When were the Gospels written?
Not one of the four Gospels tells us the year it was written, so every date on offer is an inference — drawn from clues inside the text, from what the writers do and do not mention, and from the memory of the early church. Commentators in this collection place all four within the first century, most of them within a generation of the events they describe.
Silence in the Text Itself
The starting point is honest: the Gospels are anonymous about their own dating, and that silence has produced a wide spread of opinion.
Arend RemmersThe gospel does not contain any details about its exact time of writing, so opinions about it vary a great deal. Some researchers believe the gospel was written after the destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70); others think there are no facts supporting this, and date it at AD 60–70. Irenaeus (about AD 140–202) suggests that Matthew's gospel was written around AD 61–66.
The Early Range for Matthew and Mark
Even the widest scholarly estimates, one writer argues, stay well inside the first century — and the earlier end is very early indeed.
J. N. DarbyI do not know why Mr. N. places Matthew seventy or eighty years after the event, since no critic alive places it at that time (the very latest of all is A.D. 64; many placing it as early as A.D. 38). None of the Gospels was written as late as seventy years after Christ's birth, not even John's.
Mark's date is estimated the same way, by weighing opinions rather than by any statement in the book: "It is not possible to determine precisely the time of writing of this gospel. Scholars' views vary between AD 55 and 70." (Arend Remmers)
Luke Anchored by the Book of Acts
Luke's Gospel is the one with a fixed point of reference. Acts is its sequel, and Acts stops short at a moment that dates it.
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe introduction to this book compared with the introduction to the gospel by Luke makes it plain that the two were written by the same person. Acts ends with the apostle Paul's two years' imprisonment at Rome, so it could not have been written before the end of that time, and was probably written very soon afterwards, or it would have given the outcome of Paul's trial. This would place the date about A.D. 63.
Since the Gospel came first, that pushes it earlier still — with one writer suggesting AD 55–60, possibly written during Paul's two-year imprisonment in Caesarea (Arend Remmers).
John Written Last
There is broad agreement that John's Gospel came after the other three, from an aged apostle. Commentators differ, though, on whether it came before or after Revelation.
L. M. GrantThe five books written by the apostle John were all published later than any other writings of Scripture: his gospel considered to be written about A.D. 85, his three letters about A.D. 90, and Revelation about A.D. 95. His own age would likely be between 85 and 95 during the time of writing, and so these books show a dignity and maturity gained by long experience, yet with no marks of the weakness of old age.
Another account reverses the order, putting the Gospel after the exile on Patmos, the island where John was banished:
Church HistoryThere he wrote the Revelation. On his release from exile, when Nerva came to the throne, John returned to Ephesus, where he wrote his Gospel and Letters. He died about A.D. 100, in the third year of the emperor Trajan, at about one hundred years of age.
Written While Witnesses Were Still Alive
The practical force of these early dates is that the accounts appeared while people who had seen the events could still contradict them.
A. J. PollockSo the New Testament was mostly written before Nero's death, A.D. 68, or within thirty-five years of the crucifixion of Christ; and Paul, writing to the Corinthians, states that there were then living more than 250 Christian men who had seen Jesus Christ after He rose from the dead. It will pay you to read the New Testament, believe it, and obey it.
Early Testimony Handled With Care
Much of the dating rests on early church writers — but those same writers can be shown to contradict Scripture on other matters, so their reports are evidence, not proof.
William KellyCan anything more plainly show how absurd it is to trust tradition, even from early days, when we have the sure light of God's word?
Summary
- Silent — None of the four Gospels dates itself; every figure given is an inference from internal evidence and early testimony.
- Early — Matthew and Mark sit at the front, with estimates running from as early as AD 38 to about AD 64–70.
- Anchored — Luke is the one that can be pinned: Acts breaks off at Paul's Roman imprisonment, dating it near AD 63, with the Gospel earlier still.
- Last — John's Gospel closes the set, written by a very old man near the end of the century; commentators differ on whether it preceded or followed Revelation.
- Verifiable — Most of the New Testament was in circulation within about thirty-five years of the crucifixion, while hundreds of eyewitnesses were still living.