WHERE DID THE NEW TESTAMENT COME FROM?

1. WHERE DID THE NEW TESTAMENT COME FROM? • 27 Books of the New Testament record the teachings and event that are the foundation of Christianity. • The claims of the N/T are powerful, and if we were to take them seriously, they will require a radical shift in how we view the world and ourselves.

2. Are the claims of the New Testament true? • how do we assess their truth? • Who wrote the books? • Are the authors trustworthy? • Are the accounts historically accurate? • When were they written? • How were they chosen to be included? • Who chose them? • What about the books that were rejected?

3. WHO CHOSE THE BOOKS & HOW WERE THEY CHOSEN? • The Council of Carthage (393A.D.) • The Council of Hippo (397 A.D.) • These 2 councils fixed the list of the N/T books into there final form as we have them today. • But there were some qualifiers. • Each book had to have been written by an Apostle or a close associate who preserved the Apostles teachings. • The only exceptions were for James and Jude who were brothers of Jesus.

4. This Greek copy of the Bible, Codex Sinaiticus, is dated about 350 A.D. and is in the British Library in London.

5. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. • In a letter in 367 AD was the 1st to compile a list of the 27 that we now have. He is also the 1st person to use the word canon in this way. • A letter written in AD 353, he says about the Shepherd of Hermas “does not belong to the canon.”

6. Eusebius, 325 AD. • Spurred by Constantine’s desire for unity and uniformity in Christianity, Eusebius began to investigate the history of the books that were being used as Scripture. Eusebius had access to large libraries in Caesarea and Jerusalem. These Libraries contained the works of church fathers dating back to the 1st century.

7. Tertullian 160 AD. • Quotes from 23 of the 27 New Testament books. • In fact, the vast majority of the New Testament can be reconstructed on quotes from the church fathers alone.

8. 4 Categories • Spurious • Acts of Paul • Barnabas • Shepherd of Hetmas • The Diadache • The Apocalypse of Peter • Widely Accepted • James • Jude • 2 peter • 2 & 3 John • Canonical • The 4 Gospels • Acts • 15 letters of Paul (including Hebrews) • 1 John • 1 Peter • Revelation

9. Around AD 180 to 200 the oldest know list of the New Testament Canon books was compiled. • It was discovered in 1700 and it counted 23 books as Scripture. • The 4 Gospels • Acts • 13 letters of Paul (not including Hebrews) • Jude • 1,2, and 3 John • Revelation

10. In AD 115, Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, refers to “The Gospel” as an authoritative writing. The Gospel circulated as a unit like a book as we know have and not as separate scrolls. “The Gospel” was the title of this book and it included subtitles, “according to Matthew”, “according to Mark” and so on. Paul's letters were collected in a similar style in the second century.

11. WHO WROTE THE BOOKS? • If we are to submit to their authority and use them as our rule to judge theological matters, as they require, and as the early church would have it, what credentials can these books demonstrate? • Is there any reason to think the apostles actually had a hand in their writing?

12. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons A.D. 180. • Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna.

13. Irenaeus • “Matthew published his Gospel among Hebrews in their own language, while Peter and Paul were preaching and founding the church in Rome. After their departure Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also transmitted to us in writing those things which Peter had preached; and Luke, the attendant of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel which Paul had declared. Afterwards John, the disciple of the Lord, who also reclined on his bosom, published his Gospel, while staying at Ephesus in Asia.

14. PAPIAS • “Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not indeed in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed Him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lord’s discourse, so that Mark committed no error while he thus wrote some things as he remembered them. For he was careful of one thing, not to omit any of the things which he had heard, and not to state any of them falsely… So then Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and everyone interpreted them as he was able.

