The four Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John came about in three stages, though not all at the same time. The first phase was the actual sayings, healings, and miracles of Jesus–what He said and what He did. Phase two was the oral tradition whereby His disciples and apostles preached and told by word of mouth what Jesus said and did. The final phase was the inspired writing of the Gospel by the evangelist. No one took notes or dictation while Jesus preached, taught, or performed His miracles. The written Word came many years after the preached or unwritten (spoken) Word.