When were the Gospels written?
FAQs (014)
The key to dating the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) is dating the book of Acts. The Acts of the Apostles (the fifth book in the New Testament) was written (most scholars agree) after the Gospels. In fact it continues the account of Luke. Therefore the date of Acts sets an upper limit on the date of the Gospels.
The book of Acts does not mention the capture of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD nor of the Jewish-Roman war of 66 AD. Yet, the gospels all record Jesus prophesying the fall of Jerusalem and it is reasonable to expect the writer of Acts to record the fulfillment of that prophesy if Acts had been written after that event.
Neither does Acts mention the persecution of Christians by the emporer Nero in the mid 60's AD, or the killing of Paul (64 AD) or of Peter (65 AD) though both of these men figure prominently in Acts and the martyrdom of others is mentioned.
The writer of Acts has also been shown to be a careful historian with an excellent knowledge of the first century. This has been confirmed by archeaeology again and again. His use of the early title for Jesus of 'Son of Man' rather than the later title 'Son of God' supports that Acts was written early.
All of this sets a latest limit on the date of Acts in the early to mid 60's AD.
The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke (*) must therefore have already been written by this time, ie. no later than 30 years after the events. This is equivalent to us recording events from the 1970's. Compared with other ancient documents this is a very short time with no opportunity for legendary material to be added. The fact that most of those involved in the events of the gospels, including hostile witnesses, were still alive and could personally support (or refute) what was written adds weight to the reliability of the gospel accounts.
(*) Some scholars believe John was written later
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