The four canonical Gospels of the New Testament are the main sources of information on Jesus of Nazareth. A number of noncanonical texts also exist, most notably the apocryphal gospels, which are collections of sayings and anecdotes about Jesus. In addition to certain independent versions of canonical sayings, the Gospel of Thomas, which was saved in a Coptic gnostic library discovered in Egypt around 1945, contains several such sayings. The letters of the Apostle Paul provide independent support of the Gospel tradition at specific points.

The form, structure, and substance of the first three Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—are substantially related. The reason they are named the Synoptic Gospels is that they can be studied in parallel columns, or a synopsis. Matthew and Luke most likely used Mark, and it’s possible that they also used the Q Gospel (named so from the German Quelle, “source”; Q is the fictitious Gospel that serves as the basis of much of the content found in subsequent Gospels). John seems to have a richer theological interpretation but may also have preserved accurate historical facts, as he differs in both pattern and content. The Gospels were composed to meet the religious requirements of the early Christian communities; they are not objective reports.