Can you believe the New Testament?
The Internal Evidence Test
a. Purpose of writing the gospels
i. Luke's purpose:
Luke 1:1-4 "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of
the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they
were handed down to us by those who from the first were
eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I
myself have carefully investigated everything from the
beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly
account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may
know the certainty of the things you have been taught."
Based on the account of eyewitnesses and a careful
investigation, Luke's goal to write his gospel was to
provide an accurate account of what happened in Jesus' time.
He had written this gospel to someone named Theophilus, and
his writings were shared with others.
ii. John's purpose:
John 20:31 "But these are written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing
you may have life in his name."
John's purpose of writing this gospel was to convince others
that Jesus was the Christ and was the Son of God. To
convince others to believe, John had to be accurate in
reporting historical facts to his contemporary audience,
otherwise he would have been dismissed as an outright liar,
as many had witnessed for themselves what had happened in
the days of Jesus.
iii. Matthew's and Marc's purpose:
No purpose is given, although their style of writing is
quite close to Luke's. It seems quite reasonable that their
purpose would have been close to Luke's.
iv. Conclusion:
"Consider the way the gospels are written - in a sober and
responsible fashion, with accurate incidental details, with
obvious care and exactitude. You don't find the outlandish
flourishes and blatant mythologizing that you see in a lot
of other ancient writings.
What does all that up to?…It seems quite apparent that the
goal of the gospel writers was to attempt to record what had
actually occurred."
Craig L. Blomberg, PH.D. as quoted by Strobel, Lee. The
Case for Christ. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1998, p. 40.
Question: What was Luke's purpose of writing his
gospel?
Your answer:
Question: What was John's purpose of writing his
gospel?
Your answer:
Question: Why had the authors of the gospels be
accurate?
Your answer:
b. Reliability of the New Testament writers.
All the books of the New Testament are based on primary
sources. The writers are writing as eyewitnesses or from
firsthand information and their audience was aware of the
facts as well, even though not all were believers. Here are
some claims found in the New Testament books:
Luke 1:1-4 "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of
the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they
were handed down to us by those who from the first were
eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since
I myself have carefully investigated everything from
the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly
account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may
know the certainty of the things you have been taught."
2 Peter 1:16-17 "We did not follow cleverly invented stories
when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his
majesty."
1 John 1:3-4 "We proclaim to you what we have seen and
heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And
our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus
Christ."
Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth
was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and
signs, which God did among you through him, as you
yourselves know."
John 19:35 "The man who saw it has given testimony, and
his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth,
and he testifies so that you also may believe."
Luke 3:1 "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar-when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod
tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea
and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene."
Acts 26:24-27 "At this point Festus interrupted Paul's
defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your
great learning is driving you insane." "I am not insane,
most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is
true and reasonable. The king is familiar with these
things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced
that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not
done in a corner."
The writers of the New Testament constantly refer to
first-hand testimonies. They constantly testified that they
"were eyewitnesses". Most of their audience as well
knew of the facts as the authors would often say, "as you
yourselves know". But some of their audiences were
opposed to their teachings. The disciples had to be accurate
in their descriptions, as any discrepancies would have
discredited their beliefs. For example their claim of Jesus
being resurrected would have been refuted if their critics
could have provided the body of Jesus. But none were able to
do so, as Jesus' tomb (although guarded by Roman soldiers)
was indeed empty! (see Matthew 28:11-15).
It is quite clear from this that the books of the New
Testament were not written centuries after the fact, but
were written during the lifetime of those involved in the
events themselves. They were eyewitnesses of the events and
felt impelled to share their testimony with others. How more
reliable can you be?
All apostles, except for John, died a martyr's death,
refusing to renounce Jesus Christ. Who in this world would
be willing to die for a lie? No one. Neither would the
apostles, who were men of integrity. They were eyewitnesses
of the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. No one
could make them renounce what they saw with their own eyes.
They were willing to die for being an eyewitness. Again, how
more reliable can you be?
Question: Why were the authors of the New Testament
books reliable?
