There is really only one Gospel: the good news about salvation through Isa Al-Masih!
The word “Gospel,” besides meaning “Good News” also refers to the first four books in the New Testament. They are often referred to as “The Gospel According to Matthew,” and so on. But a better title would be, “The Life of Jesus According to Matthew,” etc. These books are about the life of Jesus from the perspective of four different writers. The four Gospels give us four witnesses to the life of Jesus. And, of course, the four Gospels contain the “Gospel,” the “Good News.”
Why four witnesses? Throughout the Bible, God stressed that a truth must be confirmed by two or three witnesses (Taurat, Deuteronomy 19:15).
Four Witnesses of Isa Al-Masih’s Ministry
The Holy Spirit moved four witnesses to give to us a picture of Isa Al-Masih. Each of these men lived, worked and traveled with Isa while He was on earth. Because of their own personalities, Isa’s work affected them in different ways.
Imagine a house with a person on each side giving a description of it. The person at the front might say, “It has a large red door with a wide staircase.” The person looking at the right side might say, “There is a small gray door and three stairs.” The people on the other sides would describe something different. All four people describe the same house, but they give different descriptions. These descriptions are not mutually contradictory. They are just looking at the house from a different perspective. This is what the four writers of the Gospels did.
Each Gospel Written for a Different Audience
Each Apostle was inspired by God to write his Gospel to a different group of people. The Gospel of Matthew was written especially for Jews. Mark wrote his Gospel to the Romans. The Gospel of Luke was for the Greeks.
John wrote his Gospel to show that Isa Al-Masih is truly God who became man. The writers, all inspired by God, had different audiences and purposes in mind as they wrote. Therefore, God inspired them to emphasize different things about the person of Isa Al-Masih.
Differences, Not Contradictions
The small differences (not contradictions) in the Gospels give us a fuller picture of Isa Al-Masih. They supplement one another. A person can put these four books together and build a time line of Isa’s earthly ministry from beginning to end.
Some make the claim that the Gospels are not true. A Muslim should listen to what Muhammad said, “This is a true promise
which He has revealed in the Torah, (and) the Gospel…No one is more true to His promise than God” (Qs 9:111). Muhammad accepted the truth of the Gospel.
The Original Meaning of the Word “Gospel”
The word “Gospel” means “good news.” The Greek word is euangelion. Originally, the word was a greeting. It meant “good tidings.” Later, the word meant “the good news” itself that was being given. In the New Testament, eungelion is used for “the good news” of Isa Al-Masih.
You might ask, what is this “good news”? The apostle Paul described it to the Corinthians in this way: “I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said” (First Letter to the Corinthians 15:3-4, NLT).
The “Good News” is not good to people who do not receive it. But if a person accepts the fact that Christ died to save them from eternal punishment due to their sins, then that person would say that the Gospel is Good News! Dear reader, will you receive this Good News today?
[We invite you to visit us at https://www.isaandislam.com/way-of-salvation to learn more about God’s gift of Salvation. God loves you and waits to hear from you. Isa clearly said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Injil, John 14:6). For a deeper understanding of Isa we suggest you subscribe to “Isa, Islam, and Al-Fatiha” at this link.]
Questions to Respond to in the Comment Section:
The Staff at Isa and Islam invites your comments. In order to improve the discussion (comment section below), we will need to delete all comments that do not specifically relate to the article and/or the questions. Needless to say, we very much welcome and appreciate your feedback on this article.
- Is it important to have more than one witness write a biography on the life of Jesus? Why or why not?
- What is the “Gospel”? Do you feel it is important? Why or why not?
- Do you feel each writer of the Gospels give a full picture of Isa? Why or why not?
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Peace be unto you my brother,
Thank you for your enlightenment. There are a lot of things that I agree and disagree with your articles. Nevertheless, I guess we can find common ground in every argument.
By the way, please do not misrepresent and misguide the scripture from its context.
The Quranic verse of Qs 9:111 is referring to the Quran itself, not the four gospels, whom the authors were not even known to have verified.
Thanks 🙂
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Thank you for your comment. Qs 9:111 says, [b]”Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment.” [/b]So, if you say that this verse refers to itself, why does it talk about the Gospel?
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This is the interpretation of Sura 9:111: We offer our whole selves and our possessions to Allah, and Allah gives us Salvation.
This is the true doctrine of redemption; and we are taught that this is the doctrine not only of the Quran but from the earlier Revelations-the original Law of Moses and the original Gospel of Jesus. Any other view of redemption is rejected by Islam, especially that of corrupted Christianity, which thinks that some other person suffered for our sins and we are redeemed by his blood. It is our self-surrender that counts, not other people’s merits. Our complete self-surrender may include fighting for the cause, both spiritually and physically. In the New Testament St. Paul, in commending the worthy fruits of Faith, mentions Gideon, Barak, and other warriors of the Old Testament as his ideals, “Who through faith subdued kingdoms…waxed valiant in fight, turned to fight the armies of the aliens…” (Hebrews,11:32-34).
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Muslim,
Thank you for your sharing regarding your faith in Allah.
The Christians also believe that God who gives salvation to all mankind. Before the Christ came, God set a sacrifice system for sin. And the ram for sacrifice must be blameless.
Yet, God so loved the world, that He himself provided a holy sacrifice for all mankind. [b]“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” [/b](John 3:16). Just as one person sinned which spread to all mankind, hence one person, Isa, Son of Man, who was born miraculously, obeyed to God’s will to surrender himself as a holy sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. So that, all mankind are saved.[b] “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—“ [/b](Romans 5:12). Then, [b]“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men“[/b] (Romans 5:18).
So this is what the Christians believe, that Salvation is grace from God and the assurance is in Isa Al-Masih.
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Surah 9: 111 (Sahih International):
[b]”Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment.”[/b]
Allah is true to his covenant with me, a follower of Isa, and I rejoice of my transaction, (redemption) the ‘Injiil’ (the original gospel) which I have contracted. Alhamdullillah.
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Stefan,
Please God that you and those who receive Isa as God and his Savior have receive Salvation from God! Amen.
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I disagree with you.
Mathew, Mark, Luke and John were never witnesses. A witness according by law, is someone who was there and who had actually seen the events. Your Bible says “and they all forsook Him and fled”……emphasis on the word “all”. They never even met Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him).
John’s gospel was written almost 100 years after Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him).
The other three gospels are copies of each other. This has been scientifically proven.
After the time of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him), there were numerous gospels floating around, including the Gospel of St. Barnabas (which is still in existence today, of which I have a copy). And mind you, the Bible speaks so highly of Barnabas yet his gospel is not part of your Bible.
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Dear Saadiq,
I appreciate your comment. Through the Bible, we could understand that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John lived, worked and traveled with Isa while He was on earth. They saw, heard, observed and wrote many wonderful things about Isa Al-Masih. These books don’t contradict to each other, but supplement one another. This is great!
About the verse that you quoted, which verse is it in the Bible?
Also, the Gospel of Barnabas is false. You may be comfortable in reading it but many of the verses contradict with the Quran itself. So, by saying the Gospel of Barnabas is the right one, are you saying that the Quran is false?
Thank you.
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2. Your comment should be directly related to the theme of the lead article.
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6. Do not use capital letters to emphasize something.
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