not hear the Lord speak, neither did he walk with Him. Later he accompanied Peter who taught as he saw fit based on the circumstances, and did not necessarily relate the words of Christ in order. In recording everything the way he remembered it, Mark did not err against the truth. His only concern was not to miss or misrepresent anything“. That is what Papias said concerning Mark» (Eusebius of Caesarea. Church History, 3.39.15—16).

«Peter and Paul preached in Rome and founded a church there. After their departure, Mark, Peter’s disciple and interpreter, passed down to us in writing everything that Peter had taught» (Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies, 3.1.1; compare Eusebius of Caesarea. Church History, 5.8).

«Mark, the disciple and the interpreter of Peter, wrote a short Gospel at the request of the fellowship in Rome, having recorded everything that he had heard from Peter. Clement [of Alexandria] in the sixth book of his „Brief Explanations“, as well as Papias, the bishop of Hierapolis, both testify that Peter approved of this work and declared that this Gospel should be read in all the churches. Peter also mentions Mark in his first epistle, metaphorically calling Rome Babylon: „The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son“ [1 Pet 5:13]. Availing himself of the Gospel that he himself had compiled, Mark departed to Egypt, and, preaching Christianity in Alexandria, founded a church there, which became famous through its sound teaching and godliness, and was known for instructing all its adepts to follow the example of Christ. The highly-educated Jew by the name of Philo, witnessing the first church of Alexandria which was still Jewish by status, wrote a book about their way of life, confirming, according to Luke, that they had much in common with Jerusalem. Mark died in the eighth year of Nero’s reign [61/62 NE („from the New Era“)] and was buried in Alexandria. He was replaced by Annian» (Jerome of Stridon. On Famous Men, 8).

The Gospel of Mark is based on the apostle Peter’s memories. It is indicated in several passages. When writing about Jesus calling his disciples, Mark mentions Simon-Peter first (Mk 1:16), and refers to the disciples collectively «Simon and those who were with him» (Mk 1:36; compare Mk 16:7). Also, he mentions Peter first among the Twelve (Mk 3:16). The healing of Simon’s mother-in-law was one of the miracles of Jesus (Mk 1:29—31). Mark mentions some words and acts of Jesus that were witnessed only by a small number of the apostles, including Peter. For example, Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Mk 5:37—43), the transfiguration (Mk 9:2—10), and Jesus prophesying about the end of the age (Mk 13). Mark also mentions that it was Peter who noticed the withered fig tree (Mk 11:21). Describing what happened in Gethsemane, Mark talks about Peter’s denial (Mk 14).

Many biblical scholars agree that in the account of Jesus’ arrest, Mark describes himself as the young man in a linen cloth: «Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked» (Mk 14:51—52).

The Gospel ofВ Matthew

The Gospel ofВ Matthew was written about the third quarter ofВ the 1st century. Tradition holds that it was written byВ Levi Matthew, the son ofВ Alphaeus, one ofВ the Twelve (see Mt 9:9; Mk 2:14; Lk 5:27). Originally it was written inВ the old Hebrew, but later it was translated into Greek and became widely accepted.

В«So, Matthew wrote the Gospel for the Jews inВ their own language, while Peter and Paul were preaching inВ Rome and founded the ChurchВ» (Irenaeus ofВ Lyons. Against Heresies, 3.1.1; compare Eusebius ofВ Caesarea. Church History, 5.8).

В«Initially Matthew preached the Gospel toВ the Jews; but then he took it toВ other nations, though it was written inВ his own tongue. When summoned toВ go elsewhere, he left them with his ScriptureВ» (Eusebius ofВ Caesarea. Church History, 3.24.6).