Your answer:
c. Time frame of when the New Testament books were
written
According the standard scholarly dating, the gospel of Mark
was written in the 70s, the gospels of Matthew and Luke in
the 80s and the gospel of John in the 90s. All of these
gospels were written within the lifetime of a multitude of
eyewitnesses, who would have corrected any fallacies if
false information about Jesus were going around.
However evidence shows that these gospels might have been
written even earlier than that. Take the book of Acts for
example written by Luke. This book ends abruptly. The
apostle Paul is the central character of this book and he's
under house arrest in Rome. That book stops right there.
These are the last two verses of Acts: Acts 28:30-31 "For
two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house
and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without
hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about
the Lord Jesus Christ."
What happened to the apostle Paul? The book of Acts doesn't
tell us, probably because this book was written before the
apostle Paul was put to death. This means that Acts cannot
be dated any later than 62 A.D.
Now the book of Acts was written after the gospel that Luke
wrote and since Luke used part of the gospel of Mark, the
gospel of Mark dates even earlier! If we allow a year
between each book, Mark would have been written no later
than 60 A.D., or even earlier. If Jesus was crucified around
30 to 33 A.D., the time span between his resurrection and
the writing of the first gospel would be less than 30 years!
This is like a news flash in those days; if we compare this
with the time frame other ancient literature was written!
Now the letters of the apostle Paul were written even
earlier than that!
d. Comparison with the time frame of other ancient
biographies.
Now let us compare our find with how long after the fact
other ancient documents were written.
i. Alexander the Great's biographies
The two earliest of Alexander the Great's biographies were
written by Arrian and Plutarch. They were written more than
400 years after Alexander's death in 323 B.C. Historians
consider these biographies reliable.
ii. Zoroaster
Zoroaster lived in the seventh century B.C. (born around 630
B.C.) Most of the Zoroastrian scriptures were not written
until after the third century A.D. His most popular Parsi
biography was written in 1278 A.D. This is a time span of
more than 1800 years!
iii. Buddha
Buddha lived in the 6th century B.C. His first biography was
written in the first century A.D., 600 years after the fact!
iv. Mohammed
Mohammed lived from 570 A.D. to 632 A.D. His biography was
not written until 767 A.D., more than a century after his
death.
Compared to all of these ancient writings, the New Testament
was written like a news flash and is the only series of
books that were written while eyewitnesses were still alive!
Question: Which documents would you trust more? Ones
that were written 100 to 1800 years after the fact, or the
ones that were penned while eyewitnesses were still alive?
Your answer:
e. The character of the writers
Some may ask themselves if the writers of the New Testament
were reliable in character and in honesty. Could it be
possible that they may have tainted the transmission of
history accurately?
i. Description of personal flaws
One thing that you notice right away when reading the New
Testament is the reality of the description of its
characters. Let me explain. When I write about myself or
even about my close friends, I always try to avoid putting
myself or my friends in any disfavorable light. Why
embarrass myself or my friends? I would hate loosing them
for trying to make a point. However the New Testament books
point out the flaws of its characters over and over again.
* The great apostle Peter is a great promise giver, but his
word does not stand for much. He tends to protect himself
more than defending what is right.
Matt 26:35 "But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with
you, I will never disown you.""
Matt 26:69-74 "Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard,
and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of
Galilee," she said. But he denied it before them all. "I
don't know what you're talking about," he said. Then he went
out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to
the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth."
He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!"
After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter
and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives
you away." Then he began to call down curses on himself and
he swore to them, "I don't know the man!"
Gal 2:11-12 "When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to
his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before
certain men came from James, he used to eat with the
Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and
separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of
those who belonged to the circumcision group."
What an embarrassment to Peter to have this in writing
available to all prosperity!
* The apostle Paul was a persecutor who fervently went after
Christians. He wasn't always easy to be with and his writing
was sometimes hard to understand.
Acts 8:3 "Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house
to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in
prison."
Acts 15:37-40 "Barnabas wanted to take John, also called
Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take
him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not
continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp
disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark
and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left…"
2 Peter 3:15-16 "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means
salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with
the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all
his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters
contain some things that are hard to understand."
