What Genre Are Gospels?
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A literate person in the second century of the Greco-Roman world who came across a New Testament gospel would probably think the document was a bios, a “life” or biography of Jesus. They probably would not regard these gospels as particularly well written examples of the genre. The similarity to the Greek and Roman biographical tradition would have been apparent, nevertheless.
A reader or listener who was not part of the Jesus movement might have been puzzled by the unusual content of the gospels. Concepts of messiahs and resurrection and the Jewish law would not have been familiar fare. Yet a story of a person's public career told sequentially and organized around topical material would be recognized as a “life” or bios like many others in Greek and Latin literature.
Were Ancient “Lives” the Same as Modern Biographies?
Greco-Roman “lives” usually focused on rulers, military leaders, and teachers. Today many biographers approach their task as journalists who research and try to establish facts as they write the story of a famous person’s life. When we read a biography, we expect to learn about the life experiences that shaped the person’s individual identity, including their mistakes and their ups and downs.
Ancient readers had different expectations when they read a “life.” The purpose of an ancient bios or “life” was not focused on a factual narrative but on praise for the person. A “life” usually formed an image of the person as a model of the virtuous ideals important to the author. Sometimes a “life” did the opposite and presented the person as the opposite of the ideal.
Ancient readers would have recognized the gospels as examples of this genre. They would have seen a gospel as a “life” written to persuade readers that Jesus was a model of the gospel writer’s ideals. Like other ancient “lives,” gospels were idealistic rather than realistic. This genre functions to persuade the reader to hold a certain opinion, usually favorable, of the subject. The biographer was not interested in the subject “warts and all.” The genre required that the warts be removed or at least explained. Material that was potentially damaging to the biographical subject was either suppressed or reworked—”damage control” if you will.
How Did Writers of “Lives” Write to Idealize (or Defame)?
Ancient biography was also concerned with portraying the typical rather than the individual qualities of famous people. An individual was considered worthy of a biography to the degree that his or her life exhibited typical qualities admired by the writer. Some biographies, however, were critical of their subjects. These showed their subjects’ lack of admirable qualities and emphasized the person’s vices. Suetonius, for example, wrote Lives of the Caesars. His portrayals of the emperors Caligula and Nero emphasize their vices and their most offensive and outrageous actions.
Most writers tended to idealize their subjects, however. They wrote to satisfy the expectations of the audience. A good example of this can be seen in a “life” of Moses included in Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews (11.238–53). Moses was, of course, the founder figure for Judaism. So Josephus sought to portray Moses as the kind of leader that a Roman audience would respect. To do this, Josephus narrates Moses' supposed “lost years” as a young man at the court of the Egyptian pharaoh. As a young man, Moses displays his military skill by winning impressive military campaigns against Ethiopia and gains the Ethiopian princess as his bride in the process. Of course, all of this is fictional, but it serves to present Moses as a typical and ideal leader in terms of the expectations of Josephus' audience. Philo, another Jewish author of the time, also wrote a Life of Moses. Philo describes Moses' royal qualities including an education consisting of Chaldean astronomy, Egyptian math, and Greek literature! Anachronism was not an issue.
How Do Portrayals of Jesus as Divine Fit the “Life” Genre?
Gospel stories of Jesus walking on the water and stilling the storm fit this tendency in the “lives” to represent the typical and the ideal. They show Jesus with the divine powers the writers saw as part of his identity. Various models have been suggested for these stories. Similarities to Homeric stories about the gods have been noted. The stories may also allude to the emperor Caligula having a pontoon bridge constructed across a large bay so he could stage a spectacular display of his divinity by crossing the sea. Divinity was a sign of power associated with emperors as well as entrepreneurial healers, magicians, and holy men. See a post on Jesus, Son of God.
How Do Gospels Resemble “Lives” of Ancient Teachers?
The gospels also present Jesus as a superior and authoritative teacher. Jesus always has the final word in a debate with opponents, a demonstration of his authority. The gospel stories of Jesus look most like the “lives” of teachers.
The second-century Greek bios or “life” of the philosopher Demonax is a good example. The author of this biography was Lucian, best known for his brilliant satirical works. In this book, however, he seeks to demonstrate that Demonax was the best and wisest of any philosopher he had ever known. What is strikingly similar to the gospels' story of Jesus is Lucian's admission that there had been a time in Demonax's life when his native Athenians had sought his death. Such information would not seem to provide Lucian with an opportunity to praise his hero. Yet he deftly turns this episode to his advantage.
Lucian skillfully tells the story in such a way that the reader would immediately think of Socrates. The unjust death of Socrates and his noble demeanor in the face of it had become stock items in the Greco-Roman philosophical tradition. The comparison transfers the virtues of Socrates to Demonax. The hostility of the Athenians toward Demonax thus appears to be unfounded.
Likewise, the gospel writers are at pains to portray the enemies of Jesus as malicious and to show that the charges against him were false and baseless. In order to create sympathy for their hero, Jesus, the gospel writers portray him as the innocent, righteous sufferer, a type of character well known from Jewish literature. Again, the genre requires them to explain away these unpleasant difficulties and create audience sympathy for their hero. Dispassionate objectivity was not a requirement for the Greco-Roman biographical tradition.
How Do Gospels as “Lives” Establish Authority for Jesus’ Teachings?
Gospel traditions stressed the new authority of Jesus' teaching (Mark 1:27–28; Matt. 7:28–29). Portraying Jesus as an authoritative teacher enhanced the credibility of his teachings. Like other “lives” of teachers, gospel accounts of Jesus present him as the founder and the embodiment of the values and ideals of the “school” that succeeds him. Like the other “lives,” gospels persuaded readers of the legitimacy of the teacher Jesus and his teachings. The gospel writers’ communities, like the schools of the other teachers, carry on the teacher’s tradition as the legitimate voice of that tradition.
The gospels, therefore, are about the life and teachings of Jesus, but at the same time, they function to promote the interests and values of their authors and their communities.
This post is part of a series on genre in New Testament writings based on Perry Kea’s article:
Kea, Perry. “New Testament Literary Genres.” Fourth R 6.4 (1993): 10–16.
See the introduction to genre. Other posts in the series will have more information about histories, and apocalypses. See a previous post about letters.