«Matthew the Apostle, who was also called Levi, used to be a tax-collector; he complied the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the sake of spiritual cleansing of believers. At first, it was published in Judea in Hebrew, but later someone translated it into Greek [compare Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History, 3.39.16]. The Hebrew version survived to the present day [around the beginning of the 5th century] in the Library of Caesarea [Caesarea of Palestine], so arduously created and maintained by Pamphilus [of Caesarea]. I also had the opportunity to get the book described for me by the Nazarene from the Syrian town of Berea who had been using it. It must be noted that this Gospel-writer, in quoting the Old Testament testimonies, whether himself or on behalf of our Lord and Savior, always follows the Hebrew text of the Covenant, not the authority of the translators of the Septuagint. Therefore, there are the following two versions: «Out of Egypt I have called my son» [Mt 2:15; Hos 11:1] and: «He will be called a Nazorean» [Mt 2:23; Is 11:1 ; compare Num 6:21; Judg 13:5; 1 Sam 1:11; Am 2:11—12]» (Jerome of Stridon. On Famous Men, 3).

In his work, Matthew lavishly quotes from the Tanakh (the Hebrew Old Testament) making a special emphasis on the Messianic prophecies and their fulfillment in Jesus. Matthew is the only one who, in the account of his call to the apostleship, quotes the following words of Jesus: «But go and learn what this means: «I desire mercy and not sacrifice’" (Mt 9:13; compare Hos 6:6). None of the parallel accounts in Mark or Luke catch this nuance (see Mt 9:9—13; Mk 2:13—17; Lk 5:27—32). For the same reason, Matthew begins his Gospel with the genealogy of Jesus, starting with Abraham and going through David – from whom, according to the prophecies, the Messiah would come.

Matthew wrote his Gospel for the Jews – that’s why he avoids using the Hebrew word for «God», which would have been a taboo among the Jews. Besides, he uses the phrase «the Kingdom of God» instead of «the Kingdom of Heaven» unlike other evangelists. Exceptions to this rule most likely arose during the process of translating this Gospel into Greek.

The Gospel ofВ Luke and Acts ofВ the Apostles

The Gospel ofВ Luke was written around the third quarter ofВ the 1st century. According toВ the tradition, it was written byВ Luke, the doctor, one ofВ the Seventy and aВ co-laborer ofВ Paul (see Col 4:14; Phm 1:24; 2В Tim 4:10).

В«So, Luke, the co-laborer ofВ Paul, wrote down inВ the form aВ book the Gospel which he preachedВ» (Irenaeus ofВ Lyons. Against Heresies, 3.1.1; compare Eusebius ofВ Caesarea. Church History, 5.8).

«As one can gather from his writings, Luke, the doctor from Antioch, was very knowledgeable in the Greek language. The author of the Gospel and Paul’s follower, he accompanied the apostle in all his journeys. Here is what Paul said of him: «And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches (Corinthians) [2 Cor 8:18]; «Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you» (Colossians) [Col 4:14], «Only Luke is with me» (Timothy) [2 Tim 4:10]. The other excellent work written by Luke, «Acts of the Apostles», covers events during Paul’s second year in Rome, which was the fourth year of Nero’s reign [57/58 NE]. On this basis we conclude that this book was written in this city… Some believe that when Paul says in his epistle: «according to my gospel, [Rom 2:16], he refers to the book of Luke [the Greek for Gospel is «Good News)], and that Luke knew the stories of the Gospel not only from Paul who didn’t see the Lord in the flesh, but also from other apostles. He mentions it in the beginning of his work: «…Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word.» [Lk 1:2]. So, he wrote the Gospel on the basis of what he had heard from others, while «Acts of the Apostles» was written out of his own experience» (Jerome of Stridon. On Famous Men, 7).

In the prologue to his Gospel (Lk 1:1—4), Luke states the purpose for writing the book – to pull together the reliable information about Jesus and to relate it in an orderly manner. Many biblical scholars consider Luke’s Gospel to be highly accurate in its chronology as well as historical and geographical detail. For example, the other evangelists refer to the Galilean body of water as the sea, whereas Luke is more precise in naming it a lake (see Lk 5:1) – its water is fresh. Luke goes as far as to name even the smallest settlements in Judea. For example, he is the only one who mentions the city of Nain (see Lk 7:11). As a physician, Luke periodically throws in medical terms (Lk 4:38; 5:12; 14:2 and other).

The Book ofВ Acts, also written byВ Luke, is an important source that complements the four Gospels.

