The titles of the four canonical Gospels consist of three words: euaggelion (gospel), kata (according to), and the name of the author. There is some mystery to these titles because each word confronts interpreters with a different problem.

The word euaggelion does not describe a literary genre in pre-Christian literature. The Greek word means “good news” (Isa 52.7; 61.1). In the New Testament writings euaggelion denotes either the oral presentation of Jesus’ message or the message itself, and in this sense it is found sixty times in the oldest part of the New Testament, the Letters of Paul. The first words of the Gospel of Mark are “Beginning of the euaggelion of Jesus Christ,” and it could very well be that this passage inspired the editors of the four-Gospel-canon to use euaggelion for the titles of the Gospels. From the middle of the second century A.D. onwards, euaggelion has established its meaning as the literary genre of books that record the words and deeds of Jesus, and it is regularly used in the titles of non-canonical gospels as well.

The Greek word kata is rarely used to designate the author of a written work. The usual way to mention the author is with the genetivus auctoris, as is the case in the titles of the general Epistles (for example, the Letter of James) and in the title of the book of Revelation (Revelation of John) in the New Testament. The closest parallel that can be found to the use of kata in the titles of the Gospels is the title of the traditional Greek translation of the Jewish Bible in pre-Christian times, the Septuagint. Legend has it that this translation was produced by seventy-two ancient scholars who translated the Hebrew text independently of each other and who all came up with the same Greek wording. This translation therefore was called “according to the seventy.” Other Greek translations of the Jewish Bible that were made in the second century A.D. by Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus also carry kata in their title. Since it is doubtful that Jesus preached in Greek, it is obvious that the Gospels contain a translation of his words. It is therefore quite possible that the use of kata in the titles of the Gospels was to remind readers that they were reading a translation.

The third part of the title gives the name of the person who authorized the particular Gospel. In the case of Luke, the name Luke is not mentioned anywhere in the text of the Gospel, but readers can learn from other New Testament writings who Luke is supposed to be. The introductory verses to the book of Acts make it clear that Acts is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke and is written by the same person. The author writes in first person plural in several passages in Acts, the so-called “we-sections” (Acts 16.10–17; 20.5–15; 21.1–18; 27.1–28.16). Readers learn from these passages that the author accompanied Paul on some of his journeys and that he was with Paul when Paul arrived in Rome, where the book of Acts ends. In Paul’s second Letter to Timothy, which was written from Rome (2 Tim 1.17), readers are informed that Luke is the only person who is with Paul as he faces his upcoming trial (2 Tim 4.11). This explains that it is this Luke who wrote the book of Acts and who is the author of the third Gospel. From other notes on Luke in the Letters of Paul we find the following information: Luke was a medical doctor (Col 4.14), a co-worker of Paul, and well acquainted with Mark (Phm 23–24; 2 Tim 4,11), who himself is known as the editor and publisher of another Gospel. Luke mentions in the prologue to his Gospel that he is acquainted with others who “have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,” and thus he gives an explanation to readers of the Gospels who might wonder why the Gospel of Luke has so many literal agreements with the works of Matthew and Mark.

The authors of the other three Gospels can be inferred by readers in very much the same way as with Luke. The information they will access by putting the names in the context of the whole New Testament will be the following: Matthew is the tax collector mentioned in Matthew 9.9 and 10.3. Mark is a co-worker of Paul (Acts 12.25; 15.37–39; Col 4.10; 2 Tim 4.11; Phm 24) and Peter (Acts 12.12; 1 Pet 5.13). John is the son of Zebedee, and he, his brother James, and Peter were the three disciples who were closest to Jesus (this interpretation is suggested by John 21.24 when it is read together with the title of the Gospel that gives the name of the author). Because the New Testament does not make any distinction between John who wrote the Gospel and John who wrote the three letters and the book of Revelation, readers of the New Testament will suppose that all these books were written by the same person.

This does not mean that the Gospels were really written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—this is very doubtful—but that whoever was responsible for the final editing process of the Gospels in the New Testament wanted the readers to identify the authors in this way.

The genre of the New Testament Gospels has several features in common with biographies of the same time: the concentration on one person, giving chronological and geographical details, carrying the story to the death of the hero. On the other hand, the theological intention and the impact on the readers, which is expressed, for example, in John 20.31: “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name,” clearly distinguish the Gospels from typical biographies.