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Jesus is the way,
 the truth, and the life

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 4 –

The dating of the Gospels

 

 

 

 

Some researchers have tried to date the Gospels – the books that tell about Jesus – at a point very late in time, and have said that, "The New Testament cannot be very accurate because it was written so much after the time of Jesus." They deem the Gospels unreliable because, they think, they were not written so long ago.

   What is the truth? Were the Gospels written by contemporaries of Jesus or were they not? Below, we are going to study the evidence associated with their creation. This evidence proves that the Gospels were, after all, written at a very early point in time.

 

The writers are well-known. One uncontested piece of evidence supporting the early creation of the Gospels is that the writers themselves were either apostles who lived at the same time as Jesus (Matthew, John) or they were associated with the apostles (Mark and Luke). External sources including Papias, Irenaeus, Eusebius, Origenes, Clemens Alexandrian and a fragment of Muratorio are among those ancient sources who confirm the identity of the writers. There is nothing uncertain about who wrote these books. For example, the following account written by Papias, bishop of Hieropolis, describes the activities of Mark to document information provided by the Apostle Peter. Also, Papias knew the Apostle John.

 

The oldest [apostle John] also used to say, "Mark, who was the interpreter of Peter, wrote down to every detail everything he [Peter] mentioned either about the speeches of Christ or his works, but not in chronological order, however. For he was not a hearer and follower of the Lord; but later on, as I said, he followed Peter who adapted his teaching according to need, not in order to dictate a collection of words of the Lord.

   Therefore, Mark did not make any mistakes when he this way wrote down some points as Peter mentioned them; since he paid attention to this exact point: to mention everything he had heard; and he would not add any wrong evidence. (16)

 

One can ask, therefore, how the origin of these books could be later in time if the writers clearly were contemporaries of Jesus and the apostles. The lifetimes of the apostles – many of them, like Peter, died in the 60s – clearly followed their own deadlines for the writing of the Gospels. It is impossible that they wrote them after their death, and we can also assume that at this point, they could not check any details.

   The conclusion is that these texts were written much earlier than today’s critics generally suppose. (Well-known liberal researcher John A.T. Robinson concluded after having studied the issue a second time that all the Gospels must have been written between the years 40 and 65.) People who suppose that they were written later do not have any proof. 

 

The information about society. Both the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles include several details of a historical, geographical and religious nature about the society of the time – quite detailed information and thus all the more difficult to explain. These pieces of information include, for example:

 

- Titles of persons. Luke uses exactly correct official titles for various persons – titles that would have been hard to learn later on, since at that time the titles and official positions of persons changed often. It is probably just this fact that correct titles have been used at the correct time that makes the strongest impact on researchers today. The most reasonable explanation is that these writings were created very soon after the actual events.

 

- Jerusalem. It has been possible to confirm details about Jerusalem (it was destroyed in 70 A.D.) and its natural features. For example, Solomon's Colonnade (John 10:23), the pool of Bethesda (John 5:2) and several other physical structures have been uncovered by archaeologists.  

   These kinds of references in the Gospels, especially those referring to Jerusalem, would have been hard to write at a later date, because the city was destroyed in the year 70, and almost nothing of it was left standing. Only people who were familiar with Jerusalem’s history and buildings before the city’s destruction could have written those texts. This clearly sets the date of the creation of the Gospels to within a generation of its principle characters, not a time closer to our own.

 

- Descriptions of eye-witnesses. Above, it was explained how the texts include plenty of details and descriptions by eye-witnesses which are difficult to explain if the texts were created recently. The most reasonable alternative is to accept the explanation that the texts must have been written during the generation that was there to see and witness the events.

 

The relationship between the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospels. One important key in dating the Gospels lies in dating of the Acts of the Apostles. If we know the time when the Acts of the Apostles was written, we must admit that the Gospels were written before that date.

   Almost all researchers agree that the Gospels (at least the three first ones: Matthew, Mark, and Luke) were written before the Acts of the Apostles because:

 

1. The Gospels describe events up to and including the year 30 A.D., whereas the Acts of the Apostles describes events that occurred before approximately 60 A.D. This means that there is a difference of almost thirty years between them.

 

2. Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of Apostles, wrote the Gospel first – cf. Luke 1:1 and the Acts 1:1.

 

3. Above, it was noted that Luke wrote his Gospel before the Acts.

   The common view, however, is that the Gospels of Matthew and Mark were written before Luke. Furthermore, church tradition holds that the Gospel of Matthew was the first one written. (This was noted by Irenaeus, for example, who said that Matthew published his gospel first among the Hebrews in their language. What is important about the statement of Irenaeus is that he had a connection to Polycarpos who was a disciple of Apostle John.). This proves that the three first Gospels were Matthew, Mark (as noted before, Mark served as Peter’s interpreter) and Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles was written after them by Luke.

 

So if we know when the Acts of the Apostles was written, we also know that the Gospels must have been written before that time.

