EvidencefortheHistoricalJesus

AretheBiblicalRecordsReliable?

1
 Criticsclaim
WhatwecalltheNewTestamentwas
writtenlateinthe2nd centuryand,beingso
longafterChrist,theycouldntbereliable.
FirstputforwardbyGermancriticF.C.Baur.
NTcamefrommythsandlegendsthathad
developedinthelengthyintervalfromlifetimeof
Jesusandthetimeofwritingtheseaccounts

2
 Butnewarchaeologicaldiscoveries
weremade
Newpapryi NTmanuscriptsfound:
JohnRylandmanuscriptdatedtoA.D.130
ChesterBeattyPapyri,A.D.155
Bodmer PapyriII,A.D.200
Whentheseearlytextscomparedwithexisting
laterdocuments,confidenceincreasedofthe
accuratetransmissionofthetextoftheNT.
3
 AccordingtoWilliamAlbright,atonetimethe
worldsforemostbiblicalarchaeologist,writes:
Wecanalreadysayemphaticallythatthereisnolonger
anysolidbasisfordatinganybookoftheNewTestament
afteraboutA.D.80
Albright,WilliamF.,RecentDiscoveriesinBibleLands,1955

Hereiterateshisviewlater:
Inmyopinion,everybookoftheNewTestamentwas
writtenbyabaptizedJewbetweenthefortiesandthe
eightiesofthefirstcenturyA.D.(veryprobablysometime
betweenaboutA.D.50and75).
Albright,WilliamF.,TowardaMoreConservativeView,ChristianityToday,January18,1963
4
 JohnA.T.Robinson,BritishTheologianand
NewTestamentscholarconcludesthatthe
wholeoftheNewTestamentwascompleted
priortothefallofJerusaleminA.D.70.

5
 ButA.D.70isstillmorethan35years
afterthecrucifixionofJesus
Couldntlegendsandcorruptionscreepinduring
thattime?
Jewishoraltradition:customaryforastudentto
memorizearabbisteachingandreferencesource
Agoodpupilwaslikeaplasteredcisternthatlosesnotadrop
Mishna,Aboth,2,8
TothemarriedIgivethiscommand(notI,buttheLord)1Cor7:10
TotherestIsaythis(I,nottheLord)1Cor7:12
Albrightconcludesaperiodoftwentytofiftyyearsistooslightto
permitanyappreciablecorruptionoftheessentialcontentand
evenofthespecificwordingofthesayingsofJesus. 6
 PrincipalsofHistoriography
Wecanapplyteststoexaminetheevidence
1. BibliographicalTest
Numberandagreementoftheavailabletexts
2. InternalEvidenceTest
Credible?(Hearsayorverifiedeyewitness?)
3. ExternalEvidenceTest
Dootherhistoricaldocumentsconfirmordispute?

7
 BibliographicalTest
22,000ancientcopies Greek
Uncials 267
Miniscules 2,764
ofNewTestamentexist Lectionaries
Papyri
2,143
88

today Recent finds

TOTAL
47
5,309 Extant
Greek MSS
Oldestdatesto250to Latin Vulgate 10,000 plus
Ethiopic 2,000 plus
300yearsafterdeathof Slavic 4,101
Armenian 2,587
Jesus Syriac Pashetta 350 plus
Bohairic 100

