The Gospel Truth
THREE tiny fragments of a manuscript of the Gospel of Matthew, known as P64, have been in the possession of Magdalen College in Oxford, England, since 1901. For some time, scholars believed that they dated back to the later second century C.E.
Recently, Carsten P. Thiede, an expert in papyrology in Paderborn, Germany, conducted a thorough examination of P64, which consists of parts of 10 verses from Matthew chapter 26. The result? Writing in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphics), Thiede describes the Oxford fragments as “a Christian codex fragment of the first century, perhaps (though not necessarily) predating AD 70.”
Thiede’s observations caused quite a stir in the press and in scholarly circles. Why? Because what is currently accepted as being the oldest remaining portion of text from the Gospels is P52, a fragment of the Gospel of John from about 125 C.E., or no earlier than the second century.
Whether the new date given to the papyrus fragments P64 will meet with wide acceptance remains to be seen. In any event, the earlier date would not only make P64 the oldest Gospel fragments in existence; it would also supply additional evidence indicating that the Gospel of Matthew was indeed written in the first century, possibly even before 70 C.E., when numerous eyewitnesses of the events of Jesus’ life were still alive to corroborate the Gospel’s truth.
[Picture Credit Line on page 32]
By permission of the President and Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford.