Introduction

"You cannot see the wood for the trees!" This proverb comes often to mind when reading exegetical literature of the Bible, especially the kind of literature that stems from the historico-critical exegetical tradition. Historico-critical exegesis in its now multicentenarian history has produced a curious mixture of epoch-making exegetical breakthroughs and downright exegetical nonsense. A recent document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, entitled "The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church", has reaffirmed the enduring value of the historico-critical method, while at the same time warning against an uncritical use of this critical method. In this article I shall try to present in a popularizing fashion some results of this method with regard to the formation of the literature we know as the Four Gospels. In so doing I hope to show how the historico-critical method in itself is not inimical to a positive assessment of the Gospel witness. At the same time I hope to provide an insight into the New Testament ground of the fundamental challenge facing the Church of all times: this challenge is called "evangelization", is called "Gospel", i.e. the presentation of the mystery of Jesus to all human beings, even to all creation (Mark 16:15).

1. "Gospel", a Word with a History: From the One Gospel to the Four Gospels

Nowadays when we hear the word "Gospel" we immediately think of the four Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But it has not always been so. In the first 100 years of the Church's life, the word "Gospel" did not immediately suggest the thought of a book or of a set of books. What was the meaning of this word then? From about A.D. 30 to about A.D. 130 this word referred not to a book but to a piece of news, a piece of good news that made the round of the then known world transmitted by word of mouth.

A news is a report or announcement regarding a recent event. A good news is an excited report or announcement regarding a recent happy event. So a first century Christian, sharing his faith in Jesus with someone else, would say: "I have a good news to tell you, a news that can fill your life with meaning and joy." The two words "good news" actually translate the single word "Gospel", so that this first century Christian could also be quoted as saying: "I have a Gospel to tell you."

At the beginning of the life of the Church, therefore, the word "Gospel" actually meant a piece of good news, referring to a happy event. Throughout the New Testament (including the Four Gospels) this word has this meaning and only this meaning, with the following three minor variations: (1) 'a' good news, as in Gal 1:6: "I am astonished that you are so quickly [...] turning to a different gospel"; (2) 'the' good news, as in Rom 1:16: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel"; (3) 'the announcement of' the good news, as in Rom 16:25: "God [...] is able to strengthen you according to my gospel"; or as in Mark 8:35: "Those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it." In all three cases what is envisaged is the oral transmission of a piece of news.

It is important to recover this original meaning of the word "Gospel" in order to appreciate the treasure hidden in the four books that we call "Gospels". It is bearing this meaning that this word appears at the head of the Gospel of Mark: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Paraphrased, this lapidary phrase could sound as follows: "The happy news, that is, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Son of God. This is how it all began." When Mark wrote the word "Gospel", that is how he understood it. That is also how Matthew, and Luke, and John, and Paul, and Peter understood it. Thus understood, this word has only one referent: the person of Jesus, the mystery hidden in the person of Jesus who was born, died, and rose for us, the mystery of the Immanuel, of the God-with-us, the mystery of the Kingship of God, the mystery of man's radical salvation by the gratuitous initiative of God the Father of Jesus in the Spirit. The word "Gospel", however, refers to this person and this mystery as "announced", as "proclaimed". So the original meaning of the word "Gospel" comes very close to the meaning of the modern and more cumbersome word "evangelization", if by "evangelization" we mean first and foremost the proclamation of the mystery of God in Christ Jesus through the power of the Spirit.

When, then, did our more usual meaning of the word "Gospel" appear? When was this word first used to denote not an oral act of transmission of news but a written text containing this news? When did the word "Gospel" start to mean the four books that record Jesus' words and deeds? Such a use of the word "Gospel" can be first documented starting with St Justin Martyr (c. 100 - c. 165 A.D.). In his Apologia Prima pro Christianis Justin mentions the Apostles and the "Memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels". This seems to be the first time in the history of the Church that the word "Gospel" is used to indicate the books written by the four evangelists. Since then, this meaning has become prevalent, making it difficult for us to give due attention to the original meaning of the word "Gospel". In its original meaning, the word "Gospel" had one single referent, the "One Gospel", the Good News of Jesus passed on by word of mouth from person to person. In its later meaning the word "Gospel" had four different referents, namely the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In the letters of St Ignatius of Antioch the former meaning is still evident, as when he writes to the Philadelphians: "I am clinging for refuge to the Gospel message as though to the incarnate Christ, and to the Apostles as the collective ministry of the Church." Yet, a trace of the original "One Gospel" meaning is preserved in the Liturgy of the Mass whenever the deacon starts proclaiming the Gospel by saying: "A reading from the Holy Gospel ACCORDING TO...", and not "A reading from the Holy Gospel OF...". When saying, for example, "the Holy Gospel according to Matthew", we are using the word "Gospel" in a sense that does not refer to the book written by Matthew, but refers instead to the good news contained in that book. In this phrase the word "Matthew" refers to the book. Unfortunately, the true meaning of the phrase "the Holy Gospel according to..." has been obliterated in the Chinese translation of this liturgical text.

What I propose to do in the following sections is this: we shall explore the content of the original oral "Gospel", the One Gospel, and try to show its relationship to the content of the written Gospels, the Four Gospels. In doing so, I hope to help myself and others to see not only the trees but also the wood when reading or listening to the Gospel.