300yearsisalongtime Arabic
Old Latin
75
50

Howdoesthatcompare Anglo Saxon

Gothic
7
6

tootherdocuments Sogdian
Old Syriac
3
2

fromantiquitythatwe Persian
Frankish
2
1
believearetrustworthy? 8
 Earliest No. of
AUTHOR When Written Time Span
Copy Copies
Caesar (Gallic Wars) 100-44 BC 900 AD 1,000 years 10
Plato (Tetralogies) 427-347 BC 900 AD 1,200 years 7
Tacitus (Annals) 100 AD 1100 AD 1,000 years 20
Pliny the Younger 61-113 AD 850 AD 750 years 7
(History)
Thucydides 460-400 BC 900 AD 1,300 years 8
(History)
Suetonius 75-160 AD 950 AD 800 years 8
(De Vita Caesarum)
Herodotus 480-425 BC 900 AD 1,300 years 8
(History)
Sophocles 496-406 BC 1000 AD 1,400 years 193
Catullus 54 BC 1550 AD 1,600 years 3
Euripides 480-406 BC 1100 AD 1,500 years 9
Demosthenes 383-322 BC 1100 AD 1,300 years 200
Aristotle 384-322 BC 1100 AD 1,400 years 49
Aristophanes 450-385 BC 900 AD 1,200 years 10
Sincescholarsacceptasgenerallytrustworthythewritingsoftheancientclassics
eventhoughtheearliestMSSwerewrittensolongaftertheoriginalwritingsand
thenumberofextantMSSisinmanyinstancessosmall,itisclearthatthe
reliabilityofthetextoftheNewTestamentislikewiseassured.
9
J.HaroldGreenlee,IntroductiontoNewTestamentTextualCriticism.,1964
 InternalEvidenceTest
Bibliographicaltestonlyprovesthattextis
essentiallywhatwasoriginallyrecorded
Stillneedtodetermineifthattextiscredible.
Whatrulesareused?
Thebenefitofthedoubtistobegiventothedocumentitself,andnotarrogatedby
thecritictohimself. Aristotle,ArtofPoetry

Onemustlistentotheclaimsofthedocumentunderanalysis,andnotassume
fraudorerrorunlesstheauthordisqualifiedhimselfbycontradictionsorknown
factualinaccuracies. Montgomery,JohnWarwick.HistoryandChristianity, 1971
10
 InternalEvidenceTest
Inotherwords,doestheauthortellthe
truth?
Hearsayevidence
Interestedwitness
Obtainedbyforceorfraudorotherwise
impeachable
11
 InternalEvidenceTest
HowdoestheNTstackuptothesecriteria?
1. Eyewitnesses(Matthew,John,Peter,Paul)
2. AccountsofJesuscirculatedwithinthelifetimesof
thosealivewhenJesuswasalive
ManywhowerebitterenemiesofJesus
Apostlesevenappealedtocommonknowledge
MenofIsrael,listentothesewords:JesustheNazarene,amanattestedtoyouby
GodwithmiraclesandwondersandsignswhichGodperformedthroughHimin
yourmidst,justasyouyourselvesknow. Acts2:22(NIV)

