Luke didn’t write any scriptures. He made an abridgment of larger records of sacred texts that existed at that time, which he had access to; the originals of which have since perished. He says that himself:
Luke 1:1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2 ***Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; ***3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,…
All of the four Gospels are in fact abridgments of larger works the originals of which have not survived, including the great Gospel of John. The complier of the Gospel of John again makes that clear in the book:
John 19:35 And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
“He that saw . . .” was John, not the person who compiled (or abridged) the Gospel of John. There are more interjections made by the compiler or editor of the Gospel of John, proving that it is an abridgement, not the original account:
John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:31 But these {i.e. smaller account} are written…
John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written {i.e. implying that he has made an abridgement of the original Gospel of John, not the full account}. Amen.
The original sacred scriptures were all written by “Jews” (the Apostles actually), the originals of none of which in fact have survived. What we have is only a small abridgement of what any of them wrote.
zerinus
You’ve done a good job of explaining why you think the gospels were compiled and abridged by someone else. What’s missing is any supporting evidence found in the Early Church Fathers’ writings. If they were abridged it’s strange that the ECF’s never mention it, and that not even fragments of these “larger works” survive.
In fact, Irenaeus, Ignatius, Clement, and Polycarp testify that the gospels were written by the named authors and not someone else. Justin Martyr refers to the “memoirs of the Apostles, which are called gospels”, and which “are read in Christian assemblies together with the writings of the Prophets”. Memoirs, not abridgments; this was a critical factor used by the Early Church Fathers in determining which writings would be included in the New Testament.
Yes, Luke had access to other writings. Specifically, he had access to the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, or at least an early draft of Matthew. That’s why so many of the same stories appear in all three synoptic gospels. Luke was also personally taught by the apostles, which is why he knew some details that are not found in the other accounts. It has nothing to do with abridging larger accounts that subsequently vanished.
Have you considered another possibility regarding the Gospel of John? Specifically, that it was written in “third person” language because the author was humble? “Third person” language is a literary device often still employed today by an author who does not want to draw undue attention to himself.
John did not include everything, not because he was abridging someone else’s work, but because he was writing with an ink quill on parchment. He wrote enough to get the point across, and enough additional to convince the skeptics.
Today we have digital recorders, voice transcription software, flash memory, monster hard drives, the internet… John had a quill, an ink bottle, and parchment, none of which were cheap. He was one ordinary, old man with limited resources. That’s why he wrote a gospel instead of a library.
Nan
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I don’t know if I’ll read all of the posts but I will read some as my time is limited.
Huh?! Most comfortable with?! Isn’t that why some protestants hop from church to church… because they are not comfortable with the one they attend now? They want to find one that fits with what they believe instead of being in one that has the fullness of truth no matter how it makes them feel.