Who Wrote the Gospels?

[Solo81]

When I was in a Catholic grade school were were taught that it was Matthew, Mark Luke and John. It’s only now that I’ve been reading differently.

It's most likely that the authors were indeed the Apostles Matthew and John; Peter's secretary, Mark; a Greek doctor, Luke and of course, Paul.

The NT is probably the most researched book in the history of humanity...it's still being studied, researched and revised.

 

[FaithT]

Here is some points to ponder from Zondervan Academic both pro and con. I tend to lean toward the writers being one of the apostles. The bottom line though is that nobody is going to know for sure unless something is uncovered archaeologically that specifically points in that direction that says for certain. I trust the Church and tradition on this issue.

Who Wrote the Gospels, and How Do We Know for Sure?

The closest we get to a claim of authorship is at the very end of the Book of John, where the author implies that the book was written by “the disciple…

zondervanacademic.com

Does the Church teach that it was Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? And were they all among the Twelve or were some friends of the Twelve?

 

[FaithT]

It's most likely that the authors were indeed the Apostles Matthew and John; Peter's secretary, Mark; a Greek doctor, Luke and of course, Paul.

The NT is probably the most researched book in the history of humanity...it's still being studied, researched and revised.

Good. Thanks!

 

[FaithT]

Here is some points to ponder from Zondervan Academic both pro and con. I tend to lean toward the writers being one of the apostles. The bottom line though is that nobody is going to know for sure unless something is uncovered archaeologically that specifically points in that direction that says for certain. I trust the Church and tradition on this issue.

Who Wrote the Gospels, and How Do We Know for Sure?

The closest we get to a claim of authorship is at the very end of the Book of John, where the author implies that the book was written by “the disciple…

zondervanacademic.com

Thanks Michie!

 

[Wolseley]

Does the Church teach that it was Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? And were they all among the Twelve or were some friends of the Twelve?

Matthew, the tax collector, was one of the 12 disciples; he was the son of Alphaeus, and the brother of James the Less, who was also one of the 12.

John was the son of Zebedee, and the brother of James the Greater; they were both members of the 12. John was the youngest disciple, probably just a boy in his early teens when Jesus chose him.

Mark, known as John Mark, was an early convert to the Christian Faith, possibly brought in by the Apostle Paul. The same for Luke, who was a medical doctor. Neither of them were members of the original 12 disciples.

As for who wrote the four Gospels, traditionally they have been ascribed to the men whose names they bear. Whether those four men actually, personally, did write the four Gospels or not, is, I'm happy to say, more or less irrelevant. The Gospels were divinely inspired, directly by God, through the Holy Spirit, to contain the things He wanted us to know.

Their authority does not come from their authors, nor from the Bible, but from the Magisterium of the Church. It is the Church, after all, which determined what was Holy Scripture and what was not---again, led by the Holy Spirit Himself. So, ultimately, it makes no difference who actually wrote them----the important thing is that we believe what they contain, and allow their message to lead us closer to Christ.

 

[FaithT]

Matthew, the tax collector, was one of the 12 disciples; he was the son of Alphaeus, and the brother of James the Less, who was also one of the 12.

John was the son of Zebedee, and the brother of James the Greater; they were both members of the 12. John was the youngest disciple, probably just a boy in his early teens when Jesus chose him.

Mark, known as John Mark, was an early convert to the Christian Faith, possibly brought in by the Apostle Paul. The same for Luke, who was a medical doctor. Neither of them were members of the original 12 disciples.

As for who wrote the four Gospels, traditionally they have been ascribed to the men whose names they bear. Whether those four men actually, personally, did write the four Gospels or not, is, I'm happy to say, more or less irrelevant. The Gospels were divinely inspired, directly by God, through the Holy Spirit, to contain the things He wanted us to know.

Their authority does not come from their authors, nor from the Bible, but from the Magisterium of the Church. It is the Church, after all, which determined what was Holy Scripture and what was not---again, led by the Holy Spirit Himself. So, ultimately, it makes no difference who actually wrote them----the important thing is that we believe what they contain, and allow their message to lead us closer to Christ.

Thank you Wolseley!

 

[Michie]

Does the Church teach that it was Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? And were they all among the Twelve or were some friends of the Twelve?

The Church Fathers agree that the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Catholic tradition calls them the four evangelists. Could it have been close associates of the apostles and eyewitnesses? Nobody knows but the Gospels are worthy of belief aren’t they? How does it make b a difference in the Faith that you follow?

Who Really Wrote the Gospels?

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are not just code words for anonymous and unreliable authors of the Gospels. They were real people, divinely inspired.

www.catholic.com

 

[FaithT]

The Church Fathers agree that the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Catholic tradition calls them the four evangelists. Could it have been close associates of the apostles and eyewitnesses? Nobody knows but the Gospels are worthy of belief aren’t they? How does it make b a difference in the Faith that you follow?

Who Really Wrote the Gospels?

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are not just code words for anonymous and unreliable authors of the Gospels. They were real people, divinely inspired.

www.catholic.com

I guess it doesn’t, really.

 

[Wolseley]

Thank you Wolseley!

You're welcome.

 

[Valletta]

I was reading tonight and learned that many (most?) modern scholars say the Gospels were written anonymously, not by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And that they were written much later than the RCC says they were.
I looked this up on Catholic Answers but their articles didn’t help 100%. This is one of those things that can turn into a huge thing for me. So how do we know the Gospels were written by eyewitnesses or disciples of eyewitnesses?

