For more than two years I’ve been listening to the New Testament as I wash dishes, drive, walk. As questions surface, I research. For decades, I’ve wanted to know when the books of the New Testament were written. I specifically remember the year 2006, when the phrase “only Luke is with me” jumped off the page of 2nd Timothy. I was fascinated. Luke? As in the Gospel of Luke?
Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 2 Timothy 4:11 NIV
And Mark? Who was he? Was he one of the twelve disciples? After all the books ordered from Amazon, and all the trips to one of the largest Theological libraries in North America, I’m convinced it was Luke there, with Paul 66-67 A.D. in Rome. His last imprisonment before his execution by decapitation on order of Nero 67 A.D. And the Mark he was referring to was indeed the writer of the Gospel of Mark. And when was Mark written? 45 A.D. What about Luke? Probably in two stages. From 52-56 A.D. in Philippi, (chapters 3 through the end), the first two chapters 57-58 in the Jerusalem area, and the final touches, 60-62 AD. in Rome.
This blog is about dates: when, the New Testament’s 27 documents were written, plus the ‘who’, ‘where’ ‘why’ and how.
So, feel free to sign up for email alerts, ask questions. Share the blog. I’m not sure how often I’ll be posting, or how much I’ll be editing previous posts… I tend to do that.
As you’ll see, in the first post “Who Wrote the Gospels”, over a year ago, my mind changed regarding the anonymity of the Gospels after I’d written it, (thus the edits) and since then the simple view I expressed in the corrections of the article have changed again. That’s why I’ve been hesitant to really push this blog.
I’ll try to make posts brief and relevant.
Thank you for joining me!
Who Wrote the Gospels? 