General dating

Jesus of Nazareth died in 33 CE. Scholars don’t have an exact consensus about the time when the Gospels were written. But they all agree that they come within the 1st century CE, around the time where the 1st generation of Christian died.

Is it that late?

At first impression, forty to sixty years sounds far away to have preserved accurate and reliable information about Jesus. Especially when it contains supernatural events (e.g. miracles, resurrection, etc.) But we have to put that into context.

Ancient bios

The lapse of time between the death of Jesus and the Gospel of Mark (1st book) is comparable to other ancient biographies (or even better):

• Socrates (470-399 BCE) don’t even have one formal biography
• Abraham Lincoln‘s first biography¹ (1890) is around 25 years away from his death (1865)

Sources (pre-Markan passion source, M, L, Q, sign source, discourse source) existed before the composition of the Gospels (either written or oral memorization), which we no longer possess.

Why waiting so long to start writing?

History of the Jesus traditions

Early Christians were so preoccupied with Jesus’ return that they pay less attention to smaller details. As the hope fades out, people gradually want to know more about Him⁸.

Today, the standard order is that Mark came first, Matthew and Luke relied on Mark as a draft, and John wrote independently. It is known as the “two-sources hypothesis“. Acts is also the sequel of Luke’s Gospel.

Mark is believed to be our 1st Gospel for several reasons⁹:

• more than 90% of Mark’s content is found in both Matthew & Luke
  • 607 verses appears in Matthew
  • 350 verses appears in Luke
• he lacks the Q materials (ex: Lord’s Prayer, Beatitudes, parables¹⁰, etc.)
• he has the highest incidence of Aramaic words
• his Greek is less refined, Matthew & Luke are more polished
• shortest Gospel (we can imagine he finish this in a rush to publish it quickly¹¹)
• contain difficult readings that Matthew & Luke clear up
• most neglected Gospel to be commented by the Church Fathers¹²

Because a lot of eyewitnesses heard the teachings of Jesus themselves, many traditions (e.g. M, L, Q) were able to be preserved independently from the apostolic kerygmatic formula (see table below). Matthew & Luke would later include those content in their Gospels.

The same way, Xenophon¹³ (disciple of Socrates) used the reports of another disciple named Hermogenes¹⁴. Suetonius has developed on the works of Tacitus and Plutarch to talk about Cesar, as more material was available for him to use¹⁵.

How do we know if those traditions weren’t corrupted? It’s because some Jesus traditions parallel what Paul wrote in his letters¹⁶.

Many false Messiah lost their followers after they die. But, after witnessing Jesus risen from the grave, primitive Christianity started with a Jesus who was God made flesh, who did miracles and resurrected from the dead (Acts 2:22-40). Details were added later as people wanted to know more about Jesus¹⁷.

Early dating

In the ancient time, it was assumed that the Synoptics were written before 70 CE, based on the writing of the Church Fathers. Modern scholarship however, disagree (except for Mark).

Acts must be written in 62 CE (Paul didn’t die yet when it was completed). If Acts is the sequel of Luke’s Gospel, then the Gospel must be earlier. And if Luke depends on Mark’s Gospel, then Mark must be dated even earlier. All the three Synoptics failed to mention post-70 events (destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, first Jewish-Roman war), as well as the death of the apostles (Peter, Paul, James) that are major details we should expect to be included.

Skeptics scholars believe that Mark wrote in 70 CE to reflect the ‘current event’ of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Matthew and Luke added more details, such as “surrounded by armies” (Lk 19:43, 21:20) and “burned” (Mt 22:7), which would conclude that they described what already happened in the past¹⁹.

But as C. H. Dodd argues, it would be a description of the first Temple during the Babylonian Empire (2 Kgs 25:8-10)²⁰.

Gospel of Mark

Mark is debated between 45–50s CE and 66–70 CE.

Traditions tell us that Peter was the main source of information for Mark’s Gospel.

