The NT GOSPELS - Evidence of Author's & Dates Written
▪︎ Matthew - A tax collector who became Jesus' apostle and wrote about the life of Jesus as the Messiah for the Jewish community c. 50 AD.
▪︎ Mark - A Jew, and a companion of Peter and Paul, who wrote for both Jews and Gentiles about Christ's death and resurrection c. 50 AD.
▪︎ Luke - A Gentile doctor, and a companion of Peter and Paul who wrote for the Gentiles about Christ the saviour for humankind. c. 50 AD
▪︎ Luke - also wrote the Acts of the Apostles c. 50 AD.
▪︎ John - The 'beloved' apostle of Jesus, wrote in his later years about the Word who took on Flesh (John 1:1,14) c. 50-60 AD.
▪︎ John - also wrote 3 Letters and The Book of Revelations c. 80-90 AD.
▪︎ James - wrote 1 letter c. 35 AD.
▪︎ Paul - wrote 13 letters c.49 - 65 AD.
▪︎ Jude - wrote 1 letter c. 65 AD.
▪︎ Peter - wrote 2 letters c. 67 AD.
▪︎ The author of The Letter to Hebrews is unknown c. 65 AD.
(Wikipedia).
▪︎ Jesus Christ's' ministry occurred between 27-30 A.D.
▪︎ Christianity began after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ when thousands of Jews became followers of 'The Way' (Jesus).
▪︎ The New Testament scholar, F.F. Bruce, gives strong historical evidence that the New Testament was completed by A.D. 100.
▪︎ Most writings of the New Testament were completed twenty to forty years before 100 AD. (Wikipedia).
▪︎ The apostles and their companions wrote the New Testament from their first-hand experiences with Jesus.
New Testament integrity is supported by historians, biblical and textual scholars, along with thousands of early codices, manuscripts and the Dead Sea Scrolls, proving the validity and preservation of the Gospels written between c. 35-90 A.D
(Eusebius, Church History 111. 39 .15; Irenaeus Against Heresies, 111.1)
INTERNAL Evidence:
▪︎ The internal evidence supports these early dates for several reasons. The first three Gospels prophesied the fall of the Jerusalem Temple which occurred in A.D. 70. However, the fulfillment is not mentioned. It is strange that these three Gospels predict this major event but do not record it happening. Why do they not mention such an important prophetic milestone? The most plausible explanation is that it had not yet occurred at the time Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written.
▪︎ In the book of Acts, the Temple plays a central role in the nation of Israel. Luke writes as if the Temple is an important part of Jewish life. He also ends Acts on a strange note: Paul living under house arrest.
It is strange that Luke does not record the death of his two chief characters, Peter and Paul. The most plausible reason for this is that Luke finished writing Acts before Peter and Paul's martyrdom in A.D. 64. A significant point to highlight is that the Gospel of Luke precedes Acts, further supporting the traditional dating of c. A.D. 60.
Most scholars agree Mark precedes Luke, making Mark's Gospel even earlier.
▪︎ Finally, the majority of New Testament scholars believe that Paul's epistles are written from A.D. 48-60. Paul's outline of the life of Jesus matches that of the Gospels.
1 Corinthians is one of the least disputed books regarding its dating and Pauline authorship.
In 1Corinthians chapter 15, Paul summarizes the gospel and reinforces the premise that this is the same gospel preached by the apostles.
Paul quotes from Luke's Gospel in 1 Timothy 5:18, showing us that Luke's Gospel was indeed completed in Paul's lifetime. This would move the time of the completion of Luke's Gospel along with Mark and Matthew.
This Internal Evidence presents a strong case for the early dating of the Gospels.
EXTERNAL Evidence - Gospel Dates:
▪︎ Were the Gospels written by eyewitnesses of the events, or were they not recorded until centuries later? As with the internal evidence, the external evidence also supports a first century date.
▪︎ Fortunately, New Testament scholars have an enormous amount of ancient manuscript evidence. The documentary evidence for the New Testament far surpasses any other work of its time, with over 5000 manuscripts, and many are dated within a few years of their authors' lives.
KEY documents:
▪︎ Chester Beatty Papyri contains most of the N.T. writings, and is dated around A.D. 250.
▪︎ The Bodmer Papyri contains most of John, and dates to A.D. 200.
▪︎ Rylands Papyri that was found in Egypt and contains large fragments of John, and dates to A.D. 130.
From this fragment we can conclude that John was completed well before A.D. 130 because, not only did the gospel have to be written, it had to be hand copied and make its way down from Greece to Egypt.
The majority of scholars agree that John is the last gospel written, so we can affirm its first century date along with the other three with greater assurance.
EARLY New Testament Papyrus Manuscripts:
▪︎ Dead Sea Scrolls, the Full Text of Isaiah 53 and a portion of every book, c. 250 BC.
