Sexuality of Jesus repeatedly discussed in the Gospels that didn't make it into the New Testament. In fact, it is never discussed at all—never even mentioned, not even once. (...) It is not true that the Gospel of Philip calls Mary Jesus' spouse." The Gospel of John makes references to the "disciple whom Jesus loved" (John , , ), a phrase which does not occur in the Synoptic Gospels. In the text, this "beloved disciple" is present at the crucifixion of Jesus, with Jesus' mother, Mary. The "disciple whom Jesus loved" may be a self-reference by the author of the Gospel (John 21:24),
Synoptic Gospels that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. The "synoptic problem" is the question of the specific literary relationship among the three synoptic gospels—that is, the question as to the source or sources upon which each synoptic gospel depended when it was written. The