Three Stages of Gospel Formation
The Gospels were products of the faith of the early Church in the risen Jesus as Lord. They were formed over a period of seventy years after the death and resurrection of Jesus in a three-stage formation process involving:
First Stage – Jesus’ Own Words and Actions: The Gospel writers knew of and used Jesus’ sayings and an oral collection of stories and sayings about what Jesus did and said.
Second Stage – The Apostles Preaching: Besides this oral source, or tradition, the Gospel writers knew and used the beliefs and memories that were preached, taught, and celebrated in their respective church communities at the eucharistic meals.
Third Stage – The Author’s Actual Accounts: The Gospel writers, although dependent upon oral tradition and the community as their primary sources, developed their own unique theological themes and insights in telling the story of Jesus and what he said and did.
Three Guidelines for Reading the Gospels
The four evangelists, Mark, Matthew, Luke and John, were dependent upon the community’s oral traditions and most probably upon any available eyewitnesses to the actual ministry of Jesus.
Here are three important guidelines for reading the Gospels:
- The evangelists wrote their Gospels in light of Christ’s death and resurrection and their faith in the risen Lord Jesus as the promised Messiah.
- Reflecting upon these events and the needs of their Christian community as it struggled to live out the good news of Jesus, the evangelists looked back upon Jesus’ ministry with conviction, insight and a particular faith interpretation of all that happened.
- Therefore, each of the evangelists created a certain structure to his work so that the materials would lead up to the death and resurrection of Jesus as their dramatic fulfillment. The structure of each Gospel includes: (a) reasons for believing in Jesus as Messiah, (b) the acceptance and rejection of Jesus by the people of his time, (c) Jesus teaching his disciples how to live the good news, and (d) the dramatic story of Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and resurrection.
Read: “Introduction to the Gospels” by Christopher McMahon
To learn more about the three stage development and the understandings of Jesus presented in the Gospels read the article Introduction to the Gospels in the Downloadable Guide (pages 6-9) or by clicking the title.
Review this Example: A Guided Study of Luke 24:13-35
The story in Luke 24:13-35 is an opportunity to apply the three guidelines to an actual Gospel story. On the left side of your page is the text of the narrative; on the right side, indications where in the text the three guidelines are being used in practical terms by the evangelist.
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Two of Jesus’ followers were going to a village named Emmaus…they were talking to each other about all the things that had happened…Jesus himself drew near and walked along with them, “What are you talking about to each other, as you walk along?” |
Jesus’ death and resurrection
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They stood still, with sad faces. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have been happening there these last few days?” |
Jesus’ death and resurrection
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“What things?” he asked. “The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “This man was a prophet and was considered by God and by all the people to be powerful in everything he said and did. Our chief priest and rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and he was crucified. And we had hoped that he would be the one who was going to set Israel free! |
Reflections on the public ministry of Jesus
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…Then Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are, how slow you are to believe everything the prophets said! Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then enter his glory? |
Community’s Interpretation of Jesus as the glorified Messiah |
As you can see from the way Luke wrote his Gospel, his writing is clearly building an air-tight case so that the reader can only draw one conclusion: Jesus of Nazareth who underwent death at the hands of religious and government authorities did so in order to fulfill God’s will as his chosen Messiah. But God did not let His chosen one remain among the dead. God raised him up in triumph in the resurrection. Jesus and his good news live!