SERMON 163: THE GOSPELS MATTHEW, LUKE, AND MARK
Germaine Charles Lockwood

The Gospel According To Matthew:

Doctor Carsten Peter Thiede visited the Magdalen College Old Library in Oxford, England. He examined three papyrus fragments of The Gospel According to Matthew in a display case. Dr. Carsten Peter Thiede is a leading authority on ancient manuscripts, a papyrologist. He dated the fragments of The Gospel According to Matthew at about A.D. 60. This was reported by The Times of London, December 24, 1994. A book titled EYEWITNESS TO JESUS, Amazing New Manuscript Evidence About the Origin of the Gospels has been written by Dr. Carsten Peter Thiede and Matthew D'Ancona. This book was published by Doubleday of New York in 1996.

Charles B. Huleatt had acquired the three papyrus fragments of the Gospel of Matthew in Luxor, Egypt, in 1901, and donated them to Magdalen College in Oxford, England. These papyrus fragments prove that The Gospel According to Matthew was written before A.D. 60. This writing from about A.D. 60 is in capital Greek letters on papyrus, of Matthew chapter 26. 

Early church historian Eusebius Pamphilus quoted Papias as an authority. Of Matthew he has stated as follows: “Matthew composed his history in the Hebrew dialect, and every one translated it as he was able.” (Ecclesiastical History III.xxxix.16.) Papias wrote about A.D. 98-117. He had known John the apostle. Papias was a bishop in Hierapolis, Phrygia. [Robert Yarbrough, "The Date of Papias: A Reassessment," in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 26.2(1983):181-91.] from Eta Linnemann, Is there a Synoptic Problem? p. 168. 

Clement of Alexandria was a scholar who lived about A.D. 165- 220. He stated:

Matthew also having first proclaimed the gospel in Hebrew, when on the point of going also to other nations, committed it to writing in his native tongue, and thus supplied the want of his presence to them, by his writing. (Ecclesiastical History III.xxiv.)

A manuscript of The Gospel According to Matthew in Hebrew has not yet been found. Possibly one will be found. Hebrew was the language used in synagogues and schools in the first century A.D. Hebrew was the native language of the Jews. Acts 22:2.

Eusebius quoted Irenaeus (Ecclesiastical History V.viii.4) Irenaeus lived about A.D. 130-202. He was alive with people who remembered the apostles. 

"Matthew, indeed," says he, "produced his gospel written among the Hebrews in their own dialect, whilst Peter and Paul proclaimed the gospel and founded the church in Rome. After the departure of these, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also transmitted to us in writing what had been preached by Peter. And Luke, the companion of Paul, committed to writing the gospel preached by him, i.e. Paul. Afterwards John the disciple of our Lord, the same that lay upon his bosom, also published the gospel whilst he was yet at Ephesus in Asia. (See also Against Heresies III.i.1.)

 Eusebius recorded what the scholar Clement of Alexandria had said:

. . . that those which contain the genealogies were written first; . . . (Ecclesiastical History VI. xiv.5.) (Titus Flavius Clement, cir. A.D. 150-215.)

Clement of Alexandria was in a better position historically to know than any modern critical scholar. So then, history tells us that The Gospel According to Matthew and The Gospel According to Luke were written before The Gospel According to Mark and The Gospel According to John. 

We read in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, V. 3, p. 2012:

Clement of Alexandria is responsible for the statement that the presbyters who succeeded each other from the beginning declared that "the gospels containing the genealogies (Matthew and Luke) were written first." (Eusebius, E,H.VI,14).

This is, of course fatal to the current theory of dependence on Mark, and is in consequence rejected. Origin of Alexandria (A.D. 185-254), an early Bible scholar and commentator wrote:

As I have understood from tradition, respecting the four gospels, which are the only undisputed ones in the whole church of God throughout the world. The first is written according to Matthew, the same that was once a publican, but afterwards an apostle of Jesus Christ, who having published it for the Jewish converts, wrote it in Hebrew. (Ecclesiastical History VI.xxv.) 

We have from history that Matthew the eyewitness was the first to write a gospel and wrote it first in Hebrew, before he wrote it in Greek. The first Christians were Jews. 

Clement of Alexandria lived from about A.D. 150-215. He wrote:

Matthew also having first proclaimed the gospel in Hebrew, when on the point of going also to other nations, committed it to writing in his native tongue, and thus supplied the want of his presence to them, by his writings. (Ecclesiastical History, III.)

In the Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 10,c. 1911, p.59:

. . . St. Jerome uses Matthew's Hebrew text several times to solve difficulties of interpretation, which proves that he had it at hand.

H. C. Thiessen dated the writing of Matthew in Hebrew at about A.D. 45. and in Greek at A. D. 50. (Introduction to the New Testament,, p. 137.) 

