a harmony of the gospels setting the stage · the writings of the apostolic fathers of the late...
TRANSCRIPT
A Harmony of the Gospels
Setting the Stage
Writings
• Apocrypha• 14 non-canonical books written between 200 B.C. and A.D. 100
• eg. 1 Maccabees
• Pseudepigrapha “falsely written”• Wirtten pseudonymously or anonymously
• Often reflect intense faith of pious Jews undergoing torture and persecution during troubled times. Eg. 1 Enoch
Writings
• Dead Sea Scrolls• About 850 documents including texts from the Hebrew Bible.
• Copied or written between 250 B.C and A.D. 68
The Word of God
הרות
Torah, The Law
The Hebrew Scriptures
Written in Hebrew with brief passages
in Daniel written in Aramaic
The first 5 books of the Bible
Written by Moses
תישארב
Genesis
תומש
Exodus
ארקיו
Leviticus
רבדמב
Numbers
םירבד
Deuteronomy
10For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and
your mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses his
father or mother must be put to death.’
Mark 7:10 (NIV)
היעשי
Isaiah
הימרי
Jeremiah
לאקזחי
Ezekiel
עשוה
Hosea
םוחנ
Nahum
קוקבח
Habakkuk
הינפצ
Zephaniah
יגח
Haggai
הירכז
Zechariah
יכאלמ
Malachi
לאוי
Joel
סומע
Amos
הידבוע
Obadiah
הנוי
Jonah
הכימ
Micah
םיאיבנ
Nebiim, Prophets
The Hebrew Scriptures
עשוהי
Joshua
םיטפוש
Judges
א לאומש
1 Samuel
ב לאומש
2 Samuel
א םיכלמ
1 Kings
ב םיכלמ
2 Kings
םילהת
Psalms
ילשמ
Proverbs
בויא
Job
םיבותכ
Ketuvim, Writings
ארזע
Ezra
הימחנ
Nehemiah
א םימיה ירבד
1 Chronicles
ב םימיה ירבד
2 Chronicles
The Hebrew Scriptures
םירישה ריש
Song of Solomon
תור
Ruth
הכיא
Lamentations
תלהק
Ecclesiastes
רתסא
Esther
לאינד
Daniel
The scriptures of Jesus and the early Christians
Jesus quoted from all three divisions
of the Hebrew Scriptures
The writers of the New Testament quote or refer
to 31 of the 39 books of the Old Testament
The Hebrew Scriptures
The Septuagint, LXX
Greek Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures
Translated approximately 250 B.C.
Placed the books of the Old Testament in the current order
we have today
Contained some additional books not included in the Hebrew
Those works which appear in the Septuagint but not in the
Hebrew Bible are sometimes referred to as the ‘Septuagintal
plus’; together with two or three other compositions they are the
books which since Jerome’s time, have commonly been called
the Apocrypha.
--The Canon of Scripture, F.F. Bruce p48
Wisdom of Solomon 30 B.C. Didactic
Ecclesiasticus 32 B.C. Didactic
Tobit c. 200 B.C. Religious Novel
I Esdras c. 150 B.C. Historic & Legendary
I Maccabees c. 110 B.C. Historic
II Maccabees c. 100 B.C. Historic & Legendary
Judith c. 150 A.D. Romantic Novel
The Apocrypha
Baruch c. 100 A.D. Prophetic
Letter of Jeremiah c. 200 B.C. Prophetic
II Esdras c. 100 A.D. Prophetic
Additions to Esther c. 130 B.C. Legendary
Prayer of Azariah* c. 100. B.C. Legendary
Suzanna (Daniel 13) c. 100 B.C. Legendary
Bel & the Dragon (Daniel 14) c. 100 B.C. Legendary
Prayer of Manasseh c. 150 B.C. Legendary
The Apocrypha (cont)
The Apocrypha
Early church leader Athanasius (298-373 A.D.) had distinguished
three categories of books:
1. Canonical (inspired scripture)
2. Edifying (but not canonical)—acceptable to be
read in church but not on par with scripture
3. Apocryphal—books to be avoided altogether
The Apocrypha
Jerome, (347-420 A.D.), translated the Bible into Latin, a
version commonly known as the Vulgate, to this day the
official biblical text of the Roman Catholic Church.
Jerome uses the designation Apocrypha for these writings
but uses the term differently than Athanasius as seen in
these comments:
1. They are not in the canon properly speaking
2. They may not be used for the establishment of doctrine
3. But they retain great ethical value which makes them
suitable for reading in the course of Christian worship
The Apocrypha
Martin Luther in his German Bible, “The Apocrypha:
Books which are not to be held equal to holy scripture,
but are useful and good to read.”
Coverdale’s English Bible of 1535, “Apocripha: the bokes
and treatises which amonge the fathers of old are not
rekened to be of like authorite with the other bokes of the
bible, nether are they founde in the Canon of Hebrue.”
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, (The Church of
England) statement on the Apocryphal books in 1563 “And
the other Books the Church doth read for example of life
and instruction of manners, but yet doth it not apply them to
establish any doctrine…
F.F. Bruce, 20th Century Biblical Scholar: “As for the status
of the books which Jerome called apocryphal, there is
general agreement among Roman Catholic scholars today
(as among their colleagues of other Christian traditions) to
call them ‘deuterocanonical’ (a term first used, it appears, in
the sixteenth century); Jerome’s distinction is thus
maintained in practice, even if it does not enjoy conciliar
support.
During the Council of Trent, 1545, no distinction was made
between the canonical and apocryphal books, thus for the
first time giving them official equal status in the Roman
Catholic Church.
The Apocrypha
The Apocrypha
Conclusion: These books, though enjoying a
varying degree of acceptance throughout history
have never been widely viewed on the level with
the Old Testament scriptures of the Hebrew Bible.
The New Testament
Criteria for inclusion of New Testament writings:
Apostolic authority
—Is the writing clearly connected to an apostle?
Antiquity
—Is the writing old enough to have been written in
the “eyewitness” period?
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
Is the
Bible True?
Testing INTEGRITY
Q 2. HOW EARLY
Are the Ancient Manuscripts
That Have Been Found?SBF 31
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
400 300 200 50 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
---------------------------|--------------------------------------------------
Centuries B.C. Centuries A.D.
700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500
---------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - -
Centuries A.D.
Understanding Manuscripts
Printing Press
Julius
Caesar Scribal Copying of Manuscripts
Earliest known manuscript
Aristotle wrote
Poetics
Virgil wrote
AeneidEarliest known manuscript
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
1,4501,350
1,250
1,000
900
500
300
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600 Aristotle
Herodotus
Plato
Tacitus
Caesar
Homer
Virgil
New Testament
Ancient Manuscripts - How Early?
SBF 34
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
45 - 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Centuries A.D.
1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 …
2100
---------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - -
Centuries A.D.
Printing Press
N.T.
Written Scribal Copying of Manuscripts
Origin of the New Testament
How early are the manuscripts?
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
Jesus’ Death
& Resurrection
Eyewitness Time Period30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
------------------------------------------------------------------|----------
First Century A.D.
Legends of Jesus Begin
120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190
200
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second Century A.D.
Origin of the New Testament
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
John Rylands Fragment
Both sides of a
portion of the
Gospel of John,
known as P52,
believed by most
scholars to be
from c. A.D. 125.
Chapter 18, verses 37-38 Chapter 18, verses 31-33
Reproduced courtesy of the University Librarian and Director, The John Rylands University Library, The University of Manchester
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
Jesus’ Death
& Resurrection
Eyewitness Time Period30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
------------------------------------------------------------------|----------
First Century A.D.
Legends of Jesus Begin
120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190
200
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second Century A.D.
Origin of the New Testament
John Rylands
Fragment
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
The writings of the Apostolic Fathers
of the late first and early second
centuries quoted extensively from the
New Testament books.
