ANDY’S BIBLE BLOG

CAN WE TRUST THE BIBLE?

There are five crucial questions when we consider how reliable any historical document is, and whatever else the Bible is, it does claim to give historical data.  With what justification?

Here are the questions we need to ask:

1 Who wrote it? 

2 How near to the events was it written?

3 Does the author intend to be truthful?

4 Is he actually truthful or does he let his prejudices get in the way.

5 What do other sources say?

THE CASE OF MARK

1 There is no reason to doubt that Mark wrote the gospel.  He was only a bit player in the gospel story, though his mother’s house was a main meeting place for the early church, see Acts 12.12.  He may be the young man in Gethsemane “wearing nothing but a linen cloth.  They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.”  (Mark 14.51)

2 Since I believe that Luke wrote his gospel and Acts during the time of Paul’s arrest and imprisonment, and he quotes large chunks of Mark’s gospel, Mark must have written his gospel before 60 AD.  Most New Testament scholars say that it was written before 70 AD.  I think it was written about 55 AD, within about 20 years of Jesus death.  Compared with the two other synoptic gospels, Mark gives each of the stories he tells in much greater detail, indicating access to a first hand witness.

3 Mark writes from the standpoint of faith, but there is no indication that he means to do anything but truthfully record the traditions he has heard.  An early writer says that Mark wrote what he heard of the preaching of Peter and wrote it down for the Christian community in Rome.

4 Mark does not gloss over awkward facts.  When a young man asks, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus answers, “Why do you call me good?  No one is good but God alone.”  (Mark 10.17, 18).  He has several details which indicate a first-hand source.  Examples are:  Jesus calming the storm at sea:  only Mark notes that “other boats were with them”.   Throwing the traders out of the temple:  only Mark states that this happened the day after Jesus’ public entry into Jerusalem:  “Jesus entered jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.”  (Mark 11.11)  Only Mark relates, that next day, in addition to throwing the traders out, he “would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.”  (Mark 11.16)  Above all Mark unflinchingly records Jesus cry, at the end, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”  This does not come in Luke or John.

5 The gospels of Matthew and Luke fit well into Mark’s framework.  They do provide more of Jesus’ teaching, but all his healing works come from Mark.  Paul in 1 Corinthians tells of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper,and they are virtually identical with what Mark writes.  (Mark 14.22-23,

1 Corinthians 11.23-15).

So:  can we trust Mark?  I would say, Yes.