Originally Posted by
DD2014
First of all, it is clear that Matthew and Luke copied from Mark's Gospel, because when their Gospels contain material found in Mark, the wording in Greek is almost identical as that in Mark's Gospel. This could not have happened if they were relying on oral sources, Aramaic sources, or even a common Greek source. Also, the Missing Block convincingly shows that Luke was relying on Mark's Gospel for everything he knew about the life of Jesus. So, the first clue, as to when Matthew and Luke were written, is to define when Mark was written. One of the internal clues to the date of Mark's Gospel is at Mark 13:2, where Jesus was said to prophesy the destruction of the Temple, an event that occurred in 70 CE. According to Mark, Jesus went on to predict the end of the world within the lifetime of his followers. If Jesus had really prophesied the destruction of the Temple, he would have been correct, but he would have been in error about the imminent end of times. Since it can not be accepted that Jesus made predictions that were capable of being in error, these prophecies must have originated with Mark, writing at a time when he would have known of the destruction or imminent destruction of the temple. Other references in this Gospel indicate that it could not have been written much after 70 CE. So, we can say that Mark's Gospel was written in the late 60s or very early in the 70s CE.
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