Writings attributed to the Apostles circulated among the earliest Christian communities. The Pauline epistles from the 50s and 60s were circulating, perhaps in collected forms, well before the end of the positive 1st century. Justin Martyr, in the mid 2nd century, mentions “memoirs of the apostles” as being read on “the day called that of the sun” (Sunday) alongside the “writings of the prophets.” A defined set of four gospels was identified by Irenaeus about zero 180.

Christian leaders in the second and third centuries recognized the differences in the four gospels. Some felt that four different writings would confuse their followers. Some even attempted to reconcile them all into one.

This fictional story narrates in modern terms what might have been a committee assigned to do just that, to create a single gospel.

Matthew 27:55-61, 28:1-10; Mark 15:40-41, 16:1-8; Luke 23:49-24:23; John 19:25b-27, 19:38-20:18

“Gentlemen, we are about to undertake the most important compilation ever attempted. When we have completed this project, the world will have one single gospel containing everything needed for salvation.”

The moderator looked around the table, hoping for glimpses of enthusiasm.

“For the sake of simplicity, you have each agreed to go by the name of the gospel assigned to you. The one defending the Gospel of Mark will be called Mark, and so on.”

Four heads nodded in agreement.

“The plan is to begin with the most important events—the crucifixion and resurrection. Are we in agreement?”

Again, all defenders nodded.

“Then let us begin. We will start with Jesus already on the cross. Now … where is everyone? Where are his followers?” The moderator pointed to Mark. “Your wrote your gospel first, so you may begin.”

Mark cleared his throat, glanced at a couple of documents to his right, and looked over at John. “Where? The women are with the men, behind the crowd, looking on from a distance. They don’t want to get too close where the soldiers will notice them. Some of the priests’ servants are up there. They would recognize the disciples. The three of us are in agreement on that.”

John frowned. “But if they’re at a distance, Jesus can’t speak to the beloved disciple John and to his mother. Mary will be alone. She needs someone to care for her. She and John have to be close enough to hear him.”

“Couldn’t he take care of that at the last meal they share?” suggested Luke. “He could tell John then to care for his mother. None of our gospels have that detail, just yours, but I agree, it’s important.”

John sighed, scribbled a note, then agreed. “OK. We’ll put that in the last meal. Mary won’t be there, but he could talk to her separately somewhere.”

The moderator smiled. The first difference was resolved. “Now who is there?”

Luke smiled. “Well, my gospel didn’t name anyone, just ‘the women who followed him from Galilee.’ So that’s up to the rest of you.”

Matthew turned to John. “Our gospels agree on Mary Magdalene. Mark and I have other unnamed women, too, which could include Mary’s sister and Mary the wife of Clopas from your gospel.”

Mark interrupted. “By the way, John, is Clopas the same as Cleopas, one of the two traveling to Emmaus that Easter Sunday in Luke’s gospel?”

John lifted his hands. “Could be. The name given to me didn’t have the ‘e’ in it. But it makes sense. Then the other traveler could have been this Mary who stood at the foot of the cross.”

“Only she’s not that close, remember? We moved them all back behind the crowd.” The moderator wanted to be sure not to lose the progress already made.

“Luke, what do you think? Would your gospel have my Clopas and your Cleopas as the same person?”

“Yes, OK, John. That’s fine.”

John looked at his papers. “I guess my gospel could add other women, too, to cover the ones in Matthew and Mark.”

“Then the one problem we have left”—the moderator looked at Matthew and Mark—”is whether Salome is the same as the mother of the sons of Zebedee.”

Matthew squirmed in his chair. “I don’t know. The gospel did not give her a name.”

“Are you agreeable to that change? Can we identify Salome as the mother of the sons of Zebedee like we have Mary the mother of James and Joseph?”

Mark was quick to point out that Joses was a nickname for Joseph so those two could be the same.

Matthew accepted the change, and the moderator sighed in relief. The women present at the crucifixion could now be consolidated into one document. There were, of course, other details, but the task today was simply to determine the people present at each event.

“Now … can we agree, Luke and John, that some of the women may have followed to the garden to see where Jesus’ body was laid? After all, they’re going to come back Sunday morning. They need to know where to go.”

Luke looked at John. They both nodded.

The moderator then turned to Matthew. “And are you okay with ‘the other woman’ being ‘Mary the mother of Joses’?”

Another nod meant another section of the Single Gospel had been completed.

“Now remember,” the moderator pointed at each gospel defender, “we’re not dealing with the actual details of the resurrection right now. We just want to clarify who was there and where.” He noticed the change in expression on each face. This was not going to be easy. Not as difficult as the event itself, but each gospel had different people at the tomb, and not all of them saw the risen Jesus.

“Matthew, Mark, and Luke, you all have Mary Magdalene and … well, Matthew, could ‘the other Mary’ here be Mary the mother of James? Would you accept that?”

