Skip to main contentAccessibility feedback
Background Image

Names of the Evangelists

DAY 146

CHALLENGE

“Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are made-up names.”

DEFENSE

The names themselves provide evidence they are authentic.

Ancient writers sometimes attributed their works to long-dead authors to increase the prestige of their works, but that wouldn’t have applied to the Gospels. Not only were their names being used in the first century (see Day 109), when the authors lived, they also weren’t the people you’d pick to add prestige to the documents. Their names may be prestigious today, but that is because of their Gospels. At the time, things were different.

Mark and Luke weren’t even apostles but junior associates. Mark was initially a companion of Paul and Barnabas and later served as Peter’s interpreter, and Luke was one of Paul’s traveling companions.

Both are mentioned only a handful of times in the New Testament, and the mentions aren’t all good. Mark abandoned his first mission trip (Acts 13:13), and Paul refused to take him on a second mission. This led to such a sharp argument between Paul and Barnabas that the two dissolved their partnership (Acts 15:37–40). Mark eventually redeemed himself (2 Tim. 4:11), but his early failure remained a black mark.

Although Luke’s reputation was unblemished, he is named only three times (Col. 4:14; 2 Tim. 4:11; Philem. 24), making him far less prominent than other Pauline companions, such as Timothy (twenty- five mentions), Titus (thirteen mentions), and Silas (twelve mentions).

Matthew’s Gospel is the most Jewish, which makes Matthew the last person whose name would give it prestige. Not only was Mat- thew only a midlevel apostle (note his placement when the names of the Twelve are given; Matt. 10:2–4, Mark 3:16–19, Luke 6:14–16, Acts 1:13), he was also a tax collector (Matt. 9:9), and tax collectors were hated by Jews, who saw them as collaborators with the Romans and sinners (Matt. 9:11, 18:17).

The only major name attached to a Gospel is John, and while John son of Zebedee was prominent (note his placement in the lists of the Twelve), there is a question whether the fourth Gospel was written by him or another, lesser-known disciple named John (see Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, chapters 14–17). Thus, with the possible exception of John, the evangelists’ names are not what one would pick to lend authority to the Gospels.

Did you like this content? Please help keep us ad-free
Enjoying this content?  Please support our mission!Donatewww.catholic.com/support-us