Authorship, Dating, Reliability and History

8/12/2019 Authorship, Dating, Reliability and History

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Who wrote the gospels?

When they were written?How was it preserved?

Are they grounded in history?

Did anyone else write about Jesusoutside of Christianity?

Were they written by eyewitnesses?


2/20

2 Timothy 3 vs. 16

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful forteaching, rebuking, correcting and training in

righteousness.

Mark 13 vs 31

Heaven and earth shall pass away but my wordsshall not pass away


3/20

2 Peter 1 vs 16For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when wetold you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ inpower, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

Luke 1 vs 1-4 Since many have undertaken to arrange inproper order an account of the events that have beenfulfilled among us, 2 just as from the beginning theeyewitnesses and those becoming ministers of the Wordhanded down to us, 3 so also it seemed good to me,accurately following and investigating everything fromthe first, to write to you in order (an account), mostexcellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know thecertainty of the words (of the gospel) you have beentaught.


4/20

Information was transmitted orally. The Jewshad a rich Oral Tradition. This was differentfrom Chinese telephone where you whisper in

someone ears and you are not allowed repeatit. The transmission was done publicly personsand had to memorize the entire Torah andtheir knowledge was tested and corrected. That

was how the gospel was transmitted. For eg,they would use creeds such as 1 Corinthians 15vs. 3-8.


5/20

For what I received I passed on to you as of firstimportance[a]: that Christ died for oursins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he wasburied, that he was raised on the thirdday according to the Scriptures, 5 and that heappeared to Cephas,[b]and then to theTwelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more thanfive hundred of the brothers and sisters at the

same time, most of whom are still living, thoughsome have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to

James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all heappeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15&version=NIVhttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15&version=NIVhttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15&version=NIVhttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15&version=NIV


6/20

This creed predates the gospels, its the mostimportant evidence that the resurrection wasnot made up overtime. Most person at that

time could not read or write well. Therefore itwas necessary for information to be passed onorally for the time being. However there werepersons who took notes during Jesus time on

earth, as a Rabbi Jesus would have haddisciples who could read and write who wouldtake notes about His teachings.


7/20

Most of the gospels were written in differentcountries outside of Israel (Palestine). Whatsignificant about this is that its proof that is couldnot be a myth or some sort of conspiracy. Therewas no church council that controls the making ofthe New Testament its was written by multipleauthors, multiple locations but still have the samebooks.

ALL OF THE GOSPELS WERE WRITTEN OUTSIDEOF JESUS COUNTRY GAILILEE

Mark was written in Rome, (Italy) Luke was written in Greece Matthew was written in Judea John was written in Turkey


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9/20

The Gospels have correctly named, names ofRoman and Jewish Officials, names of personsthat only could be known by persons who were

actually there, or you were familiar withsomeone who lived there.

For eg. Pontius Pilate the prefect (governmentofficial) of Judea who preceded the trial of

Jesus was thought to not have existed.However in the 1961 century a coin with hisname on it was discovered.


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11/20

Caiaphas was the Jewish high priest, whoorganized the plot to kill Jesus, like Pilate hewas considered a myth, however his tomb was

discovered in 1990. Matthew 26 vs 57-67


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14/20

There are 15 Non Christian sources that writeabout the life of Jesus. Even if we never had thegospels just by reading these sources we would

have a general idea of early Christianity. Corneilus Tactitus 56-117 AD- A Roman

historian he wrote about Jesus being crucifiedby Pontius Pilate


15/20

Nero fastened the guilt . . . on a class hated fortheir abominations, called Christians bythe populace. Christus, from whom the name

had its origin, suffered the extreme penaltyduring the reign of Tiberius at the hands of . . .Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievoussuperstition, thus checked for the moment,

again broke out not only in Judaea, the firstsource of the evil, but even in Rome.


16/20

Flavius Jospehsus (37-101) A Jewish historianwho wrote about Jesus in the 1stcentury. Mostof what we know about the ancient Rome come

from his source. Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderfulworks, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure.He drew over to him both many of the Jews andmany of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us,had condemned him to the cross, (9) those that loved him at the first did not forsake him;for he appeared to themalive again the third day; (10) as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful thingsconcerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day

"Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, andbrought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or,some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, hedelivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as werethe most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done.


17/20

Thallus of Circa- Early Greek historian notmuch is known about him. He wrote about thedarkness that fell upon the land around the

time when Jesus died, he wrote it 52 AD.However most of what he wrote was lost. Buthe was quoted by Julius Africanus in 221 AD.


18/20

Pliny the Younger- the governor of Biythnia(Turkey). During 112 AD he wrote about thepersecution of Christians and how they would

gather to worship Jesus as unto *a god* on thefirst day of the week

Jewish Talmud- Early Jewish recordings abouttheir history. They wrote about Jesus as well.


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20/20

The gospels were based on eye witnesstestimony, the gospels are the most reliablebooks in history. There are not other

documents that are as reliable.

Authorship, Dating, Reliability and History

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