Power In His Presence

WHAT HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES CONTRIBUTED TO THE ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS AND THE PAULINE EPISTLES?

The origin of the Gospels and the Epistles of Paul are marked by diversities of events which led to the origin of the Gospels and the Epistles of Paul. In AD 70, the insurgence and the revolt in opposition to the Roman rule by the Jews led to the Romans maltreatment and persecution of the Jews and hence, the death of many Christians. This persecution patently became a catalyst for the recording of the life and ministry of Jesus.  

Soon after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Disciples and others began to witness of the resurrection. Early in the book of Acts, we read of the Apostles preaching to large crowds about Jesus (Acts 2:14-26), and that message was carried throughout the Roman world (Acts 1:8, 8:4, 11:19-20, etc.). So the second stage of Gospel formation was a Gospel tradition that grew out of the testimony and preaching of the followers of Jesus, as well as the practices of the church such as Eucharist and worship that grew out of that preaching. This tradition may have been oral, or written, or a combination of both. In any case, this tradition was the main vehicle for the Gospel message in the 30 or so years after the death of Jesus but before the actual writing of the Gospels.The public assertion and declaration of the gospel was before time what the apostles highlighted. Though the early apostles were not ready to consign the teachings and miracles of Jesus into writing based on their expectation of the return of Christ ASAP and also on the premise of having a preference of speaking personally in lieu of putting them into writing. As time elapsed and the demise of the apostles approached, the rest had the conviction to engrave the life and teachings of Christ down. The gospels as well as the Epistles were written by men who were willing to, and in many cases did, give their lives for what they believed.  This indicates that they likely believed that what they wrote was the truth irrespective of the circulations of falsities fabricated by the Romans about the myths surrounding Jesus and the Apostles. Paul is bereft with the firsthand information about Christ because he was not with Jesus during His earthly ministry. Paul was a man deeply inclined to the Spirit and a very ardent Jewish scholar. He was an austere Pharisee and he was a fanatic of Jews segregating themselves from the Gentiles. When he encountered Christ his mental picture of aversion to the Gentiles was thwarted for the better of being an apostle to these selfsame enemies of him. In Arabia, Paul basked in the process of transformation via his knowledge about God and became the interpreter of the gospel of Christ to the Gentiles.The question of the historical circumstances contributing to the origin of the gospels includes yet another literary problem, concerning the gospels especially. Are these writings independent of one another? If one of the Evangelists did utilize the work of his predecessors how are we to suppose it happened? Was it Matthew who used Mark or vice versa? After thirty years of constant study, the question has been answered only by conjectures. Amongst
these must be included the documentary theory itself, even in the form in which it is now commonly admitted, that of the “two sources”. The starting-point of this theory, namely the priority of Mark and the use made of him by Matthew and Luke, although it has become a dogma in criticism for many, cannot be said to be more than a hypothesis. However disconcerting this may be, it is none the less true. The place is Rome, the situation the persecutions of Nero. Paul and Peter are in prison, soon to die at the command of Nero himself. Mark is there with them. Peter is anxious to tell the story of Christ before he dies, and he does so, dictating to Mark. It is not clear whether Mark actually composed this gospel before or after Peter’s death. It is not important. This was a really hard time for believers in Jesus Christ, and especially so in Rome. His record is in reality the Gospel according to Simon Peter. He was early associated with Peter; later with Paul. Mark wrote this record at the instigation of Peter and on the earnest petition of the church at Rome. Knowing how consistently the Master refused to write out his teachings when on earth and in the flesh, Mark, like the apostles and other leading disciples, was hesitant to put them in writing. But Peter felt the church at Rome required the assistance of such a written narrative, and Mark consented to undertake its preparation. He made many notes before Peter died in A.D. 67, and in accordance with the outline approved by Peter and for the church at Rome, he began his writing soon after Peter’s death. The Gospel was completed near the end of A.D. 68. Mark wrote entirely from his own memory and Peter’s memory.He did not formulate his many notes into the Gospel until after Paul’s death. Luke wrote in the year 82 in Achaia. He planned three books dealing with the history of Christ and Christianity but died in A.D. 90 just before he finished the second of these works, the “Acts of the Apostles.” As material for the compilation of his Gospel, Luke first depended upon the story of Jesus’ life as Paul had related it to him. Luke’s Gospel is, therefore, in some ways the Gospel according to Paul. But Luke had other sources of information. He not only interviewed scores of eyewitnesses to the numerous episodes of Jesus’ life which he records, but he also had with him a copy of Mark’s Gospel.