How to Read the Gospels 4. How Were the Gospels Preserved? Nick Zola, PhD Asst. Prof. of Religion Pepperdine University nicholas.zola@pepperdine.edu
Readers Needed… 1. Matt 18:11 2. Mark 11:26 3. Luke 17:36 4. John 5:4 Why are there verses missing from my Bible??? (Don’t worry, your Bible is not broken.)
Big ideas we’ve covered: The Gospels are... ● Based on eye-witness testimony… ● …but not always written by eye-witnesses ● Derived from oral tradition and other written sources ● Including potentially some of the other existing Gospels ● “Historical narrative motivated by theological concerns” ● Selective, not exhaustive ● Each written with their own themes and style ● For a believing audience
How did a text written in the 1 st century get all the way to us today in the 21 st century? 9 th century manuscript from St. Gallen; Translation of Latin: “he sits here and he wrote”
Ancient Greek… 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
Ancient Greek had…no punctuation In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God He was in the beginning with God All things came into being through him and without him not one thing came into being What has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of all people
Ancient Greek was...all uppercase, no spaces INTHEBEGINNINGWASTHEWORDANDTHE WORDWASWITHGODANDTHEWORDWAS GODHEWASINTHEBEGINNINGWITHGODALL THINGSCAMEINTOBEINGTHROUGHHIMAND WITHOUTHIMNOTONETHINGCAMEINTO BEINGWHATHASCOMEINTOBEINGINHIMWAS LIFEANDTHELIFEWASTHELIGHTOFALLPEOPLE
INTHEBEGINNINGWASTHE WORDANDTHEWORDWAS WITHGODANDTHEWORD WASNOTGODHEWASINTHEBE GINNINGWITHGODALLTHINGS CAMEINTOBEINGTHROUGH HIMANDWITHOUTHIMNOT ONETHINGCAMEINTOBEING WHATHASCOMEINTOBEING INHIMWASLIFEANDTHELIFE WASTHELIGHTOFALLPEOPLE
INTHEBEGINNINGWASTHE WORDANDTHEWORDWAS WITHGODANDTHEWORD WASNOTGODHEWASINTHEBE GINNINGWITHGODALLTHINGS CAMEINTOBEINGTHROUGH HIMANDWITHOUTHIMNOT ONETHINGCAMEINTOBEING WHATHASCOMEINTOBEING INHIMWASLIFEANDTHELIFE WASTHELIGHTOFALLPEOPLE
INTHEBEGINNINGWASTHE WORDANDTHEWORDWAS WITHGODANDTHEWORD WASNOTGODHEWASINTHEBE GINNINGWITHGODALLTHINGS CAMEINTOBEINGTHROUGH HIMANDWITHOUTHIMNOT ONETHINGCAMEINTOBEING WHATHASCOMEINTOBEING INHIMWASLIFEANDTHELIFE WASTHELIGHTOFALLPEOPLE
INTHEBEGINNINGWASTHE WORDANDTHEWORDWAS WITHGODANDTHEWORD WASNOTGODHEWASINTHEBE GINNINGWITHGODALLTHINGS CAMEINTOBEINGTHROUGH HIMANDWITHOUTHIMNOT ONETHINGCAMEINTOBEING WHATHASCOMEINTOBEING INHIMWASLIFEANDTHELIFE WASTHELIGHTOFALLPEOPLE
Which Is More Original? INTHEBEGINNINGWASTHE INTHEBEGINNINGWASTHE WORDANDTHEWORDWAS WORDANDTHEWORDWAS WITHGODANDTHEWORD WITHGODANDTHEWORD WASNOTGODHEWASINTHEBE WASGODHEWASINTHEBE GINNINGWITHGODALLTHINGS GINNINGWITHGODALLTHINGS CAMEINTOBEINGTHROUGH CAMEINTOBEINGTHROUGH HIMANDWITHOUTHIMNOT HIMANDWITHOUTHIMNOT ONETHINGCAMEINTOBEING ONETHINGCAMEINTOBEING WHATHASCOMEINTOBEING WHATHASCOMEINTOBEING INHIMWASLIFEANDTHELIFE INHIMWASLIFEANDTHELIFE WASTHELIGHTOFALLPEOPLE WASTHELIGHTOFALLPEOPLE
Textual Criticism 101 There is not one NT, there are many Until the printing press, everything was hand-copied Scribes make mistakes So what is “original”? Unintentional changes vs. intentional changes P 45 = Gospels and Acts, 3 rd century
Which Is More Original?
Which Is More Original? Text-Critical Principle : The reading that most fitly explains the origin of all the other readings is to be preferred.
John 5:3b-4 – Jesus heals at Bethesda Pool 3 In these [porticoes] lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered. waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. 5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” 7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
John 5:3b-4 – Jesus heals at Bethesda Pool 3 In these [porticoes] lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. 5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” 7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
John 5:3b-4 – Jesus heals at Bethesda Pool 3 In these [porticoes] lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. 5 And a certain man was there, who had been thirty- eight years in his sickness. Exclude : P 66 P 75 א B C*; RSV NRSV NIV NEB NLT Include : A C 3 L Byz—TR it; KJV NKJV NASB Reasoning : Explains what’s missing in the text (cf. 5:7) Non-Johannine vocabulary
How did this happen? 1516: Erasmus publishes first printed Greek NT Hasty, error-prone, based on faulty manuscripts But reprinted for the next 200-300 years Becomes the so-called Textus Receptus 1551: Stephanus adds verse numbers 1700s-1900s: Scholars discover many older and more accurate manuscripts We can now reconstruct a far more accurate text D. Erasmus, by H. Holbein (16 th c.) But we’re stuck with the old numbering system!
Our earlier question… Why are there verses missing from my Bible??? They aren’t missing. They were never there to begin with.
Some famous variants Adulterous woman (John 7:53-8:11) Long ending of Mark (Mark 16:9-20) Trinitarian formula (1 John 5:7b-8a) Old Testament : 1 Samuel 10:27+ End of the Gospel of Mark in Codex Vaticanus (4 th cent.)
Do textual variants make a theological difference? Yes. But note the scale.
Do we have Jesus’s… ipsissimma verba? (very words) ipsissimma vox? (very voice)
Purpose of the Gospels John 20:30-31 : 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may [continue/come] to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name ● The Gospels bring you to faith and keep you in faith. ● The Gospels point to Jesus. They are not Jesus.
Thank you. Questions?
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