Editing New Testament (section)

===The Gospels===
{{Main|Canonical gospels}}
{{further|List of Gospels}}
Each of the four [[gospels]] in the New Testament narrates the life, death, and resurrection of [[Jesus of Nazareth]] (the gospel of Mark in the original text ends with the empty tomb and has no account of the post-resurrection appearances, but the emptiness of the tomb implies a resurrection). The word "gospel" derives from the [[Old English language|Old English]] ''gōd-spell''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Gospel |title=Gospel |publisher=Merriam-Webster Dictionary |access-date=10 May 2016}}</ref> (rarely ''godspel''), meaning "good news" or "glad tidings". Its Hebrew equivalent being "besorah" (בְּשׂוֹרָה). The gospel was considered the "good news" of the coming [[Messiah#Christianity|Kingdom of Messiah]], and the redemption through the life and death of Jesus, the central Christian message.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc="Gospel"}} 

Starting in the late second century, the four narrative accounts of the life and work of Jesus Christ have been referred to as "The Gospel of ..." or "The Gospel according to ..." followed by the name of the supposed author. The first author to explicitly name the canonical gospels is [[Irenaeus of Lyon]],<ref name="trobisch-2012"/><ref>[[Irenaeus]], ''[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103311.htm Against Heresies]'' III.11</ref> who promoted the four canonical gospels in his book ''[[Against Heresies (Irenaeus)|Against Heresies]]'', written around 180.<ref>Due to its reference to [[Eleutherus]] as the current [[bishop of Rome]], the work is usually dated {{circa|lk=no|180}}. [[Philip Schaff|Schaff, Philip]] (2001) [{{circa|lk=no|1885}}] "[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.i.html Introductory Note to Irenæus Against Heresies]", ''[[Ante-Nicene Fathers (book)|Ante-Nicene Fathers]]'', Volume I, ''Against Heresies'', [[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]].</ref>
* The [[Gospel of Matthew]], ascribed to the [[Matthew the Evangelist|Apostle Matthew]]. This gospel begins with a [[genealogy of Jesus]] and a story of his birth that includes a visit from [[Biblical Magi|magi]] and a [[flight into Egypt]], and it ends with the [[Great Commission|commissioning of the disciples]] by the resurrected Jesus.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gil |first1=Jesús |title=Bible Portico |last2=Domínguez |first2=Joseángel |publisher=Saxum International Foundation |year=2022 |isbn=979-12-80113-17-7 |pages=103 |translator-last=Scott |translator-first=Helena}}</ref>
* The [[Gospel of Mark]], ascribed to [[Mark the Evangelist]]. This gospel begins with the preaching of [[John the Baptist]] and the [[baptism of Jesus]] and ends with the [[Ascension of Jesus]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gil |first1=Jesús |title=Bible Portico |last2=Domínguez |first2=Joseángel |publisher=Saxum International Foundation |year=2022 |isbn=979-12-80113-17-7 |pages=104 |translator-last=Scott |translator-first=Helena}}</ref> 
* The [[Gospel of Luke]], ascribed to [[Luke the Evangelist]], who was not one of [[Twelve Disciples#The Twelve Apostles|the Twelve Apostles]], but was mentioned as a companion of the [[Paul of Tarsus|Apostle Paul]] and as a physician.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fitzmyer |first=Joseph A. |author-link=Joseph Fitzmyer |date=1981 |title=The Gospel according to Luke (I–IX) |edition=2nd|series=Anchor Bible |volume=28 |url=https://archive.org/details/gospelaccordingt0028unse_x9n6 |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Doubleday |pages=35–53 |isbn=0-385-00515-6}}</ref> 
* The [[Gospel of John]], ascribed to [[John the Evangelist]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Gil |first1=Jesús |title=Bible Portico |last2=Domínguez |first2=Joseángel |publisher=Saxum International Foundation |year=2022 |isbn=979-12-80113-17-7 |pages=106 |translator-last=Scott |translator-first=Helena}}</ref> This gospel begins with a philosophical prologue and ends with appearances of the resurrected Jesus.<ref name=":1" />

These four gospels that were eventually included in the New Testament were only a few among many other early Christian gospels. The existence of such texts is even mentioned at the beginning of the Gospel of Luke.<ref>{{Bibleref2|Luke|1:1–4}}</ref> Many [[new Testament apocrypha|non-canonical gospels]] were also written, all later than the four canonical gospels, and like them advocating the particular theological views of their various authors.{{sfn|Petersen|2010|p=51}}{{sfn|Culpepper|1999|p=66}} In modern scholarship, the Synoptic Gospels are the primary sources for reconstructing Christ's ministry.{{Sfn|Sanders|2010}}{{refn|group=note|name="Sanders_primary_sources"|{{harvtxt|Sanders|2010}}: "John, however, is so different that it cannot be reconciled with the Synoptics except in very general ways [...] Scholars have unanimously chosen the Synoptic Gospels’ version of Jesus’ teaching [...] The Synoptic Gospels, then, are the primary sources for knowledge of the historical Jesus. They are not, however, the equivalent of an academic biography of a recent historical figure. Instead, the Synoptic Gospels are theological documents that provide information the authors regarded as necessary for the religious development of the Christian communities in which they worked."}}