Article
Who Wrote Matthew, Mark, and Luke?
Papias and Irenaeus name Mark as Peter’s interpreter, Matthew as the writer of a Gospel in Hebrew, and Luke as Paul’s companion. The books themselves do not open with those names.
On this page
Mark wrote what Peter preached, Matthew wrote a Gospel among the Hebrews, and Luke wrote what Paul preached. That is how Papias and Irenaeus, in the second century, name the three. Mark, Matthew, and Luke do not open with “I wrote this,” the way Paul’s letters do. John is the fourth Gospel, on Who Wrote the Gospel of John?. The man they describe is Was Jesus a Real Person?.
Key points
- Papias, quoted by Eusebius in Church History 3.39.15, says Mark, Peter’s interpreter, wrote accurately what he remembered, and that Mark neither heard the Lord nor followed him. (1)
- The same chapter, 3.39.16, says Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language. The Gospel that survives is Greek. (1)
- Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1, names Matthew, then Mark after the departure of Peter and Paul, then Luke the companion of Paul, then John at Ephesus. (2)
- The Muratorian fragment says Luke the physician wrote the third Gospel in his own name and did not see the Lord in the flesh. (3)
- Luke 1:1–41:1
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
1:2Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
1:3It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
1:4That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Luke 1:1–4 · King James VersionOpen source (8) says the writer set down what was delivered by eyewitnesses, for Theophilus. - Acts 12:12
And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
Acts 12:12 · King James VersionOpen source (4) names John, whose surname was Mark. Colossians 4:10Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)
Colossians 4:10 · King James VersionOpen source (6) calls Marcus the sister’s son of Barnabas. 1 Peter 5:13The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.
1 Peter 5:13 · King James VersionOpen source (7) calls Marcus “my son.”
Who wrote the book of Mark?
Papias of Hierapolis, early in the second century, is the oldest named witness. Eusebius preserves him in Church History 3.39.15: (1)
Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lord’s discourses, so that Mark committed no error while he thus wrote some things as he remembered them. For he was careful of one thing, not to omit any of the things which he had heard, and not to state any of them falsely.
The fair reading is on the page. Mark is a reporter of Peter, not one of the Twelve, and not a man who walked with Jesus in Galilee. Papias still calls the writing accurate. “Not in order” is his own limit. A Gospel can be Peter’s preaching in Mark’s arrangement and still be uneven as a timeline.
Acts 12:12And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
Acts 12:12 · King James VersionOpen source places that Mark in Jerusalem: Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark. Acts 12:25And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Acts 12:25 · King James VersionOpen source has Barnabas and Saul take John Mark with them. Acts 15:37And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Acts 15:37 · King James VersionOpen source says Barnabas wanted to take John, surnamed Mark, again, and Acts 15:39And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
Acts 15:39 · King James VersionOpen source says the contention was sharp enough that they parted. Colossians 4:10Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)
Colossians 4:10 · King James VersionOpen source sends greetings from Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas. 2 Timothy 4:11Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
2 Timothy 4:11 · King James VersionOpen source says Mark is profitable for the ministry. 1 Peter 5:13The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.
1 Peter 5:13 · King James VersionOpen source has Peter call Marcus “my son.” The New Testament picture is a companion of Paul and Barnabas who is also close to Peter. That is the same man Papias attaches to the Gospel, read as one person. The pages do not print a birth record that forces the identification. They do print the name in both places.
Mark has no sentence “Mark wrote this.” The title is how the book is known. This page has not surveyed every manuscript title, and it does not claim that every copy prints the same heading. The authorship claim rests on Papias and on Irenaeus, quoted below.
Who wrote the Gospel of Matthew?
Papias continues, in Eusebius, Church History 3.39.16: (1)
So then Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and every one interpreted them as he was able.
“Hebrew language” in this report can mean Hebrew or the Aramaic Jews spoke. Papias does not say the Greek Matthew on this site is a word-for-word copy of a book we still have in Hebrew. The Hebrew or Aramaic work he describes is not a second Gospel sitting on the shelf beside the Greek one. What the churches have read is the Greek Matthew. Irenaeus says the same thing in a fuller list: Matthew issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect.
Matthew in the Gospel lists of the apostles is a tax collector, Matthew 9:9And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
Matthew 9:9 · King James VersionOpen source and Matthew 10:3Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
Matthew 10:3 · King James VersionOpen source. Papias and Irenaeus attach the book to that apostle. The book itself, like Mark, does not sign the first line.
Who wrote the Gospel of Luke?
Luke 1:1–41:1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
1:2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
1:3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
1:4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Luke 1:1–4 · King James VersionOpen source is the clearest author’s preface in the three. The writer says many have taken the story in hand, that eyewitnesses delivered it, and that he has written an orderly account for Theophilus so that Theophilus might know the certainty of what he was taught. He does not put his own name in those verses. He does describe research, not a claim to have stood in the crowd.
The Muratorian fragment, a Latin list usually dated to the late second century, names him. The Roberts-Donaldson translation says: (3)
The third book of the Gospel, that according to Luke, the well-known physician Luke wrote in his own name in order after the ascension of Christ, and when Paul had associated him with himself as one studious of right. Nor did he himself see the Lord in the flesh; and he, according as he was able to accomplish it, began his narrative with the nativity of John.
The Latin is damaged. The English follows restorations, and this page says so. What is stable in the sentence is the name Luke, the physician, the link to Paul, and the denial that Luke saw the Lord in the flesh. Colossians 4:14Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.
Colossians 4:14 · King James VersionOpen source calls Luke the beloved physician. Who Wrote the Book of Acts? follows the same man into the second volume, addressed to the same Theophilus.
