TEACHING NOTES Introduction ‌This session will focus on how the New Testament was written, copied, and collected over time. This is not an exhaustive attempt, but a general overview of the main ideas and issues. The purpose of this session is to give us a clear picture of the reliability and trustworthiness of the NT documents. ‌ The Formation of the NT ‌ Oral Tradition (AD 30-55): From AD 30-55 the apostles and multiple other converts passed along the Gospel orally all over the Roman empire. ‌ Source Documents: Before the four Gospels were written, there were documents containing the sayings and teaching of Jesus circulating. Luke 1:1-4 tells us that “many” people had written about Jesus. This means that Luke had several source documents that contained what Jesus did and said. Luke also interviewed all the eyewitness he could to confirm the stories. ‌ Originals “autographs” (AD 40-96): These are the original documents that the apostles wrote. We call these originals the “autographs.” We have not found any of the NT autographs, but do have thousands of copies. ‌ Copies of Manuscripts: Scribes all over the Roman empire made thousands of copies of the original manuscripts for hundreds of years. In addition to thousands of Greek copies, we also have even more ancient translations. ‌ Collection/Codex: Some scribes began putting certain documents into collections called a Codex. For example, some would put all of Paul’s letters into a single codex. The Gospels were also done this way. Eventually, all NT documents were put into one collection/codex. ‌ Approved Canon: The canon refers to the approved and accepted books of the NT. The first list we have is the Muratorian Canon (AD 140-155), which lists every NT book except James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews. The next list is from Athanasius (AD 367) and includes all 27 NT books. ‌ Luke 1:1–4 ESV 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. ‌ Who wrote the New Testament? ‌ Gospels/Acts: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John Pauline Letters: Paul General Letters: James, Jude, Peter, Hebrews? Johannine Letters: John Apocalypse: John ‌ Who was qualified to write? ‌ Authors must have seen the risen Jesus or be a disciple/associate of an apostle who had been with Jesus. For example, Mark and Luke became believers after the ascension of Christ but were disciples of the apostles. Mark was a disciple of Peter and Luke was a disciple of Paul. ‌ When was the New Testament written? ‌ All of the NT documents were written between approx. AD 40-96. ‌ (see chart above: Formation of the NT) ‌ Do we have the original documents? ‌ We do not have the original documents (autographs), but we do have more than 30,000 ancient copies and translations. ‌ How do we know that we can trust the NT copies? ‌ Out of the vast multitude of ancient writings the New Testament stands unique. There is no other document in the ancient world which can compare to the amount of copies, widespread use, and tiny margin of error between copies. ‌ (see table above: Ancient Documents vs The NT) ‌ Four Kinds of Witnesses to the NT: ‌ Greek MSS (6,000+) Ancient translations – Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Gothic, etc. (20,000+) Quotations by early Christians – called the early church fathers (a million+) Quotations in Oxyrhynchus papyri ‌ Common Critique: We cannot know what the original documents said because all we have today are copies of copies of copies. ‌ Differences in 6,000 NT Manuscripts: ‌Among the 6,000+ copies there are minor differences. ‌ Only 1% of differences are significant. 99% are spelling, scribal mistakes, etc. Of the 1% none effect any essential doctrines or teachings of the NT. The most significant differences are additions instead of subtractions. In other words, we have 110% of the original New Testament. ‌ Possible Additions in the NT There are a few passages that appear in later manuscripts but are missing from most (not all) of the earliest manuscripts: ‌ Mark 16:9-20 (earliest MSS end at 16:8) - Early manuscripts abruptly end, indicates either a damaged manuscript or Mark died before finishing. Most likely, Matthew 28:1-20 includes the missing portion of Mark. ‌ John 7:53-8:11 (woman caught in adultery) - The early church writer Papias mentions this story in AD 100 (only a few years after John wrote), but says this story was in the Gospel of the Hebrews (now lost). Manuscripts of John up to AD 400 did not include this story. In some MSS, this story is in Luke. ‌ 1 John 5:7 (one sentence addition) - In late manuscripts a Trinitarian statement was added, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” ‌ Did the NT authors believe their writings were Scripture? ‌ A common critique in modern time is that the apostles never intended their writings to be Scripture and never believed they were. However, there are passages in the NT where this claim is debunked. ‌ In 1 Cor. 7:10 Paul gives instructions to married believers and claims that these instructions are “from the Lord.” In 1 Cor. 11:23 Paul describes the night when Jesus instituted Communion and says he received this “from the Lord.” ‌ In 1 Thess. 4:15 Paul declares “a word from the Lord” about the return of Christ and the resurrection of the dead. ‌ In 1 Tim. 4:11 Paul tells Timothy to “Command and teach these things.” Here Paul is equating his letter with Scripture. ‌ 1 Tim. 4:13 “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” This included both OT writings as well as NT. ‌ In 2 Tim. 4:17 Paul states that the Lord strengthened him so that “the message might be fully proclaimed” to the Gentiles. ‌ 2 Pet. 3:15-16 “15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.” Peter is calling Paul’s writings “Scripture.” ‌ In Rev. 1:1-3 John states that the entire book was revealed to him by Jesus and is “the word of God” and “the testimony of Jesus Christ.” ‌ Rev. 10:10 states that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophesy.” By definition, prophesy is the word of God. Since Jesus is “the Word” anyone quoting Jesus verbally or writing down what Jesus said is speaking and writing the word of God. ‌ Conclusion ‌Given the mountain of manuscripts and archeological evidence, the New Testament that we read today is the same New Testament written by the apostles.