The New Testament: Eyewitness and Apostolic Witness
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The New Testament's claim is bold: it is the record of people who saw, heard, and touched the events they describe.
Eyewitness Claims
- Luke wrote after investigating "from the very first" (Luke 1:3).
- Peter declared, "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16).
- John wrote, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life" (1 John 1:1).
- Of the crucifixion, the Gospel says: "And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe" (John 19:35; compare 21:24).
Richard Bauckham has argued that the Gospels preserve eyewitness testimony, noting the way they name individuals who were still alive to be questioned [17].
Early Testimony
Most scholars, including many critical ones, place Paul's letters in the AD 50s and the Gospels between roughly AD 60 and 95. This is within the lifetimes of eyewitnesses. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, Paul passes on a summary of the gospel that he says he "received," a formula most scholars date to within a few years of the crucifixion. He points to living witnesses: "After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:6). It was an invitation to check.
Marks of Authenticity
- Embarrassing details. The disciples are cowardly and confused; Jesus' family doubts Him (John 7:5); the first witnesses to the resurrection are women (Matthew 28:1-10), whose testimony carried little weight in that culture. A fabricated story would hardly have been written this way.
- Independent accounts. Four Gospels, along with Acts and the Epistles, give overlapping but independent testimony, differing in detail as honest witnesses do, and agreeing on the core.
- Willingness to suffer. The earliest believers, Jews and Gentiles alike, endured persecution and, according to early tradition, martyrdom for their claim. People do die for what they believe is true; they rarely die for what they know is false.
- Fulfillment of the Old Testament. The New Testament writers saw Christ as fulfilling the Scriptures that had been entrusted to Israel (Luke 24:44).
The Purpose
The Gospel writers did not write to satisfy curiosity but to bring people to faith: "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:31). Peter acknowledged that Paul's letters ranked "with the other scriptures" (2 Peter 3:16), showing that the New Testament canon was recognized from the earliest period [18].
CHAPTER 10