Manuscript Monday #2

"Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed them down to us. So, it also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed."

- Luke 1:1-4, CSB

Welcome back to another Manuscript Monday! In case you missed last week's post, Manuscript Monday is a weekly post that involves information related to the manuscripts of the biblical text, both New Testament and Old Testament. Last week we discussed the abundance of New Testament manuscripts available to us and their importance to confirming the originality of the doctrines and teachings of the Christian faith. So, what is this week's Manuscript Monday?

We have seen that there is an abundance of manuscripts available to us, but how can we know that the New Testament is reliable? Can we sure that the authors of New Testament recorded what they actually saw, and that myth has not been infused into the text? Answering these questions is critical to having a faith that is grounded in evidence rather than wishful thinking. In order to be sure that Christianity is true, it important that we investigate the evidence concerning the reliability of the New Testament text. So, where do we begin?

To determine whether or not the New Testament is reliable, it is best to begin by examining the time elapsed between the events recorded in the New Testament and when they were first written down. So, when were the Gospels and New Testament epistle first written? According to biblical scholar Craig Blomberg, liberal scholars typically date "Mark in the 70s, Matthew and Luke in the 80s, and John in the 90s" [1]. Even at these dates, Blomberg notes that this would still have occurred "within the lifetimes of various eyewitnesses of the life of Jesus, including hostile eyewitnesses" [1]. While liberal scholars typically date the writing of the Gospels around forty to sixty years after the death of Jesus (which occurred in either AD 30 or 33), Blomberg argues that the writing of the Gospels can be dated even earlier [1]. When does Blomberg and other conservative scholars date the writing of the Gospels?

Basing the writing of the Gospels off the book of Acts which does not record the death of Paul in AD 62, Blomberg believes that the writing of the Gospels can be dated around that same time [1]. How so? Considering that book of "Acts is the second of a two-part work" by Luke that follows up the Gospel sharing the name of its author, the Gospel of Luke must have been written before the death of Paul in AD 62 since the book Acts does not have knowledge of this event and must have been written before it happened [1]. This places the writing of Luke in the early 60s and since Luke used portions of Mark as source material, the Gospel of Mark was written "no later than about AD 60, maybe even the late 50s" {1]. Therefore, the writing of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke can be dated within thirty years of the death of Jesus which is an incredibly short amount time for ancient works of literature [1]. To the modern reader, it might seem like there is a big gap between the events of the Gospels and the writing of the Gospels, but in comparison to other ancient works of literature it is amazingly short. For instance, the time between the life of Alexander the Great and the two earliest biographies written about his life is excess of four hundred years [1]. Compared to the biographies of Alexander the Great and numerous other ancient works, the writing of Gospels came exceedingly quick after the events they record. So, like last week we ask, why is this important to our Christian faith?

The early recording of the Gospels is important to our Christian faith because it assures us that our faith is based not on legends but on the truth. Considering the short duration of time between the writing of the Gospels and events they record, Blomberg asserts that the possibility that legendary material was infused into the Gospels writings is practically a nonissue that is negligible by comparison to other ancient works of literature [1]. Therefore, we can believe confidently in the message of the Gospels knowing that it has been reliably recorded and is not a fabrication of men. Knowing that the message of the Gospels has been reliably recorded, we can live in the assurance that our sins truly have been forgiven when we accept Jesus Christ as our savior and that He has placed His Spirit inside of us granting us eternal life with Him. The beauty of the Gospels is in its authentic relation to reality and how this authenticity transforms the way in which we live.

While we have seen that the Gospels were written early which is one factor in the process of eliminating the possibility of legend, there is still more to discuss. Over the coming weeks, we will explore the reliability of the New Testament by looking at the evidence related to the time between the events of the Gospels and their writings, the writings of Paul's epistle, the issue of textual variants, the relationship between the origins of pagan religions and Christianity, and influence of Church on biblical canon. Thanks for reading this week and I hope you return next week for another Manuscript Monday!

References:

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel