The Fourfold Gospel
Overview
This groundbreaking approach to the study of the fourfold gospel offers a challenging alternative to prevailing assumptions about the creation of the gospels and their portraits of Jesus. How and why does it matter that we have these four gospels? Why were they placed alongside one another as four parallel yet diverse retellings of the same story?
Francis Watson, widely regarded as one of the foremost New Testament scholars of our time, explains that the four gospels were chosen to give a portrait of Jesus. He explores the significance of the fourfold gospel's plural form for those who constructed it and for later Christian communities, showing that in its plurality it bears definitive witness to what God has done in Jesus Christ. Watson focuses on reading the gospels as a group rather than in isolation and explains that the fourfold gospel is greater than, and other than, the sum of its individual parts. Interweaving historical, exegetical, and theological perspectives, this book is accessibly written for students and pastors but is also of interest to professors and scholars.
- Demonstrates how the four gospels each contributes essential and unique perspectives on Jesus' life and person
- Emphasizes the value of approaching to gospels as a group rather than on an individual basis
- Argues that the formation of the canon with the four gospels side by side is essential for their theological interpretation
- Prolegomena: The Making of a Fourfold Gospel
- More Than Four?
- Fewer Than Four?
- Why "Gospel"?
- Why the Evangelists' Names?
- Why These Four?
- Part 1: Perspectives
- The First Gospel: Jesus the Jew
- The Second Gospel: Preparing the Way
- The Third Gospel: Magnificat
- The Fourth Gospel: Seeing God
- Part 2: Convergences
- Four Gospels, One Book
- The City and the Garden
- Christus Victor
- The Truth of the Gospel
The Fourfold Gospel displays all the virtues that readers have come to expect from one of the finest biblical interpreters of our day: depth and breadth of learning, exegetical prowess, clarity of argument, and sure theological judgment, all in the service of the truth of the gospel.
—John Webster, Professor of Divinity, St. Mary's College, University of St. Andrews
What does it mean, theologically speaking, that we have four canonical gospels? Drawing on sources as diverse as Ezekiel's vision and Eusebius's canons, Francis Watson's reflection on this question is as astonishingly fresh as it is deeply grounded in the church's traditions. Not for specialists only, The Fourfold Gospel is rich and richly rewarding.
—Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Baylor University
The old cliché about John's gospel is that it is like a sea in which a child may paddle or an elephant swim. The same could be said of this marvelous book, which makes an excellent introductory book for students while also brimming with both astute historical detective work and elegant and thoughtful (and sometimes moving) exegesis that is illuminating for the expert.
—Simon Gathercole, Reader in New Testament, University of Cambridge; Fellow and Director of Studies in Theology, Fitzwilliam College
- Title: The Fourfold Gospel: A Theological Reading of the New Testament Portraits of Jesus
- Author: Francis Watson
- Publisher: Baker Academic
- Publication Date: 2016
- Pages: 224
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Topic: Gospel Studies