The Gospels: More Than A Biography

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We’re so familiar with the Gospels that we rarely stop to ask the obvious: what kind of books are these?

For most of history, people didn’t even frame the question in terms of genre. The Gospels were Scripture – read in churches, proclaimed in sermons, harmonized into a single narrative about Jesus. Later, during the Enlightenment, skeptics dismissed them as myth, while others insisted they were unique – a one-of-a-kind category, unlike anything else in the ancient world.

But in recent decades, scholars have noticed something striking. The Gospels fit a genre that was widespread in the first century: the “Life” (bios). These short works told the story of a person of significance – a philosopher, a military leader, even an emperor. They didn’t aim for modern-style detail or strict chronology. They were selective, using episodes and sayings to reveal the essence of someone’s character.

And the Gospels fit right in. But they also turn the genre upside down.

They don’t just tell a life. They tell the Life.

And that’s what makes them explosive.

Lives told character through story

If you pick up Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, you won’t find a detailed timeline of every year in Alexander the Great’s reign. Instead, you’ll find carefully chosen episodes: a decisive battle, a pivotal conversation, a revealing moral choice. Each one is meant to illustrate Alexander’s character.

The Gospels work the same way. They don’t tell us Jesus’ height, the shape of His face, or what He ate for breakfast. They don’t fill in the trivial details we sometimes wish we had.

Instead, they zero in on the stories that matter most – the ones that reveal His heart, His authority, His mission.

• Mark races us through healings, exorcisms, and confrontations, hammering the question: who is this man?

• Matthew frames Jesus as the new Moses, the teacher whose words define a kingdom.

• Luke highlights the outsiders, showing how Jesus’ compassion disrupts the norms of society.

• John slows the pace, unfolding conversations that reveal divine glory breaking into human life.

Just like other ancient Lives, the Gospels select, arrange, and highlight episodes to reveal character. But unlike other Lives, the character in question isn’t simply great. He’s world-shaking.

The twist: not just a life, but the Life

Here’s where the Gospels bend the genre. Most “Lives” honored figures of the past – philosophers, rulers, heroes – whose deaths were fixed in history. The Gospels insist that Jesus’ death wasn’t the end, but the turning point.

And not only that. They insist He’s still alive.

John says it outright: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).

In other words, the Gospels aren’t written simply to inform or inspire. They’re written to invite. You’re not just learning about Jesus. You’re being confronted by Him. Summoned into His story.

That’s not how a “Life” was supposed to work. You could admire Alexander. You could imitate Socrates. But Jesus? You don’t just admire or imitate Him. You belong to Him. His life becomes the key to your own.

A Life that redefines lives

Most ancient Lives aimed to inspire. You’d read about a general’s courage or a philosopher’s wisdom and be challenged to live in the same spirit. The example was the point.

But the Gospels go further. Jesus is not just an example. He is a savior.

When you read His Life, you don’t walk away with a set of moral lessons. You walk away, confronted by a cross and an empty tomb. His story doesn’t just inspire your life – it transforms it. His death for sin becomes your death to sin. His resurrection becomes your hope.

Paul put it bluntly:

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

That’s not admiration. That’s union.

The Gospels are the record of Jesus’ Life. But they’re also the doorway into ours. His story is not a distant model but a living invitation.

Why it matters today

You might wonder: Does any of this talk about genre really matter? Isn’t it just academic background?

Here’s why:

In an age of skepticism, some dismiss the Gospels as fairy tales, while others treat them as theological reflections with little grounding in history. But ancient readers knew exactly what kind of works these were. They weren’t legends floating above reality. They were written in a recognizable form – the “Life” – to make the boldest claim possible: that Jesus of Nazareth is not just another figure worth remembering, but the one through whom God is remaking the world.

And here’s the twist modern readers need to hear: unlike every other “Life,” this one doesn’t stay on the page. It reaches out and claims you.

The Gospels are about Jesus. But they’re also about you. Your story. Your life. Your place in God’s world.

The Gospel as invitation

So what kind of books are the Gospels? Ancient readers would have recognized them as “Lives.” But they would have stumbled at the audacity: a crucified man presented as the world’s true Lord, whose story doesn’t end in death but in resurrection.

The Gospels fit the genre. But they also break it open. Because Jesus isn’t just one more figure of history. He is the Life.

And His story can become yours.

© Nathan Cole

Originally published on Medium.

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