* The apostle Thomas was a doubter and always wanted
concrete proof. He didn't believe the words of even his
closest friends.
John 20:24-25 "Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the
Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the
other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he
said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and
put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his
side, I will not believe it."
* James and John, both brothers, tried to exalt themselves
above anyone else.
Mark 10:35-37 "Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us
whatever we ask." "What do you want me to do for you?" he
asked. They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and
the other at your left in your glory."
* In fact all of Jesus' disciples were coveting to be at
Jesus' right hand. One of their biggest fights was hours
before Jesus was arrested and led to His crucifixion.
Luke 22:24 "Also a dispute arose among them as to which of
them was considered to be greatest."
However, none of them were courageous enough to stand by
Jesus when He was arrested.
Mark 14:50 "Then everyone deserted him and fled."
How could the New Testament be unreliable, if the writers
dare to describe themselves with all of their flaws? Nowhere
in Ancient literature do writers describe themselves this
way. This is unheard of. However, the integrity and honesty
of the New Testament writers are undeniable by the mere fact
that they do not describe themselves always in a favorable
light.
ii. Dying for a lie?
Another important fact about the apostles comes from history
itself. 10 of the 11 remaining apostles died a horrific
martyr's death.
Remember that when Jesus was arrested they were terribly
scared and were hiding themselves from the crowds. John
20:19 "The disciples were together, with the doors locked
for fear of the Jews…"
However, boldness overcame them when they evidenced Jesus
resurrection.
Acts 1:3 "After his suffering, he showed himself to these
men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He
appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about
the kingdom of God."
Acts 8:4 "Those who had been scattered preached the word
wherever they went."
Who in their right mind would be willing to die for a lie?
Even less 10 people who used to be scared to loose their
lives while their Master was being mistreated and nailed to
a cross. But they did, and even in their death they were a
living testimony that what they wrote was true and worth
dying for.
iii. Silence from critics
Any of the ardent critics among the Pharisees and Sadducees
would have quickly point out any inaccuracies that the
apostles may have written. None were given as we later will
discover in this study and none could be found in writing.
The apostles were treated as lunatics, but never as liars.
iv. Description of Jesus' limitations
If the writers of the New Testament wanted to promote a new
manmade religion, they would have tried to avoid associating
weakness in their Leader. However, the facts are plainly
given, without intention of hiding anything.
Mark 6:4-6 "Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among
his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without
honor." He could not do any miracles there, except lay his
hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed
at their lack of faith."
This text seems to indicate that Jesus is not all-powerful.
Why not have it deleted all together. It would avoid any
embarrassing questions.
Mark 13:32 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even
the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." NIV
Here it seems that Jesus is limited in His omniscience. Why
not avoid any statements like these?
Matt 27:46 "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud
voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"-which means, "My God,
my God, why have you forsaken me?" NIV
It would have been to the self-interest of these authors to
avoid proclamations like this. However, they revealed the
plain truth, just like it is, without hiding anything, not
even embarrassing statements.
All of these statements are explained by Paul's statement in
Phil 2:5-8 "Your attitude should be the same as that of
Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not
consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made
himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being
made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a
man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even
death on a cross!"
Jesus willingly took off His divine nature to become as
limited as man with the only purpose to bring salvation to
humankind. That is love, divine love!
Question: Why or why not are the New Testament
writers reliable?
Your answer:
Question: Would you be willing to die for a lie? Why
or why not?
Your answer:
f. Conclusion
We can conclude with Craig L. Blomberg, PH.D.
"The two earliest biographies of Alexander the Great were
written by Arrian and Plutarch more than four hundred years
after Alexander's death in 323 B.C., yet historians consider
them to be generally trustworthy. Yes, legendary material
about Alexander did develop over time, but it was only in
the centuries after these two writers.
In other words, the first five hundred years kept
Alexander's story pretty much intact; legendary material
began to emerge over the next five hundred years. So whether
the gospels were written sixty years or thirty years after
the life of Jesus, the amount of time is negligible by
comparison. It's almost a nonissue."
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1998, p. 33.
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