Page 7 - Advanced New Testament Survey Student Textbook

So, what the Gospel writers did pen was what God wanted us to know about the life of His son. They
are theological documents telling who Jesus is and why He is so important. They tell us little about
Jesus’ family background, and nothing about His physical appearance. They concentrate almost totally
on Jesus’ ministry even though they do not share all the events in chronological order. They focus on
the person of Jesus and His teachings and give attention to His death and resurrection and surrounding
events.

How did the Gospel writers know the private prayers of Jesus?

We know that the disciples spent vast amounts of time with Jesus. But there were times that they were
not present with Him that they record things He did and said. For example, Jesus took his disciples from
the upper room, across the Kidron valley, to a garden called Gethsemane. He took three of the disciples
off to a private place, then left to move further into the garden. He prayed a prayer to His father. How
did the disciples, since they were not there, know what Jesus prayed? You’ve got one of four options.

1. The prayer was totally fiction. The disciples made it up.
2. Someone was eaves dropping and overhead Jesus
3. The Holy Spirit told the disciples later when they penned their biography of Jesus
4. Jesus told them about what He said. He was with them 40 days after His resurrection.

Another example of this problem is the story of Jesus’s temptation. Matthew, Mark and Luke describe
very detailed discussions between Jesus and Satan, yet they were not there to observe what was said.
How could they include this story in their Gospel? Not only must we consider this question, but why did
they not get the sequence of the events the same? For example:

Matthew: 1). Stones to bread, 2), Highest point of the temple, 3) High Mountain
Mark: No details
Luke: 1) Stones to bread, 2). High Mountain, 3). Highest point of the temple

Again, the same options apply.

The answer to this question is not dogmatic, but obviously the stories were not fiction. If the Bible is the
Word of God, and God does not lie, then the stories must be true. We know that no one was with Jesus
in the wilderness or in the garden, so no one overhead the narration. The Gospel writers told us
repeatedly that they recorded what events they had been eyewitnesses. To place the source of
information on the Holy Spirit is not in keeping with the tenor and explicit testimony of the Gospels
elsewhere. So, our answer must be from the mouth of Jesus.

We know only a very small fraction of the discussions between Jesus and His disciples, yet toward the
conclusion of his ministry, Jesus spent the vast majority of His time with his disciples, preparing them for
His departure. Jesus could have easily told them about being tempted in the wilderness. And the very
fact that Matthew and Luke got the order differently bears this out. Perhaps they weren’t even
together when the story was shared. We also have to remember that Jesus spend forty days with His
disciples AFTER his resurrection, again preparing them for His final departure. We can only assume that
Jesus told them what he said in his prayer and a way to teach them dependence upon the will of His
Father.

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