From his clairvoyant reading of the supersensible Akashic Record - the cosmic memory of all events, actions and thoughts - Rudolf Steiner was able to speak of aspects of the life of Jesus Christ which are not contained in the four biblical Gospels. Such research, in that it is not based on historical records or extant documents, can be spoken of as a 'Fifth Gospel'.

Steiner speaks, for example, of Jesus' life in the community of the Essenes, the temptation of Christ in the wilderness, and of a significant conversation between Jesus and Mary.