The Gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as shown by early testimony, internal evidence, manuscript titles, and apostolic origin.
Who Wrote the Gospels Found in the New Testament of Our Bibles, and How Do We Know?
What Is the Synoptic Problem of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and What is the Hypothetical So-Called Q Document?
The Synoptic Problem asks how Matthew, Mark, and Luke relate; Q remains a hypothetical source without manuscript or early Christian evidence.
PAPIAS (c. 60-135 A.D.) and the Gospels of Matthew and Mark
Papias’ testimony links Mark to Peter’s preaching and Matthew to an early Semitic Gospel setting within reliable apostolic transmission.
THE UNKNOWN GOSPEL: Egerton Papyrus 2
Egerton Papyrus 2 is an early gospel-like papyrus that illuminates Christian literary activity without rivaling the canonical Gospels.
The Synoptic Gospels In Early Christianity: Why Is the Preferred Choice the Testimony to the Priority of the Gospel of Matthew?
Early testimony favors Matthew’s priority, Mark’s Petrine accuracy, and Luke’s orderly investigation without requiring Q or Markan priority.
What Do We Know About the Dutch Bible and Textual Scholar Erasmus of Rotterdam?
Erasmus said of God's Word, "I WOULD have these words translated into all languages, so that not only Scots and Irish but Turks and Saracens too might read them . . . I long for the plowboy to sing them to himself as he follows his plow, the weaver to hum them to the tune of his shuttle, the traveler to beguile with them the dullness of his journey." (Clayton 2006, 230)
William Tyndale’s Bible for the People
William Tyndale (c. 1490-1536) devoted himself early to Scripture studies, and by the time he had reached the age of about thirty, he had taken for the work of his life the translation of the Bible into English.
Bible and Textual Scholar Desiderius Erasmus Who Gave Us the King James Version New Testament
It is challenging to enter this next era of the English Bibles without talking about Desiderius Erasmus and the Textus Receptus (Received Text) that would impact English Translations for centuries to come. Erasmus is credited with saying, “When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes.”
The Wycliffe English Bible
While the Wycliffe Bible is not the first English Bible, it is the first complete English Bible. It came to us through the efforts and influence of John Wycliffe (c. 1330-1384), a Catholic priest and a professor of theology at Oxford, England, called the “morning star of the Reformation" because of the religious principles that he developed through his investigation of Scripture and witnessed about, a great risk to himself.
Middle English Bible Version and John Wycliffe
With Wycliffe (1320-1384), we reach a landmark in the history of the English Bible in the production of the first complete version of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. It belongs to the last period of Wycliffe’s life, that in which he was engaged in open war with the Papacy and with most of the official chiefs of the English Church.
