History YMMV / TheFourGospels

** Or maybe Dionysius Exiguus of Scythia Minor, the guy who designed the BC AD Calendar System was wrong. We, to be honest, have very little idea when Jesus of Nazareth was actually born. Current estimates put his birth at 4 BC.

* ObviousJudas: Judas Iscariot is the TropeNamer for betraying Jesus. However, the trope itself is actually {{averted}}: when Jesus tells His disciples that He knows one of them will betray Him, none of them have any clue who it might be, and all ask, "Lord, is it I?"
* ShrugOfGod: It's debatable whether Mark 16:9-20 and John 7:53-8:11 were ever actually part of the Gospel accounts as originally written by their authors.

* ObviousJudas: Judas Iscariot is the TropeNamer for betraying Jesus. However, the trope itself is actually {{averted}}: when Jesus tells His disciples that He knows one of them will betray Him, none of them have any clue who it might be, and all ask, "Lord, is it I?"

* {{Misblamed}}: Given that Jesus and all the Apostles were Jewish themselves, it should be clear that Jesus' criticism of the Pharisees is not meant to say that ''all'' [[UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}} Jewish people]] are bad or hypocritical, just the particular HolierThanThou religious leaders being criticized. Regrettably, this context is largely lost on some later interpreters who have used such texts to justify antisemitism in the name of Christ-- who, it's worth repeating, was Jewish.

* {{Misblamed}}: Given that Jesus and all the Apostles were Jewish themselves, it should be clear that Jesus' criticism of the Pharisees is not meant to say that ''all'' [[UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}} Jewish people]] are bad or hypocritical, just the particular HolierThanThou religious leaders being criticized. Regrettably, this context is largely lost on some later interpreters who have used such texts to justify antisemitism in the name of Christ--[[FanDumb who, it's worth repeating, was Jewish]].

** Despite appearing to be be a CelibateHero in the canonical gospels, in some ancient and modern works Jesus is romantically paired or at least {{Ship Tease}}d with Mary Magdalene (sometimes depicted as the woman who anoints him, though this is not explicit in the gospel texts). Or Mary is sometimes depicted as having [[AllLoveIsUnrequited unrequited]] romantic feelings for him, whereas the canonical gospels are silent about ''her'' love life too. Such works include some Gnostic gospels, ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', ''The Last Temptation of Christ'' and ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode''.

** Despite appearing to be be a CelibateHero in the canonical gospels, in some ancient and modern works Jesus is romantically paired or at least {{Ship Tease}}d with Mary Magdalene (sometimes depicted as the woman who anoints him, though this is not explicit in the gospel texts). Or Mary is sometimes depicted as having [[AllLoveIsUnrequited unrequited]] romantic feelings for him, whereas the canonical gospels are silent about ''her'' love life too. Such works include some Gnostic gospels, ''Jesus Christ Superstar, ''The Last Temptation of Christ'' and ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode''.

** Related to the above, Jesus letting a woman anoint him with expensive perfume over the objections of the disciples, particularly Judas, who say it should have been sold and the proceeds donated to the poor. Jesus says they will always have the poor but they will not always have him. Various works like ''Music/JesusChristSuperstar'', ''ComicBook/TheCartoonHistoryOfTheUniverse'', and ''Judas'' from Creator/BoomStudios present this as a BrokenPedestal moment for Judas who feels that Jesus is being [[{Hypocrite}} selfish]], and this ultimately helps motivate his betrayal. Left out are the parts in the gospels where Jesus says he was anointed for his coming burial, thus predicting/{{foreshadowing}} his death, and that Judas is said to not really care about the poor since he was StealingFromTheTill.

** Despite appearing to be be a CelibateHero in the canonical gospels, in some ancient and modern works Jesus is romantically paired or at least {{Ship Tease}}d with Mary Magdalene. Or Mary is sometimes depicted as having [[AllLoveIsUnrequited unrequited]] romantic feelings for him, whereas the canonical gospels are silent about ''her'' love life too. Such works include some Gnostic gospels, ''Music/JesusChristSuperstar'', ''The Last Temptation of Christ'' and ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode''.
** Related to the above, a lot of historians and scholars think it's possible Jesus might have been married. Mary Magdalene is the most common suggestion for who is wife was, if she existed.