Traditions differ between the Church Fathers:

• 41 – 54: Eusebius (265-339 CE)
• pre-67 (before Peter’s death): Clement of Alexandria (150-215 CE)
• 67-70 (soon after Peter’s death): Anti-Marcionite Prologue (150-255 CE), Irenaeus of Lyon²¹ (130-202 CE)

66-70 CE

• traditions from the Church Fathers (Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus²³ & Anti-Marcionite Prologue)
• Mark’s emphasis on Jesus’ intense suffering may reflect the current persecution of Christians in Rome²⁴
• Mark 13 could speak of the persecution in Rome (64-68 CE)²⁵ or in Jerusalem (66-70 CE)
  • 13:14 speaks of the crisis of Caligula in 40 CE²⁶ / parallel with Paul (2 Thess 2:3-4)
• nearby the death of Peter (he kept a record of his teachings)
  • Mark didn’t need to write down Peter’s testimony as long as he was still alive to tell them
• Mark has the best accurate descriptions about Jewish sects in the 30s CE²⁷
  • Matthew & Luke show a new Judaism dominated by Pharisaism (post-70 CE / Sadducee lost their roles)
• …

45-50s CE

…

Gospel of Matthew

80s CE

…

Gospel of Luke & Acts

Luke’s Gospel is debated between 60s and 80s CE.

He also wrote Acts (a sequel written in Rome²⁸), which is debated between 62 and 90s CE. The transition between the Gospel and Acts is clear: description of the Ascension of Jesus (Lk 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-12), addressing to the same person (Lk 1:3, Acts 1:1).

Acts of the Apostles

At the earliest, Acts is believed to be finished by 62 CE²⁹:

• no mention how Peter & Paul died (64-67 CE)
  • Luke was Paul’s companion³⁰
  • John mention Peter’s death³¹ (90s CE)
• no mention of the Great Fire of Rome (64 CE), first Roman-Jewish war (66 CE), destruction of the Temple (70 CE)
• no sign of hostility against Rome
  • John does (90s CE)
• Luke defend Paul’s apostleship (including parallels with Peter³²) against those who denied it³³ (ca. 56 CE)
• usage of the pronoun “we”³⁴, indicating that he was a traveling companion to Paul (2 Tim 4:11)
• Luke died in 74 CE (it’s possible someone else continue his work)

Primitive terms

Several of the expressions in Acts are early and primitive. The phrases “the Son of man”, “the Servant of God” (applied to Jesus), “the first day of the week” (the resurrection), and “the people” (the Jews) are all phrases that readers would understand without explanation prior to 70 CE. After 70, they would need to be explained. These phrases, therefore, indicate that Acts was intended for an audience that would remember these terms and their usage.

Arguments for Dating Acts to Early 60s AD.

Why it was written in 80-90s CE then? Because if the consensus is right (Acts is the sequel), then it cannot be earlier than 80s CE if Luke wrote his Gospel in the 80s CE. Acts only cover the period of the Church between 33-62 CE.

Gospel of Luke

If Acts is the sequel, it follows that his first letter (Gospel) must come earlier.

If the Muratorian Fragment (170 CE) indicate that Luke is 3th in order (chapter 1), then it follows that the Gospel of Luke must be written between Matthew, Mark & Acts.

Paul in Rome

“Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church.” ³⁵
Irenaeus of Lyon

Paul arrived in Rome in the year 60 CE³⁶. Then he was put into prison for 2 years (Acts 28:30-31). That’s the end of the story. There is no mention of how he died between 64-67 CE³⁷. If he’s the main hero of the story; it doesn’t make sense that Luke doesn’t talk about it. Unless it didn’t happen yet by the time he wrote.

John implicitly mention Nero (Rev 13:18) killing Peter (Jn 21:18), meaning that we know he wrote after 70 CE.

Romans

Gospel of John

John’s Gospel is undisputedly the last Gospel (post-70 / 90s CE), both from the Church Fathers and history:

P52 is the earliest fragment we have (ca. 125-175 CE). Since it’s not the original copy (autograph), then the first version of John and the Synoptics must be dated earlier.

Raymond Brown argues that the Gospel of John has been developed in multiple stages, starting with the Beloved Disciple who was an eyewitness (Jn 19:26, 35) during Jesus’ ministry³⁹ (Jn 21:24). It was the work of someone profoundly influenced by John the Baptist and the Essenes from Qumran⁴⁰.The final stage could be done in the 90s CE, with additional details which reflects the ‘current’ situations.

Primitive units

• Sign source indicate that the Pool of Siloam was intact when it was recorded, and destroyed when Rome took over Jerusalem (70 AD)
• hymn in the prologue (inspired by Jewish idea of Wisdom)
• many instances of Semitism⁴¹ and primitive terms (“on the third day”⁴²)

…

Signs of polemic

John display polemic material against some ‘current’ people of his time: ‘the Jews’ and the docetists.

The ‘Jews’

In 85 AD, Christians were expelled from the synagogues⁴³ (Jn 9:22). That event created frustration and polemic against the ‘Jews’ (which aren’t the people, but some of the authoritative figures who refused to believe in Jesus).

The docetists

Ignatius of Antioch condemned these heretics in ca. 110 CE.

Docetism could have been started from a Jewish or Greek background:

• Jews: the idea of a crucified Son of God is unbearable, thus they want to avoid it
• Greeks: God who is all perfect cannot take flesh in this corrupted material world

It would have naturally rise at a period of time where the first eyewitnesses would have died out (no rivalry to confirm that Jesus was truly human).

It is believed that John’s Gospel was an attack against Cerinthus⁴⁴:

• emphasis on Jesus’ Incarnation
  • ‘Word made flesh’ (Jn 1:14)
  • emphasis on ‘the flesh’ (John 6:51-56) instead of ‘the body’ used by the Synoptics⁴⁵⁴⁶
  • Jesus’ side being pierced by a Roman lance
• treat the docetists & gnostics as Anti-Christ in his letters (1 Jn 4:1-6)
• display anti-Rome atittude (post-64 AD) when he wrote the Apocalypse (Nero as the Anti-Christ)
• add more details omitted by the Synoptics
  • awareness of Peter’s death
  • reveal anonymous names preserved in the Synoptics (ex: Peter who cut the ear of the servant)

Ignatius draw materials from Matthew’s Gospel⁴⁷.

Dating of Mark

Mark & Peter in Rome

Mark wrote during a time of Roman persecution (66-70 AD), and the focus of his Gospel is the Suffering Christ⁴⁸. He encourages the Christians of Rome to keep the faith. We see a pattern of Jesus doing miracles and speaking a lot, and it get less as we read the Gospel, as if Jesus went into the depth of our suffering, to resurrect.

Eusebius tradition

Mark was following Paul during his first missionary journey (late 40s AD) and left half way (Acts 13:13). Based on later accounts, Peter went to Rome in 43 AD⁴⁹ to deal against Simon Magus⁵⁰. Philo of Alexandria was around⁵¹. Claudius deported them from the city for disturbance surrounding Jesus, around 49 AD⁵² (Acts 18:2). Christians later return back to Rome (Rom 16:3). Mark was Peter’s personal secretary⁵³ (1 Peter 5:13). After his work is done, Mark was sent to Egypt⁵⁴, to found the Coptic Church.

Crossley argues that after 45 AD, Gentile & Jewish Christians didn’t observe some of the biblical law like the dietary restrictions and keeping the Sabbath. Mark takes Jesus’ observance of the law for granted and that this judgement could only be established during a period where the Christians largely follow the law.

Missing historical events

The Synoptics Gospels & Acts failed to mention four important events.

• Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem (70 AD)
• First Jewish-Roman war (66 AD)
• Great Fire of Rome (64 AD)
• Death of Paul, James, Peter (62 – 67 AD)

If they don’t mention them, there’s good chance that it didn’t happen yet, by the time it was written down.

Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem (70 AD)

The Temple of Jerusalem was the central place of worship for the Jews. It’s the equivalent of  the Saint Peter Basilica for Catholics, and the Mecca for the Muslims. Imagine the reaction when the Roman destroyed that place.

Matthew

Matthew wrote from Jerusalem⁵⁹ or Antioch of Syria⁶⁰ for a Jewish Christian audience⁶¹. It will be extremely surprising that he couldn’t be aware of the Destruction of the Temple in 70 AD because he was the closest of the four in terms of location.

Matthew also died in 74 AD in Ethiopia so that he couldn’t have written his Gospel in the 80s AD.

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth wasn’t the first person to predict the destruction. Josephus recorded that a man named “Jesus, son of Ananias” also used the prophecy of Jeremiah 7 to predict its destruction⁶². If a normal Jewish man can do it, why not Jesus?

Moreover, the destruction was never mentioned as a past event or described as a fulfilled prophecy⁶³.

And to add more, why did they have to pray for the Temple, if it was already destroyed?

1st Roman-Jewish war (66 AD)

…

Death of Mark, Peter, Paul & James (62-68 AD)

Acts of the Apostles described that Stephan died as a martyr ⁶⁴. Yet, there’s nothing written about the death of 4 pillars of the early Church: Peter, Paul, Mark & James.