▪︎ Old Testament Greek Septuagint c. 200 BC.
▪︎ P52 (John Rylands Fragment) - John 18:31-33; 37-38 c. 90 AD
▪︎ P90 (Oxyrhynchus) - John 18:36; 19:7 c. 90 AD
▪︎ P104 (Oxyrhynchus) - Matthew 21:34-37, 43, 45 c. 60-65 AD
▪︎ P46 (Chester Beatty Papyrus) - Romans 5:17-6; 5-14; 8:15-25; 27-35; 10:1-11, 22, 24-33, 35; 16:1-23; 25-27.
And Hebrews; 1 & 2; Corinthians; Ephesians; Galatians; Philippians; Colossians; 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 9-10; 2:1-3; 5:5-9, 23-28 c. 50-60 AD.
▪︎ P98 (IFAO) - Revelation 1:13; 2:1 c. 90 AD.
▪︎ P66 (Bodmer Papyrus) - John 1:1-6,11; 6:35; 14:26; fragment of 14:29; 21:9 c. 60 AD.
▪︎ P67 Matthew 3:9, 15; 5:20-22; 25-28 c. 60-65 AD.
▪︎ Evidence also comes from the Dead Sea Scrolls Cave 7.
Jose Callahan discovered a large fragment of the Gospel of Mark and dated it to have been written c A.D. 50. Also large fragments of Acts and other epistles and dated them to have been written slightly after A.D. 50.4
Another line of evidence is the writings of the church fathers.
▪︎ CLEMENT of Rome sent a letter to the Corinthian church in A.D. 95. in which he quoted from the Gospels and other portions of the N.T.
▪︎ IGNATIUS, Bishop of Antioch, wrote a letter before his martyrdom in Rome in A.D. 115, quoting all the Gospels and other N.T. letters.
▪︎ POLYCARP wrote to the Philippians in A.D. 120 and quoted from the Gospels and N.T. letters.
▪︎ JUSTIN MARTYR, A.D. 150 quotes John 3. Church fathers of the early second century were familiar with the apostle's writings and quoted them as inspired Scripture.
▪︎ Early dating is important for two reasons. The closer a historical record is to the date of the event, the more likely the record is accurate. Early dating allows for eyewitnesses to still be alive when the Gospels were circulating to attest to their accuracy.
The apostles often appeal to the witness of the hostile crowd, pointing to their knowledge of the facts as well (Acts 2:22, 26:26).
Also, the time is too short for legends to develop.
Historians agree it takes about two generations, or eighty years, for legendary accounts to establish themselves.
From the evidence, we can conclude the Gospels were indeed written by the authors they are attributed to.
THE First Fully Bound Bible Books/Codices
▪︎ Codex Vaticanus: Origin 1st century M/S - first Codex, 280 - 330 AD
▪︎ Codex Siniaticus: Origin 1st century M/S - first Codex, 300 - 350 AD
▪︎ Codex Alexandrius: Origin 1st century M/S - first Codex, 350 - 400 AD
▪︎ Codex Vulgate: Origin 1st century M/S - first Codex, 380 - 400 AD
JESUS and the Jews were multilingual
▪︎ "Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross.
It read: 'JESUS Of NAZARETH, THE KING Of THE JEWS'.
Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek" (John 19:19-20)
▪︎ The Gospels were written in Koine Greek being the World's language in the 1st century
The Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek (Septuagint) c.200 BC for the many Greek speaking Jews
It is well known that first-century Jerusalem was inhabited by Greek speaking Jews who were at least bilingual. And Jesus most likely was trilingual apart from the ability to read minds.
So the original Gospels were written in Koine Greek and sent throughout the World..
▪︎ Jewish culture was heavily influenced by Hellenistic culture, and Koine Greek was used not only for international communication but also as the first language of many Jews. This development was furthered by the fact that the largest Jewish community in the world lived in Ptolemaic Alexandria. (Wikipedia)
GOD Protects His Sacred Words:
▪︎ "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!
As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!" (Galatians 1:8-9).
▪︎ Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Matt 24:35).
▪︎ God protects His Word & Gospels and warns of antichrists. (1John2:22).
▪︎ Christ's Good News of Salvation, His Birth, Crucifixion and Resurrection hasn't changed for 2000 years.
▪︎ The Gospels are evidenced by internal and external historical, archeological & literary facts.
▪︎ The Gospels are reliable and transparent with any variations transparently referenced in the footnotes.
▪︎ The Gospels have 1000 times more manuscripts than the most documented ancient literature by Greco-Roman historian, Suetonius.
▪︎ Bible is the most comprehensive and reliable source re. 1st century Jerusalem history & used by archaeologists supporting research today.