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Most New Testament scholars hold that Mark was the first Gospel written. This is by no means certain, but it is a popular position right now. According to the 2nd century church father Papias, Mark essentially functioned as a secretary for the apostle Peter and received much of his Gospels material from him. This passage from Papias is no longer extant but has been preserved for us in the writings of the 4th century church historian Eusebius: 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 had adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lords 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 [1]. Moreover, Marks narrative has been shown to contain several internal indications of Peters influence [2]. Given that this w ork was likely completed prior to 70 A.D., within one generation of the events it records, the likelihood of legendary embellishment impinging on the central facts of this document is implausible.
Access to eyewitness testimony does not guarantee that all the events recorded were historical. Challenges are often levied against the credibility of specific Gospel episodes in which there are no other witnesses. For example, Matthew 4:1-11narrates a dialogue between Jesus and Satan. Who was present to hear this conversation? While it is plain that Matthew mentions no third party witnesses to this epic conversation, there is no reason why Jesus Himself could not have informed Matthew or his source(s) about it later. It is hard to imagine Jesus not retelling the story at some time to His disciples during His earthly ministry! What about Marys meeting with the angel Gabriel? More than likely, she had no problem remembering the event decades after the fact. Im sure it would be difficult to forget! Though it was a short conversation, Mary would have no problem recalling the conversation many years later. Other questions arise from Jesus experience in the Garden of Gethsemane. Who was there to witness the specifics of Jesus prayer to His Father? There is nothing in the text to suggest that Peter, James, and John were so far away from Jesus that they couldnt have heard His prayer. Again, though, there is no reason why Jesus Himself could no t have recounted this story to His disciples after His resurrection. While questions remain regarding the sequence and timing of the four Gospels of the Bible, reasonable arguments continue to convince many that the four evangelists had access toand were able to successfully transmit to usaccurate historical material related to the Jesus of history.