Class 4 from this series was used in GCT Episode 381.<\/p>\n
2
\n00:00:02,920 –> 00:00:06,440
\nWe’re being introduced.
\nWe’re getting to know something <\/p>\n
3
\n00:00:06,440 –> 00:00:12,720
\nabout the book and the purpose
\nof it, and something about the <\/p>\n
4
\n00:00:13,080 –> 00:00:15,880
\nauthor of it and the quality of
\nhis work. <\/p>\n
5
\n00:00:16,360 –> 00:00:22,840
\nAnd then we can only promise you
\nin the afternoons that follow <\/p>\n
6
\n00:00:23,640 –> 00:00:30,080
\nsome fairly hard thinking.
\nIt has been said that one reason<\/p>\n
7
\n00:00:30,080 –> 00:00:33,880
\nfor the progress of Christianity
\nwas that the Christians <\/p>\n
8
\n00:00:34,320 –> 00:00:39,560
\noutthought their opponents.
\nAnd we cannot read the epistles <\/p>\n
9
\n00:00:39,560 –> 00:00:43,480
\nof the New Testament without
\nrecognizing that they did some <\/p>\n
10
\n00:00:43,480 –> 00:00:47,600
\nvery high thinking.
\nAnd we can’t read the speeches <\/p>\n
11
\n00:00:47,600 –> 00:00:51,800
\nin Acts either, without
\nrealizing with what cogency and <\/p>\n
12
\n00:00:51,800 –> 00:00:53,840
\npower they put forward their
\ncase. <\/p>\n
13
\n00:00:54,240 –> 00:00:59,080
\nIt’s an object lesson for us
\nthat we in a similar manner know<\/p>\n
14
\n00:00:59,080 –> 00:01:03,560
\nwhat we believe, and put it
\nforward with a similar power of <\/p>\n
15
\n00:01:03,560 –> 00:01:08,160
\npresentation that they used.
\nWe think of the Epistle to the <\/p>\n
16
\n00:01:08,160 –> 00:01:11,640
\nEphesians or the Epistle to the
\nColossians, and we say we’ll <\/p>\n
17
\n00:01:11,640 –> 00:01:16,000
\nmake a study of it.
\nBut those epistles and all the <\/p>\n
18
\n00:01:16,000 –> 00:01:20,080
\nothers were written off to meet
\na particular situation. <\/p>\n
19
\n00:01:21,200 –> 00:01:26,960
\nAnd one day when the residents
\nand sisters were assembled in <\/p>\n
20
\n00:01:26,960 –> 00:01:31,280
\nColossus Day, the recording
\nbrother, but with his brother so<\/p>\n
21
\n00:01:31,280 –> 00:01:36,480
\nand so who’s brought an epistle
\nfrom Paul, and he will read it <\/p>\n
22
\n00:01:36,480 –> 00:01:41,040
\nto us or some other brother.
\nAbility for reading was given <\/p>\n
23
\n00:01:41,040 –> 00:01:47,600
\nthe job of reading it and it was
\nwritten to be understood then <\/p>\n
24
\n00:01:48,120 –> 00:01:51,480
\nwhen it was written and when it
\nwas read. <\/p>\n
25
\n00:01:51,880 –> 00:01:58,240
\nI wonder sometimes if we under
\nlittle small in stature compared<\/p>\n
26
\n00:01:58,240 –> 00:02:04,120
\nto the 1st century Christians in
\ntheir thinking power concerning <\/p>\n
27
\n00:02:04,120 –> 00:02:06,120
\nthe faith which was in Christ
\nJesus. <\/p>\n
28
\n00:02:06,440 –> 00:02:10,160
\nWell, in keeping with that high
\nthinking we get the record of <\/p>\n
29
\n00:02:10,320 –> 00:02:13,560
\nwhat they did.
\nJust think, our destitute we <\/p>\n
30
\n00:02:13,560 –> 00:02:17,760
\nwould be if we hadn’t got the
\nActs of the Apostles. <\/p>\n
31
\n00:02:18,120 –> 00:02:23,760
\nIt takes us to somewhere in the
\n7th decade of the 1st century. <\/p>\n
32
\n00:02:24,200 –> 00:02:29,400
\nAll that is written in Acts
\noccurred before the fall of <\/p>\n
33
\n00:02:29,400 –> 00:02:32,200
\nJerusalem.
\nWe all know something about <\/p>\n
34
\n00:02:32,200 –> 00:02:36,640
\nthat.
\nBut how much do we know of what <\/p>\n
35
\n00:02:36,640 –> 00:02:39,120
\nhappened after the fall of
\nJerusalem? <\/p>\n
36
\n00:02:40,200 –> 00:02:44,840
\nHow much of church’s history
\ndoes any one of us know of the <\/p>\n
37
\n00:02:44,840 –> 00:02:48,560
\nperiod that followed Acts, let
\nalone the 2nd century and the <\/p>\n
38
\n00:02:48,560 –> 00:02:51,520
\n3rd?
\nAnd maybe a few among us with a <\/p>\n
39
\n00:02:52,320 –> 00:02:55,040
\na bent for history who have made
\nthe study of it. <\/p>\n
40
\n00:02:55,800 –> 00:03:01,080
\nBut what I want us to impress
\nupon ourselves is that if we <\/p>\n
41
\n00:03:01,080 –> 00:03:03,720
\nhadn’t got the Acts of the
\nApostles, we would be just as <\/p>\n
42
\n00:03:03,720 –> 00:03:07,120
\ndestitute of knowledge
\nconcerning the first half <\/p>\n
43
\n00:03:07,120 –> 00:03:13,080
\ncentury of Christian life.
\nAnd that was the vital half <\/p>\n
44
\n00:03:13,080 –> 00:03:16,120
\ncentury.
\nAnd therefore, within the Canon <\/p>\n
45
\n00:03:16,120 –> 00:03:20,440
\nof Holy Writ, we have an
\ninspired record of the <\/p>\n
46
\n00:03:20,440 –> 00:03:24,560
\nbeginnings of Christianity, of
\nthe outworking of the divine <\/p>\n
47
\n00:03:24,560 –> 00:03:29,200
\npurpose after the ascension of
\nJesus Christ, in the work that <\/p>\n
48
\n00:03:29,200 –> 00:03:32,880
\nthe apostles did in pursuit of
\nthe Commission that he gave unto<\/p>\n
49
\n00:03:32,880 –> 00:03:35,880
\nthem.
\nActs is a record of the <\/p>\n
50
\n00:03:35,880 –> 00:03:39,520
\nbeginning of this divine work
\nupon earth, of taking out of the<\/p>\n
51
\n00:03:39,520 –> 00:03:45,120
\nGentiles a people for His name.
\nIt has been assailed, and <\/p>\n
52
\n00:03:45,120 –> 00:03:47,680
\nassailed with considerable
\nvigor. <\/p>\n
53
\n00:03:48,680 –> 00:03:52,320
\nA little over 100 years ago
\nthere was a school in Germany <\/p>\n
54
\n00:03:52,320 –> 00:03:57,440
\nwhich gave the name to a mode of
\nthought with regard to the <\/p>\n
55
\n00:03:58,440 –> 00:04:00,920
\nEpistles and the writings of the
\nNew Testament. <\/p>\n
56
\n00:04:01,360 –> 00:04:06,840
\nAt Tubingen, a school in
\nGermany, there were a company of<\/p>\n
57
\n00:04:06,840 –> 00:04:11,480
\nscholars who dismissed most of
\nthe New Testament writings to <\/p>\n
58
\n00:04:11,480 –> 00:04:14,920
\nthe 2nd century.
\nWe needn’t go into the <\/p>\n
59
\n00:04:14,960 –> 00:04:18,440
\nphilosophy of the matter, that
\nis to say their philosophy <\/p>\n
60
\n00:04:18,560 –> 00:04:20,720
\nhistory, whereby they explained
\nit. <\/p>\n
61
\n00:04:21,600 –> 00:04:23,960
\nThere’s something much more
\ninteresting, more important to <\/p>\n
62
\n00:04:23,960 –> 00:04:27,080
\ndo than that.
\nBut what we must recognise is <\/p>\n
63
\n00:04:27,960 –> 00:04:33,680
\nthat they somehow acquired A
\ndominant indirect, so that 50 <\/p>\n
64
\n00:04:33,680 –> 00:04:37,400
\nyears ago most scholars would
\nhave approached the New <\/p>\n
65
\n00:04:37,400 –> 00:04:43,160
\nTestament from what they thought
\nwas an established position. <\/p>\n
66
\n00:04:44,240 –> 00:04:49,200
\nThat all the epistles of Paul,
\nexcept the four greater epistles<\/p>\n
67
\n00:04:49,800 –> 00:04:53,960
\nwere not written by Paul at all.
\nThat the Acts of the Apostles <\/p>\n
68
\n00:04:53,960 –> 00:04:58,760
\nand in fact most of the Gospels
\nbelong to the 2nd century. <\/p>\n
69
\n00:04:59,320 –> 00:05:04,480
\nNow, if that were the case, we
\nwouldn’t have very reliable <\/p>\n
70
\n00:05:04,480 –> 00:05:07,560
\nhistory.
\nIf the first written record of <\/p>\n
71
\n00:05:07,560 –> 00:05:13,120
\nthe beginning of Christianity
\nwere dated in the 2nd century, <\/p>\n
72
\n00:05:13,720 –> 00:05:17,680
\nwe couldn’t expect that they
\nwould be very, very dependable. <\/p>\n
73
\n00:05:18,320 –> 00:05:23,160
\nAnd therefore Luke’s writings
\nwere very suspect and there were<\/p>\n
74
\n00:05:23,160 –> 00:05:29,520
\na number of points in his record
\nwhich were assailed as being <\/p>\n
75
\n00:05:29,520 –> 00:05:33,440
\nparticularly vulnerable.
\nAnd I want to tell you about one<\/p>\n
76
\n00:05:33,440 –> 00:05:38,760
\nor two of those as illustrating
\nhow modern discovery has <\/p>\n
77
\n00:05:39,000 –> 00:05:45,040
\nvindicated in a wonderful way
\nthe truth of the record which we<\/p>\n
78
\n00:05:45,040 –> 00:05:47,640
\nhave in the writings through
\nLuke. <\/p>\n
79
\n00:05:48,240 –> 00:05:51,120
\nHe tells us in his gospel of the
\nbirth of Jesus. <\/p>\n
80
\n00:05:51,600 –> 00:05:55,160
\nAnd it was the insight of a
\nhistorian. <\/p>\n
81
\n00:05:56,000 –> 00:06:00,280
\nAnd in all these relative
\nremarks concerning the writer, <\/p>\n
82
\n00:06:01,000 –> 00:06:04,880
\nwe do not forget that behind it
\nall was the inspiration and <\/p>\n
83
\n00:06:04,880 –> 00:06:08,640
\nguidance of the power of God.