Thekingisfamiliarwiththesethings,andIcanspeakfreelytohim.Iam
convincedthatnoneofthishasescapedhisnotice,becauseitwasnotdoneina
corner.
12
Acts26:26(NIV)
 InternalEvidenceTest
Despitetheprejudicesandtheologicalpreconceptionsofthe
evangelists,theyrecordmanyincidentsthatmereinventors
wouldhaveconcealed thecompetitionoftheapostlesfor
highplacesintheKingdom,theirflightafterJesusarrest,
Petersdenial,thefailureofChristtoworkmiraclesinGalilee,
thereferencesofsomeauditorstohispossibleinsanity,hisearly
uncertaintyastohismission,hisconfessionsofignoranceasto
thefuture,hismomentsofbitterness,hisdespairingcryonthe
cross;noonereadingthesescenescandoubttherealityofthe
figurebehindthem.
Durant,Will.CaesarandChrist.Vol3inTheStoryofCivilization.1944 13
 ExternalEvidenceTest
Dootherhistoricaldocumentsconfirmordenyinternal
testimonyofdocumentsthemselves?
Eusebius preservingthewritingsofPapias (A.D.130)(astudentofthe
apostleJohn)
TheElder[apostleJohn]usedtosaythisalso:Mark,havingbeentheinterpreterofPeter,
wrotedownaccuratelyallthathe[Peter]mentioned,whethersayingsordoingsofChrist,
not,however,inorder.ForhewasneitherahearernoracompanionoftheLord;but
afterwards,asIsaid,heaccompaniedPeter,whoadaptedhisteachingsasnecessity
required,notasthoughheweremakingacompilationofthesayingsoftheLord.Sothen
Markmadenomistake,writingdowninthiswaysomethingsashementionedthem;forhe
paidattentiontothisonething,nottoomitanythingthathehadheard,nottoincludeany
falsestatementamongthem.
Eusebius,TheHistoryoftheChurch.3.39.
14
 ExternalEvidenceTest
Dootherhistoricaldocumentsconfirmordenyinternal
testimonyofdocumentsthemselves?
Irenaeus,BishopofLyonsA.D.180,wasastudentofPolycarp
(whowasalsoadiscipleofJohn)
MatthewpublishedhisgospelamongtheHebrews[i.e.,Jews]intheirown
tongue,whenPeterandPaulwerepreachingthegospelinRomeandfounding
thechurchthere.Aftertheirdeparture[i.e.,death,whichstrongtradition
placesatthetimeoftheNeronian persecutionin64],Mark,thediscipleand
interpreterofPeter,himselfhandeddowntousinwritingthesubstanceof
Peterspreaching.Luke,thefollowerofPaul,setdowninabookthegospel
preachedbyhisteacher.ThenJohn,thediscipleoftheLord,whoalsoleanedon
hisbreast,himselfproducedhisgospel,whilehewaslivinginEphesusinAsia.
Irenaeus,AgainstHeresies.3.1.1. 15
 ExternalEvidenceTest
Lukesdetailedhistorieshaveconsistentlyproven
tobecorrect
Acts11:2730thataseverefaminewouldspreadovertheentire
Romanworld.
Originallydismissedasfanciful,laterconfirmedthroughwritingsby
Suetonius,DionCassius,Tacitus,EusebiusandJosephus
"...Theysailedunder[hyperleusamen]theleeofCyprus,keeping
northwardswithawesterlywindonthebeam"(Acts27:4);"here
theyranbeforeawindunder[hypodramontes]theleeofClauda"
(Acts27:14).
themostaccurateaccountofseavoyagingthathascomedownto
usfromantiquity.Expertsinnavelscienceagreethatitiswithouta
parallel"(ascitedinRobertson,LH,p.207).
16
FestusremarkedTheaccusersbroughtnochargesagainsthimwhichIcould
takecognizance. TheGreekwordrenderedbytakecognizanceor
takecognizance. TheGreekwordrenderedbytakecognizanceor
understandhasatechnicalmeaning.TheGreekphraseinquestion,onego
hypenooun,initsstrongestsensemeanssuspect.Inalegalcontext,itdoes
hypenooun,initsstrongestsensemeanssuspect.
notmeanthatFestusliterallycouldnotunderstandtheissues,butthatthe
issuebroughtbeforehimtoadjudicatewasareligiousissue,whichfellout
sidethenormaldomainofthelaw.Therefore,itfitsnaturally,giventhe
unusualchargesbroughtagainstPaul,forFestus,torequestKingAgrippa's
helpasanassessor(legaladvisor),acommonpracticeoftheday,inorderto
drafttheformalchargesagainstPaultosendalongwithhimtoRome.

BaseduponhisthoroughstudiesofthelegalaccountsrecordedinActs:The
accountsofthesetrialsinActsissotechnicallycorrectthatRomanhistorians
sinceMommsenhaveoftenjudgedthemasthebestillustrationofRoman
provincialjurisdictioninthisparticularperiod.
SherwinWhite,A.N.ROMANSOCIETYANDROMANLAWINTHENEWTESTAMENT.1978 17
 WhoWouldDieforaLie?
Whilemanymightdieforalietheybelieve
wasthetruth,wouldanydieforwhatthey
knewwasalie?
Apostleswouldknowthetruth
Peter crucified Andrew crucified
Matthew sword John natural
James (son of Alphaeus) - crucified Philip crucified
Simon crucified Thaddaeus killed by arrows
James (brother of Jesus) stoned Thomas spear thrust
Bartholomew crucified James (son of Zebedee) sword

18
 WhoWouldDieforaLie?
1. Apostlesspokeandwroteaseyewitnesses
Luke24:48;John15:27;Acts1:8;Acts2:24,32;
Acts3:15;Acts4:33;Acts5:32;Acts10:39;Acts
10:41;Acts13:31;Acts22:15;Acts23:11;Acts
26:16,1Cor15:49;1Cor15:15;1John1:2
2. Apostlesneededtobeconvincedof
resurrection,butthen
19
3. theyboldlyproclaimedtheresurrection
40Theycalledtheapostlesinandhadthemflogged.Thentheyordered

themnottospeakinthenameofJesus,andletthemgo.
41TheapostleslefttheSanhedrin,rejoicingbecausetheyhadbeencounted

worthyofsufferingdisgracefortheName.42 Dayafterday,inthetemplecourts
andfromhousetohouse,theyneverstoppedteachingandproclaimingthe
goodnewsthatJesusistheChrist.
Acts5:4042

