Confidence in Scripture – Rylands 457

This is the first of a series of blog posts intended to build faith in the
Bible.

The Rylands 457 (P⁵²) is a tiny manuscript that measures a
mere three and a half by two and a quarter inches in size, yet it is
of great value to lovers of the Bible. It was originally discovered
in Egypt at the turn of the 20^th century. On this fragment
can be found what is today John 18:31-33, 37, 38. It is kept at the
John Rylands Library in Manchester, England, and on rare occasions is
even put on display.

According to the experts, from this fragment the size of the original copy can
be established. It is estimated that it was a codex of 130 pages of
the Gospel of John, with a page size roughly that of a modern
magazine.

The Gospel of John was written around 98 A.D. This copy was made only a
short time afterward, sometime between 100 and 150 A.D., with many
scholars placing the time of its writing at 125 A.D. How is the age
of the document determined? From the type of papyrus used, its
general appearance, and the style of writing.

That is the significance of this fragment? The fact that a copy of John's
Gospel had already circulated to Egypt supports the conclusion that
the Gospel that bear's John's name really was recorded in the 1^st
century by the apostle himself, as the Bible claims. It also
disproves the theory of some critics that the Gospels are actually
forgeries from the 2^nd century, not written by Jesus'
disciples at all. Since it has been established that Matthew, Mark
and Luke were written before John, this fragment gives us proof that
all were written in the 1^st century. No group of frauds
could have possibly produced them when eyewitnesses of the events
they related could have refuted them. (See 1 Cor. 15:6.)

Part of the Rylands fragment: