Dating of Matthew's Gospel

The issue of the dating of Matthew involves whether or not the gospel was written before or after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. If the Gospel was written after 70 AD, surely the pivotal event of the destruction of Jerusalem would have been mentioned. Critics may answer that this is nothing but deduction from silence and that silence proves every view.

In response to the critic’s claim, three points should be made. First, the prophecy concerning Jerusalem’s destruction (Mt. 24) contains no reference to the city’s demise. Second, the writer refers to Jerusalem as the “holy city” (Mt. 4:5; 27:53) meaning it was not in ruins during the writing. Thirdly, the reference to Jewish customs continuing “to this day” implies that the Jews were not dispersed as would later occur with the destruction of Jerusalem. In addition to the above responses, the patristic quotations of the Gospel by Papias and Ignatius lead to an early dating some time between 50 and 70 AD.