Theydidntpreachinobscuretowns,ratherJerusalemand
weresteadfasttotheend
Athisownrequesthewascrucifiedheaddownward,asunworthyto
sufferlikehisMaster.
Workman,HerbertB.TheMartyrsoftheEarlyChurch.1913

"PeterwascrucifiedatRomewithhisheaddownwards,ashe
himselfhaddesiredtosuffer."
EusebiusAD325,ChurchHistoryII.1,quotingOrigen(AD230) 20
 WhatGoodisaDeadMessiah?
ThelifeandteachingsofJesuswereinconflict
withtheJewishmessianicspeculationofthe
day
JewsweretaughtthattheMessiahwouldbea
reigning,victorious,politicalleader.Hewould
releaseJewsfrombondageandrestoreIsrael
AsufferingMessiahwasaforeignconcept
Isaiah53wasoverlooked
21
 Isaiah53:45
4Surelyhetookupourinfirmities
andcarriedoursorrows,
yetweconsideredhimstrickenbyGod,
smittenbyhim,andafflicted.
5 Buthewaspiercedforourtransgressions,

hewascrushedforouriniquities;
thepunishmentthatbroughtuspeacewasuponhim,
andbyhiswoundswearehealed.
22
 WhatGoodisaDeadMessiah?
DisciplesbelievedthatJesuspronouncementsof
hissufferinganddeathweretoogloomyandthat
hisapprehensionsweregroundless.
31HethenbegantoteachthemthattheSonofManmustsuffermany
thingsandberejectedbytheelders,chiefpriestsandteachersofthe
law,andthathemustbekilledandafterthreedaysriseagain. 32He
spokeplainlyaboutthis,andPetertookhimasideandbegantorebuke
him.
Mark8:3132(NIV)
23
 WhatGoodisaDeadMessiah?
ThencameCalvaryandalltheirhopesweregone
Thisisalsowhyhisdisciplesforsookhimwhenhewastakencaptive.
Theirmindsweresocompletelyimbuedwiththeideaofaconquering
Messiahwhoroleitwastosubduehisenemiesthatwhentheysawhim
brokenandbleedingunderthescourging,ahelplessprisonerinthe
handsofPilate,andwhentheysawhimledaway,nailedtoacrossto
dieasacommoncriminal,alltheirmessianichopesforJesuswere
shattered.
GeorgeEldonLadd,ProfessorofNewTestament,FullerTheologicalSeminary

24
 ButSomethingHappened
Afewweeksafterthecrucifixion,contrarytotheirformer
doubting,thediscipleswereinJerusalemproclaiming
JesusasSaviorandLord,theMessiah.
Theonlyreasonableexplanationofthechangeis
explainedas:
heappearedtotheTwelve.
1Cor 15:5(NIV)

Afterhissuffering,heshowedhimselftothesemenandgavemany
convincingproofsthathewasalive.Heappearedtothemoveraperiodof
fortydaysandspokeaboutthekingdomofGod.
Acts1:3(NIV)
25
 Summary
Yes,manypeoplehavediedforagoodcause,
butfortheapostles,theirgoodcausediedon
thecross
Somethinghappenedthatchangedtheir
mindsandtothistheytestified,evenwith
theirwillingnesstodieforthisbelief
26
 Appendix
OralTraditionPriortothe
WrittenGospels

27
 Review
Textual,Historical,Source,Literary,Formand
RedactionCriticismattemptstoreadpastthewords
andunderstandoriginalmeaning
Unfortunately,whentheresultofthisanalysis
contradictswhatwaswritten,theassumptionismade
thatwhatwaswrittenwasmadeup
Keyflawintheoryisthatitignoredthetestimonyof
eyewitnesseswho,ifstoriesaboutthemweremadeup,
couldrefutethetext.Implicitapprovalfromeyewitnessesto
storiescirculatingduringtheirlifetimesisstrongevidenceof
theiraccuracy.

