Gospel of Barnabas

The Gospel of Barnabas is a non-canonical pseudepigraphical gospel written in the Late Middle Ages and presented under the name of Barnabas, one of the early disciples of Jesus. It gives a detailed account of Jesus’ life, beginning with the nativity story and moving through his public ministry. The text reworks material found in the canonical gospels and adds Islamic elements, creating a version that follows a different theological line. It is also unusually long for a gospel, with a scale that makes it feel expansive rather than selective.

This book is for readers interested in non-canonical religious writing, in the overlap between Christian and Islamic traditions, or in how a familiar sacred story can be reshaped by later communities. It is less suited to someone looking for a straightforward introduction to the New Testament gospels, since its perspective is distinctive and historically layered. What makes it stand out is the way it blends recognizable gospel material with a very different interpretive frame. In that sense, it sits closer to pseudepigraphical religious texts and alternate retellings of biblical tradition than to a standard gospel narrative.