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In order to establish when any ancient book was written, we need to look at the sources relied on for that book. Scholars have shown that the author of Matthew relied on Mark's Gospel for much of its content. Whenever Matthew agrees with Mark, the wording in the Greek language and the sequence are almost identical, something that could not have happened unless the author of one book was copying the other. Moreover, scholars have shown that Matthew is copied from Mark, not the other way around; therefore Matthew must have been written later than Mark.
Mark's gospel was written when the destruction of the Temple had already taken place, or just before the event, when it was clear that the Romans intended to destroy the Temple. For scholars, this is evidenced by an apparent prophecy of the destruction of the Temple in Mark 13:2, "And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou those great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Jesus went on later to tell the disciples that they would personally experience social turmoil and persecution, there would be earthquakes and "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken and then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory." He concluded by saying, "Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done." An oblique reference to the Book of Daniel implies that the predicted end of times would occur within about four years of the destruction of the Temple.
So, we have two related 'prophecies' in one short passage. Either Jesus prophesied both events, or he prophesied neither. But, we now know that the end of the world, with the Son of man returning in the clouds with great power and glory, did not occur within the lifetimes of his listeners. To attribute this prophecy to Jesus is to attribute to him the inability to make accurate predictions. The alternative is that the author of Mark's Gospel put these words in the mouth of Jesus, because he knew at the time of writing that the Temple and the great buildings really had been destroyed. This is how we know that Mark's Gospel was actually written approximately the year 70. Since Matthew is known to have been written later than Mark, that gospel must have been written even later. Scholarly opinion is that Matthewwas written sometime in the eighties.
What else can I help you with?
When did the disciples write the accounts of Jesus' resurrection?
Mark is generally taken to be the oldest Gospel. It was probably written before AD 70.
What was the approximate date of Matthew's Gospel?
It is the almost universal consensus of biblical scholars that Matthew's Gospel was substantially based on Mark's Gospel. Since Mark is believed to have been written approximately 70 CE, Matthew must therefore have been written some time later. The consensus is that it was written in the 80s of the first century.
When was the second gospel written?
There is strong evidence that the first gospel, now known as Mark's Gospel, was written within two or three years of the year 70 CE. The second gospel, Matthew's Gospel is widely believed to have been written around 85 CE, although Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament) suggests an allowance of about ten years either way.
When was Matthew's Gospel written?
All the New Testament gospels were actually anonymous until attributed by the second-century Church Fathers to the apostles whose names they now bear. On that score, we have no reason to believe that it was Matthew who wrote the Gospel, and scholars say it could not have been written by an eyewitness to the events portrayed.Matthew's Gospel is believed to have been written in the eighties of the first century, although Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament) suggests that several years should be allowed either side of that decade.Another Answer:The book of Matthew was written by Matthew, also called Levi, the tax collector. He wrote it probably between A.D. 60 and 70.One thing is for sure: it was not written after 70AD. Because if it was then Matthew would had been bragging in his gospels about the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jesus that the great temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed totally. As you can see in the gospels, they always say "as a fulfillment of what the prophets wrote".
Why does Mark portray Jesus as fully human?
A:Mark's Gospel was the first New Testament gospel to be written, dated to approximately 70 CE. If Mark portrays Jesus as fully human, which it certainly does, then this was probably the orthodoxy of his time. Later gospels, Matthew and Luke, portray him as the son of God from his conception, and eventually John portrays him as divine and pre-existing.
What do Catholics consider the oldest gospel?
Originally, St. Matthew's Gospel was considered the first Gospel. However, today that status is in question. Matthew is said to have written the Gospel in Hebrew but that text disappeared over time and was lost to history. A Gospel of Matthew in Greek is still extant but it is unknown if this was a translation of the original Hebrew Gospel or was a different version. Matthew's Gospel includes the version written by Mark almost in its entirety so Matthew may have borrowed extensively from Mark's Gospel and added to it from his own personal observations and remembrances. That would mean that Mark is the author of the oldest Gospel.
How was St Mark encouraged to write one of the Gospels?
A:We know very little about the authorship of Mark's Gospel, but we can look at what we do know, to find what encouraged its author to write the first of the gospels. Tradition says that this Gospel was written by Mark, who learnt the gospel story from Peter, who would no doubt have encouraged him to put it down in writing. However, Mark's Gospel was originally anonymous and was only attributed by the early Church Fathers to Mark, later in the second century. There is nothing in the gospel to suggest that it was based on the experiences of an eyewitness to the events it portrays. In fact, Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament) says that Mark seems to depend on traditions (and perhaps already shaped sources) received in Greek. He did not copy his work from Matthew's Gospel, as was once thought, because scholars have demonstrated that it was Matthew's Gospel that was copied from Mark. Biblical scholars say that this Gospel was written approximately 70 CE, just as the First Roman-Jewish War was coming to an end, so it is very likely that 'Mark' was encouraged to write his Gospel by that traumatic event.
What are the first gospel?
The first gospel was the The Consensus. The Consensus was written in 70 C.E.
Who wrote the gospel according to Matthew?
Another answer from our community:The traditional view is that Matthew wrote his Gospel between 65 and 80 AD.There is currently a hypothesis that the Gospel of Matthew, which was not actually written by Matthew, is comprised of four different sources; the Gospels of Mark and Luke and texts from two other, lost sources. This theory puts the the date of the Gospel between 70 and 110 AD.
What four events changed the world of Matthew's community since the Gospel of Mark was written?
A:Undoubtedly one of the events was the arrival in Matthew's community of a copy of Mark's Gospel. Matthew's Gospel is known to have been based on Mark and contains some 600 of the 666 verses in Mark, often in the same words in the original Greek language. We can therefore consider the publication of Matthew's Gospel the fourth event that changed the world of the community in which the Gospel was written. At least one event after the distribution of Mark's Gospel led to the decision within this community to write a revised gospel. We do not really know where that community was, nor who constituted its membership. We therefore do not know about other important events that led to Matthew's Gospel being written, but we can speculate by looking at the changes that the author of Matthew's Gospel made to the original. The community had enthusiastically adopted the teachings of Mark's Gospel, but wanted to know more about Jesus. When and how was he born? What happened after the resurrection that Mark so briefly alludes to? Mark's Gospel originally ended at verse 16:8, with the 'Long Ending' (verses 16:9-20) added much later to answer this second question as part of Mark's Gospel, but Matthew's community still only had the original version of Mark, which only tells us that the young man told the women that Jesus was risen and they fled in teror, telling no one. This demand to know more about Jesus made a nativity account and a resurrection account become requirements of the community's religious leaders.Matthew's Gospel also copies sayings material from the hypothetical 'Q' document. Although the original layer of the four layers in Q may be older than Mark's Gospel, Matthew uses the final version, which probably arrived in the community after they had already received Mark's Gospel. This could have been another of the 'four events', leading to the decision to revise Mark's Gospel.
Why did the evangelist took 35-40 years after resurrection of jesus to begin to write the Gospels?
The first New Testament gospel to be written was that attributed to Mark, although it was originally anonymous and was only attributed to Mark later in the second century, as the Church Fathers were attempting to decide who probably wrote each of the gospels. If in fact Mark was the real author of this gospel, he probably only learnt about Jesus quite a few years after the crucifixion. However, scholars say that there is no good reason to believe that this gospel was really written by Mark.Mark's Gospel was written approximately 70 CE, at the end of the First Roman-Jewish War, when the world probably really did seem to some to be about to end. Whatever the actual reason, it is likely that the decision to write this Gospel was in some way related to the events of 70 CE.Matthew's Gospel is believed to have been written sometime in the 80s of the first century, although Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament) cautions that a few years should be allowed either side of this decade. Luke's Gospel was written around the end of the century, and John's Gospel a few years later. As with Mark's Gospel, they were all written anonymously, and scholars say that the actual authors could not have been eyewitnesses to the events they wrote about.Matthew and Luke are known to have been based largely on Mark's Gospel, which provided everything the authors knew about the life and mission of Jesus. These authors could not have written earlier than 70 CE and probably did not receive copies of Mark until quite some time later. John's Gospel was inspired by Luke, so of course its authorship had to await the completion of Luke's Gospel.
Why did it take the evangelists 35 to 40 years to write the Gospels?
The first New Testament gospel to be written was that attributed to Mark, although it was originally anonymous and was only attributed to Mark later in the second century, as the Church Fathers were attempting to decide who probably wrote each of the gospels. If in fact Mark was the real author of this gospel, he probably only learnt about Jesus quite a few years after the crucifixion. However, scholars say that there is no good reason to believe that this gospel was really written by Mark.Mark's Gospel was written approximately 70 CE, at the end of the First Roman-Jewish War, when the world probably really did seem to some to be about to end. Whatever the actual reason, it is likely that the decision to write this Gospel was in some way related to the events of 70 CE.Matthew's Gospel is believed to have been written sometime in the 80s of the first century, although Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament) cautions that a few years should be allowed either side of this decade. Luke's Gospel was written around the end of the century, and John's Gospel a few years later. As with Mark's Gospel, they were all written anonymously, and scholars say that the actual authors could not have been eyewitnesses to the events they wrote about.Matthew and Luke are known to have been based largely on Mark's Gospel, which provided everything the authors knew about the life and mission of Jesus. These authors could not have written earlier than 70 CE and probably did not receive copies of Mark until quite some time later. John's Gospel was inspired by Luke, so of course its authorship had to await the completion of Luke's Gospel.
