Our information concerning events in the life of Jesus is obtained almost entirely from the Gospels of the New Testament. Before any of the Gospels were written, the Christian community had already existed for some time. Community members had formulated a number of specific beliefs concerning Jesus and the significance of his life, death, and resurrection. When the Gospels were written, the materials contained in them necessarily reflected to a considerable extent those beliefs that were generally accepted by Christians at that time. Not only Christians' specific beliefs but also their interpretation and significance for coming generations were bound to become part of the written biographies. There is nothing strange or unusual about this practice, for it is the kind of thing that is always involved in historical writing. Historians make use of source materials and record actual happenings with as much accuracy as possible. Even so, their selection of facts is recorded, and their interpretations of these materials govern the way in which histories are put together, which is true of the New Testament writings no less than it is of other historical writings.
The authors of the Gospels, inspired as they undoubtedly were, could not help but be influenced by their beliefs about Jesus. For them to fill in the gaps that occurred in their accounts by telling what they believed must have happened or even to insert at various points what seemed appropriate given their knowledge of subsequent events after Jesus' physical death would have been most natural. Determining just how much of the record as it exists at the present time is due to the interpretations of the authors is not always an easy task, nor can this determination be done with complete accuracy. So far as the main outline of events is concerned, no reason exists for doubting the biographies' historical accuracy, but like any other historical writing, appropriate allowances must be made for the limitations under which the different authors carried on their work.
