Based on the physical evidence, Dr. Thiede concluded that these portions of Matthew’s gospel were likely written by him personally, about 60 A.D. This is just 28 years after Jesus was crucified and risen from the dead in 32 A.D. This provides the world with empirical evidence that the records of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection preserved for us in Matthew’s gospel today are accurate, reliable, and truthful. The objection that the four gospels of Jesus Christ were written at too great a distance from the time when they actually took place is impeached by this new evidence. These fragments show every indication of being actually written by Matthew while he was still alive.[2] This makes his narrative of Jesus a firsthand eyewitness account.