The Genuine Jesus and the Counterfeit Christs: New Testament and Apocryphal Gospels

by Simon J. Gathercole

Christianity Today Book Awards Biblical Studies Award of Merit (2025)

What are the key differences between the canonical Gospels and the apocryphal gospels?

In this concise and engaging book, New Testament scholar Simon Gathercole shows that crucial theological features link Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John together—and also set them apart from other ancient accounts of Christ's life.
 
Writing in a clear and highly accessible style, Gathercole analyzes the New Testament Gospels alongside some of the earliest and most controversial apocryphal gospels. He shows that the canonical Gospels share key elements of theological content—content that consistently aligns with what the apostles taught about Jesus. Specifically, what distinguishes Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John is that they faithfully represent Jesus's messiahship, his saving death and resurrection, and his fulfilment of Scripture. This stands in sharp contrast to the apocryphal Gospels, which either represent such teaching incompletely, ignore it, or actively reject it.
 
In short, what separates the canonical Gospels from their noncanonical counterparts covered in this book is that the former are faithful portraits of Christ the savior; the latter are less-than-authentic representations. The Genuine Jesus and the Counterfeit Christs will appeal to everyday readers who want to know more about apocryphal gospels, and to students in biblical studies who are interested in questions of authority and canonicity.

Genres: Biblical Studies

129 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 16, 2025

About the author

Simon Gathercole (PhD, University of Durham) is senior lecturer in New Testament studies in the Faculty of Divinity of the University of Cambridge and Fellow and director of studies in theology at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, England. A leading British New Testament scholar, he has written several groundbreaking books.

Reviews

[John Damon Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good resource for the inevitable situation whenever anyone brings up the "other gospels." We read the canonical gospels not because of some conspiracy, but because they alone are theologically united around the original apostolic gospel.

[Lanie Walkup · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ rounded up. Really short, accessible, focused and easy read. But I was left wanting a bit more engagement with how these Gospels illuminate our understanding of early Christianity, NT, etc. Takes on a bit more of the apologetic aim, so I get why it doesn’t and can’t include more.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it made a strong case for the canonicity of the gospels that are in our modern Bibles, it felt overly repetitive. The introduction and the end were the most interesting parts. This book also helped me familiarize myself with the non-canonical gospels and what makes them different from the canonical ones as well as each other.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wonders if the books of the Bible were just chosen by some guy. That is a claim I've heard, and it's nice to reinforce my confidence in the Bible I have today.

[Jared Willett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great book explaining why the apocryphal Gospels are not the same as the canonical. No, they were not chosen or rejected at random by the early church. Rather, the canonical Gospels alone contain the full preached gospel message of the apostles. So readable! Easy to recommend to any level interested in this subject. People in the pews need to know! Thank you for your attention to this matter!