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100 Reasons to Believe New Testament History
14. Gospel Names Unlikely Inventions
If the names of the Gospel writers were deceitfully and deliberately attached to the writings in order to make them more authoritive, as many liberal maintain, then it is difficult to understand why names such as Luke or Mark would have been used. Neither one claims to be an eyewitness to Jesus, let alone to be an apostle. Mark, don't forget, was also the subject of much controversy and tension because of his refusal to follow Paul and Barnabas "to the work" on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:13, 15:38). These names seem like very unlikely inventions.
Matthew, on the other hand, was one of the apostles, but surely not one of the most prominent. In fact, as a tax collector (telones), he in all probability would have been one of the least esteemed. The telones were despised and rejected by orthodox Jewish society. Remember, even Jesus was attacked for mingling with such people (Matthew 9:11). It's difficult to imagine how and why this decidedly Jewish Gospel came to be attributed to Matthew if he was, in fact, not the author.