* CriticalResearchFailure: The timeline the Gospel of Luke gives for Jesus' birth doesn't add up, since Herod the Great died in 4 BC and the census if Quirinius was in 6 AD. There was also no particular reason for Joseph to be involved, since Nazereth wasn't part of it and no census ever required people to register in the home of their ancestors instead of where they actually live (and pay taxes). Either the author made a mistake or Joseph was ''deeply'' confused.

%%* IronWoobie: Jesus himself.

* Or maybe Dionysius Exiguus of Scythia Minor, the guy who designed the BC AD Calendar System was wrong. We, to be honest, have very little idea when Jesus of Nazareth was actually born. Current estimates put his birth at 4 BC.

* MoralEventHorizon: Judas' betrayal of Jesus, which may be subverted by his guilt afterward. Though some consider his suicide as a worse deed than the betrayal, because it meant he permanently [[RedemptionRejection turned down the opportunity]] to [[HeelFaithTurn repent]].

** The so-called ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Gospel_of_Mark Secret Gospel of Mark]]'' interpolates an earlier incident where a youth is resurrected by Jesus in a passage vaguely similar to the Raising of Lazarus in John and comes to Jesus six days later dressed "only in a cloth", similar to the description above. Maybe they're the same youth.

* IronWoobie: Jesus himself.

** '''John 3:16''', which is widely quoted to summarize the entire "Good News": "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
*** In real life, it has become popular to put just "John 3:16" itself on signs or stickers.
** Part of Jesus's FamousLastWords: "My God, my God, why [[TearJerker have you forsaken me?]]"
*** There's some AlternateCharacterInterpretation as to whether he was really despairing or ''praying'', since the line is the start of [[Literature/BookOfPsalms Psalm 22]].

* MisaimedFandom: Ever hear a gun-toting badass proclaim "[[KillEmAll let God sort them out]]"? Yeah, that originated as a reference to the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares,[[note]]Weeds[[/note]] a rather different context...

** A specific one is the case of Judas. The Gospels all say Jesus foresaw that Judas would betray him, but Jesus' words to him in the Gospel of John, "[[GetItOverWith What you are about to do, do quickly]]" is sometimes taken further to mean that Jesus ''ordered'' Judas to betray him beforehand. This interpretation appears in the Gnostic Gospel of Judas, which was never part of the Biblical {{canon}}, and the novel and film ''Film/TheLastTemptationOfChrist''.

** Luke's description of the Shepherds receiving word of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:8-14), thanks much in part [[WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas to a very popular Christmas show]].
* MisaimedFandom: Ever hear a gun-toting badass proclaim "[[KillEmAll let God sort them out]]"? Yeah, that originated as a reference to the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares[[note]]Weeds[[/note]], a rather different context...

* MoralEventHorizon: Judas' betrayal of Jesus, which may be subverted by his guilt afterward. Though some consider his suicide as a worse deed than the betrayal, because it meant he permanently turned down the opportunity to [[HeelFaithTurn repent]].

** Luke's description of the Shepherds receiving word of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:8-14), thanks much in part [[ACharlieBrownChristmas to a very popular Christmas show]].

** A specific one is the case of Judas. The Gospels all say Jesus foresaw that Judas would betray him, but Jesus' words to him in the Gospel of John, "What you are about to do, do quickly" is sometimes taken further to mean that Jesus ''ordered'' Judas to betray him beforehand. This interpretation appears in the Gnostic Gospel of Judas, which was never part of the Biblical {{canon}}, and the novel and film ''Film/TheLastTemptationOfChrist''.

* IAmNotShazam: "Christ" is a descriptive title [[note]]taken from the Greek ''christos,'' which translates the Hebrew ''messiah'' meaning "anointed one"[[/note]], not Jesus' name or surname.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The guy running naked during the arrest of Jesus. Some scholars actually use this as an argument for the historicity of Mark's gospel-- a good author would never include such a bizarrely off-key event at the dramatic high point of the story, unless maybe he was recording something that actually happened.

* MemeticMutation: '''JOHN 3:16'''
** "Father, why [[TearJerker have you forsaken me]]?"