28
TimebeforethewrittenGospel
TheSynoptic(Matthew,Mark,Luke)Gospelsareso
similar
Didonegospelwritercopyanother?
Didlaterwritersputthefinalaccountstogetherafter
changingtheoriginalaccounts?
Howcanwehaveanyconfidencethatthesewere
accuratehistoricalaccounts?
Forexample,howdoanyofthewritersevenknowwhatwent
onduringJesustrials,fornoneofthemwereeventhere?
29
 WhatisaGospel
ThewordisforeigntotheNewTestament
Ourword,gospelisasimplifiedformoftheOldEnglish
godspell,whichmeantgoodstoryinthesenseofgoodnews.
TheOldEnglishwordwasdesignedtobetheequivalentofthe
Latinevangelium,whichinturnwasderivedfromtheGreek
euangelion.InGreektheprefixeu meanswellorgood,while
thesecondpartofthewordisrelatedtotheverbangello,
reportbringamessage,andtothenounangelos,
messengerTheGreekcompoundeuangelion thusappearsin
theNewTestamentinthesenseofgoodnewsorgood
tidings.
Whataresomeofthetheoriesofthesource
ofthegospels?
30
1. Widelydominanttodayisthe2sourcetheory,
accordingtowhichMarkandapresumed
documentcalledQwerethecommonsources
ofMatthewandLuke
2. Somecontemporaryscholars,however,reject
thispositionandreturntoanoldertradition
whichreservedapriorityforMatthew
3. Othersprefertoreconstructanumberof
differentsourcesbehindtheGospelsby
separatingaprotoLukefromLuke,apreMark
fromMark,orbydividingthesocalledQ
documentintovariousdocuments
31
 Eachofthesetheoriescontradicteachother
andtheiradvocateshavenotbeenableto
convincetheadherentsoftheothertheories
Whyisit,aftersomanycenturieswedont
haveadefinitiveanswerastohowthe
Gospelswerecreated?
CoulditbewearetrappedinaLiteraryCulture?

32
 Whatifwelivedinanoralculture?
Youhavenodocumentswhichcanrefreshyour
memoryastoactualeventsthatoccurredinthepast
orthingsthatweresaid
Howwouldyoupassonthesethingsaccurately?
Todaywethink,livinginaliteraryculturethat
oralstorytellinggivesliberties;rightsto
embellishtoincreaseinterestinstory
Butthatwouldbetabooifyouronly methodof
transferringhistorywereoral
Thegospelswerewrittenduringanoralculture.
Whilebothcirculatedatthesametime,oralculturesrequire
awayofseparatingtruthfromfancifulstories
33
 TheFormativePeriod
Thetimebetweenwhentheeventsdetailedinthe
gospelsoccurredandwhentheywerewritten
down.Thelongertheperiod,themoretimefor
errorstocreepintotheoraltradition.
100+years(GermanTubingenSchool)
~30years(WilliamF.Albright,FullerTheologicalSeminary)
~17years(JohnA.T.Robinson RedatingtheNewTestament)
710years(AramaicorHebrewversionofMatthewmentionedbyPapias)

34
 Howcanyoujustifyaformativeperiodofless
than30years?
BookofActsfinisheswitheventsofA.D.62
NomentionofthefallofJerusalem(A.D.70)
NomentionofNerospersecution(A.D.64)
Nomentionofthemartyrdomofthreecentralfiguresin
Acts
James(A.D.62)
Paul(A.D.64)
Peter(A.D.65)
WhyarentthesementionedwhenActsdoesrecordthe
deathsofStephenandJames,thebrotherofJohn?
35
 IfthebookofActswasfinished nolaterthanA.D.62,
thenthebookofLukemusthavebeenbegun much
earlierthanthatsinceLukementionsintheprologueof
Actsthathehadalreadyfinishedthatearlierbook
(Luke):
ThefirstaccountIcomposed,Theophilus,aboutallthatJesusbeganto
doandteach.(Acts1:1NASB)

BookofLukepossiblywritteninthelate50sorevenearlier.

