This book offers an ideal introduction to the Gospels and explains why it is that scholars and lay people have such different understandings of the person of Jesus.

The first half of the book looks at the main sources for the life of Jesus, principally the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, but also the so-called apocryphal Gospels. The second half of the book begins with an examination of the criteria employed by scholars to determine the earliest and most reliable forms of the tradition. The third edition interacts with developments in modern scholarship, particularly the advance of memory studies. With study questions at the end of each chapter, updated reading lists, and a new chapter bringing scholarship up to date the third edition of this classic text will provide a perfect companion for students coming to grips with academic study of Jesus and the Gospels.

Clive Marsh is Director of Lifelong Learning at the University of Leicester, UK.

Steve Moyise is Professor of New Testament at the University of Chicester, UK.

1. Introduction
2. Gospel of Mark
3. Gospel of Matthew
4. Gospel of Luke
5. Gospel of John
6. Apocryphal Gospels
7. The Quest for the Historical Jesus
8. Jesus: Prophet of the Coming Kingdom
9. Jesus: Teacher and Sage
10. Political and Ethical Interpretations of Jesus
11. Jesus in Art, Media and Culture
12. Conclusion
13. Reflective Postscript
Appendix
Further Reading
Bibliography