One of the reasons that the Gospels were so late in appearing, some 40 to 60 years or more after Jesus died, is that the early Christians had no motivation for writing these things down. If the general thrust of Jesus’s reported message can be trusted, he was sure that the Kingdom of God was going to be ushered in from heaven in the very near future. The early followers of Jesus were expecting him to bring history and Roman oppression to an end — soon!
