Who

Wrote the Gospels?

Dr. Timothy McGrew Calvary Bible Church January 13, 2013

Luke 1:4
... it seemed good to me also, having

followed all things closely for some 6me past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
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Five Important QuesHons

1. Who wrote the Gospels? 2. Is there external, historical evidence for the truth of the Gospels? 3. Is there internal evidence for the truth of the Gospels? 4. What is the truth about alleged historical errors in the Gospels? 5. What is the truth about alleged contradicHons in the Gospels?
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AuthenHcity
An ancient historical work is authen'c if it gives a substanHally truthful account of the events it reports. This is what we want in a historical document: we want to know if what it says is substan'ally true.

AuthenHcity and Genuineness

An ancient historical work is genuine if it was actually wriRen by the person to whom it is aRributed. Showing that the document is genuine helps to establish that it is authen'c, because it helps to rule out rival theories (e.g., that the document is a late mythical composiHon forged in the name of an earlier writer).
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Why Genuineness MaRers

It would most unquesHonably be an argument of decisive weight in favour of the credibility of the biblical history, could it indeed be shown that it was wriRen by eye-witnesses, or even by persons nearly contemporaneous with the events narrated.
D. F. Strauss, The Life of Jesus, 2nd ed. (1892), p. 69

Our Goal this Morning

To examine four kinds of historical evidence for the authorship of the Gospels:
Names Titles ARribuHon Early use

Bart Ehrman on the Gospels

"[S]ome books, such as the Gospels, had been wriRen anonymously, only later to be ascribed to certain authors who probably did not write them (apostles and friends of the apostles)."

Bart Ehrman, Jesus, Interrupted (2011), pp. 101-02.

Richard Dawkins on the Gospels

"Nobody knows who the four evangelists were, but they almost certainly never met Jesus personally."
Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (2006)
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Four Types of Evidence

Type of Evidence Names Titles ARestaHon Early use Evalua8on

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The Names on the Gospels

The rst and most obvious way to tell who wrote something is to look for a name on it. All four of our Gospels bear the names of people who were either Jesus' disciples or close associates of his disciples. A skep8cal ques8on: What if those names were just put on later to give the Gospels pres8ge?
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Answering the SkepHcal QuesHon

What commends Mark as the author, if we are going to simply pick someone to enhance the reputaHon of a gospel when no one supposedly who knows the author is ...? What is Mark's reputaHon? He failed to survive the rst missionary journey and caused a split between Paul and Barnabas according to Acts. So how does randomly aRaching his name to the book enhance that gospel's credibility?
Dr. Darrel Bock, 2010
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The SkepHcal QuesHon Backres

If someone were trying to forge a Gospel, the rst names likely to be picked would be Peter, James, and John. But we have to wait unHl the second century (when the original witnesses had died out) before we get gospels of Peter and James.

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Evidence of Genuineness
Type of Evidence Names Titles ARestaHon Early use Evalua8on Unlikely to be invented

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The Titles of the Gospels

If the Gospels had circulated anonymously unHl the mid to late second century, we would expect to see a variety of Htles on them. (Aker all, everyone would have to make his own guess.) But in fact, the Htles on manuscripts of the Gospels are strikingly uniform: The Gospel according to MaRhew; The Gospel according to Mark; etc.
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The Signicance of the Titles

The uniformity of this unusual form of Htle strongly suggests that the Htles were not secondary addiHons but part of the Gospels as originally circulated. . . . [T]hese superscripHons were not added to the Gospels secondarily, long aker their composiHon . . .
MarHn Hengel, The Four Gospels and the One Gospel of Jesus Christ (2000), p. 50
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Evidence of Genuineness
Type of Evidence Names Titles ARestaHon Early use Evalua8on Unlikely to be invented Too consistent for anonymity

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Augus6ne's criterion for authorship

Why does no one doubt the genuineness of the books aRributed to Hippocrates? "[B]ecause there is a succession of tesHmonies to the books from the Hme of Hippocrates to the present day, which makes it unreasonable either now or hereaker to have any doubt on the subject."
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AugusHne's Criterion
"How do we know the authorship of the works of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Varro, and other similar writers, but by the unbroken chain of evidence?"
Against Faustus 33.6 (~AD 400)

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Some Early AOesta6ons of Authorship

Tertullian of Carthage (~207) Clement of Alexandria (~180) Irenaeus of Lyons (~180) JusHn Martyr (~150) Papias of Hierapolis (~125)

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What Tertullian tells us (~207)

The Gospels were wriRen by MaRhew and John, who were apostles, and Luke and Mark, who were "apostolic men." Mark's Gospel is the record of Peter's preaching. They tell the same basic facts about Jesus, including his virgin birth and his fulllment of prophecy. They bore the names of their authors from anHquity, and the ancient churches vouch for them and no others.

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What Clement tells us (~180)

Mark wrote his Gospel, by request, from his knowledge of Peter's preaching at Rome. MaRhew and Luke were published rst; they are the Gospels containing the genealogies. John's Gospel was the last one to appear. It was wriRen at the urging of his friends.

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What Irenaeus tells us (~180)

MaRhew's Gospel was the rst one wriRen; it was originally wriRen in the "Hebrew dialect." Mark, a disciple of Peter, handed down in his Gospel what Peter had preached. Luke, a companion of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel preached by him. John, the disciple of the Lord, published a Gospel while living at Ephesus in Asia.
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What JusHn Martyr tells us (~150)

The ChrisHans possessed "memoirs" of Jesus, which were also called "Gospels." These were wriRen by apostles and by those who were their followers. They tell us of such events as the visit of the Magi at Jesus' birth and his agony in Gethsemane. JusHn's pupil, TaHan, produced a harmony of our four Gospels, the Diatessaron.
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What Papias tells us (~125)

Mark, having been the interpreter of Peter, wrote down what Peter had preached accurately, though not necessarily in order. MaRhew wrote the ("oracles"a reference to his whole Gospel? to the sayings of Jesus?) in the Hebrew language.

