THE FORMATION AND NATURE OF THE GOSPEL TRADITION

Stages in the formation of the gospels:

1. The core of the apostolic kerygma, reflected in credal formulae in the speeches of Acts 1-10 and the letters of Paul, e.g., 1 Cor 15:3-8: "For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared to Kephas, then to the Twelve."

2. Preservation of sayings of Jesus according to the needs of local churches; adaptation of sayings; development of pronouncement stories to flesh out sayings (Mark 2:23-28).

3. Development of stories about Jesus, miracle stories, illustrations, embellishments, midrash, written in light of faith in the living power of the risen Lord.

4. Construction of continuous narrative accounts, beginning with the passion and working backwards in the life of Jesus. The gospels therefore are not biographies, unbiased, objectively written historical accounts, but confessional documents, testimonials to the faith of the early church.

The four canonical gospels.

Mark. Written ca. A.D. 70. An early form of the gospel: no infancy narratives, no resurrection appearances (16:9-20 is a later addition). Audience probably Gentile: cf. explanation of Jewish rituals and terms. Theme: struggles of Jesus on the cosmic level with the forces of evil, on earth with his adversaries. Development of the mystery of the person of Jesus. Messianic secret: why Jesus was not recognized as Messiah. All except 30 verses incorporated into Luke and/or Matthew.

Luke. Written probably ca. A.D. 80-85. In general follows Mark's outline, with omissions and insertions in blocks: (1) infancy narratives 1-2; (2) little insertion 7:1--8:3; (3) large insertion: travel narrative 9:51--18:14; (4) resurrection appearances 24. Theme (with Acts as Part II): geographical progression from Galilee to Jerusalem (gospel), thence throughout Judea, Samaria, Asia Minor, to the center of the world (Rome)(Acts) illustrating Jesus as savior of all; theme of universal salvation.

Matthew. Written perhaps ca. A.D. 90 in the East, e.g., Syria, Phoenicia. Sayings of Jesus grouped together in five discourses. Five-book structure, each book consisting of a narrative section followed by a lengthy discourse:

(1) 3-4 narrative, 5-7 discourse: Sermon on the Mount: program of kingdom.

(2) 8-9 narrative, 10 discourse: missionary discourse: preaching of the kingdom.

(3) 11-12 narrative, 13 discourse: parables: mystery of the kingdom.

(4) 14-17 narrative, 18 discourse: formation of the ecclesial community.

(5) 19-23 narrative, 24-25 discourse: eschatology of the kingdom.

Infancy narratives 1-2: like haggadic midrash. Resurrection narratives 28.

Theme: Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Jesus-Moses motif; Israel-Church (New Israel) motif. The kingdom.

John. Written perhaps ca. A.D. 90-100 at Ephesus, Antioch, Alexandria? Highly literary and symbolic. Fusion of Old Testament thought and Hellenistic philosophy. Creative synthesis. Highly schematic: does not follow same order or reproduce same stories as the synoptics. Grows out of a different circle and tradition. High christology.

Nature of the gospels.

The gospels are not eyewitness reports or impartial historical sources; they are not concerned with precise theological problems of the later church.

"Shocking as it may seem to the faithful who have not been following recent trends in biblical criticism, we have very little secure knowledge about the precise words and deeds of Jesus." (Dulles, 1967).

The gospels are an inspired record of the faith of the early church concerning its Lord. We can capture in substance the impression made by Jesus on those who were with him. The image of Jesus is striking and original. Jesus preached with style: doing good for the poor, the rough, the unlettered, sinners, outcasts. The gospels convey a sense of urgency: they accost us, challenge us, invite us to make a commitment.