Timing and Eyewitnesses

The Gospel of Thomas is held by most to be the earliest of the "gnostic" gospels composed.  Scholars generally date this text to the early-mid 2nd century. While the canonical gospels were written at the very most forty to sixty years after Jesus’s death.

Furthermore, Paul’s letters, were written just fifteen to twenty-five years after Jesus’ death, and provide an outline of all the events of Jesus’s life found in the gospels: his miracles, claims, crucifixion, and resurrection. This means that the Biblical accounts of Jesus’s life were circulating within the lifetimes of hundreds of people who had been present at the events of his ministry.

In-depth studies of historical methods used by ancient historians such as

Herodotus, Thucydides, and Tacitus demonstrate that eyewitness testimony were the preferred source of information.  Consequently, the Gospel writers likewise looked for eyewitnesses rather than simply documenting local traditions. In his landmark book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, Richard Bauckham marshals much historical evidence to demonstrate that at the time the gospels were written there were still numerous well-known living eyewitnesses to Jesus’s teaching and life events.

They had committed them to memory and they remained active in the public life of the churches throughout their lifetimes, serving as ongoing sources and guarantors of the truth of those accounts. Bauckham uses evidence within the gospels themselves to show that the gospel writers named their eyewitness sources within the text to assure readers of their accounts’ authenticity.