When was the Gospel of Matthew written?

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Multiple Choice

When was the Gospel of Matthew written?

Explanation:
Dating Matthew is about understanding its place in the sequence of early gospel texts and the needs of the earliest Christian communities. Most scholars think Matthew used Mark as a source, which means Matthew must be written after Mark. That pushes its composition well after Mark’s likely first half of the first century. Additionally, Matthew reflects concerns of a church community shaping how Jesus fulfills the Hebrew Scriptures and how Torah should be understood in a post‑Temple Judaism context. That kind emphasis fits a setting after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, when Christians were clarifying identity and boundaries for a growing church that included both Jews and Gentiles. Putting these threads together—dependence on Mark, awareness of post‑70 CE realities, and a mature church perspective—leads to a late first‑century date, commonly placed in the 80s to early 90s. The mid‑80s CE is a widely used point of reference that aligns well with the available evidence, making it the best-supported estimate: around 85 CE.

Dating Matthew is about understanding its place in the sequence of early gospel texts and the needs of the earliest Christian communities. Most scholars think Matthew used Mark as a source, which means Matthew must be written after Mark. That pushes its composition well after Mark’s likely first half of the first century.

Additionally, Matthew reflects concerns of a church community shaping how Jesus fulfills the Hebrew Scriptures and how Torah should be understood in a post‑Temple Judaism context. That kind emphasis fits a setting after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, when Christians were clarifying identity and boundaries for a growing church that included both Jews and Gentiles.

Putting these threads together—dependence on Mark, awareness of post‑70 CE realities, and a mature church perspective—leads to a late first‑century date, commonly placed in the 80s to early 90s. The mid‑80s CE is a widely used point of reference that aligns well with the available evidence, making it the best-supported estimate: around 85 CE.

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