The Gospel ofВ John

The Gospel ofВ John was written byВ the end ofВ the 1st century. Tradition holds that it was compiled byВ John the Theologian, the son ofВ Zebedee (see Mt 10:2; Mk 3:17; Lk 6:14; Jn 21:2,В 24).

В«Then, John, the disciple ofВ Jesus who lay on His bosom [Jn 13:23], also published his Gospel during his time inВ Ephesus inВ AsiaВ» (Irenaeus ofВ Lyons. Against Heresies, 3.1.1; compare Eusebius ofВ Caesarea. Church History, 5.8).

«John, the apostle, the one especially loved by Jesus [Jn 21:20, 24], the son of Zebedee and the brother of Jacob who was beheaded by Herod after the sufferings of the Lord, last of all wrote his Gospel at the request of some bishops in Asia who contended against Cerinthus and other heretics, especially the teachings of Ebionites who taught that Christ didn’t exist before Mary. So, John was asked to speak in defense of the doctrine of Divine Birth. There was yet another reason: having read the works of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John approved of their narratives and confirmed that they contained the truth, noting that these narratives only describe was happened during the one year after John [the Baptist] was put in prison and executed. So, he himself wrote about a period preceding John’s imprisonment, and it can be a revelation for those who diligently read the works of the Gospel-writers. In addition, this consideration removes the contradictions that seemed to exist between the text of John and others… On the fourteenth year after Nero [82 NE] Domitian began the second persecution against Christians. John was exiled to the island of Patmos and wrote there the Apocalypse, which was later commented on by Justin Martyr and Irenaeus. But after Domitian’s death [96 NE] and the abolition of his cruel decrees, John returned to the city of Ephesus and, remaining there until the arrival of the emperor Trajan, contributed in every way to the planting of churches throughout Asia. Died of old age in the 68th year after the Passion of the Lord and was buried near Ephesus» (Jerome of Stridon. On Famous Men, 7; compare Eusebius of Caesarea. Church History, 3.24.7—14).

The Gospel ofВ John was written toВ emphasize the divinity ofВ Jesus Christ and toВ supplement what was lacking inВ the Gospels ofВ Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John calls himself aВ В«disciple whom Jesus lovedВ» (Jn 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). He belonged toВ the small circle ofВ apostles whom Jesus had singled out toВ be with him more often. John also includes several episodes not found inВ the other Gospels.

The Apocryphal Gospels

InВ addition toВ the generally accepted four Gospels, there is aВ large corpus ofВ gospel texts that were not included inВ the New Testament canon. These are usually called Apocrypha (from the Greek бјЂПЂПЊОєПЃбї П†ОїП‚, В«hiddenВ», В«mysteriousВ», В«secretВ»). This name was originally given only toВ the heretical books that were kept inВ secret. Later, all the works ofВ Jewish and Christian origin that were not part ofВ the Bible came toВ be called apocryphal. More than fifty apocryphal gospels have survived toВ this day inВ varying degrees ofВ preservation.

InВ the process ofВ forming the Gospel canon, the first books toВ be rejected were those with heretical content that contradicted Holy Tradition. The same thing happened toВ the books that contained lacunae or had not been preserved inВ aВ complete form. Later, the Pseudepigrapha, attributed toВ some famous authors, were rejected too because ofВ insufficient evidence for their authenticity.

The Gospel canon

Irenaeus of Lyon (c. 130 – 202) was one of the first supporters of the canonicity of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: «The number of the Gospels cannot be more or less than what it is. For since there are four cardinal directions, the four winds, and since the Church is scattered all over the earth, and since the Gospel and the Spirit of life are the pillar and ground of the Church, the Church should have four pillars, spreading the fragrance of incorruptibility everywhere and reviving all men» (Against Heresies, 3.11.8). He criticized those who rejected the Gospel of John (the Alogi) or accepted only the Gospel of Luke (the Marcionites), as well as those who accepted or composed apocryphal hagiographies of Jesus (Gnostics for the most part).

Around the same time, a list of New Testament books, later called the Muratorian Canon, was compiled. The most probable author of the list, Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170 – c. 235), recognized only four Gospels as canonical.

