Jesus in History: Eyewitness Accounts

The Gospels are four books in the New Testament of the Bible that contain collections of eyewitness accounts about Jesus.

They are written by Jesus' followers.

Mark

The first to be written, Mark's Gospel was written by John - Mark who is talked about in the Bible (Acts chapter 12 verse 25; Acts chapter 13 verse 5; Acts chapter 13 verse 13; Acts chapter 15 verses 36 - 39; Colossians chapter 4 verse 10; 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 11).

Papias (140 CE) quotes older writers, saying that Mark was a close friend of Jesus' disciple (and eyewitness) Peter and that he got the stories from him. Mark's Gospel was probably written in Rome around 50-65 CE.

Luke

Luke was a doctor and friend of the disciple Paul. He wrote this book, and its sequel the book of Acts, for someone called Theophilus.

Luke probably gathered his stories from eyewitnesses in Rome, writing around 59-63 CE (or possibly 70-80 CE). He gives a lot of detail that matches what we know from archaeology and other sources.

Matthew

Early Christian writers say that Jesus' disciple Matthew wrote this book. It seems he used Mark's Gospel to help him as, like Luke, the stories overlap. It is thought to have been written around 60-70 CE, perhaps in Palestine.

John

Early Christian writers say that John (one of Jesus' twelve disciples) wrote this book in his old age, around 90 CE. He is also thought to have written three letters and the book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Bible. John deliberately leaves out things told in the other three Gospels, giving a lot of extra stories.

"We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ… We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard". (The Bible, 1 John chapter 1 verses 1 - 3).