3: Preservation - Is What We Have Now What They Had Then?

(student notes link: https://bit.ly/SolaScripturaDevo)

Week 1 we introduced this devotion entitled Sola Scriptura, a Latin phrase meaning Scripture Alone.

Definition of Sola Scriptura

Sola Scriptura: God’s Scriptures are the supreme authority over what Christians believe and how Christians behave.

Last week we talked about Inspiration - Asking the question - Has God Spoken?

We considered how Jesus His followers viewed the Scriptures and we noted that they believed that God gave the Scriptures to people through people.

TODAY we will talk about Preservation - Is what we have now, what they had then?

Many people think that’s an impossibility.

A few years ago I was on a video chat with one of my former students from when I was a student pastor. I wanted to meet her husband who had dismissed the claims of Christianity. When I did, here’s how it went…

“So Jackie, you’re so smart, how can you trust the Bible since it has been changed so many times?”

I asked a simple question, “What do you mean by ‘changed’?”

“You know, there are so many translations and the Bible has been changed so many times we can’t possibly know what it originally said.”

I responded, “Maybe you know something I don’t know. Can you give me some examples of how and where the Bible has been changed?”

He was dead in the water. Not because I’m some sort of genius. All I did was ask questions that helped expose the reality that he was just repeating what others say without examining the evidence.

Don’t swallow what other people are saying without examining the evidence. Instead, here’s what I plead with you to put into practice.

BIG TRUTH: Examine the evidence & go where it leads

Before we go any further, I need to give you 3 definitions & answer 3 questions.

Definitions

Autographs: Hand written originals, of which none are known to exist today. Comparing apples to apples, we don’t have ANY ORIGINALS (autographs) of other documents from the time of the Old & New Testament writings either.

Manuscripts: Hand written copies of the Scriptures before the invention of the printing press (in 1454).

Variants: Differences between manuscripts including spelling, word order, or other changes (e.g. additions, subtractions, ink smears or words that are not legible)

Question #1: WHY were the Scriptures written?

Eye witnesses of events eventually die. Memories fade & myths multiply. Written history has long been the long term option for preserving history with precision. Further, written documents allow the message to be portable, carried to other people in other places and times.

So, the Scriptures were written down for Preservation, Precision, & Portability.

Question #2: HOW were the Scriptures written?

The Scriptures were written on Papyrus and Parchment.

While some ancient authors used clay, stone, animal skin, and even metal, the most reliable writing material became papyrus (the forerunner of paper) - made from a Nile river plant and was used by scribes from 2500 B.C. to A.D. 700. While papyrus was fairly cheap & reliable, it was also fragile and susceptible to both moisture and excessively dry conditions. As such, it was crucial that copies be made before it was destroyed from use or the elements.

Eventually, papyrus was replaced by the more expensive and yet more durable “parchment” (specially prepared animal skins - scraped and soaked in lime). Yet, these skins still break down over time. This is why fresh copies were so important for future preservation.

* As this is the case, we have NO ORIGINAL autographs of any of the Old nor New Testament documents. Of course, what is true of the Bible is true of ALL ancient manuscripts written on these materials during this time. (apples to apples comparison)

Question #3: - and where we will spend the rest of our time -

Question #3 - How do we know the Scriptures weren’t corrupted?

How do we know that writings we have today haven’t been changed after being copied over the centuries? Asked another way: Is what we have now what they wrote then?

I’m glad you asked. Let’s…Examine the evidence & go where it leads

Old Testament Preservation

By the time of Jesus, the Old Testament writings spanning about 1400 years in multiple writings, were clearly recognized. All of the Hebrew Scriptures, or what we call the Old Testament, had been translated and complied into Greek well before the time of Jesus (around A.D. 200) - this is known as the Septuagint (LXX).

Jewish scribes had a long tradition of copying the Hebrew Scriptures with PRECISION. This continued until long after the earthly ministry of Jesus.

Scribes followed detailed disciplines for copying a manuscript.

Dr. Kenneth Barker, a professor of the Old Testament, notes that Jewish scribes had such a high view of the Scriptures being the words of God that “they regarded the copying of any error as a sin. No imperfection, no matter how small, was tolerated.” So, if the mistake could not be fixed, the entire project was trashed & restarted.

Everything was prescribed - they allowed no more than 30 letters per column, and the spacing of the words. They prescribed the type of writing material and ink that could be used.

The scribe was NOT ALLOWED to copy anything from memory—not even the shortest word. Instead, it had to be copied letter by letter while verbalizing the letter. Later scribes known as the Masoretes counted the number of times each letter of the Hebrew alphabet occurred in each copy and compare it to the original. Further, they were familiar with the middle letter of the middle word of the writing as a reference point by which to make certain that no letters were missing.

They recorded the middle letter on each page and the number of letters and words in each column. When the scribe came to the Hebrew name of God (YHWH), he would not stop or allow himself to be distracted. Even if a king was to enter the room, the scribe was obligated to continue without interruption until he finished penning the holy name of the one true God.

When copies of the Scripture started to wear, they were quickly removed from the collection and placed in a receptacle to separate them from the other, newer scrolls.

The new copy was considered to have the equal authority to that text it was copied from - an exact duplicate of the information. If you were to ask, “Is what we have now what they wrote then?” They would have answered, “Absolutely.”

Limited & Late Copies

The original autographs & early copies of the Hebrew Scriptures disappeared over time, due to wear and tear and persecution by oppressors who destroyed the Hebrew writings. For example:

The Babylonian destruction of the 1st temple in 586-587 B.C. enslaved took many Jews to Babylon. Since that time the Jewish people were scattered and persecuted many times. I’ll mention 2 even though there were others:

In 167 B.C. Antiochus Epiphanies took over the 2nd Temple and outlawed the Hebrew Scriptures, destroying many of them.