\nBut nevertheless, God used the <\/p>\n
84
\n00:06:08,640 –> 00:06:12,040
\nmen and used their aptitudes and
\nabilities. <\/p>\n
85
\n00:06:12,040 –> 00:06:15,440
\nAnd we can discern the
\ndifference between John Gospel <\/p>\n
86
\n00:06:15,440 –> 00:06:19,160
\nand Matthew’s Gospel and Duke’s
\nas his own distinctive style and<\/p>\n
87
\n00:06:19,160 –> 00:06:23,600
\nmethod of approach.
\nWell, Luke with then, with the <\/p>\n
88
\n00:06:23,640 –> 00:06:29,320
\nhistorian’s sense of proportion
\nand fitness, put the birth of <\/p>\n
89
\n00:06:29,360 –> 00:06:34,840
\nJesus in the framework of world
\nevents, and he tells us that <\/p>\n
90
\n00:06:34,960 –> 00:06:40,880
\nwhen Jesus was born, Mary, at
\ngreat inconvenience, must <\/p>\n
91
\n00:06:40,880 –> 00:06:45,640
\naccompany Joseph or his spoused
\nhusband to Bethlehem. <\/p>\n
92
\n00:06:46,800 –> 00:06:52,440
\nNo easy Rd. from Nazareth in the
\nnorth to Bethlehem just below <\/p>\n
93
\n00:06:52,440 –> 00:06:56,480
\nJerusalem.
\nBut she must per she must <\/p>\n
94
\n00:06:56,480 –> 00:07:02,320
\nperforce take this journey
\nbecause a decree had gone forth <\/p>\n
95
\n00:07:02,320 –> 00:07:05,320
\nfrom Augustus that there should
\nbe an enrolment. <\/p>\n
96
\n00:07:05,640 –> 00:07:09,240
\nAnd Luke tells us that this
\nenrolment was first made when <\/p>\n
97
\n00:07:09,240 –> 00:07:14,400
\nKorenius was governor of Judea.
\nAnd the critic comes in to play <\/p>\n
98
\n00:07:14,880 –> 00:07:17,240
\nand he says it’s altogether
\nimpossible. <\/p>\n
99
\n00:07:18,240 –> 00:07:20,440
\nAugustus never ordered an
\nenrolment. <\/p>\n
100
\n00:07:21,320 –> 00:07:23,520
\nIn any case, Luke has made a
\nmistake. <\/p>\n
101
\n00:07:24,480 –> 00:07:28,320
\nPoquarinius was governor of
\nJudea 10 years after the date of<\/p>\n
102
\n00:07:28,320 –> 00:07:32,720
\nthe birth of Jesus.
\nAnd even if there were an <\/p>\n
103
\n00:07:32,720 –> 00:07:37,040
\nenrolment, they wouldn’t have to
\ngo to their native place, <\/p>\n
104
\n00:07:37,040 –> 00:07:42,840
\nbecause it would be so very
\ninconvenient and so recent as <\/p>\n
105
\n00:07:42,840 –> 00:07:47,840
\nthe turn of the century.
\nIn fact, in the last commentary,<\/p>\n
106
\n00:07:48,320 –> 00:07:54,160
\ncomplete commentary on the New
\nTestament text, I’m showing you <\/p>\n
107
\n00:07:54,160 –> 00:07:56,320
\nthis isn’t a book that has been
\nsuperseded. <\/p>\n
108
\n00:07:57,280 –> 00:08:01,240
\nThe writer who had spent a
\nlifetime as a teacher of <\/p>\n
109
\n00:08:01,240 –> 00:08:06,400
\ntheological students could say.
\nConcerning these opening verses <\/p>\n
110
\n00:08:06,400 –> 00:08:10,160
\nof Luke chapter 2.
\nThe passage has given rise to a <\/p>\n
111
\n00:08:10,160 –> 00:08:13,680
\nhost of questions which have
\nbeen discussed with bewildering <\/p>\n
112
\n00:08:13,680 –> 00:08:17,400
\nconflict of opinion in an
\nextensive critical and <\/p>\n
113
\n00:08:17,400 –> 00:08:21,720
\napologetic literature.
\nThe difficulty is not so much as<\/p>\n
114
\n00:08:21,720 –> 00:08:25,040
\nto the meaning of the
\nEvangelist’s word, but rather as<\/p>\n
115
\n00:08:25,040 –> 00:08:29,840
\nto their truth.
\nAnd he chooses out four points. <\/p>\n
116
\n00:08:30,840 –> 00:08:34,600
\n1 Apart from the Gospel, history
\nknows nothing of a general <\/p>\n
117
\n00:08:34,600 –> 00:08:37,200
\nimperial census in the time of
\nAugustus. <\/p>\n
118
\n00:08:37,840 –> 00:08:40,960
\nSecond, there could have been no
\nRoman census during the time of <\/p>\n
119
\n00:08:40,960 –> 00:08:44,520
\nHerod the Great.
