I was wondering about this last night, and I would like some opinions about this…
While Catholics believe in the validity of Sacred Tradition; most Protestants, for the most part, reject it as man-made -]garbage/-] nonsense.
What I would like to know is; who were Matthew, Mark, and Luke? While it is widely accepted that the Apostle John wrote the fourth Gospel; who were the authors of the other three? They weren’t counted among “the Twelve.” There’s nothing in the Bible about who they are at all… No mention anywhere. Were they eye-witnesses to Jesus; or was the Story of Jesus and His Ministry passed down to them via SACRED TRADITION; and the authors decided to put pen to paper?
This is more rhetorical than anything else; and non-Catholics are especially encouraged to weigh in.
Discuss…
The original author or “Matthew” is traditionally believed to be the apostle Levi, the tax collector. While modern scholarship tends to conclude that the finalized version of “Matthew” was not the direct composition by the apostle himself, the source of the gospel material, known as “Q” has of recent been identified with the “sayings gospel” that Papias claimed St. Matthew composed.
In the late 20th century, some who supported the “Q” source theory concluded that it was exactly as Papias identified the original Matthew gospel, “oracles [sayings] in a Hebrew dialect.” With this current theory critical and traditional beliefs have now meshed to agree with one another: the “oracles” or “Q” source was written by Matthew first and this was later redacted into the final Greek form that could have been finalized by a much older Matthew, but which scholars feel was likely finalized by disciples from his congregation in Syria.
This would explain why Luke, the author of the gospel with his name, leans heavily as “Q” for a source (if it was truly the apostle’s composition identified by Papias). Luke was not an apostle, or even a Jew, but a Gentile traveling companion of St. Paul. Luke offers a combination of sources, mixing “Q” (Matthew’s oracles) with things he may have learned from Paul, and even from interviews, possibly even with the Virgin Mary. He also seems to be aware of the gospel of Mark and used that composition as a source as well.
St. Mark was a companion of St. Peter, the first pope. His gospel is the opposite of “Q”–which was just sayings. Mark’s gospel was more. It was a narrative. Papias said that it was based on Peter’s preaching.
While there are some who hold to some of the older theories, the very latest scholarship goes something like this:
- The earliest written compositions of Jesus consisted of nothing but a collection of Jesus’ sayings or “oracles.”
- St. Matthew wrote his collection of oracles first and in Hebrew/Aramaic.
- Mark, under the guidance of St. Peter, wrote his gospel either around the same time or afterwards, in the form of a narrative.
- St. Matthew’s original source (which may be what scholars have been calling “Q”) was placed into the form we know now (in narrative form like "Mark), being composed in Greek and translating the “oracle/Q” sayings of the apostle into Greek as well.
- Luke wrote his gospel next. He used Mark and “Q” as sources. Some scholars view Luke’s gospel as St. Paul’s testimony to Christ since Luke was Paul’s companion, as Mark was to Peter. Luke also wrote a sequel to his gospel about the apostles, now known as “Acts of the Apostles.”
- John’s gospel was written around 25-30 years afterwards.
Now this is some of the very latest information based on theories developed as late as 4 years ago. Not everyone agrees with the latest theories. Others may have very valid arguments that go contrary to what is written here. But it should be noted that critical studies are finally beginning to match with long-held tradition, at least in some quarters.
And finally, my submission of this information is meant to be informative only. It isn’t meant to reflect my personal opinions on the matter or should be construed as a reflection of my personal convictions. I am but a student in these matters.
