Jimmy Akin, Apologist and author, discusses the dating of Matthew's Gospel, arguing that it was written by an eyewitness within living memory of the events. He also addresses the challenges to its reliability and its relationship with Mark's gospel.
Matthew's Gospel was written by an eyewitness within living memory of the events it records.
There is a strong literary relationship between Matthew and Mark, with most scholars concluding that Mark wrote first and Matthew used Mark in composing his gospel.
Deep dives
Matthew's gospel was written by an eyewitness within living memory
Matthew's gospel was not written long after the events by a non-eye witness, as some claim. The evidence points to Matthew, one of the eyewitnesses, as the author of the gospel. The names of the evangelists were not made up at a later date and indicate actual authors of the gospels. The testimony of the first-century figure John the Presbyter and other historical evidence supports the view that Matthew wrote the gospel.
Matthew likely used Mark in composing his gospel
There is a strong literary relationship between Matthew and Mark, with 90% of the material in Mark being paralleled in Matthew, often with the same wording. While previous views suggested that Matthew wrote first and Mark abridged Matthew, most scholars now conclude that Mark wrote first and Matthew used Mark in composing his own gospel. This is supported by the first-century statement from John the Presbyter that Mark's gospel was based on his memories of Peter's preaching. The evidence does not fit the hypothesis that Mark is an abridgment of either Matthew or of Matthew and Luke.
DAY 347
CHALLENGE
“Matthew’s Gospel isn’t reliable. It was written long after the events by a non-eyewitness.”
DEFENSE
Matthew was written by an eyewitness within living memory of the events it records.
We elsewhere cover that the names of the evangelists were not made up at a later date and that they indicate actual authors of the Gospels (see Days 109 and 146). Matthew’s Gospel was already called by that name in the first century, as shown by the testimony of the first-cen- tury figure John the Presbyter (Eusebius, Church History 3:39:16). The evidence thus points to Matthew the ap…
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