\nAnd third, such a census at such<\/p>\n
120
\n00:08:44,520 –> 00:08:47,320
\na time could not have been
\ncarried out by Quiranius, for he<\/p>\n
121
\n00:08:47,320 –> 00:08:51,000
\nwas not governor in Syria then,
\nnot till 10 years later, when he<\/p>\n
122
\n00:08:51,000 –> 00:08:54,040
\ndid make a census which gave
\nrise to a revolt on the Judas of<\/p>\n
123
\n00:08:54,040 –> 00:08:57,200
\nGalilee.
\nAnd fourthly, under a Roman <\/p>\n
124
\n00:08:57,200 –> 00:09:00,200
\ncensus, it could not have been
\nnecessary for Joseph and Mary to<\/p>\n
125
\n00:09:00,200 –> 00:09:02,880
\ngo to Bethlehem or Mary to
\naccompany him. <\/p>\n
126
\n00:09:03,400 –> 00:09:05,320
\nAnd on those two he has this
\ncomment. <\/p>\n
127
\n00:09:05,480 –> 00:09:09,440
\nOne could almost wish it had
\nbeen omitted, or that there were<\/p>\n
128
\n00:09:09,440 –> 00:09:12,880
\nreasoning to believe, or, as has
\nbeen suggested by several <\/p>\n
129
\n00:09:12,880 –> 00:09:16,800
\nwriters, that it is a glass that
\nhas found its way into the text,<\/p>\n
130
\n00:09:17,520 –> 00:09:20,120
\nand that Luke is not responsible
\nfor it. <\/p>\n
131
\n00:09:20,840 –> 00:09:24,480
\nSo much trouble as it given to
\ncommentators. <\/p>\n
132
\n00:09:25,520 –> 00:09:29,320
\nNow if these men, who were
\nprofessed adherence of the <\/p>\n
133
\n00:09:29,320 –> 00:09:32,920
\nChristian religion for the most
\npart had been loyal to their <\/p>\n
134
\n00:09:33,360 –> 00:09:38,320
\ntext, they would have said that
\nLuke is a credible witness, and <\/p>\n
135
\n00:09:38,320 –> 00:09:41,400
\nif he tells us something that
\nseems to have been omitted from <\/p>\n
136
\n00:09:41,400 –> 00:09:45,040
\nother histories, well, so much
\nthe worse for them. <\/p>\n
137
\n00:09:45,880 –> 00:09:50,800
\nBut through the magnificent work
\nof Sir William Ramsay there has <\/p>\n
138
\n00:09:50,800 –> 00:09:58,200
\nbeen an entire reversal of the
\nattitude of scholars to Luke’s <\/p>\n
139
\n00:09:58,400 –> 00:10:02,640
\nwritings on this particular
\nissue. <\/p>\n
140
\n00:10:03,440 –> 00:10:08,640
\nPapyrus papers found in Egypt
\nhave shown that there was a <\/p>\n
141
\n00:10:09,240 –> 00:10:13,520
\nregular system of enrolment
\nevery 14 years. <\/p>\n
142
\n00:10:14,280 –> 00:10:19,200
\nThese bits of papyri have been
\ndiscovered in Egypt because the <\/p>\n
143
\n00:10:19,200 –> 00:10:24,520
\ndryness of the climate there has
\nbeen the means whereby they have<\/p>\n
144
\n00:10:24,520 –> 00:10:28,320
\nbeen preserved, but what
\nobtained in Egypt would obtain <\/p>\n
145
\n00:10:28,320 –> 00:10:32,560
\nelsewhere, and the sufficient
\ntheories have been discovered to<\/p>\n
146
\n00:10:32,560 –> 00:10:36,840
\nshow that this enrolment took
\nplace every 14 years. <\/p>\n
147
\n00:10:37,360 –> 00:10:40,480
\nSo far as we know, there has
\nbeen no discovery of any scrap <\/p>\n
148
\n00:10:40,480 –> 00:10:45,880
\nof the first enrolment, but the
\ntheories takes us back to the <\/p>\n
149
\n00:10:45,880 –> 00:10:50,200
\nyear when Christ was born and it
\ntells us that they had to go to <\/p>\n
150
\n00:10:50,200 –> 00:10:53,680
\ntheir native place as a family
\nto be enrolled. <\/p>\n
151
\n00:10:54,320 –> 00:10:59,000
\nBut an inscription which has
\nbeen discovered by Sir William <\/p>\n
152
\n00:10:59,000 –> 00:11:04,120
\nRamsey himself in Antioch, in
\nPresidio in Asia Minor. <\/p>\n
153
\n00:11:04,960 –> 00:11:08,600
\nI’ve established that Quranius
\nwas sent on a military mission <\/p>\n
154
\n00:11:09,920 –> 00:11:14,960
\nto call a tribal revolt in Asia
\nMinor, and the strategy of it <\/p>\n
155
\n00:11:14,960 –> 00:11:17,960
\nrequired that there should be an
\nattack. <\/p>\n
156
\n00:11:18,480 –> 00:11:25,400
\nA pincer movement from Asia
\nMinor and from Syria, and a <\/p>\n
157
\n00:11:25,400 –> 00:11:32,360
\nmilitary officer in charge of
\nsuch a matter took precedence <\/p>\n
158
\n00:11:33,240 –> 00:11:36,280
\nover the governor for the time
\nbeing. <\/p>\n
159
\n00:11:37,680 –> 00:11:41,600
\nAnd the inscription shows that
\nat that time Quirenius was in <\/p>\n
160
\n00:11:41,600 –> 00:11:46,640
\ncharge and therefore the edict
\nwould be issued by him. <\/p>\n
161
\n00:11:46,640 –> 00:11:52,160
\nAnd on every point where Luke
\nwas thought to be wrong, the <\/p>\n
162
\n00:11:52,160 –> 00:11:55,720
\ndiscoveries of the last 50 years
\nhave shown him to be <\/p>\n
163
\n00:11:56,520 –> 00:12:01,400
\nmarvellously right.
