Let's start by setting the stage for the Early Church. In the mid 30s AD, Jesus was crucified by the Romans.
Jesus was resurrected and appeared to many people, including his disciples. This happened both in Jerusalem and in Galilee, on the road to Emmaus and elsewhere.
Peter preached his message in Jerusalem at the day of Pentecost. From there, new Jewish/ Christian believers dispersed to their home towns including Antioch, Ephesus, Rome.
Peter remained a prominent leader in the Jerusalem church, along with James the Lord's brother and, interestingly, accompanied by John Mark. Tradition tells us that other of the apostles embarked on missionary journeys. For example, Phillip met the Ethiopian and traveled to north Africa.
Matthew was said by Papias (the Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia ca. AD 130) to have written the Oracles or Saying of Jesus in his native Aramaic. This was probably a work in progress during the time he remained in Jerusalem, with the contribution of other apostles and disciples of Jesus, including the people who knew him during his earthly ministry. The understanding is that this work began within a relatively short time of the formation of the church.
Matthew then travel to Antioch in Syria when a large contingent of the early church migrated there. At that point he finalized a much larger work which was his full Gospel, having done considerable Old Testament research. One could consider this later work a new book, or simply a refinement of work begun earlier. Since he was a Roman tax collector, he had to have been formally trained in writing and accounting up to government standards. Therefore, his gospel would have been written in Greek, with an awareness of the early work of Mark.
Mark is widely considered to be a follower of Peter while in residence in Jerusalem. Mark's mother was the owner of the house where the Jerusalem church met, where Peter appeared after being released from prison, and where (by tradition) Jesus and his disciples held their Last Supper. Mark was therefore steeped in the origins and traditions of the early church and was familiar with the preaching and storytelling of Peter as a young man. Since Mark's mother was a wealthy landowner, it is highly likely that her son was given a Greek tutor or attended a formal school where he learned to write in Greek.
Acts tells of Mark's early incident with his uncle Barnabas and their missionary travels with Paul. After a long boat journey with Paul, Mark chose to abandon the trip and return to Jerusalem where Peter was still in residence, presumably to again take up his student relationship. There, he began to write down the teaching and preaching of Peter It is very likely that Mark was familiar with the Sayings of Jesus that Matthew had begun while in Jerusalem and that Peter, through Mark, was the source of many of those stories. Later, Mark incorporated that material into his own text and eventually began to fashion it into his Gospel.
Some time later, Mark journeyed again with his uncle Barnabas as missionaries, probably taking his gospel with him. Traditionally, some form of Mark's gospel was widely distributed throughout the early churches.
Luke, the physician, was a scholar who was quite accustomed to research and scholarly writing. He became aware of Paul's missionary journeys and accompanied Paul on at least some of his travels.
In the introduction to his gospel, Luke says "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. "
Luke makes some interesting observations in the introduction. First, he acknowledges the efforts of multiple written sources for his study, likely identifying the work of Mark and Matthew. Next, he claims that everything that he writes has been the result of his own careful research into early events. Not merely copying other sources, Luke conducted his own investigations, likely personally interviewing "eyewitnesses and servants of the word." The tone suggests that Luke wrote of the things he had personally verified, so that he can attest to the "certainty of the things you have been taught". This all suggests that he spent considerable time in his own first-hand investigation to document his gospel, after which, he joined Paul in his missionary journeys and began chronicling the act of the early church.
Luke wrote the book of Acts prior to Paul's execution in the Neronian persecutions, so it was penned about AD 60 - 62. The gospel was written prior to Acts, and was possibly mentioned by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, so the gospel was likely written between AD 55- 60. Accordingly, this indicates that the gospels of Mark and Matthew were available to Luke by AD 50 and following.
As an aside, this suggests that the early gospels were finalized a mere 15-20 years after the end of the events that they describe. With Mark a student of Peter, and Matthew contributing to his Sayings of Jesus, within the decade of the start of the early church.
The Early Church
While the original apostles were alive and teaching on active missionary journeys, the principles of the Gospel remained relatively constant. Paul, Peter, James were martyred by AD 65 and Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70. Others continued to lead early churches, and to take disciples who learned directly from the Apostles.
For example, Mark was still a young man in his middle 40s when Peter was executed and presumably lived another 30 years, until near the end of the century. Polycarp was reported as a student of John the Apostle, while Clement was traditionally appointed bishop of Rome by Peter. These early church Fathers would have died by around 150, in the middle of the second century.
It is at this point, presumably when the restraints of those who had a direct connection to the origin of Christian teaching had passed from the scene, that a number of novel writings began to emerge. The pseudepigrapha are spurious works ostensibly written by biblical figures. This includes the various gospels attributed to other apostles (the Gospel of Thomas, the Infancy Gospel of James, The Gospel of Barnabas), and presented as if they were written when these figures were still alive but had somehow remained hidden and preserved in secret only to emerge a hundred years later.
