Tap any point on the timeline to read about it.
Notes
How many gospels? Estimates vary. Origen (3rd c.) admits “many gospels” existed. Modern scholars (Bart Ehrman, Lost Christianities; Helmut Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels) argue there were likely many distinct writings about Jesus.
John and Gnostic thought: John’s mystical dualism and secret-knowledge themes echo Gnostic currents, though the gospel was canonized.
Today. Scholars still debate Judas’s role. The text shows early Christianity was not a single stream but a turbulent river with many tributaries — only later narrowed into the four canonical gospels.