\nNow Ramsay went out to Asia <\/p>\n
164
\n00:12:01,400 –> 00:12:05,880
\nMinor in the 80s of last
\ncentury, and he says that when <\/p>\n
165
\n00:12:05,880 –> 00:12:12,320
\nhe went, he accepted without
\nquestion the decisions of the <\/p>\n
166
\n00:12:12,560 –> 00:12:16,120
\nTubingen school.
\nHe was familiar with what scraps<\/p>\n
167
\n00:12:16,120 –> 00:12:20,280
\nof history have survived
\nconcerning the history of Asia <\/p>\n
168
\n00:12:20,280 –> 00:12:26,760
\nMinor, and he began an
\nexploration, an archaeological <\/p>\n
169
\n00:12:26,760 –> 00:12:31,160
\nexploration in Asia Minor, his
\ninterest being particularly <\/p>\n
170
\n00:12:31,160 –> 00:12:34,240
\nbound up with the meeting place
\nof East and West which was <\/p>\n
171
\n00:12:34,240 –> 00:12:40,080
\nthere, and as the result of his
\ndiscoveries on the spot, he was <\/p>\n
172
\n00:12:40,080 –> 00:12:46,840
\ndriven to regard at as a 1st
\ncentury document, absolutely <\/p>\n
173
\n00:12:46,880 –> 00:12:51,280
\naccurate in every detail.
\nAll was true in matters of <\/p>\n
174
\n00:12:51,280 –> 00:12:56,600
\nboundaries, always correct in
\nmatters of names concerning the <\/p>\n
175
\n00:12:56,600 –> 00:13:02,840
\nrulers of cities, or of
\nprovinces, or of whatever it may<\/p>\n
176
\n00:13:02,840 –> 00:13:06,120
\nbe.
\nI am going to quote you from his<\/p>\n
177
\n00:13:06,360 –> 00:13:07,560
\ncall.
\nThe Traveller. <\/p>\n
178
\n00:13:07,960 –> 00:13:11,480
\nI may fairly claim to have
\nentered on this investigation, <\/p>\n
179
\n00:13:11,480 –> 00:13:15,600
\nwithout any prejudice in favour
\nof the conclusion which I shall <\/p>\n
180
\n00:13:15,600 –> 00:13:17,840
\nnow attempt to justify to the
\nreader. <\/p>\n
181
\n00:13:18,720 –> 00:13:22,920
\nOn the contrary, I began with a
\nmind unfavourable to it, for the<\/p>\n
182
\n00:13:22,920 –> 00:13:26,760
\ningenuity had at one time quite
\nconvinced me. <\/p>\n
183
\n00:13:27,600 –> 00:13:30,680
\nIt did not then lie in my line
\nof life to investigate the <\/p>\n
184
\n00:13:30,680 –> 00:13:34,280
\nsubject minutely.
\nBut more recently I found myself<\/p>\n
185
\n00:13:34,280 –> 00:13:37,960
\noften brought in contact with
\nthe Book of Acts as an authority<\/p>\n
186
\n00:13:37,960 –> 00:13:41,880
\nfor the Topography, Antiquities
\nand Society of Asia Minor. <\/p>\n
187
\n00:13:42,800 –> 00:13:46,720
\nIt was gradually borning upon me
\nthat in various details the <\/p>\n
188
\n00:13:46,720 –> 00:13:48,680
\nnarrative showed marvellous
\ntruth. <\/p>\n
189
\n00:13:49,240 –> 00:13:53,240
\nIn fact, beginning with the
\nfixed idea that the work was <\/p>\n
190
\n00:13:53,240 –> 00:13:58,160
\nessentially a second century
\ncomposition and never relying on<\/p>\n
191
\n00:13:58,160 –> 00:14:02,160
\nits evidence as trustworthy for
\n1st century conditions, I <\/p>\n
192
\n00:14:02,160 –> 00:14:07,200
\ngradually came to find it a
\nuseful ally in some obscure and <\/p>\n
193
\n00:14:07,240 –> 00:14:13,120
\ndifficult investigations.