   When did Luke write the Acts of the Apostles, then? Does this text date to a recent point in time or was it written at a point in time close to the events mentioned in it? Below are some reasons why it is justified to believe that the text had already been written by the early 60s:

 

- Not once does Luke mention in the Acts of the Apostles the shocking devastation of Jerusalem and its temple in the year 70 A.D. during which approximately a million people died. Neither does he mention the rebellion against the Romans that led to the destruction and started in 66 A.D. This is significant because in the Acts of the Apostles, Jerusalem is the central place and Luke does mention a smaller skirmish between the Jews and the Romans that took place in 44 A.D. He would certainly have mentioned the events of 66 and 70 A.D. if they had already occurred. The fact that he does not mention these events clearly suggests that he must have written the text before those events took place.

 

 - In the earlier work of Luke Jesus prophesies the devastation of the temple and Jerusalem in 70 A.D. But the Acts of the Apostles does not include any reference to the fulfillment of this prophesy. Certainly Luke would have mentioned it, if it had already taken place when he was writing the Acts of the Apostles.

   Actually, there is not even one reference in any book of the New Testament to the actual devastation of Jerusalem and its temple: it is always referred to as an event in the future, not something that has already happened. This omission can only be explained by the fact that the texts were written before the devastation of Jerusalem occurred.

 

- Luke’s description of Rome and its administrative organization is quite peaceful. He does not mention, for example, Emperor Nero who widely persecuted the Christians after 64 A.D. – even though he does mention other emperors (Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, in The Acts 11:28). This suggests that Luke must have written the Acts of the Apostles before 64 A.D.

 

- The Acts of the Apostles ends with Apostle Paul being still alive in Rome; his death is not mentioned (in 64 A.D.?). Neither does Luke mention the martyrdom of Peter (65 A.D.) and Jacob (62 A.D.) – although even historian Josephus mentions the death of Jacob – but he does describe in detail the deaths of other “less important” leaders such as Stephanus and the other Jacob.

   This omission by Luke is significant, because approximately half of the Acts of the Apostles discusses Paul, a large portion of it Peter, and Jacob is also an important person. The only reasonable explanation is that Luke must have written the text before these people died. There is no other way to account for the fact that he did not write about their deaths.

 

The letters of Paul. Even if we had no evidence proving that the Gospels were written at an early date, there is still the similarity between the Gospels’ portrayal of Jesus and the descriptions of Him in other parts of the New Testament. Paul, for example, whose letters are commonly thought to have been written between 50 and 60 A.D., described Jesus in the same way. His view of Jesus hardly differs from that given in the Gospels.

   What is important about the view given by Paul is that he was also a contemporary of Jesus and the first disciples. He also met the other apostles a couple of times (Gal 1:18, 2:1,9) and was influenced at the same time as them.

   In any case, the letters of Paul (marked with P) and the Gospels (G) have the similarities listed below. These similarities prove that the Gospels offer the same view of Jesus as the letters of Paul, which are assumed to have been written in 50 – 60 A.D.

 

The creator of all:

 

- (John 1:3 G) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 

- (Col 1:16 P) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

 

God who became a man:

 

- (John 1:1,14 G) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

 

- (Phil 2:5-8 P) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7  But made himself of no reputation, and took on him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.

 

- (Rom 9:5 P) Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

 

Came to save people:

 

- (Luke 19:10 G) For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

 

- (1 Tim 1:15 P) This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

 

The judge of all:

 

- (Matt  16:27 G) For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

 

- (2 Cor 5:10 P) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.

 

The second coming:

 

- (Matt 24:30 G) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

 

- (1 Thess 4:15,16 P) For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

 

Came under the law and fulfilled the law:

 

- (Matt 5:17 G) Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

 

- (Gal 4:4,5 P) But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

 

Suffered:

 

- (Luke 17:25 G) But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

 

- (Hebr 2:18 P) For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.

 

Sinless:

 

- (John 8:45,46 G) And because I tell you the truth, you believe me not.

46  Which of you convinces me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me?

 

- (Hebr 4:15 P) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

 

Betrayed:

 

- (Matt 26:25 G) Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I?  He said to him, You have said.

 

- (1 Cor 11:23 P) For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

 

Condemned before Pilate:

 

- (Matt 27:2 G) And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

 

- (1 Tim 6:13 P) I give you charge in the sight of God, who vivifies all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

 

Crucified:

 

- (Luke 23:33 G) And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

 

- (1 Cor 2:8 p) Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

 

- (2 Cor 13:4 P) For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

 

- (Gal 3:1 P) O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

 

Rose from the dead:

 

- (Luke 24:5,6 G) And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said to them, Why seek you the living among the dead?

6  He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spoke to you when he was yet in Galilee,

 

- (1 Cor 15:17,20 G) And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins.

20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.

 

Grace through Him:

 

- (John 1:17 G) For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

 

- (1 Cor 1:4 P) I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;

 

 We can be saved by believing in Him:

 

- (John 1:12 G) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

 

 - (Rom 10:11 P) For the scripture said, Whoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.

 

Only way to salvation:

 

- (John 14:6 G) Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.

 

- (1 Cor 3:11 P) For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

 

- (Eph 3:12 P)  In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

 

 

 

 

 

 




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