What Irenaeus says about all three
Irenaeus, writing around the end of the second century, puts the three in one paragraph with John. Against Heresies 3.1.1: (2)
Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter. Luke also, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel preached by him. Afterwards, John, the disciple of the Lord, who also had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1 · Ante-Nicene Fathers, New Advent
“After their departure” is Irenaeus’s phrase for the timing of Mark. Departure can mean their death. He does not give a year. Some modern readers date Mark after the year 70 because Mark 13 predicts the temple’s fall, and they assume a prediction of that kind is written after the event. That assumption should be named. It is a rule about prophecy, not a sentence in Irenaeus. Irenaeus still names Mark, Matthew, and Luke, and he places John after them at Ephesus. The John clause is taken up on Who Wrote the Gospel of John?.
Why do the three Gospels overlap?
Matthew, Mark, and Luke share a great deal of wording. The usual scholarly account is that Mark was written first and that Matthew and Luke used Mark, together with other material. That account explains the overlap. It is an explanation, not a recovered set of drafts. Irenaeus still names three authors. Shared wording is compatible with Mark as Peter’s preaching and with Matthew and Luke knowing that preaching. It is also compatible with a literary dependence the second-century writers do not describe. Did Paul invent Christianity? meets the related claim that the Gospels were written later to match Paul. Luke says he received the story from eyewitnesses. Paul says he received the death and resurrection he preached. The overlap of the three is a question about their relationship to one another.
The Gospel of Thomas is a different book. Irenaeus’s four do not include it. The Muratorian fragment’s four do not include it. This page does not assign Thomas a date it has not sourced. How Was the Bible Canon Decided, and What Is the Apocrypha? is which books the churches later listed.
Frequently asked questions
Did Matthew, Mark, and Luke know Jesus?
Papias says Mark neither heard the Lord nor followed him. He followed Peter. The Muratorian fragment says Luke did not see the Lord in the flesh. Matthew, in those same writers, is the apostle. Eyewitness testimony in Mark and Luke is Peter’s preaching and the tradition Luke says was delivered by eyewitnesses. Luke 1:2Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
Luke 1:2 · King James VersionOpen source is that line.
Are the authors anonymous?
The three Gospels do not begin with the writer’s name. Paul’s letters do. The names Matthew, Mark, and Luke are in Papias, Irenaeus, and the Muratorian fragment, attached early enough that Irenaeus can treat four names as the church’s list. An unsigned opening is a real feature of the books. It is not the same as a nameless book with no early witness.
Who wrote the Gospel of John?
John is the fourth, and he has his own page: Who Wrote the Gospel of John?. Irenaeus’s sentence above already names him as the disciple who leaned on Jesus’ breast and published at Ephesus.
Keep reading
References
- Church History, 3.39.15–16
Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lord's discourses, so that Mark committed no error while he thus wrote some things as he remembered them. For he was careful of one thing, not to omit any of the things which he had heard, and not to state any of them falsely.
Papias, in Eusebius, Church History 3.39.15 · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, New AdventOpen source (Eusebius, Church History 3.39, quoting Papias. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, as published on New Advent, revised and edited by Kevin Knight.) - Against Heresies, 3.1.1
Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter. Luke also, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel preached by him. Afterwards, John, the disciple of the Lord, who also had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1 · Ante-Nicene Fathers, New AdventOpen source (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1. Ante-Nicene Fathers, as published on New Advent, revised and edited by Kevin Knight.) - Muratorian fragment, Luke and John
Moreover, the Acts of all the Apostles are comprised by Luke in one book, and addressed to the most excellent Theophilus, because these different events took place when he was present himself; and he shows this clearly-i.e., that the principle on which he wrote was, to give only what fell under his own notice-by the omission of the passion of Peter, and also of the journey of Paul, when he went from the city-Rome-to Spain.
Muratorian fragment, on Acts · Roberts-Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers 5Open source (Roberts-Donaldson translation, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5. The Latin is fragmentary. The English follows restorations. Footnote numbers in that edition are omitted.) - Acts of the Apostles, 12:12; 15:37–39
And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
Acts 12:12 · King James VersionOpen source. King James Version - Second Letter to Timothy, 4:11
Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
2 Timothy 4:11 · King James VersionOpen source. King James Version - Letter to the Colossians, 4:10
Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)
Colossians 4:10 · King James VersionOpen source. King James Version - First Letter of Peter, 5:13
The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.
1 Peter 5:13 · King James VersionOpen source. King James Version - Gospel of Luke, 1:1–41:1
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
1:2Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
1:3It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
1:4That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Luke 1:1–4 · King James VersionOpen source. King James Version
See also
- Who Wrote Genesis in the Bible? — Jesus and the books themselves name Moses as the writer of the law, Genesis through Deuteronomy. The documentary hypothesis reads those books as later sources woven together.
- Who Wrote the Bible? — God is the Bible’s author, and named people wrote its books. Moses, the prophets, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul are the writers the books and the early church name.
- Who Wrote the Book of Acts? — Luke wrote Acts for Theophilus, the same man addressed in his Gospel. The Muratorian fragment and Irenaeus say so. The book never says Paul wrote it.
- Who Wrote the Book of Revelation? — The book names John, a brother on Patmos. Justin and Irenaeus say he was the apostle, and that the vision came near the end of Domitian’s reign. Dionysius hesitated to identify that John with the son of Zebedee.
- Who Wrote the Gospel of John? — The Gospel says the beloved disciple wrote it. Irenaeus names John, the disciple who leaned on Jesus’ breast, publishing at Ephesus. Dionysius’s doubt about a second John is quoted from Eusebius.