The Early Apostolic FathersStudents of the eyewitness apostles
• Clement of Rome • Polycarp • Ignatius
SBF 32
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
A.D. 110 - PolycarpBishop of Smyrna
Quotes or refers to 18 N.T. books
including all four Gospels
A.D. 108 - IgnatiusBishop of Antioch
Quotes or refers to 24 N.T. books
including all four Gospels
A.D. 96 – ClementBishop of Rome
Quotes or refers to the existence
of 11 N.T. books including Matthew,
Mark, and Luke
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
A.D. 110 - PolycarpBishop of Smyrna
Quotes or refers to 18 N.T. books
including all four Gospels
A.D. 108 - IgnatiusBishop of Antioch
Quotes or refers to 24 N.T. books
including all four Gospels
A.D. 96 – ClementBishop of Rome
Quotes or refers to the existence
of 11 N.T. books including Matthew,
Mark, and Luke
Demonstrates that
25 of the 27 N.T.
books must have
been in circulation
by about A.D. 95.
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
Jesus’ Death
& Resurrection
Eyewitness Time Period30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
------------------------------------------------------------------|----------
First Century A.D.
Legends of Jesus Begin
120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190
200
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second Century A.D.
Origin of the New Testament
New Testament
Quoted by Others
John Rylands
Fragment
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
Three Gospel fragments
— one each of Matthew,
Mark and Luke — are
thought by some
scholars to be earlier
than any previously
known.
Oxford University
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
The text is written on both sides of the fragment as pages in a modern book, and forms a continuous passage.
SBF 33
Used by Permission: The President and Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
dated by the late Dr. Carsten Peter Thiede at c. A.D. 66.
SBF 33
Used by Permission: The President and Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
Jesus’ Death New Testament& Resurrection Quoted by Others
Eyewitness Time Period30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
------------------------------------------------------------------|----------
First Century A.D.
Legends of Jesus Begin
120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190
200
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second Century A.D.
Earliest GospelManuscripts
Origin of the New Testament
How early are the manuscripts?
John Rylands
Fragment
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
45 - 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Centuries A.D.
1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 2100
---------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - -
Centuries A.D.
Printing Press
N.T.
Written
Scribal Copying of Manuscripts
Origin of the New Testament
How early are the manuscripts?First N.T.
Copies
Discovery: Discovering the “Ah-ha!” of Life
1,4501,350
1,250
1,000
900
500
300
15
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600 Aristotle
Herodotus
Plato
Tacitus
Caesar
Homer
Virgil
New Testament
Ancient Manuscripts - How Early?
The
BEST!SBF 34
The New Testament
Criteria for inclusion of New Testament writings:
Orthodoxy
—Is it consistent with the teaching of Jesus and the
apostles?
Catholicity
—Has the writing been widely accepted by the
church as universally and permanently
authoritative?
The New Testament
Criteria for inclusion of New Testament writings:
Other relevant issues:
Inspiration—God’s word to us
Persecution—What books were worth dying for?
Appropriateness—Which books might properly be
read in church?
Authority—Which books might be used for settling
doctrinal questions from those which were
generally edifying.
2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The books of the Bible were written over a period from around
1450 B.C. (the time of Moses) to about 100 A.D.
The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by over
40 different authors from all walks of life: shepherds, farmers, tent-
makers, physicians, fishermen, priests, philosophers and kings.
Despite the length of time and diversity of the writers, the
Bible has the unifying theme of God’s redemptive plan
through Jesus Christ. This is punctuated by the Old
Testament prophecies about Jesus.
Observations
39You diligently study the Scriptures because you think
that by them you possess eternal life. These are the
Scriptures that testify about me, John 5:39 (NIV)
10 “For as the rain and the snow
come down from heaven and do
not return there but water the
earth, making it bring forth and
sprout, giving seed to the sower
and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes
out from my mouth; it shall not
return to me empty, but it shall
accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for
which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11 (ESV)
How did we get here?
Why is evil and suffering in the world?
What hope do we have both in
this life and the life to come?
Three Basic Questions Answered
God
Sin
Jesus
Genesis 1:1
Romans 5:12
Romans 5:17