Gospels written decades after the Resurrection

Scholars contend that the four Gospels were not written by eyewitnesses. That’s because the Gospels were written 40 to 65 years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, which has been dated in 30 A.D. By that time the Gospels were written, most of Jesus’ contemporaries had passed—few lived past 50. Bible historians contend that Mark’s Gospel was the first gospel written in 70 A.D., Matthew and Luke followed in approximately 80 A.D., and John about 95 A.D. Based on these estimates: Mark’s Gospel was written 40 years after Jesus’ time, Matthew and Luke 50 years later, and John 65 years afterwards. Despite the lead-in ascriptions of “Gospel according to Matthew…or Mark…or Luke…or John,” all four Gospels were written by anonymous authors. As to the actual names of the authors who wrote the Gospels, historians can only speculate.

Many Bible students wonder why the Gospels were written four to six decades after the events had occurred. Their greatest fear is that legend may have crept in. Their major contention is that the Gospels may not accurately reflect what really happened. Yet, the Gospels are much closer to actuality than all other ancient sources we trust today.

A number of reasons exist as to why the Gospels were not written earlier. First and foremost, in Jesus’ day, most people were illiterate. In fact, 90 percent could not read, and only a select few could write. So, why would a writer go through the rigors of collecting information and interviewing individuals to write a Gospel when only 10 percent of the population could read and understand it?

People of the first century depended primarily on oral communication. Back then, people had better memories because it was imperative to remember what they saw and heard. This required that information be put into forms that were easy to memorize, such as stories and parables. Back then, the people told and retold these stories until they became ingrained into everyone’s memories.

Times of war seriously impeded the written documentation of history. As a case in point, the Roman army invaded Israel in 66 A.D. For the next seven years, Israel was engaged in a bitter war with Rome. Continuing to use ‘oral tradition’ during wartime was risky. To overcome the pitfalls of oral tradition, writing was chosen as the best way to preserve history. Writing posed another problem in that everything worthy of saving had to be laboriously copied on papyrus rolls in ink. Since the printing press had not been discovered, usually only a single copy was made.

In summary, during the first century, oral communication was advantageous to written records. Since the four Gospels were written anonymously, the early church fathers were forced to reference these Gospels as “Memoirs of the Apostles.” Around 180 A.D., the titles seen in your modern Bibles were added. Thus, we have the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In closing, we must not forget that our Bible has undergone the rigorous canonization process. Also, II Timothy 3: 16 declares: “All scripture is inspired by God.”

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