Matthew was called Levi by Mark and Luke, Matthew Levi the son of Alphaeus. The name Matthew means "Gift of Yehowah." He was a tax collector when Messiah Jesus said to him, "Follow me." And he arose and followed Him.” Matthew 9:9. Matthew was one of the 12 Hebrew apostles of Messiah. Matthew was an eyewitness of the deeds and teaching of Messiah Jesus. He was there when it happened. He wrote as an eyewitness. Matthew probably recorded events as they happened. On the ancient manuscripts was written: "ACCORDING TO MATTHEW." The Gospel According to Matthew was written first for Jews in Hebrew, and later in Greek for all people. Gospel means good news. As a devout Jew, Matthew knew Hebrew. As a tax collector for the Romans, he knew Aramaic and Greek. Matthew's Source, "Q" was what he saw and heard Jesus do and say. He was an eyewitness of the history that he wrote. We cannot believe what modern atheist scholars say. They were not there when Jesus lived on earth. They begin with atheistic anti-supernatural presuppositions. Then they assume literary dependence, that Matthew copied from Mark. Their theories are built in the air and called "scientific historical critical theology." They do this contrary to ancient historical testimonies. A multitude of evangelical New Testament scholars reject their atheistic presuppositions, assumptions and conjectures. 

Professor Eta Linnemann has calculated that 25.87 percent of Matthew is unique. That is, about 26 percent of the historical material recorded in The Gospel According to Matthew is found nowhere else. (Is There a Synoptic Problem, pp. 75-81.) Also, 44.54% of Matthew is not recorded in parallel by Mark. Matthew was an eye witness. He wrote the first Gospel as an eyewitness, which is accurate history.

Professor Hugo McCord has written: "A count of the Greek words unique to each of the three Gospels shows Matthew with 13,590; Mark with 5,734; Luke with 16,211, thus showing the independent work 'of the three witnesses,' not only one."
He quoted from SYNOPSIS OF THE FIRST THREE GOSPELS , revised by Hans Lietzmann. 

The Gospel According to Matthew is a most important book for you to read and to know. The royal lineage of Messiah Jesus, King of Israel is given from Abraham through King David. The Old Testament Bible prophecies about Messiah are shown to have been fulfilled by Messiah Jesus. James Burton Coffman wrote: 

Matthew quotes 65 passages from the Old Testament, 43 of them being direct quotations. (Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, p. viii.) 

New Covenant teaching is given through Messiah Jesus, beginning with The Gospel According to Matthew. It is the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of Messiah, the Kingdom of God.

Jesus promised His apostles in:

John 14:26: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. John 14:26.

The apostles wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who brought to their remembrance all things that Jesus had said to them. The four Gospels give us four independent historical witnesses to the deeds of Messiah, the teaching of Messiah and about Jesus the Messiah so that we can come to know Him and to believe in Him.

The good news is that Jesus Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 
that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

The Gospel According To Mark:

 Early church historian Eusebius Pamphilus quoted Papias about Mark. He wrote:

Mark, who wrote the gospel in he following words: Mark being the interpreter of Peter whatsoever he recorded he wrote with great accuracy, but not however, in the order in which it was spoken or done by our Lord, for he neither heard nor followed our Lord, but as before said, he was in company with Peter, who gave him such instruction as was necessary, but not to give a history of our Lord's discourses: wherefore Mark has not erred in any thing, by writing some things as he has recorded them; for he was carefully attentive to one thing, not to pass by any thing that he heard, or to state any thing falsely in these accounts." (Ecclesiastical History III.xxxix.)

Papias wrote about A.D. 130-140. Historically, he was in a better position to know than any modern critical scholar.

Eusebius also quoted Clement of Alexandria concerning Mark. He wrote:

. . . the gospel of Mark was occasioned in the following manner: 'When Peter had proclaimed the word publicly at Rome, and declared the gospel under the influence of the spirit; as there was a great number present, they requested Mark, who had followed him from afar, and remembered well what he had said, to reduce these things to writing, and that after composing the gospel he gave it to those who requested it of him, Which, when Peter understood, he directly neither hindered nor encouraged it. (Ecclesiastical History, VI. xiv.)

So then, we have learned that Mark recorded what the Apostle Peter had proclaimed.
Peter was an eyewitness of the deeds and teaching of Messiah Jesus. The Gospel of Mark is The Gospel According to Peter, written by Mark for the Romans. 

Irenaeus in about A.D. 180, wrote in Against Heresies III.i.1, 2.:

And after their (Peter's and Paul's) deaths Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, himself also handed down to us in writing the things preached by Peter.

In the Anti-Marcionite Prologue Old Latin manuscripts of the Gospels (A.D. 160-180):

. . . Mark declared, who is called "stump-fingered," because he had rather small fingers in comparison with the stature of the rest of his body. He was the interpreter of Peter. After the death of Peter himself he wrote down this same gospel in the regions of Italy. (D. de Bruyne, "Les plus anciens prologues latines des Evangiles," Revue Benedicine 40 (1928) pp. 193-214. R. G. Heard, "The Old Gospel Prologues," IThS n.s.6(1955), pp,1-16.)

Mark was John Mark the son of Mary, who was related to Barnabas. 