Each of the four Gospels presents Jesus Christ from a different point of emphasis. Matthew, being a Levite, emphasizes Jesus as the Messiah, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Each of the subtleties of his design supports this primary theme. His genealogy begins with the "first Jew," Abraham, and continues through David and the royal line to the legal father of Jesus, Joseph. As a customs official, Matthew was skilled in shorthand, in record keeping and documentation. He focuses on what Jesus said, and includes the extensive discourses, which he probably was able to take down verbatim. Matthew's first miracle is the cleansing of a leper, a Jewish metaphor for sin itself. Matthew concludes with the resurrection, also a distinctive Jewish preoccupation.
Matthew tells the story of Jesus' birth from the perspective of Joseph. As the head of the household, a Jewish audience would look to him as an authority in that situation, so Matthew tells the stories of his visitation by the Angel, and his pondering what legal steps to take to divorce her. Matthew talks about Joseph's decision to relocate his family to Egypt and then back to Nazareth, which was the responsibility of the leader of the house. It is through Joseph's dreams that the angel advises him, echoing another Joseph's association with dreams.
Luke was a Gentile and a doctor, and his Gospel reflects a very distinctive point of view, emphasizing Jesus as the Son of Man. His genealogy begins with Adam, the first man. From Abraham to David, his list is identical to that of Matthew. However, when he gets to David, he doesn't track through Solomon (the first surviving son of Bathsheba) but through a different son, Nathan (the second surviving son of Bathsheba). He continues through to Heli, the father of Mary. (Joseph is the son-in-law of Heli).
Luke tells the story of Jesus' birth from the perspective of Mary. He talks about her visitation from the Angel, (and gives him an name, Gabriel) and records Mary's response. He details her travels to visit Elizabeth while early in her pregnancy, and then relates the trip to Bethlehem later in her pregnancy which would obviously be arduous in her condition. Luke focuses on the details of the actual day of birth, not in a guest room but among animals, again emphasizing the burden placed on Mary herself. Luke tells us about the Angel host and the shepherds and that Mary treasured and pondered the things that had happened.
As a Gentile, Luke's emphasis is different. His emphasis is Christ's humanity; he focuses on what Jesus felt. His first miracle is the expulsion of a demon, a very human concern. Luke concludes with the promise of the giving of the Holy Spirit, which is a natural bridge to his subsequent volume, The Book of Acts.
Mark is the amanuensis for Peter, and he emphasizes Jesus as the obedient Servant of Yahweh. His is the only Gospel with no concern for pedigree or genealogy. He focuses on what Jesus did: it deals in graphic images, almost like a movie or video shooting script. Mark concludes with the final visual appearance, the Ascension.
John had a very distinctive view, emphasizing Jesus as the Son of God. He focuses on who Jesus was . His "genealogy" is that of the Pre-existent One, constituting his opening verses. His Gospel is organized around seven miracles, seven discourses, and seven "I AM" statements.
John's first miracle involves the use of the water of purification being changed to wine at Cana, a private demonstration to the disciples that Jesus was preeminent even over the Levitical priesthood. The miracle suggests that the water of the Jewish tradition was being replaced with the wine of the Holy Spirit, a theme he continued in his discussion with the woman at the well. The theme is further echoed during Pentecost when Peter was filled with the flame of the Holy Spirit so that outside observers wondered if he were intoxicated.
John concludes with the promise of Jesus' return, and becomes the appropriate prequel to John's final work, The Revelation .
It is interesting that each time we encounter the "super-angels" (variously called cherubim or seraphim ) that surround the Throne of God, we note that there are four "faces" involved: a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle.
It is interesting that each of these "faces" are suggestive of each of the four Gospels: Matthew, presenting the Lion of the Judah; Mark, the ox (the classic emblem of servanthood); Luke, the Son of Man; and John, the Son of God in the heavens (the Eagle).
The Bible is an amazing treasure hunt. - Chuck Swindoll
Speculative Narrative
I. As we open our story, we meet Matthew, a tax collector whom Jesus calls to be his disciple. Matthew is first identified as being named Levi. Matthew was described as being of the tribe of Levi, so calling him "Levi" may have been an honorific rather than his given name. This is an ironic twist because despite being born into a priestly order, he chose instead a profession where he would be seen as a betrayer of his people. However, being a Levite, he would have been educated in the Torah, and with this formal education would have learned how to read and write Hebrew and Aramaic, as well as Greek. We know that Matthew did extensive research in bringing Old Testament prophetic references to his biography of Jesus, and his knowledge of the Torah must have been considerable.
In Robert Gundry’s The Use of the Old Testament in St. Matthew’s Gospel: With Special Reference to the Messianic Hope (Leiden: Brill, 1975), Gundry writes the following about the evangelist Matthew on page 183:
As an ex-publican, whose employment and post near Capernaum on the Great West Road would have required and given a good command of Greek and instilled the habit of jotting down information, and perhaps as a Levite, whose background would have given him acquaintance with the OT in its Semitic as well as Greek forms, Mt the Apostle was admirably fitted for such a function among the unlettered disciples.
