Gospels

We can be sure that the current text matches the original because of the many ancient manuscripts that have been preserved, especially when we compare them with other texts from antiquity.

Let us look at four well-known authors who lived before Jesus Christ:

• Homer (Iliad, Odyssey): only about 30 manuscripts survive, all later than the tenth century.
• Aristotle and Plato: the same applies, with some texts from the ninth century.
• Julius Caesar: we have 10 manuscripts from the tenth century.
• Horace: we have 250 manuscripts. The oldest dates from the eighth century.

In 1968, a list was compiled of 5262 Greek manuscripts (the original language). Of these, 81 predate the fourth century. Although they were found in places far apart, their contents agree to a remarkable degree, ensuring their fidelity to the original. As for translations, some 40,000 manuscripts, also very ancient, survive in various languages. This abundance of matching texts and translations guarantees that the current text of the Gospels matches the original.

We can mention the following:

• The Bodmer papyri: from the early third century. One contains the Gospels of Saint Luke and Saint John and is preserved in the Vatican. Another, containing the Gospel of Saint John, is in Geneva.
• The Chester Beatty papyri: from the early third century. They contain the four Gospels and other New Testament texts. They are in Princeton.
• The Codex Vaticanus: from the fourth century. It contains the entire Bible and is in the Vatican.

They are not history books, but they are historical texts. Their authors recount events that really happened, without intending to write a treatise.

The authors of the Gospels are well known. With divine help, they were Saint Luke, a disciple of Saint Paul; Saint Mark, a disciple of Saint Peter; and Saint Matthew and Saint John, two of the Apostles. This is how all the documents identify them.

Saint John wrote his Gospel between the years 98 and 100. The other three Gospels were written before the year 70. For example, they mention Israelite customs and institutions as current, and the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 changed all this.

We can discuss them in two groups:

Internal reasons (from the text itself)

• The style is realistic, neither fanciful nor fictionalized. It is clear that the authors knew the events well.
• They recount facts that a Christian might conceal. For example, Peter’s denials, the Apostles’ cowardice and lack of faith, Jesus’ fear in the Garden of Olives, and the betrayal by Judas, whom Christ had chosen. If these events were recorded, it is simply because they happened that way.
• They recount miracles without embellishment: simply the facts. If the authors had wanted to write fantasy, they would have devoted many pages to each miracle.

External reasons

• When the Gospels were written, many people involved in the events were still alive and approved the texts.
• Other books recount events in Jesus’ life that have not been accepted as real; these are called apocryphal.
• The authors of the Gospels died as martyrs defending their faith in Christ. In other words, they were certain that they had witnessed and recorded real events.
• Over the centuries, there have been many heresies opposed to the Catholic faith, some with real hatred for the pope. All these new religions have accepted the Gospels as historical, although they later interpreted them in their own way.

Saint John tells us that it is impossible to write down every detail. But the Evangelists, with divine help, took the greatest care to recount exactly what happened, as Saint Luke tells us. They wanted to leave us a testimony to the life of Christ that was as faithful to reality as possible.

That was not possible, because Jesus Christ was a public figure, constantly pursued by the Jewish leaders who sought to find a fault so that they could accuse Him of something. But Jesus is God and did everything well, so everything could be told, and that was what the Christians wanted.

And the answer is simple: because they obtained information from others. For example, regarding the Annunciation and the birth of Jesus:

• Most probably, Saint Luke interviewed the Blessed Virgin Mary.
• Another possibility: Our Lady recounted these events to Jesus, and in this way they were communicated to the Apostles and Evangelists.
• Without forgetting that the texts of the Bible were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

It is interesting to read the opening words of the Gospel of Saint Luke: “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you”.