\nAnd Ramsey challenged the <\/p>\n
194
\n00:14:13,120 –> 00:14:16,920
\ncritics and the critics
\nattempted to meet the challenge,<\/p>\n
195
\n00:14:17,240 –> 00:14:21,800
\nwhich led to further
\nexamination, further discussion.<\/p>\n
196
\n00:14:22,880 –> 00:14:26,280
\nAnd Ramsay considered
\ncontributed to magazines a <\/p>\n
197
\n00:14:26,280 –> 00:14:31,680
\nnumber of articles, all bearing
\nupon 1st century life, many of <\/p>\n
198
\n00:14:31,680 –> 00:14:33,560
\nwhich have been issued in
\nvolumes. <\/p>\n
199
\n00:14:33,560 –> 00:14:35,400
\nAnd they fill a shelf, something
\nlike that. <\/p>\n
200
\n00:14:35,800 –> 00:14:38,960
\nAnd very interesting reading
\nthey are. <\/p>\n
201
\n00:14:39,640 –> 00:14:44,080
\nRamsay, in his book The Bearing
\nof Modern Discovery, tells us <\/p>\n
202
\n00:14:44,080 –> 00:14:49,600
\nwith some indignation of a
\nGerman writer whose name is <\/p>\n
203
\n00:14:49,960 –> 00:14:56,040
\nWilkin, who now declares that
\nLuke’s record of the birth of <\/p>\n
204
\n00:14:56,040 –> 00:15:01,120
\nJesus is a legend.
\nAnd the reason he claims it is a<\/p>\n
205
\n00:15:01,120 –> 00:15:05,360
\nlegend is because in the
\nexternals it is so perfectly <\/p>\n
206
\n00:15:05,360 –> 00:15:08,680
\naccurate.
\nAnd he says that someone who <\/p>\n
207
\n00:15:08,680 –> 00:15:14,480
\nknew exactly the circumstances,
\nexternal circumstances, the <\/p>\n
208
\n00:15:14,480 –> 00:15:18,360
\ndetails of the history, took
\nthem and pushed into them this <\/p>\n
209
\n00:15:18,360 –> 00:15:23,240
\nlegend of the birth of Jesus, in
\norder that it might be by the <\/p>\n
210
\n00:15:23,240 –> 00:15:27,000
\nappearance of being put in a
\nframework of history, be <\/p>\n
211
\n00:15:27,000 –> 00:15:31,840
\nregarded as being a statement of
\nhistorical fact. <\/p>\n
212
\n00:15:33,160 –> 00:15:37,520
\nNow Ramsey is careful to say
\nthat the marvels described in <\/p>\n
213
\n00:15:37,520 –> 00:15:42,320
\nActs do not concern.
\nHis purpose is there to test <\/p>\n
214
\n00:15:42,320 –> 00:15:46,880
\nmatters which are testable, and
\nobviously such a matter as the <\/p>\n
215
\n00:15:46,880 –> 00:15:51,400
\nbirth of Jesus cannot be
\ntestable by ordinary canons of <\/p>\n
216
\n00:15:51,400 –> 00:15:55,000
\nhistory.
\nBut he says that wherever and <\/p>\n
217
\n00:15:55,000 –> 00:16:00,960
\nwhenever anything that Luke has
\nbeen said can be tested, Luke is<\/p>\n
218
\n00:16:01,160 –> 00:16:08,000
\nalways found to be right.
\nAnd Ramsey, in his enthusiasm <\/p>\n
219
\n00:16:08,000 –> 00:16:15,000
\nfor Luke’s writings, exhaust his
\nvocabulary to extol the <\/p>\n
220
\n00:16:15,000 –> 00:16:19,760
\nmagnificence of what Luke has
\nwritten in the perfection of its<\/p>\n
221
\n00:16:19,960 –> 00:16:26,760
\nstatement, the precision of his
\ndescription, and the general way<\/p>\n
222
\n00:16:26,760 –> 00:16:33,320
\nin which he presents his case.
\nRamsey characterizes Luke as a <\/p>\n
223
\n00:16:33,440 –> 00:16:38,840
\nfirst rate historian.
\nAnd so that assured of the <\/p>\n
224
\n00:16:39,240 –> 00:16:44,600
\naccuracy of what Luke has
\nwritten, we can come to it with <\/p>\n
225
\n00:16:44,600 –> 00:16:48,840
\nrenewed confidence.
\nHere is the work of a <\/p>\n
226
\n00:16:48,840 –> 00:16:54,040
\nmastermind, quite apart from the
\nfact that there was the guidance<\/p>\n
227
\n00:16:54,040 –> 00:17:01,320
\nof the Spirit of God behind it.
\nNow there is a way which we’re <\/p>\n
228
\n00:17:01,320 –> 00:17:04,720
\ngoing to try and illustrate in
\nthe hope that if it is <\/p>\n
229
\n00:17:04,720 –> 00:17:09,800
\nnecessary, this bit can be cut
\nout of the record where Ramsay <\/p>\n
230
\n00:17:11,000 –> 00:17:17,720
\ncame to see that what Luke has
\nwritten is perfectly accurate. <\/p>\n
231
\n00:17:18,880 –> 00:17:24,079
\nHe tells us of Paul’s visit to
\nthe churches of Prisidian, <\/p>\n
232
\n00:17:24,079 –> 00:17:28,200
\nAntioch, Lystra, Iconium and
\nDerby. <\/p>\n
233
\n00:17:28,680 –> 00:17:35,800
\nNow we have no record in acts of
\na visit to a Galatia which was <\/p>\n
234
\n00:17:35,800 –> 00:17:40,240
\nknown to earlier scholars.