15. Clement • “And so greatly did the splendor of piety illumine the minds of Peter’s hearers that they were not satisfied with hearing once only and were not content with the unwritten teaching of the divine Gospel, but with all sorts of entreaties they besought Mark, a follower of Peter, and the one whose Gospel is extant, that he would leave them a written monument of the doctrine which had been orally communicated to them. Nor did they cease until they had prevailed with the man, and had thus become the occasion of the written Gospel which bears the name Mark. And they say that Peter, when he had learned, through a revelation of the Spirit, of that which had been done, was pleased with the zeal of the men, and that the work obtained the sanction of his authority for the purpose of being used in the churches.

16. DATING THE GOSPEL’S • There is a good argument that all four Gospels were written prior to AD 70. • Johns Gospel was the 4th one written. • John mentions landmarks in Jerusalem as if they still existed at the time of writing, such as the sheep gate, which we know was destroyed in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

17. Luke and Acts • Luke’s Gospel was likely conceived as a two-volume set consisting of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. • The narrative flow between the end of the Gospel and the beginning of Acts suggest to many scholars that Luke intended his writings to be a whole.

18. Mamertime prison in Rome where both Peter and Paul were held prior to execution. • The hole in the ceiling was the only entrance in their day.

19. DATING PAULS WRITTINGS. • In order to date Paul’s writings, we can take the evidence from his letters and from Acts and try to reconcile them with what we know from archeology and other historical indications. • We know that Paul dies during the persecution of Nero around AD 64-67 so the writings must date no later than that.

20. Acts 18:12 • Acts 18:12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal,

21. Timeline • Jesus crucifixion AD 30 to 33 • Paul’s conversion AD 32 to 35 • 14 years later he goes to Jerusalem for famine relief AD 45 to 47 (Acts 11:27-30) • Paul goes to Jerusalem again for Council AD 48 (Acts 15:6-30) • Paul is brought before Gallio AD 51 to 52 (Acts 18:12) • Paul’s death AD 64 to 67

22. Why is this important? • 1 Corinthians 15:3-8For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

23. What about the books that were left out? • Eusebius mentioned 5 books he characterized as spurious. • The Acts of Paul • The epistle of Barnabas • The Shepherd of Hermas • The Didache • The apocalypse of Peter

24. The Didache • This has been dated to around 70 AD, and was used basically as a new believers handbook. As the church became more organized, this book eventually fell into disuse. This and the fact that the author is unknown is probably why it was not included in the canon.

25. The Acts of Paul • Was referenced by early Christian writers and is considered to contain much accurate information about Paul’s history. However, Tertullian, a priest at Carthage at the end of the 2nd century, writes that an elder at Carthage wrote the book out of great admiration for Paul and wanted to increase his fame. Because the book was a forgery, the elder who wrote it was removed from office and the book was disqualified from the canon.

26. The Epistle of Barnabas • This book dates from the late 1st century, and has no content out of line with the rest of scripture. It is even quoted by Clements of Alexandria. However, the authorship of this book was thought to be a early church father not the missionary partner of Paul. Thus, it did not meet the criteria set forth for the canon.

27. The Shepherd of Hermas • Is a second century writing. It contains a series of visions received by a Shepherd named Hermas, like the Epistle of Barnabas, this letter contains nothing suspect. But its author was most likely a yearly church father and not an Apostle.

28. The Apocalypse of Peter • This book is well known for its graphic depictions of heaven and hell. But it was found to be written sometime in the first half of the second century, far too late to be connected to Peter himself.

29. Outside of these spurious books and those of the New Testament canon. No other books were ever seriously considered for inclusion. There have been dozens of books containing names like these, but none of them met the criteria to be included in the New Testament.

30. CONCLUSION • It is interesting to note that the process of the creation of the New Testament made it far more likely to exclude authentic Scripture than to include false writings. • “In the most basic sense neither individuals or councils created the canon; instead they came to perceive and acknowledge the self-authenticating quality of these writings, which imposed themselves as canonical upon the church”

31. THE CHURCH DID NOT DETERMINE THE CANON; THEY RECOGNIZED THE CANON.

32. Next we will answer questions like • How were the books copied? • Did the information in the books become corrupt? • What about all the contradictions in the New Testament? • And how old are the oldest copies of the New Testament that still exist?