Are Jehovahs Witnesses Saved?

[Abiding Now]

Originally Posted by Praxeas

B. Who Wrote Matthew?

Scholars frequently assert that the four gospels are anonymous, that is, the authors do not identify themselves by name. That claim is technically correct if the standard of comparison is, say, Paul’s letter to the Romans, where the opening lines clearly state both the author and the initial readers. The gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John never explicitly say who wrote them. Nevertheless, we have no evidence that these gospels ever circulated without titles like “according to Matthew.” The titles were likely part of the works from the beginning, and the expression “according to” introduces the person understood to be the author. The one gospel circulated in four distinct forms: “according to Matthew,” “according to Mark,” “according to Luke,” and “according to John.”
The author of Matthew was likely the apostle, “Matthew the tax collector” (10:3). At one level very little hangs on the question of the authorship of this gospel. Neither its meaning nor its authority is greatly changed if one decides that its author was not an apostle.


Carson, D. A., & Moo, D. J. (2010). Introducing the New Testament: A Short Guide to Its History and Message (24). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Thank you.