\nThe 1st century was a time of <\/p>\n
235
\n00:17:40,560 –> 00:17:45,600
\nfrequent changes of geographical
\nboundaries and of administrative<\/p>\n
236
\n00:17:45,600 –> 00:17:50,160
\nsystems.
\nIn the 1st century, the Romans <\/p>\n
237
\n00:17:50,160 –> 00:17:58,400
\nhad established a Roman state of
\nGalatia, a Roman province of <\/p>\n
238
\n00:17:58,400 –> 00:18:01,600
\nGalatia.
\nNow I’m going to just turn to <\/p>\n
239
\n00:18:01,600 –> 00:18:04,080
\nthe map to illustrate this for
\nyou. <\/p>\n
240
\n00:18:04,840 –> 00:18:09,240
\nI hope you can see that’s what
\nI’m on this side. <\/p>\n
241
\n00:18:10,040 –> 00:18:16,040
\nThe better here is H here is
\nPalestine and Paul travelled up <\/p>\n
242
\n00:18:16,320 –> 00:18:18,720
\nfast.
\nStarsus and Paul went across to <\/p>\n
243
\n00:18:18,720 –> 00:18:22,400
\nCyprus and then across there,
\nthen up into the Highlands and <\/p>\n
244
\n00:18:22,400 –> 00:18:27,440
\nthere are the cities of that
\nsouthern portion of Galatia. <\/p>\n
245
\n00:18:27,880 –> 00:18:31,560
\nHere they are.
\nHe then returned to Palestine. <\/p>\n
246
\n00:18:31,840 –> 00:18:38,000
\nThe second journey was overland
\npast, past the Syrian Antioch <\/p>\n
247
\n00:18:38,040 –> 00:18:43,480
\nthere and then through the
\nCivicilian gates and up to the <\/p>\n
248
\n00:18:43,560 –> 00:18:48,640
\nuplands here.
\nAnd then he hurried on to Troas.<\/p>\n
249
\n00:18:49,120 –> 00:18:52,520
\nNow if you can see this brown
\npatch, I’ll run my pencil round <\/p>\n
250
\n00:18:52,520 –> 00:18:54,320
\nit.
\nThere. <\/p>\n
251
\n00:18:55,360 –> 00:18:59,600
\nThose are the boundaries of the
\nRoman province of Galatia. <\/p>\n
252
\n00:19:00,080 –> 00:19:04,720
\nBut that Roman province didn’t
\nexist in the 1st century BC. <\/p>\n
253
\n00:19:05,520 –> 00:19:08,920
\nIt didn’t exist in the 2nd
\ncentury BC because there’s been <\/p>\n
254
\n00:19:08,920 –> 00:19:12,760
\nchanges.
\nNow the ethnic territory, the <\/p>\n
255
\n00:19:12,760 –> 00:19:17,400
\nterritory of the old Galatians
\nwas in this northern portion <\/p>\n
256
\n00:19:17,400 –> 00:19:20,480
\nhere.
\nAnd because Paul wrote a letter <\/p>\n
257
\n00:19:20,480 –> 00:19:24,800
\nto the Galatians, it was
\nnecessary to insert into the <\/p>\n
258
\n00:19:24,920 –> 00:19:28,960
\nhistory in Act a visit to the
\nGalatians. <\/p>\n
259
\n00:19:30,160 –> 00:19:35,200
\nAnd if the only Galatian known
\nwas the old territory where the <\/p>\n
260
\n00:19:35,200 –> 00:19:40,440
\nGalatians proper lived, then
\nobviously with a serious gap in <\/p>\n
261
\n00:19:40,480 –> 00:19:44,160
\nActs.
\nAnd even scholars of the <\/p>\n
262
\n00:19:44,160 –> 00:19:49,840
\ntraditional line like Lightwood,
\nwho was a magnificent scholar in<\/p>\n
263
\n00:19:49,840 –> 00:19:52,720
\nthe field of Acts in the
\nEpistles of Paul in the last <\/p>\n
264
\n00:19:52,920 –> 00:19:57,280
\ncentury, had to admit that from
\nhis point of view there were <\/p>\n
265
\n00:19:57,280 –> 00:20:01,920
\nsome strange and inexplicable
\ngaps in the writings. <\/p>\n
266
\n00:20:02,320 –> 00:20:05,440
\nInept.
\nBut immediately it was seen that<\/p>\n
267
\n00:20:05,480 –> 00:20:11,000
\nLuke is speaking and Paul is
\nthinking when using the word <\/p>\n
268
\n00:20:11,000 –> 00:20:15,360
\nGalatia of the provincial
\nGalatia, the Roman provincial <\/p>\n
269
\n00:20:15,360 –> 00:20:17,160
\nGalatia.
\nThen it is seen that those <\/p>\n
270
\n00:20:17,160 –> 00:20:19,720
\ncities that Paul visited on the
\nfirst journey. <\/p>\n
271
\n00:20:20,640 –> 00:20:23,920
\nAntiochian Presidium, this I
\ncall him, and David, but they <\/p>\n
272
\n00:20:23,920 –> 00:20:27,840
\nare the Galatian cities.
\nNow this map, as you see, is a <\/p>\n
273
\n00:20:27,840 –> 00:20:30,640
\nnew map.