This view was also shared by Origen (c. 185 – 254), Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 263 – 340), Athanasius the Great (296 – 372/373), Cyril of Jerusalem (315 – 386), Gregory the Theologian (329 – 389), Amphilochius of Iconium (c. 340 – after 394) and other early Christian writers.

The Council of Laodicea (343/363) decreed: «Rule 59. Let no psalm composed by a private person or any non-canonical book be read in the Church but only the canonical books of the New and Old Testaments». Later, after 363, the 60th rule was added to the acts of the Council with a list of the canonical books: "…these are the books of the New Testament: the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John…».

The first Council to adopt the present-day canon of New Testament books was the Council of Hippo that took place in North Africa in 393. However, the decrees of this Council have been lost. Their summary was read and adopted by the Council of Carthage in 397: «Rule 47. Apart from the canonical books, nothing else is to be read in the Church under the name of divine Scripture. The canonical books are as follows: …of the New Testament: the Gospels, four books…».

В«DiatessaronВ» byВ Tatian

Tatian the Syrian was a disciple of Justin the Philosopher (circa 112/120 – circa 180/185), a Christian writer and apologist. By the end of his life he fell into heresy. He is most known for his book «Diatessaron» (Greek διὰ τεσσάρων, which literally means: «through the four»). It connects the four Gospels into one unified narrative which avoids repetitions and reconciles parallel passages. Sometimes it is referred to as «The Gospel from the Four». For several centuries this text was used as standard in some Christian communities, mainly in the churches of Syria and Antioch. Therefore, it is unlikely that Tatian could have written about irresolvable contradictions between the Gospels. Otherwise how could he have harmonized them? The original text of «Diatessaron» has not been preserved (only one fragment was unearthed during excavations at the archeological site of Dura-Europos in 1933). We can only guess at its contents from brief quotations in other ancient writers. For example, Theodoret of Cyprus points out that «Diatessaron» does not include Christ’s genealogies and other passages which show that Jesus came from the line of David according to the flesh. Theodoret found about two hundred copies of «Diatessaron» in his diocese, so he got rid of them and replaced them with the four canonical Gospels.

Other attempts toВ harmonize the Gospels

From time toВ time, other attempts have been made toВ combine the four canonical Gospels into one narrative.

For example, St. Jerome ofВ Stridon mentions one such work byВ St. Theophilus ofВ Antioch (died after 180): В«Theophilus, the seventh bishop ofВ Antioch after St. Peter, who left us aВ monument ofВ his intelligence byВ bringing together into one corpus the sayings ofВ the four evangelistsВ» (Letter toВ Algasia,В 6).

InВ the middle ofВ the third century, aВ similar work called В«Harmony ofВ the Gospels or DiatessaroВ» was compiled byВ Ammonius ofВ Alexandria. Its translation into Latin was made byВ Bishop Victor ofВ Capua (d. 544) and was often reprinted.

The motivation for such an endeavor may have been the opening of Luke’s Gospel: «Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed» (Lk 1:1—4). In a sense, the Gospel of Luke can be considered a book that brings together various gospel texts and traditions.

Minh’s «Latin Patristics» (vol. CLXXVI) cites a twelfth-century Latin commentary on the Gospel harmony by Zacharias Chrysopolitanus.

The Protestant priest Andreas Osiander published В«Harmonia EvangelicaВ» inВ 1537.

InВ 1776, Johann Jakob Griesbach published aВ synopsis ofВ the three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) inВ parallel columns, toВ demonstrate their similarities. Later, the first three Gospels were called В«synopticВ».

Several hypotheses have been suggested toВ explain the similarities and differences between the Synoptic Gospels, the most famous ofВ which is the В«Q sourceВ» hypothesis.

InВ the 19th century, Leo Tolstoy wrote his В«Gospel inВ BriefВ», aВ synthesis ofВ the four Gospels. Like Tatian, Tolstoy changed the Gospel texts. He removed the texts related toВ the Old Testament, miracles, and the Resurrection altogether. InВ his pseudo-gospel, Tolstoy rejected the idea ofВ God as the Creator and proposed the idea ofВ the universal good.

St. Theophan the Recluse’s approach in «The Gospel Story», published in 1885, was much more precise.