Matthew nodded.

“Thank you. … And Luke, Salome could be one of the other women?”

Another nod.

“Matthew, your gospel only has two women. Mark, your gospel has three. Can we include ‘other women’ in your gospel accounts?”

Nodding by the defender of each named gospel settled three of the accounts, but the fourth was going to be more difficult. Mary Magdalene alone vs several women? That could be hard to reconcile.

John leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Sorry, this gospel just can’t do that. Can you imagine a bunch of women meeting the resurrected Jesus at the tomb? Would he say each of their names? Would they each try to hold onto him? That would be a crowd, not a personal experience, like Mary Magdalene has. No, it just won’t work.”

Silence filled the room until Mark spoke. “What if … what if several women go to the tomb? They all go back to the disciples with Mary Magdalene. Then, as in your gospel, Peter and John race to the tomb. The Beloved Disciple, identified as John, sees the cloths in the tomb and believes. Peter sees but is confused. They return home. The women stayed with the rest of the disciples, all except Mary Magdalene, who goes back to the tomb.”

John’s voice grew more determined. “No, she was the only one there. She went out ‘while it was still dark,’ before the others.”

Mark frowned. “Maybe, maybe not. You remember, my gospel was written some thirty, forty years before yours. I had access to second-generation Followers, people who had talked with those who had actually been there.”

Luke interrupted before John could speak. “And none of our gospels has Jesus showing himself at the tomb.” He turned to Mark. “And in your gospel, the women don’t even tell the men. How do they ever know unless someone tells them? Isn’t that why later somebody, actually two somebodies, wrote new endings?”

Mark defended his gospel. “The women knew they wouldn’t be believed. ‘An idle tale,’ remember, Luke? They didn’t want to be scorned. … Anyway, your gospel has Jesus meet the two going to Emmaus. And then showing himself to Peter. And then to all the disciples. The women weren’t necessary for the others to know.”

 “Gentlemen, we’re getting off track. We just need to work out who was at the tomb, not …”

“But whether or not Jesus showed himself matters to who was at the tomb.” Now Luke folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “John’s right. Mary Magdalene had a personal experience, just like we can experience him individually.”

“And the other women couldn’t have gone with her the first time?”

“Would they have stayed back in Jerusalem? If Mary Magdalene returned to the tomb, wouldn’t they have gone with her? These women have been together for three years, supporting Jesus. They would have stuck together. They were …”

“And Jesus told them all to go to Galilee to meet him,” Matthew insisted.

Luke shook his head. “No, because first he walked with the two on the road to Emmaus. He showed himself to the disciples in the upper room that evening. And then he led them out to Bethany. No, they were to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit.”

The room grew noisy as the men argued about the day of the resurrection and what followed. John stood and headed for the door. The moderator gaveled them to silence.

“This is not going to work. Each of the gospels has a different perspective, a different understanding of who Jesus was and what he did and what happened to him. Each of us has a different understanding of who Jesus was and what he did. How can we judge who told which details and the order in which they happened?”

He pointed to John standing in the doorway. “Please don’t leave yet. I would like us to draft a letter explaining why we cannot, why we should not, condense all four gospels into one.”

John rejoined them as they struggled to put onto paper why differences were important, why different perspectives mattered, why people did not and do not see the same event in the same way, why they gave different meanings to the same event, why different memories were remembered.

The letter began, “We have been unable to complete the task assigned to us. We believe that each of the gospels was inspired by the Holy Spirit, inspired, not dictated.

“Each gospel writer had a message to convey to a specific group of people, each with different needs and different understandings. Some writers were Jews. Their gospels wanted to show how Jesus fit into Judaism. Some writers were Gentiles. Their gospels showed how the whole world belonged to Jesus, all the nations. All four gospels offered both Jesus’ humanity and his divinity.

“The differences in the writers and the differences between the people receiving the gospels were such that events in the life of Jesus, teachings from Jesus, would be understood differently and so must be explained differently. Those who witnessed crucifixions regularly would understand why those who followed Jesus would look from a distance. Those who have a personal experience with the risen Lord would relate to Mary Magdalene alone at the tomb.”

The letter continued, then ended with “Our conclusion is that the four gospels should remain intact and separate. God’s word comes to each of us in different ways. Thanks be to God.”

Signed

For consideration:

General Questions

1) How does this story follow its Scripture?

2) How does this story expand its Scripture for you?

3) What is the message of this story?

4) How does the message apply to us today?

Specific Questions

5) If you were at this fictional council, would you have agreed to the decision about where the women were at the crucifixion?

6) Would you agree to which women were there?

7) Why does it matter which women followed Joseph of Arimathea to the tomb?

8) Concerning who (and how many) women went to the tomb on Resurrection morning, which gospel do you identify with?