Your Bible – not in chronological order

Your Bible – not in chronological order.  Matthew 8.

Jesus gave us the beautiful Sermon on the Mount, and when he came down the mountain, he did not come alone.  After all, crowds had gathered to hear his teaching, which was like none they had ever heard; his style was passionate and bold, his heart was compassionate and full of mercy.  Immediately, Jesus demonstrated his teaching with a miraculous display of compassion by touching and healing the leper, who had long since felt human touch. [Matthew 8.1-4, “Just Act … like Jesus”: http://pastorwoman.com/ReadArchive.aspx?id=1603]

Matthew will go on to talk about another miraculous healing; however, take note:  Matthew’s gospel does not necessarily list or order the miracles of Jesus as they happened chronologically.  Which we also must understand about the Bible—the 66 books contained within the covers we hold in our hands—it is not printed in chronological order.

At least once a year, I like to give the fundamental underpinnings of the Scripture, which is so valuable to understand when reading and/or studying the Bible.  >If you are clasping your closed Bible in your hands, your left hand grasps the Old Testament, and your right hand, the New Testament.  The Old Testament spanned more than a thousand years, while the New Testament just 80 – 90 years.  

Old Testament

-It is a written record of the history of Israel, written between 1440 B.Sc. and about 400 B.Sc.

  It is important to remember it is not ordered chronologically.

-There are 39 books in the Old Testament, which can be classified as:

   The Law of Moses – first five books – the Torah

   The Prophets – Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel +          

         12 Minor Prophets

The Writings – Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles 

-The Protestant church accepts identically the same Old Testament books as Jesus and the apostles accepted.  The Roman Catholic Church, since the Council of Trent in 1546, includes 14 books of the Apocrypha

-There are 400 years between the testaments—sometimes called the ‘400 years of silence’

New Testament

-Writing finished before 100 A.D. (knowing that is critical to supporting the veracity of Scripture) contained in 27 books:

   The Gospels – the four gospels record the birth, life, death, resurrection   of Jesus Christ, and his training of the disciples

   History - the establishment of the early church and its spread through Mediterranean lands

   Letters – After Paul’s conversion on the Damascus Road in Acts 9, we are   able to read his letters to the churches—the ‘epistles’, including the three letters written to individuals: 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus.

Apocalypse – the book of Revelation, written by the apostle John when he was on the Isle of Patmos                                                              

The NT was written by the apostles of Jesus Christ, or companions of the apostles.  This means that the authors were either eyewitnesses of the events they described or they recorded eyewitness firsthand accounts      (if you are interested, take a look at: 2 Peter 1.16; 1 John 1.1-3; 1 Corinthians 15.6-8; John 20.30,31; Acts 10.39-42; 1 Peter 5.1; Acts 1.9; Acts 2.22; Acts 26.24-28)

The first three gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) were written at a time when many were alive who could remember the things Jesus said and did . . . and many would still be alive when the fourth one was written as well.  The gospel writings would have been refuted and the writers discredited if they recounted or represented falsehoods.

     Note:  Scripture is defensible.  While the Bible is inspirational and useful for instruction and application to our lives, it can be defended!  You now have one arrow in your quiver when talking to a skeptic—the gospels were written when people were alive who could have refuted them, their claims about Jesus’ life, death, miracles, resurrection—they didn’t, that’s because they were true. 

David loved God’s word~

“Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” Psalm 119.89

To which I say, O yes, it does.

Christine

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