As a tax collector for the Roman government, Matthew would have been educated and well versed in both Aramaic and Greek. He also would be familiar with an occasional document with a few words in Latin, since Latin was the primary language used by the Roman government, especially for official documents and legal matters. He would have had experience with written records, with filing detailed reports to his Roman masters, and with meticulous notes and note taking.
Matthew would have been familiar with the implements of writing. He would have long experience using pen and ink to take notes, and these would have been readily accessible to him, unlike some other of Jesus' disciples, who were fishermen and for whom ink and paper would have been considerable expenses. With his background, Matthew was well suited to taking notes, keeping them organized, and preserving them for later reference and publication.
I would posit that Matthew took extensive notes of his travels with Jesus, keeping a journal or diary of the ongoing events of the day. After Jesus death, when the early church assembled in Jerusalem, Matthew produced an early document of Jesus' teachings or "Sayings" sourced from his own notes. This was distributed among the incipient church with all of the apostles and other eyewitnesses of Jesus's ministry able to contribute and would have been written at least partially in Aramaic, a language which all of them natively spoke. This early, partially collaborative document, The Teaching of Jesus, would have been circulated within the Jerusalem church. It is also likely that Paul was familiar with this material as well.
Gundy asserts his position both that Matthew’s notes were one of the sources of the entire Synoptic tradition and that Matthew was the author of the canonical Gospel. He observes that notebooks were common in the Graeco-Roman world and pupils took notes of their teacher’s lectures. According to G. Milligan and B. Gerhardsson, writing shorthand may have been introduced as early as the fourth century BCE and was current at the time of Jesus.
II. John Mark was a true child of the early Church, raised by his wealthy mother who owned a large house in Jerusalem, and employed servants and offered support to the disciples. She hosted the upper room meetings of Jesus and his apostles. She again was the owner of the house where the early church gathered for their meetings, for example when Peter was arrested and released. Mark would have been present as a young man for all of these early activities, (for example, as the young man who lost his robe at Jesus' arrest) and would have been well acquainted with the preaching of Peter, James and the other apostles. As a member of a wealthy family, Mark would have been educated, particularly in written Greek. He would also have been familiar with Matthew's Teaching of Jesus document.
As a young man, Mark was persuaded by his uncle Barnabas to accompany Barnabas and Paul on a missionary journey. This was immediately after Paul had prevailed in his discussions with Peter and James about the nature of the gentiles' inclusion in the church. After rebuking Peter, Paul and Barnabas, took Mark and embarked on a lengthy journey by ship toward Asia minor. During that trip, where they were confined on a small ship for several weeks, Paul likely rehashed the previous discussion in Jerusalem and, consistent with his irascible nature, probably had some unflattering things to say about Peter. At the end of that voyage, Mark had had enough of Paul and decided he could no longer travel with him.
Mark immediately returned to Jerusalem, I think with a resolve to renew his mentorship with Peter. This journey was a catalyst for Mark's action, and I believe it was at this time that Mark began to write his Gospel. It was based primarily on Peter's teachings, but using as a framework the Sayings of Jesus that Matthew had distributed earlier. Mark translated this into Greek and expanded this work into a more fully detailed narrative. Later, Mark accompanied Barnabas on another missionary journey, likely carrying at least an early form of his gospel with him. Bearing the imprimatur of Matthew and of Peter, this first fully coherent narrative of Jesus life was accepted and widely distributed in the Early Church.
III. Meanwhile, Matthew had a much larger project in mind. Using what he considered his early work on Jesus, the Teachings, he brought to bear the full details of his own personal records and began to expand it. Part of his larger purpose was to research the Jewish traditions regarding the promised messiah, and he began searching the Torah for prophecy that would point to Jesus. Matthew would craft a biography that supported Jesus as a kingly messiah in a much more literarily sophisticated work, using Peter's information in Mark's gospel as a reference.
His own research took the perspective of the Jewish audience and included information from Joseph, Mary's husband. This Gospel of Matthew would again be widely accepted by the early church and recognized as a more erudite companion to Mark's gospel.
IV. Finally, Luke would appear on the scene and begin a complete review of the existing literature. This would include the early Teachings of Jesus document as well as both Mark's and Matthew's gospels. As he reports, he also completed extensive interviews with as many eyewitnesses as he could find. For example, he gathered a wealth of material from Mary, the mother of Jesus, who's specific information is found nowhere else. Therefore, Luke's gospel would be the last to appear in its final form, and would be followed by his document of Acts culminating in events surrounding Paul's martyrdom in Rome around AD65.
Luke wrote not to correct the previous authors, but to add additional details where he had uncovered them. My sense is that Luke included details that he could personally confirm, and he favored details that weren't already present from other authors. He was looking for ways in which he could expand the current information, rather than simply re-arrange it. To this point, Luke would add new information that his interviews uncovered or that he could confirm with his own direct evidence
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