36
 EarlychurchfathersaffirmthatMatthewwrotehis
accountfirst.SomemoderncriticssayMarkwrote
hisfirst.Eitherway,theybothwroteitbeforeLuke.
ThatmeansMatthewandMarkhadtobeearlierthan
whenever(50s?)thatthebookofLukewaswritten:
some,andperhapsall,ofthegospelswerewritteninsubstantiallytheir
presentformwithinthirtyyearsoftheevents,andthatmuchofthematerial
wasalreadycollectedandwrittenadecadeortwobeforethat.Ifthatisthe
case,wearenotdealingwithalongfolktradition,butwithfourparallel
recordsofquiterecentevents,wellwithinthelifetimeofevenamiddleaged
witnessofJesusministry

France,R.T.TheEvidenceforJesus 1986

37
 Andtherewasareasontogetthese
documentswrittenassoonaspossible
TheEarlyChurchwasGrowingandgrowing
quickly.Withnewbelieversbeingaddedtothe
churchdaily,andinturntheyspreadingtheword
toothers,therewouldhavebeenanatural
demandforaccurateinformationaboutJesus
Butnotjustanyonewasentrustedtodisseminate
thisinformation 38
 ReplacementforJudasIscariot
Onequalificationacceptedbytheapostles
wasthatthesuccessorbeaneyewitness:
Itisthereforenecessarythatofthemenwhohave
accompaniedusallthetimethattheLordJesuswentinand
outamonguse beginningwiththebaptismofJohn,untilthe
daythatHewastakenupfromus oneoftheseshould
becomeawitnesswithusofHisresurrection
(Acts1:2122NIV)
39
 Whenonecomparesthesynopticgospelswithone
another,onefindsthatthereisagreaterwordfor
wordagreementinthewordsofJesus thaninthe
incidentaldetailsofthesurroundinghistorical
narrative.Thisiswhatonewouldexpectifthe
materialwashandledasholytradition.
Moreland,J.P.ScalingtheSecularCity 1987
Specialpeoplewerechosen,comparabletorabbis,to
beresponsibleforpreservingandpassingalongthe
holytradition
Thistaskconsumedsomuchoftheirtimethattheywere
relievedoftheirotherdutiesthattheymightdevotefull
timetoprayerandtotheministryoftheword. (Acts6:4NASB)

40
 PalestinewasMultiLingual
Hebrew,AramaicandGreekwereallspokenof
residentsofthearea
Duringfeasts,manymorepeoplefromothernations
wouldcometoJerusalem
Atthesametimethechurchwasgrowingbyleapsand
bounds,themessagehadtobetranslatedintodifferent
languages.
Somelanguagesdonthaveexactreplacements
JusttranslatingfromAramaictoGreekcouldaccountfor
someofthevariancesweseeintheearliesttexts

41
 GreekSpeakingCommunities
WhileJewishbelieversmayhavebeencontent
tostickwiththeoraltradition,theGreeks
preferredawrittenreport:
When,atRome,Peterhadopenlypreachedthewordandby
thespirithadproclaimedthegospel,thelargeaudienceurged
Mark,whohadfollowedhimforalongtimeandremembered
whathadbeensaid,towriteitalldown.Thishedid,makinghis
gospelavailabletoallwhowantedit.
Eusebius,TheHistoryoftheChurch writingaboutwhatClementofAlexandria(A.D.155220)reported 42
 PersonalInformationIncluded
Andtheypressedintoserviceapasserbycomingfromthecountry,Simon
ofCyrene(thefatherofAlexanderandRufus)(Mark15:21NASB)

ThereisnoreasonforMarksparentheticalreference
toAlexanderandRufus,otherthanheexpectedhis
readerstohaveknownwhotheywere
NeitherMatthewnorLuke,reportingthesameevent,
mentionthem
Maybetheirdifferentreaderswouldnothaveknownthem?
Ifthiswaswrittenafterthelifetimeofwitnessesofthe
events(assomesay,100sofyearslater),whatwouldhave
beenthepurposeofaddingtheseadditionalnames?
43
 LukesGospel
Includesinterestinglanguagethatimplies
othershadalreadywrittenanaccount
ifseemedfittingformeaswell,havinginvestigated
everythingcarefullyfromthebeginning,towriteitoutforyou
inconsecutiveorder(Luke1:3bNASB)
Lukesuseofthewordkamoi (formeaswell)
indicatesLukesawarenessofotherswhocreated
awrittenrecord.
44
 ApostlePaul
Somewouldsayhisliferepresentsthegreatest
evidenceofthetruthoftheChristianfaith.Even
theliberalcriticsagree:
ThesuddentransformationofPaulfromthemostviolentadversary
ofChristianityintoitsmostdeterminedherald(was)nothingshortof
amiracle.