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Geographical spread of the aOesta6on

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AOesta6on of Authorship: Summary of the Facts

The aRestaHon of authorship is not only signicant and early, it is also geographically diverse, coming from every quarter of the Roman empire. There is no rival tradi'on of authorship for any of the four Gospels.
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Evidence of Genuineness
Type of Evidence Evalua8on Names Unlikely to be invented Titles Too consistent for anonymity ARribuHon Strong, widespread, and consistent Early use

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Early Use of the Four Gospels

Many early writers make use of the Gospels without naming or describing their authors. This evidence takes us back even earlier than the evidence of aRribuHon.

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Examples of Early Use of the Gospels

Polycarp, LeDer to the Philippians 2:3 (~AD 108): ... but remembering the words which the Lord spake, as He taught; Judge not that ye be not judged. Forgive, and it shall be forgiven to you. Have mercy that ye may receive mercy. With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again; and again, Blessed are the poor and those persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.
Cf. Luke 6:20, MaR. 5:3, 10, etc.
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Examples of Early Use of the Gospels

IgnaHus, LeDer to Polycarp 2:2 (~AD 107): In all circumstances be wise as a serpent, and perpetually harmless as a dove.
Cf. MaR. 10:16

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Examples of Early Use of the Gospels

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 46:7-8 (~AD 95): Remember the words of Jesus our Lord: for He said, Woe unto that man; it were good for him if he had not been born, rather than that at he should oend one of Mine elect. It were beDer for him that a millstone were hanged about him, and be cast into the sea, than that he should pervert one of Mine elect.
Cf. MaR. 26:24, Mark 14:21, Luke 17:1-2
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Why Early Use MaRers

For these authors to make use of the Gospels as authoritaHve sources means that they expected their audience to recognize their quotaHons and allusions and to accept them as authenHc. But if no one knew who had wriRen these works, why would the ChrisHans accept them as authenHc?
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The Witness of Basilides (Gnos6c commentator, ~AD 125)

"That each man has his own appointed Hme, he says, the Savior suciently indicates when he says, My hour is not yet come." Cf. John 2:4 " this, he says, is what is menHoned in the Gospels: He was the true light, which lights every man coming into the world." Cf. John 1:9
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External Evidence: Early Use

Polycarp's LeDer to the Philippians (~108) quotes from or alludes to: MaRhew GalaHans Mark Ephesians Luke Philippians Acts 1 Thessalonians Romans 2 Thessalonians 1 Corinthians Hebrews 2 Corinthians 1 Peter
. . . and more . . .
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Early Use of the Gospels

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Jus6n Martyr on the Reading of Scripture

"And on the day called Sunday, all who live in ciHes or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the wriHngs of the prophets are read, as long as Hme permits; . . ."
First Apology, ch. 67

For the Gospels to be read as scripture in weekly services, they must have been extremely highly regarded and well known to ChrisHans throughout the world.
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Early Use: Summary of the Facts

The four Gospels and Acts are used copiously by the early church fathers. Even early hereHcs tacitly acknowledge their genuineness, which they would not have done if they could help it. None of the apocryphal so-called "gospels" is anywhere nearly so widely used.
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Evidence of Genuineness
Type of Evidence Evalua8on Names Unlikely to be invented Titles Too consistent for anonymity ARribuHon Strong, widespread, and consistent Early use Overwhelming

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A Skep6cal Counter-argument
MaRhew's Gospel is wriRen completely in the third person, . . . Even when this Gospel narrates the event of MaRhew being called to become a disciple, it talks about "him," not about "me."
Bart Ehrman, Jesus, Interrupted (2009), p. 104
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MaOhew's Descrip6on of MaOhew

MaRhew 9:9: As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called MaRhew siwng at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.

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A Very Old Argument

From Faustus the Manichean, about AD 400. AugusHne's rebuRal: "Faustus thinks himself wonderfully clever in proving that MaRhew was not the writer of this Gospel, because, when speaking of his own elecHon, he says not, He saw me, and said to me, Follow me; but, He saw him, and said to him, Follow me. . . ."
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Bart Ehrman, meet St. AugusHne

"This must have been said either in ignorance or from a design to mislead. Faustus can hardly be so ignorant as not to have read or heard that narrators, when speaking of themselves, oYen use a construc6on as if speaking of another. . . ."

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Bart Ehrman, meet St. AugusHne

"It is more probable that Faustus wished to bewilder those more ignorant than himself, in the hope of ge[ng hold on not a few unacquainted with these things."
AugusHne, Against Faustus 17.1.4

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Augus6ne is Right
"There was in the army a certain Xenophon, an Athenian, who accompanied the army neither as a general nor as a captain nor as a private soldier; but Proxenos, an old acquaintance, had sent for him."
Xenophon, Anabasis 3.1 See also Anabasis 1.8.15; 2.5.40; 3.1.10, 47, etc. See also Caesar's Commentaries, Josephus's Jewish War, Nicolaus's History, Dexippus's Scythica, etc.
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Summary: Evidence of Genuineness

The names aRached to our four Gospels could not have been chosen to give them presHge, with the sole excepHon of John. The Htles of the Gospels are uniform and unusual, something we would not expect if they had circulated anonymously for a long Hme before being named. The aRestaHon of authorship is strong, widespread, and consistent. The evidence of early use is overwhelming.
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