Why do scholars think Mark was written first?
Category:
religion and spirituality
christianity
According to the hypothesis of Marcan priority, the Gospel of Mark was written first and then used as a source for the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
Herein, why is Mark considered by scholars as the Quelle?
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the “Synoptic Gospels” because their similarities allow them to be “read together.” The stories are not just similar; in many instances they agree verbatim. Matthew and Luke shared another source, no longer extant, that scholars label Q (for “Quelle,” meaning “source”).
Correspondingly, what was the first Gospel to be written?
Mark
It begins with seven letters attributed to Paul, all from the 50s. The first Gospel is Mark (not Matthew), written around 70. Revelation is not last, but almost in the middle, written in the 90s. Twelve documents follow Revelation, with II Peter the last, written as late as near the middle of the second century.