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Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25, ESV).
I’ve been writing every Friday about reasons to know that the New Testament is reliable. (See Interruptions #1858 and #1864 for my introduction and reason #1.)
My reason #2 is the writing of the Gospels as biographies.
Let’s understand why the Gospels written as biographies support the reliability of the New Testament. Skeptics in the 1900s, and some scholars to this day, considered the Gospels a new form of writing, sort of like a fanciful novel, not meant to be true or factual but inspirational.
If we read a historical novel, while the book might retain facts about the time period in which it is set to lend interest and authenticity, no one expects it to contain actual historical characters or events. When someone says, “The Bible inspires me to be a better person,” they might miss the point that the Gospels present Jesus not only as an inspirational person, but as Lord and Savior.
Yes, I get inspired by the victory of good over evil in Star Wars®, but I never really expect to see Yoda coming back for me in the clouds.
In a recent development, scholars now believe that the Gospels were written as biographies, representing the actual words and events in the life of Jesus. We don’t read about a myth in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but about a real person who walked, ate, drank wine, and healed the sick.
We know the genre of the Gospels as biography, as reinforced by what Luke said at the beginning of his Gospel…
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught (Luke 1:1-4).
One of my favorite scholars writes…
In contrast to novels, the Gospels do not present themselves as texts composed primarily for entertainment, but as true accounts of Jesus’ ministry.
The question remains: are the words and events literally true?
Thinking about it, the Gospels are much easier to prove as accurate when accepted as factual biography. Since all of them were written within a few decades of Christ’s life, with thousands of those who saw and heard Jesus still living, fraudulent historical references would be quickly challenged.
And … and … and … from the first 100 years after the life of Jesus, there were only a few known writers who challenged (or at least reported challenges) any event in the life of Jesus. For example, the report in Matthew’s Gospel that Jesus paid soldiers to start the rumor that the disciples stole the body of Jesus (Matthew 28:11-15), and the account by the writer Thallus attempting to explain a natural cause for the darkness that accompanied the resurrection.
Thinking about it, both the report of the soldiers and the challenge of Thallus that the darkness was caused by a solar eclipse seem to support the reliability of the New Testament. As in “yes,” the body was missing, and “yes,” darkness descended; now, let’s try to explain it away.
Reason #2 For the Reliability of the New Testament: They are Biographies.