However, the Gospels, as we now have them, contain material that is almost certainly the result of some years of development, editing, and reflection, and are based on traditions that were at first circulated orally. Of course, the Gospels may well contain elements of what Jesus said and taught about forgiveness, but we cannot be sure what precisely is “original” (the word scholars often use in this connection is “authentic”) and what may be later developments. We should note too that each of the