OneofthemainreasonstheevidencefromPaulis
sostrongisthatheproducedhisletterssoearly
Schaff,Philip, HistoryoftheChristianChurch 1882writingabouttheDr.Baur,
founderoftheextremelyliberalTbingen School

45
 Book K m m el G u th r ie R o b in s o n
1 T h e s s a lo n ia n s 50 51 E a r ly 5 0
2 T h e s s a lo n ia n s 5 0 -5 1 51 5 0 -5 1
1 C o r in t h ia n s 5 4 -5 5 57 S p r in g 5 5
1 T im o t h y 100+ 6 1 -6 4 A u tu m n 5 5
2 C o r in it h ia n s 5 5 -5 6 57 E a r ly 5 6
G a la t ia n s 5 4 -5 5 4 9 -5 0 L a te 5 6
R om ans 5 5 -5 6 5 7 -5 8 E a r ly 5 7
T it u s 100+ 6 1 -6 4 L a t e s p r in g 5 7
P h ilip p ia n s 5 3 -5 8 5 9 -6 1 S p r in g 5 8
P h ile m o n 5 6 -6 0 5 9 -6 1 Sum m er 58
C o lo s s ia n s 5 6 -6 0 5 9 -6 1 L a te s u m m e r 5 8
E p h e s ia n s 8 0 -1 0 0 5 9 -6 1 L a te s u m m e r 5 8
2 T im o t h y 100+ 6 1 -6 4 A u tu m n 5 8
ObviouslyKmmel(liberalGermanscholar)doesnotaccept
PaulineauthorshipofsomeoftheNTbooksattributedtoPaul.
Regardless,eachscholaragreestowithinafewyears 46
 1Cor15:36
3ForwhatIreceivedIpassedontoyouasoffirst
importance:thatChristdiedforoursinsaccordingtothe
Scriptures,4thathewasburied,thathewasraisedonthe
thirddayaccordingtotheScriptures,5andthathe
appearedtoPeter,[andthentotheTwelve.]6Afterthat,
heappearedtomorethanfivehundredofthebrothers
atthesametime,mostofwhomarestillliving,though
somehavefallenasleep.
47
 Butmuchofthecontentindicates
earlierdatingthanA.D.5455
ForwhatIreceivedIpassedontoyouasoffirst
importance(1Cor15:3NIV)
Receivedandpassedonaretechnicalterms
Received(Paralambanien):takeoverHeb.qibbel denotes
imprintingofatraditionordoctrine,whilepassedon
(paradidomi)Heb.masar meanstohandovertoapupil
Whatwaspassedonwas,inthematterofcontentand
form,afixedbodyofmaterial
Rigidlycontrolledtransmissionofmaterial
48
 AndwhilePaulwaspreachingtothe
Gentiles
Thephrasesthetwelve,thethirdday,he
wasseen,foroursins[plural]andhewas
raisedareveryJewishandveryearly
ThepoeticstyleisHebraic
TheAramaicCephas isused;anearlywayof
referringtoPeter(TheRock)
49
So,if1CorinthianswaswritteninA.D.
5455
AndPaulfirstvisitedCorinthinA.D.50andif
thatformalizedstatementpredatedhisvisit,
thenitcouldhavebeencirculatedpriorto
A.D.50

MostscholarsdateitfromthreetoeightyearsafterJesus
death Moreland,J.P.ScalingtheSecularCity 1987
50
 Summary
TheearlyChristianswereJewswhounderstoodthe
oraltraditionoflosingnotadrop
Thetimeofthisoraltraditioncouldhavebeenjusta
fewyears,scarcelyenoughtimeformythsand
legendstocreepin(nottomentionthecorrecting
factoroflivingeyewitnesses)
Oraltraditionratherthancopyingbetweenwritersis
thebestexplanationfortheextremelyhigh
agreementbetweenthegospelwritersforthewords
ofJesus,whilehavingminordifferencesinthe
wordingfortheancillarydetails
51