The Early Formation of Gospel Material

An earlier post discussed Colossians 4:16 as describing the impetus which would have eventually lead to a canonical Pauline letter collection as typified in the 2nd-3rd century Chester Beatty codex P46. While listening to a lecture on the topic of prayer in the Bible, Acts 2:42 was referenced as describing the earliest of Christian worship gatherings. This caused me to think on the circumstances that would have lead to the writing of early gospel material, either the gospels themselves as we know them, or the material that would later find its way into the canonical gospels. Luke wrote of the earliest Christians;

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42; ESV)

This verse occurs within the context of Peter's sermon after the Pentecost outpouring of the "Holy Spirit" on the gathered community of Christians (Acts 2:1-13). In this sermon (as re-told by Luke) Peter quoted prophetic passages from Joel 3:1-5 (Acts 2:17-21), Psalms 116:8-11 (Acts 2:25-28), and

Psalms 110:1 (Acts 2:34-35) in relation to their fulfillment in Jesus as the messianic descendant of David. This messianic fulfillment culminated in Jesus' crucifixion and death, resurrection from the dead, and exalted glory at God's right hand. As a response to Peter's sermon, Luke writes that "about three thousand souls" were "added" to the growing number of Christian converts (Acts 2:41; ESV).

These first converts began to gather together regularly with a central part of this gathering being the studying of the "apostle's teaching." Though no specifics of this apostolic teaching is given, it seems right to assume that it contained at least some of the material found within Peter's sermon quoted earlier
in Acts 2, that is, the prophecies and teachings related to Jesus as the prophesied Messiah of Israel. This apostolic teaching would have lead many to approach the Jewish scriptures (Old Testament) with new perspectives on interpretation, especially in relation to Messianic prophecy.[1] Coupled with this apostolic teaching, prayer, and scripture interpretation, Luke wrote that "many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles" (Acts 2:43; ESV). These new apostolic teachings and Biblical interpretations where "confirmed" in the eyes of these early converts as true and divinely inspired by the expression of divine power in miracles performed by the apostles. 

These circumstances described in Acts 2:42-43 would have been the driving force behind collections of Jesus' sayings, miracles, and messianic prophecies that would eventually form the canonical gospel writings. The content of Peter's sermon represents, in essence, an abbreviated gospel proclamation that would later be expanded and edited by the gospel writers. The early Church father Papias, writing early in the second century, described the origins of gospel of Mark in exactly this way,

And the Elder used to say this; ‘Mark, having become Peter’s interpreter, wrote down accurately everything he remembered, though not in order, of the things either said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, followed Peter, who adapted his teachings as needed but had no intention of giving and an ordered account of the Lord’s sayings. Consequently Mark did nothing wrong in writing down some things as he remembered them, for he made it his one concern not to omit anything which he heard or to make any false statement in them. (Eusebius, EH 3.39.15)

Whether we are to take Papias at his word or not is a matter of scholarly debate, either way it is uncanny how Papias' statement about Mark fits well in a context similar to what we read of in Acts 2.
Many would postulate that the impetus for writing the gospels was the death of the apostles leading to the creation of written accounts to replace the oral teaching. I am stating that the death of the apostles does not have to be the only circumstance that would have lead to the formation of the gospels. Circumstances like the one mentioned above could have just as easily been a catalyst for the collection of Jesus material as the death of the apostles--either the canonical gospels themselves, or disconnected Jesus sayings, miracles stories, and fulfilled prophecies that would later form the canonical gospels.
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[1] Larry Hurtado described this early Church experience as "charismatic exegesis" which took place "in the context of group worship, which included prayer for and expectations of divine revelations, and other phenomena that raised questions that drove devout believers  to their Scriptures searching for new insights and answers" (Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003, page 74).

Papias, "The Living Voice," and a WW2 Veteran

I have recently befriended a 92 year old World War Two veteran of the Army's  First Infantry Division. Because he entered the service early in the war, he saw action for over two years in some of the most fierce and pivotal battles of the European theater. I have become enthralled with the stories of his childhood during the depression era, and of course, with his combat experience in the war.

D-Day June 6th 1944

Each time that I have sat down to talk with him I quickly loose track of time, and it is not uncommon for us to talk for three hours non-stop. I came away exhausted after one of our discussions because I had apparently been sitting on the edge of my seat, tense with anticipation, as he recalled his landing on Omaha beach on that fateful June day of 1944.

