The Gospels Were Written in the Church Age

The Gospels Were Written in the Church Age
While the events discussed in the canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) occur before the establishment of the church in Acts 2, their writing and distribution occurred during the church age-- during the same time period as the other books of the New Testament.

The Gospels Are Occasional
Just as the epistles have a clear particularity in historical context and initial application, the four gospels also have a specific purpose even if they differ in genre and specificity from the epistles. Without going into a lengthy discussion of the purpose of the various gospels, it might be observed that Matthew tends to focus on the teachings of Jesus in regards to the kingdom of God and the role of the Jews and Gentiles. Mark is the shortest of the gospels and is a fast-moving work that tends to focus on what Jesus did, culminating in the discussion of the crucifixion. Compared to the others, Luke focuses more on Jesus' concern for non-Jews, women and the weak, as well as discussing more external historical elements than the others. John tends to tell of very few specific instances in the life of Jesus, but he discusses these events as a basis for explaining various points that he considers significant-- most notably, faith, discipleship and the relationship between Jesus and the Father.

Thus, in the gospels we do not have a biography of Jesus that includes everything he did or said, but we have four accounts of actions, teachings and conclusions from the life of Christ that the authors of these gospels considered relevant for their readers in the early church. Theologians call this occasional-- these writings relate to some particular circumstance and time-- an occasion.

Consider the opening of Luke's gospel in this regard:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, [2] just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word have handed them down to us, [3] it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; [4] so that you might know the exact truth about the things you have been taught (Luke 1:1-4).

Thus, the gospels served to provide more details to the life and teachings of Jesus compared to what people heard as part of the proclamation of the gospel by word of mouth. Consider this example from Acts 2:

"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. "And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power (Acts 2:22-24).

The Gospels Did Not Come First
Now it is evident that Jesus' ministry and teachings in the gospels were given in the age before the establishment of the church. The gospels themselves recognize that a change in dispensation was to occur at some point in the future (Jn 7:37-39).

But it may not be so evident that the teachings from the church age (namely, Acts and the epistles) need to be held in priority to those in the gospels when discussing the topic of apostolic proclamation and expected response. The original readers had been exposed to the apostolic kerygma first, and then after their conversion (or at least this initial exposure) they were given subsequent details about Jesus' works and teachings such as those contained in the gospels.

This approach challenges the conventional wisdom that puts the gospels "above" everything else in the Bible (indeed, some Bibles even record the words of Jesus in red letters, as though these sayings are somehow more "inspired" than the rest of the Bible). But if we are to properly understand the context of the gospels, we need to recognize that the gospels followed the kerygma both historically and theologically. When we approach the gospels with this understanding, we are able to correctly apply the the teachings of Jesus and the gospels to the study of the apostolic proclamation in the church age.