HISTORY AND SOURCES

Read Luke 1:1-4 1 Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3 I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. Discuss the following questions: 1. How does the author emphasize that what he has written is historically accurate? 2. Why is historical accuracy important to him and to his reader? 3. Is the author the only Christian to have written a history of Jesus? What implications does this have for the importance of history to the study of Christianity? 4. Why do you think that the author wrote his own "orderly account" if others already existed? What might this suggest about the sources that he used for his account?

Read John 20:30-31; 21:24-25 20:30 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 come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. 21:24 This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. 25 But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Discuss the following questions: 1. Why did this author produce his gospel?
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary CH501 1 of 2 2005 Dr. David Currie

2. What sources did he use? 3. What does he emphasize about what he has included? Does this imply that some things that Jesus said and did were more important than others? What things might these be?

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary CH501

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2005 Dr. David Currie