Introducing a New Covenant
There seems to be no real consensus about the year each of the gospels was written, but it is fairly clear that the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written before A.D. 65, while John’s Gospel was not written until somewhere between A.D. 90 – 100. At the end of the first century, the Christian world was made up mainly of Gentiles, while the early gospels appeared during a time dominated by Jewish Christians. In addition, the 30+ year time difference represented a maturing of the Christian community regarding its understanding of doctrine since the lion’s share of New Testament works had been circulating among the churches for many years. It also meant that doctrinal deviations and heresies were appearing. John's Gospel and his letters addressed some of these heresies, including Gnosticism and Docetism, which challenged the humanity of Christ and the value of the material realm. Ultimately, John accepted and acknowledged to others his agreement with the facts prese...