We read about Mark in the book of Acts, Acts 13:5, 13:13 and Acts 15:37-39. 5 Mark had gone on the first missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas. He was with Peter in "Babylon." 1 Peter 5:13. He was with the Apostle Paul in Rome during his first imprisonment. Colossians 4:10. Philemon 24. In 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul asked Timothy to bring Mark to Rome with him. Paul was awaiting execution during his second imprisonment. Paul was executed about A.D. 68. Eusebius wrote that Peter was crucified in Rome at about the same time. (Ecclesiastical History, II,xxv.) So then The Gospel According to Mark was "handed down" about A.D. 65 in Rome.

The Gospel According To Luke:

The Gospel According to Luke and The Acts of the Apostles were written by Luke the Physician. Luke worked with the Apostle Paul. We first meet Luke in Acts 16:10 at Troas, because Luke changed from writing about them and they to us and we. Luke was with Paul in Philippi(Acts 16:10-17). Later Luke went with Paul to Israel, and was with him during his imprisonment in Caesarea (Acts 20:6-26:32). Luke went with the Apostle Paul by ship to Rome (Acts 27:1-28:16). Luke was with the Apostle Paul in Rome during the first imprisonment (Col. 4:14; Philemon 24). Luke was with Paul in Rome during the time of Paul's second imprisonment (2 Tim. 4:11). 	 Let us read Luke's introduction to The Gospel According to Luke in:

Luke 1:1-3: Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which are most surely believed among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also. having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus. Luke 1:1-3.

Doctor Luke wrote as a historian. He wrote down what the eyewitnesses had delivered
to him. Luke was in Israel while Paul was in prison from 58-60 A.D. During this time, he was near the apostles, the eyewitnesses and ministers. He wrote an orderly account in accurate Greek. Luke had perfect understanding of all things from the very first. He addressed both The Gospel According to Luke and The Acts of the Apostles to Theophilus. The two books go together.

In Acts 1:1, we learn that The Gospel According to Luke had been written before The Acts of the Apostles: Luke wrote in:

Acts 1:1: The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began to do and teach. Acts 1:1.

So then, Luke had already written The Gospel before he began to write Acts. The Acts of the Apostles comes to an abrupt end when Paul had been under house arrest in Rome for two years. This was the spring of A.D. 63. There is no mention of the trial of Paul or the persecution by Nero. The Acts of the Apostles was completed in A.D. 63; therefore, The Gospel According to Luke was written before A.D.63, about A.D. 60, since The Gospel of Luke was written before The Acts of the Apostles.

Luke was with Paul when Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea, Israel for two years, before Paul was sent to Rome. Acts 23:33-26:32. While Luke was in Israel helping Paul, Luke had the opportunity to get information about the life of Messiah from the eyewitnesses of the life of Jesus Christ, including the apostles in Jerusalem, Mary the mother of Jesus (Luke 2:19,51; 3:23-38), His brothers, Joanna and Cleopas. Luke was also under the direction of the Holy Spirit inspired Apostle Paul. Paul was chosen by Jesus to be an apostle to the gentiles, Jesus appeared to him and Paul became an eyewitness to the resurrection of Christ, an apostle (Acts 26:12-18; Galatians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 14:37). Their time in Israel was A.D. 58-60 for the research and writing of The Gospel According to Luke. 

Eusebius wrote (Ecclesiastical History, III.xxiv.):

But Luke also in the commencement of his narrative, premises the cause which led him to write, showing that many others, having rashly undertaken to compose a narration of matters that he had already completely ascertained, in order to free us from the uncertain suppositions of others, in his own gospel, he delivered the certain account of those things, that he himself had fully received from his intimacy and stay with Paul, and also, his intercourse with other apostles.

The Gospel According to Luke is especially good for those who do not know the Old Testament scriptures. We all need to study this book very carefully.

We have seen that The Gospel According to Matthew, The Gospel According to Luke and The Gospel According to Mark were all written before A.D. 70.

Professor Eta Linnemann has shown in her book, IS THERE A SYNOPTIC PROBLEM, p. 80, that 39.98 percent of The Gospel According to Luke is unique. 39.98 percent of Luke is unique, without parallel in the other gospels. 57.09% of Luke is not in common with Mark. 82.89% of Luke is not in common with Matthew.

There are four Gospels that are four independent historical witnesses to you. Each gospel recorded unique historical information not covered in parallel by the other three. We need to read and study the four gospels, in order to know as much as we can about Messiah Jesus. We need to know Him, His teaching and His works. We need to know the word of God to us, the New Covenant, which was given through Messiah Jesus.

The gospel is that Messiah Jesus died for our sins; He was buried. He rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Will you believe in Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God? When you come to believe in Messiah Jesus, you can turn away from your sins, repent, then confess your faith in Him and be baptized into Christ, into His death, buried with Him and raised up to walk in newness of life. Romans 6:3, 4. It is written in:

Acts 2:38: . . . "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38.

Yes, through your own faith in Messiah Jesus you need to be baptized in His name for the forgiveness of your sins. Infant baptism is not valid. Jesus said in:

Mark 16:16: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16.

Will you be saved from sin and hell? Be buried with Messiah Jesus in baptism, then you will be raised up to walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4.

Amen!