A.D. 70 the 2nd temple was destroyed & the Romans scattered and enslaved many Jews, once again meaning the Hebrew Scriptures were in danger.

Until 1947, the oldest Hebrew texts available dated from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1000, although they had all been written between 1500 B.C. and 400 B.C.

Before 1947, the Isaiah manuscript used to translate to English Bibles came from a copy that dates to around A.D. 1000, that’s about 1700 years removed from the original that Isaiah wrote around 700 B.C.

But then came the....

Dead Sea Scrolls

In 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 were discovered when a shepherd boy found jars of scrolls in Qumran caves while searching for a lost goat. Some of the scrolls found dated as far back as 250 B.C. The Hebrew scrolls contained all OT writings except for Esther. Some are dated over 800-1000 years older than any previously discovered scroll.

And I know what you’re thinking. Why don't they compare the oldest we have to THOSE?That’s exactly what researchers did. One of the leather scrolls wrapped in linen cloth was a complete Hebrew text of Isaiah, believed to be from 100-250 B.C. It was compared to the Hebrew text of Isaiah from around A.D. 1000, a copy that dated to over 1,100 years later demonstrating the accuracy of copyists over a period of over 1000 years.

95% of the Isaiah text proved to be word-for-word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible. The 5% variation were obvious slips of a pen or variations in spelling, none of which changes the meaning of any of the passages!

Now, let me show you the most important reason to trust the OT.

Luke 4:16–17a (NET) Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.

This was certainly NOT the original scroll written by Isaiah. If that were available it would most likely be in Jerusalem and not in po-dunk Nazareth. But as it was over 700 years since Isaiah wrote, the original (or autograph) had likely long ago fallen apart. YET, the people at the synagogue didn’t consider this to be somehow less authoritative just because it was a copy & not the original. And neither did Jesus. Look how He reacts to it.

Luke 4:17b-21 (NET) He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to tell them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.”

How did Jesus react to this COPY? Jesus treated this COPY as Scripture, the Inspired words of God through Isaiah. And then He claimed those preserved words…WERE ABOUT HIM!

That’s a brief look at the Old Testament - written for Preservation and PRECISION.

What about the New Testament?

The oldest official fragment to date is a from John 18, called the p52 John Ryland’s Papyrus. It is dated to around A.D. 125. If John wrote by 65, then this copy is only 60 years from the original. This manuscript was found in Egypt, meaning it had traveled several hundred miles in a few short years.

Another significant find is the Chester Beatty Papyri, dated between A.D. 200-250. These Greek writings were in book form and contain several fragments OT writings: (portions of Genesis, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Esther, Ecclesiastes.) The NT fragments include both small and large portions of: Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), Acts, writings of Paul, and Hebrews.

2 other significant handwritten books of the NT are Codex Sinaiticus & Codex Vaticanus. Codex means ‘book’. Vaticanus has long been held at the Vatican. Sinaiticus was discovered in a monastery on Mt. Sinai and is the oldest complete copy of the New Testament (Greek). Both were written on parchment near or before A.D. 350 (only 300 years after originals). You can imagine my excitement as I visited the British Library and viewed the Codex Sinaiticus just below a glass separation!

While the OT is known for the PRECISION of the professional scribes, the NT is known for its PORTABILITY - They wanted to get the copies RIGHT, but they were even more focus on getting the copies OUT - carrying them to other people in other places and times.

For example, the 27 separate writings that compose the New Testament were originally written in Greek yet quickly exploded into other languages & cultures.

As of Jan. 2016, there were 5,856 catalogued Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, around 20,000 more exist in other ancient languages including: Latin (over 10,000), Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Old Church Slavonic, & Arabic, to name a few. It’s obvious that the gospel message was being carried across boarders & into different cultures.

Compared to other ancient manuscripts, the New Testament is the most well attested document of all time. You need to see the comparison chart on the notes pages I sent you.

Further, if all the manuscripts had been destroyed. The early church fathers - leaders from the first few centuries - quoted so often from the New Testament we could put much of the New Testament back together from their quotes.

Compare Earliest Copies/Gap/# of Copies

Of those 5,856 New Testament manuscripts we have 61 that are complete New Testaments; the average size of these manuscripts is over 450 pages long.

Now that doesn’t prove the manuscripts to be true, but it DOES demonstrate that the New Testament is the most well attested document of all time.

New Testament Portability

Because the New Testament scribes were largely unprofessionals who wanted to get the message out,

we have many, many more New Testament manuscripts than Old Testament Manuscripts.

The earliest New Testament manuscripts also date much closer to the autographs (originals) than do the earliest Old Testament manuscripts.

This also means there are many more variants (differences between the copies) in the New Testament manuscripts compared to the Old Testament.

If the Scriptures are reliable…how will you treat them this week?

After the destruction of the temple (A.D. 70) rabbis in Jamnia met to discuss how to adapt Jewish life after the collapse of Jerusalem. F.F. Bruce writes these words:

"They discussed which books 'defiled the hand' - a technical expression denoting those books which were the product of prophetic inspiration [Scriptures]. One had to wash one's hands after handling them...the idea may simply have been that if people had to wash their hands every time they touched a sacred book they would be deterred from handling it casually."

After you read the Scriptures this morning, consider putting this into practice, just for today. Go wash your hands to remind yourself that we are to handle these writings with respect & purity.

FEET2FAITH

Read Genesis 1-24 & The Gospel of Mark (almost 6 chapters a day this week). And go watch Dr. Dan Wallace: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZYlYBS77fg