The Catholic Church maintains that the 73 books of the Bible, chosen in a process that spanned centuries, with the canon finalized in the late 300s, are God-breathed text. Interesting, I'm just the opposite, it doesn't matter to me who wrote the words down.

 

[fide]

I think I understand what you’re saying but I still want to know who wrote the Gospels and when.

You will find many opinions. Is that what you want?

 

[FaithT]

You will find many opinions. Is that what you want?

I got some great answers.

 

[Solo81]

I got some great answers.

May I ask you what Bible you use? I currently have the "Christian Community Bible" and I have recommended it to others because it has excellent footnotes, commentaries and prefaces.
A good bible will have more than just the texts of the scriptures but have valuable insights into the accumulated knowledge and insights of many Centuries of reflection and study of those scriptures.

 

[jacorian]

Had course in theology in college. The research shoes examines time periods, writing materials & styles & while the Churches portray a popular version, this is not the real case. Most of the books were not written by the named apostles but rather by associates of the apostles or schools of thought. Mark is the shortest gospel & the earliest but cannot be verified to be St. Mark. Matthew is the longest gospel, the first in the NT & credited to an associate. The reason being is that the principle apostles had been martyred by the time the first gospel appeared in 70AD. Note that Peter & Paul were martyred in the 60s. Some of Paul's letters are accredited but not others because the writing style is different. Ditto St. Peter. Peter also wrote a gospel but it did not make it into the canon. Others wrote stuff that did not make it in, including Mary Magdalene, Philip, & the Q source. St. John is very complicated. We do know he is the only apostle to be spared a violent death & was exiled to the isle of Patmos where he lived out his life. So here it is very possible that he wrote Revelation. In the OT, the book of Joshua is not really Joshua & ditto Nehemiah. Ezra is credited with Nehemiah. David is ascribed the Psalms but not all of them. The Pentateuch is ascribed by sources labeled J, E, D, P. It may have relayed & organized by Moses but not written by him.

 

[Michie]

Faith always brings up interesting topics. Thanks @FaithT!

 

[FaithT]

May I ask you what Bible you use? I currently have the "Christian Community Bible" and I have recommended it to others because it has excellent footnotes, commentaries and prefaces.
A good bible will have more than just the texts of the scriptures but have valuable insights into the accumulated knowledge and insights of many Centuries of reflection and study of those scriptures.

I have 11 or 12 Bibles. Most recently I’ve been reading the NAB and a NABRE Study Bible.

 

[FaithT]

Faith always brings up interesting topics. Thanks @FaithT!

You’re welcome!

 

[FaithT]

You’re welcome!

I like your topics, too!

 

[Chesster]

According to Mary of Agreda in her work The Mystical City of God:
"He (Matthew) wrote it in the Hebrew language in the year forty-two of our Lord."
"The Evangelist Mark wrote his gospel four years later, in the forty-sixth year after the birth of Christ. He likewise wrote it in Hebrew and while in Palestine."
"Two years afterwards, in the year forty-eight and of the Virgin the sixty-third, saint Luke wrote his Gospel in the Greek language."
"The last of the four Evangelists who wrote the Gospels, was the apostle saint John in the year fifty-eight of the Lord. He wrote his in the Greek language, during his stay in Asia Minor after the glorious transition and assumption of the most blessed Mary."

 

[Cosmic Charlie]

I was reading tonight and learned that many (most?) modern scholars say the Gospels were written anonymously, not by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And that they were written much later than the RCC says they were.
I looked this up on Catholic Answers but their articles didn’t help 100%. This is one of those things that can turn into a huge thing for me. So how do we know the Gospels were written by eyewitnesses or disciples of eyewitnesses?

I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't open this can of worms with you but, here we go:

I've been spending the last couple of years researching the history of Monotheism. I can tell you for a drop dead fact none of the gospels (including the ones like Thomas and Mary Magdalene which weren't included in the Bible) were written by anyone who was alive to witness anything the may have occurred in the 30 BC to 40 BC timeframe. The four biblical Gospels don't match each other in timing of the stories (John and Mark don't even document Jesus's birth) and all of them were edited by other hands after initial writing.

Further, they all seem to have different underlying agendas. Mark is just a collection of stories of Jesus's life. Matthew seems to what to spotlight Jesus's Kingly status, while Luke seems to want to emphasize his human personhood. John, written last, seem to want to show that Jesus was God on Earth. All of this is because working out the theology of the Trinity and Jesus as the Word Incarnate, took about 400 years and which Gospel was written during the 400 year period seems to emphasize the current thinking on the Theology.

Working through the Trinity as a God Head concept was complicated and took a long time to work out. It also caused a lot of confusion and consternation, especially among Semitic people, who were more comfortable with a single God than one with three distinct persons in One.

This is probably why Islam, with it's unified God was spread so quickly across the Near East, but that's a different issue.

The truth is, none of the Gospels were written by any witness to the times. The important thing seems to be this:

From a historical basis the followers of the Jesus, going back to the original oral stories, were absolutely, positively, convinced of His divinity and refused to let that go. Ever. Under any circumstances. So we had to deal with how this could be possible. Hence, the creation of the Trinity. It just took a long time to work out.


Now where this all leaves you as to Who, exactly are we praying to and what, exactly happened in Israel in 30 AD, I don't know. If you have insight on that tell me.