Herod’s Temple and When Were Those Gospels Written?

I was scanning though channels on the television, and came across a feature on the History Channel called “Bible Tech,” which explored the ways the ancients may have constructed things like Noah’s Ark, the Tower of Babel, and Herod’s Temple. During the Herod’s Temple segment, the narrator rightly indicated that Jesus made a prediction about the temple’s destruction. The Lord said, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which would not be torn down” (Mark 13:2). However, just prior to the commercial break, under the heading of “Trivia,” the following flashed upon the screen: “Although Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple in the Gospel of Mark, many scholars believe that Mark was written after the temple was destroyed.”

There might be a number of scholars who believe “Mark was written after the temple was destroyed;” however, a case can be made for an even earlier completion of this Gospel. It is important to observe that neither the Gospels nor other New Testament writings mention the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy about the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Since the temple was a central feature to first century Jewish life, it is unlikely the New Testament writers would fail to mention it, especially when Jesus made the prediction.

It is believed that Paul's companion Luke composed his gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. The fact that Acts ends abruptly with Paul under house arrest in Rome, and that it neither mentions the martyrdoms Peter nor Paul that happened during the persecution of Nero around AD 64-68, means that Acts and Luke were completed prior to these events. Therefore, one can date Acts between AD 57-62 and Luke between AD 57-60.

Since most scholars believe that Mark was a companion of Peter, and wrote his Gospel during Peter’s life time, it is reasonable to believe that Mark’s composition was completed prior to Nero’s persecution, which was prior to the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Mark can then be dated between AD 45-60. Matthew may have been written even earlier between AD 40-60.

Given the evidence, we can believe Jesus predicted the fall of the temple in AD 70, and Matthew, Mark, and Luke faithfully recorded the Lord’s prophecy prior to its fulfillment. If this is the case, we have also have good reason to believe that these men were moved by the Holy Spirit in producing Scripture, so what they wrote was indeed the Word of God.