I could not help but wonder if this was the same feeling that Christians of the late first century had while they sat around the aged apostle John as he recounted his experiences with Jesus and the apostles. Irenaeus wrote that John lived a very long life;

"...the Church in Ephesus, founded by Paul, and having John remaining among them permanently until the times of Trajan, is a true witness of the tradition of the apostles." (Adv. Haer. 3.4; ANF1)

Polycarp of Smyrna (died ca. 155CE) is said to have recounted stories that he had heard as a young man from the elderly apostle John. Stories that Polycarp told when he was himself an old man (Adv. Haer.  3.4 and Iren. Frag. II; ANF1).
The most famous account of listening to the elderly John comes from Papias, who wrote in his Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord;

"I will not hesitate to set down for you, along with my interpretations, everything I carefully remembered, guaranteeing their truth. . . . And if by chance someone who had been a follower of the elders should come my way, I inquired about the words of the elders—what Andrew or Peter said, or Philip, or Thomas or James, or John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples, and whatever Aristion and the elder John, the Lord’s disciples were saying. For I did not think the information from books would profit me as much as information from a living and abiding voice. (Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 3.39.3-4)"[1]

Now that I have spent some time with this World War Two veteran, I understand better why Papias would write that he preferred a "living and abiding voice" over what he could read in written accounts. It is not that Papias refused to read books at all, but that he enjoyed sitting on the edge of his seat as the elderly John and the other aged apostles and followers of Jesus and the apostles recounted their stories and experiences. I cannot wait until the next time I can put down William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich in order to sit next to this World War Two veteran and listen to his experiences first hand.

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[1] Michael W. Holmes, ed., The Apostolic Fathers: Greek texts and English Translations (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999), 565.

 

Early Christian Reading and Moral Instruction

 

 

From the earliest times that Christians gathered together for worship and community, the public reading of their sacred writings was the norm. The reading of what they considered as scripture was discussed and applied morally and ethically to the lives of the Christians gathered together. In the minds of early Christians, the writings they read during their worship gatherings were as much scripture as they were practical. They were applicable in a practical way to their every-day lives.
Pliny the Younger, during his time as governor of Bithynia and Pontus, wrote to Emperor Trajan for advice in regard to Christians that refused to offer worship to the image of the Emperor. In his famous letter Pliny described the worship gathering of Christians at around 112 CE;

They affirmed, however, the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food—but food of an ordinary and innocent kind. (Ep. Tra. 10.96)[1]

Though Pliny does not mention the reading of any texts or scriptures, I find it interesting that Pliny mentions that Christians "bound themselves by a solemn oath." Besides their "devotion to Jesus" (to borrow a phrase from Dr. Larry Hurtado) there was an emphasis on moral behavior, which Pliny described as taking an "oath."
Just a few decades later in the 140s CE Justin Martyr described the worship gathering of Christians in Rome (and most likely described Christians in Palestine and Asia Minor, the other areas he resided during his Christian life);

And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. (1 Apol. 67)[2]

After the reading of the New Testament, the leader who presided over the gathering gave moral instruction out of the reading for that day; the practical application of the scriptures in the lives of the listeners.
At the very end of the second century, around 197 CE, Tertullian of Carthage also described the public reading of scripture during their worship gatherings and the moral instruction gleaned from the day's reading;

We assemble to read our sacred writings, if any peculiarity of the times makes either forewarning or reminiscence needful. However it be in that respect, with the sacred words we nourish our faith, we animate our hope, we make our confidence more steadfast; and no less by inculcations of God’s precepts we confirm good habits. (1 Apol. 39)[3]

Here is another example of how the public reading of scriptures were used to give moral and practical instruction for early Christians gathered in worship. Reading in early Christianity, then, had a view to practicality and moral application. This, of course, would affect how early Christians manufactured their books, that is, they manufactured their copies of the New Testament with a view to practicality. They used the codex format and implemented spaces between words and phrases and other lectionary aids (see earlier post) in order to better facilitate reading. Each of these features of early Christian copies of the New Testament confirm the practical way they viewed their sacred writings.

[UPDATE: see this newer post discussing the New Testament scriptural basis for moral instruction and the practicality of the codex]
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[1] Pliny the Younger, Letters, Books 7-10, (trans. William Melmoth, and W. M. L. Hutchinson; LCL; London: W. Heinemann, 1915), 403-405.

[2] ANF 1:186.

[3] ANF 3:47.