AIZAWL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE

JESUS MOVEMENT IN THE SYNOPTIC GOSPEL

Bachelor of Divinity (2022-2023)
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Topic: Genre of the Gospel
Submitted to: Rev. Prof. L.H. Rawsea
Submitted by: David Lalramthara (Roll No. 1) & Obuk Pado (Roll No. 28)
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A. Introduction:
The English word “gospel” translates to the Greek word euangelion, which appears
seventy-six times in the New Testament. In the Hellenistic world, the word euangelion (eu –
“good,” angelion – “announcement”) was not a book title, but rather a declaration of good news.
In the Roman Empire, the term euangelion referred to significant events in the life of the emperor,
who was regarded as a savior with divine status. These occasions included declarations at his birth,
coming of age, and accession to the throne. 1
In the New Testament, the term “gospel” has a special meaning: “news or message of
salvation.” It is based on the Greek verb “euangelizesthai” (in Hebrew “bissar”), which means “to
announce the good news of salvation.” This act of proclaiming the good news of salvation was
inextricably linked with the God-sent messenger who proclaims the eschatological message about
the violation of God’s sovereign rule. In the words of Jesus (Matthew 11:5), which is directly
related to Isaiah chapter three, “gospel” refers to the good news of salvation that He brings. The
“gospel” in Paul refers to the proclamation of Christ and the salvation that Christ brings (Rom 1:1;
I Cor 15:1, etc.).2

B. Genre of the Gospel:

The term “gospel” refers to a wide range of early Christian writings, both within and
outside the canon. The term is not used in this sense in the New Testament, and the current
superscriptions of the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were not included
in the original manuscripts. Although these writings are commonly referred to as gospel as a genre

1
Tremper Longman III, The Baker Illustrated Dictionary (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2013), 905.
2
Menjiwapong Jamir, Understanding the Jesus Movement in The Gospel Traditions (Kolkata: SCEPTRE,
2013), 3.
1
indicator, this practice probably began in the second century C.E. and was not fully established
until the fourth century.3

(i) Gospel as History – One of the earliest ideas about the genre of the Gospels is that they are
“histories.” The majority of the events recorded in the Gospels are historical and true. They
occurred in concrete history, despite significant differences in details. The events that Jesus caused
or caused to occur are historical. As a result, there can be no doubt about the historicity of the main
story recorded in the Gospels. All of the characters, including Jesus, Augustus, King Herod, and
Pilate, are historical figures. The mention of places like Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, and
Nazareth, as well as their descriptions of them, correspond to the geography of Palestine. Similarly,
the healings of the sick, the crucifixion of Jesus, and so on are all historical events. 4

(ii) Gospel as Ancient Biography – Matthew and Luke preserve the basic structure of Mark, but
add stories about Jesus’ birth and childhood at the beginning. By doing so, they perhaps show
more of a biographical interest than Mark. Indeed, some scholars regard the Gospels as a type of
ancient biography. Unlike modern biographies, ancient biographies did not recount an individual’s
entire life in chronological order. They also did not show the individual’s psychological
development. They typically began by discussing the hero’s ancestry and family, his birth, and a
few incidents from his childhood. They then moved on to the hero’s public life, weaving together
a series of anecdotes and sayings to demonstrate the character of the subject. Some people devoted
a lot of space to the subject’s death. In form and content, the Gospels resemble ancient biographies
in all of these ways. Some ancient biographies defended or praised the subject. The Gospels, like
these works, have nothing negative to say about their hero but extol his greatness. 5

(iii) Gospel as Kerygma – Some scholars argue that the gospel genre evolved from the primitive
kerygma, which announced the passion, death, and resurrection of the incarnated Lord (cf. 1 Cor
15:1–17). The gospel genre represents the culmination of this early Christian kerygma’s evolution.
Sui generis (of its own kind) is a unique form of literature derived from the cult legend of Jesus’
death and resurrection. According to this viewpoint, the lack of biographical detail about Jesus’

3
Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 3143.
4
Jamir, Understanding the Jesus Movement…, 29.
5
Delbert Burkett, An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2012) 119.
2
birth, education, personality development, background, and character is explained by the fact that
the gospel originated from a cult legend rather than his life story (biography).6
The gospel genre arose from the traditional core of Christian beliefs without regard for
literary concerns. As a result, it is not surprising that the gospel genre has no literary counterparts.
In comparison to biographical literature, the gospel text focuses on Christ’s passion and
resurrection. In this view, the gospel is a kerygma—the kerygma about the Passion with an
extended introductory narrative. The theory is closely related to the previous explanation of the
uniqueness of the gospel form. 7

(iv) Gospel as Aretalogies – Another category that has been suggested as a possible explanation
for the gospel form is aretalogies. These were stories about gods or human heroes performing
miraculous feats. This time, the Greek divine man serves as a model for the gospel narratives about
Jesus. However, there is no definitive evidence that such a literary category existed, making any
comparison with Jesus particularly tenuous. 8

(iv) Gospel as Tragedies – Tragedies are stories in which the protagonist, despite displaying signs
of greatness, is defeated. Those parts of the Gospels in which Jesus conflicts with religious and
political opponents, and He appears to defeat them throughout the narrative. When confronted with
difficult accusations, He counterattacks and silences His opponents. However, He meets a tragic
end at their hands when he is condemned and executed by his opponents. 9

C. Conclusion:
We can conclude from the above study that, while the Gospels were written by different
authors, their main focus is on Jesus, and their purpose is to proclaim the good news of what God
has done in and through Jesus Christ so that people will respond by repentance. Their stories and
teachings have the power to shape and form people into new and different kinds of individuals. As
Christians, we must try to understand the scripture on a deeper level because there's more than just
what meets the eye.

6
Anchor Bible Dictionary…, 3154.
7
Anchor Bible Dictionary…, 3155.
8
Donald Guthrie, New Testament Introduction (Leicester: InterVarsity Press,1990), (ebook).
9
Jamir, Understanding the Jesus Movement…, 29.
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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

Burkett, Delbert. An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Guthrie, Donald. New Testament Introduction. Leicester: InterVarsity Press,1990.
Jamir, Menjiwapong. Understanding the Jesus Movement in The Gospel Traditions. Kolkata:
SCEPTRE, 2013.
Longman III, Tremper. The Baker Illustrated Dictionary. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2013.