Talk:Ordering the Gospels
Irenaeus would beg to differ on the language Matthew wrote in
"Matthew also published a book of the Gospel among the Hebrews, in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching the Gospel in Rome and founding the Church." (Against Heresies, III, 1. 1.) [1] —LT Rev. 22:13 Thursday, 01:41, September 21, 2023 (EDT)
Clues on how we can date the Gospels
Nice article, Andy. I agree. It's liberal modernist trash that claims the Gospels are supposedly "anonymous", were written late, supposedly post-date 70 A.D. etc. As the quote from St. Irenaeus above says, St. Matthew the Apostle wrote his Gospel First, and wrote when St. Peter and St. Paul were preaching the Gospel in Rome. Therefore, since St. Peter and St. Paul died in 67 A.D. under Nero, Matthew wrote before 67 A.D. I wrote this article to show how we can be fairly certain all 3 Synoptic Gospels in fact pre-date 55 A.D. because of 2 Corinthians 8:18.
"Saint Irenaeus records:
Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter. Luke also, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel preached by him. Afterwards, John, the disciple of the Lord, who also had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia. (Adversus Haereses BIII, C1)
Since having an idea of when St. Peter preached and when he died would help in outlining dates for the first Gospel, and also the others, we can investigate when this took place. St. Jerome tells us on St. Peter:
Simon Peter the son of John, from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee … pushed on to Rome in the second year of Claudius (A.D. 42) to overthrow Simon Magus, and held the sacerdotal chair there for twenty-five years until the last, that is the fourteenth, year of Nero (A.D. 67) … then too the Gospel according to Mark, who was his disciple and interpreter, is ascribed to him[.] … Buried at Rome in the Vatican near the triumphal way he is venerated by the whole world.
The time of St. Peter’s preaching being known, we can arrive at broad dates to begin with:
First Syllogism: (1) St. Matthew the Apostle wrote when St. Peter (and St. Paul) were preaching in Rome. (2) But St. Peter began to preach in Rome in 42 A.D., and St. Peter was martyred by 67 A.D. (with St. Paul). (3) Therefore, St. Matthew wrote the First Gospel between the years 42 and 67 A.D.
Can we narrow it down further? Yes, since St. Matthew wrote before St. Luke, we have, in addition:
Second Syllogism: (1) St. Matthew the Apostle wrote before St. Luke the disciple (one of the 72) and Evangelist, the disciple of St. Paul the Apostle. (2) But St. Luke wrote Acts before 61 A.D. and the Gospel of St. Luke before 55 A.D. (3) Therefore, St. Matthew wrote well before 55 A.D. as well.
The proof of premise 2 can read in the Catholic Encyclopedia on the Gospel of Saint Luke. Briefly, it may be summarized as follows: (i) St. Luke wrote Acts when St. Paul was still alive (thus before 67 A.D.) and almost certainly during his Roman imprisonment (thus the abrupt ending of Acts) (round A.D. 61), and (ii) the Gospel was certainly written before this time, therefore well before 61 A.D.
Next, can we arrive still further in our consideration of dates? Yes: St. Luke, so the Church Fathers tell us, and it is internally evident, is “the brother, whose praise is in the gospel through all the churches (2 Cor. 8:18). The secularist Encyclopedia Brittanica admits: “The Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians (II Corinthians in the New Testament) was written from Macedonia in about 55 CE [sic].”
We conclude, therefore, that the Gospel of St. Luke was widely distributed already by this time."
https://onepeterfive.com/matthew-first-dates-gospels/ NishantXavierFor Christ the King 08:39, September 21, 2023 (EDT)