\nAnd I’m going to point out that <\/p>\n
274
\n00:20:30,720 –> 00:20:35,080
\nall those new map is perpetuate
\nPanera, for there is a dotted <\/p>\n
275
\n00:20:35,120 –> 00:20:40,760
\ntravel line that takes us right
\nup there to Penisus and to <\/p>\n
276
\n00:20:40,760 –> 00:20:43,360
\nAnkara.
\nAnkara is the capital of modern <\/p>\n
277
\n00:20:43,640 –> 00:20:47,960
\nTurkey and then back down here.
\nBut there’s nothing enacted to <\/p>\n
278
\n00:20:47,960 –> 00:20:50,760
\ncorrespond to that journey
\nthere. <\/p>\n
279
\n00:20:51,480 –> 00:20:54,680
\nNothing at all.
\nBut it didn’t enact because it <\/p>\n
280
\n00:20:54,680 –> 00:20:58,240
\ndidn’t occur.
\nAnd it has been postulated <\/p>\n
281
\n00:20:58,240 –> 00:21:02,520
\nbecause of the hypothesis that
\nGalatia refers to the ethnic <\/p>\n
282
\n00:21:02,520 –> 00:21:05,760
\nGalatia, not the political
\nGalatia of the 1st century. <\/p>\n
283
\n00:21:06,440 –> 00:21:10,440
\nBut Jake Luke has recorded the
\nfacts of the time and all his <\/p>\n
284
\n00:21:10,440 –> 00:21:13,720
\nreferences are true concerning
\nboundaries and so on. <\/p>\n
285
\n00:21:14,160 –> 00:21:18,080
\nThen we see that what he said
\nwas perfectly true and accurate <\/p>\n
286
\n00:21:19,360 –> 00:21:24,680
\nand we’ve no need to think of
\ngaps and to say that his history<\/p>\n
287
\n00:21:24,680 –> 00:21:28,160
\nis a hotspot.
\nIn fact, it’s a marvellous, it’s<\/p>\n
288
\n00:21:28,160 –> 00:21:34,080
\nsystematic unfolding.
\nAnd so you see, in that way our <\/p>\n
289
\n00:21:35,000 –> 00:21:39,880
\ndiscovery has not only
\nillustrated the meaning of Luke,<\/p>\n
290
\n00:21:40,520 –> 00:21:45,280
\nbut has also established the
\nperfect accuracy of what he has <\/p>\n
291
\n00:21:45,280 –> 00:21:48,400
\nwritten.
\nNow I just want to give one more<\/p>\n
292
\n00:21:48,400 –> 00:21:55,160
\nillustration on this head.
\nI have here Rackham’s Acts of <\/p>\n
293
\n00:21:55,160 –> 00:22:00,560
\nthe New Testament.
\nNow this is perhaps the best <\/p>\n
294
\n00:22:00,760 –> 00:22:05,080
\ncommentary on the Acts of the
\nApostles, but you won’t find <\/p>\n
295
\n00:22:05,080 –> 00:22:08,000
\nmuch of what I shall say to you
\nlater in these addresses in <\/p>\n
296
\n00:22:08,000 –> 00:22:10,000
\nhere.
\nBut still I’ve brought it with <\/p>\n
297
\n00:22:10,000 –> 00:22:12,680
\nme for this reason.
\nI thought if there were some <\/p>\n
298
\n00:22:12,680 –> 00:22:18,360
\nquestions on external matters,
\nwell, I could fall back on him <\/p>\n
299
\n00:22:18,360 –> 00:22:22,240
\ninstead of falling back upon my
\nmemory if there’s a standby. <\/p>\n
300
\n00:22:22,240 –> 00:22:25,760
\nBut I want to quote you just a
\nfew sentences from him. <\/p>\n
301
\n00:22:27,200 –> 00:22:29,520
\nWe shall be abundantly
\nsatisfied, he says in his <\/p>\n
302
\n00:22:29,520 –> 00:22:32,080
\nintroduction.
\nAs to Luke’s historical <\/p>\n
303
\n00:22:32,080 –> 00:22:36,080
\naccuracy, if we reflect on the
\nextraordinary test to which it <\/p>\n
304
\n00:22:36,080 –> 00:22:39,680
\nwas put, that is, the variety of
\nscene and circumstance with <\/p>\n
305
\n00:22:39,680 –> 00:22:42,880
\nwhich he had to deal.
\nThe ground covered reached from <\/p>\n
306
\n00:22:42,920 –> 00:22:46,320
\nJerusalem to Rome, taking in
\nSyria, Asia Minor, Greece, and <\/p>\n
307
\n00:22:46,320 –> 00:22:49,160
\nItaly.
\nIn that field were comprised all<\/p>\n
308
\n00:22:49,160 –> 00:22:52,360
\nmanner of population,
\ncivilizations, administrations, <\/p>\n
309
\n00:22:52,960 –> 00:22:56,000
\nJewish and Oriental life,
\nWestern civilization, great <\/p>\n
310
\n00:22:56,000 –> 00:22:59,160
\ncapitals like Antioch and
\nEpicus, Roman colonies, <\/p>\n
311
\n00:22:59,160 –> 00:23:02,400
\nindependent towns, Greek cities,
\nbarbarian country, district. <\/p>\n
312
\n00:23:03,120 –> 00:23:06,520
\nThe history covers a period of
\n30 years, which witnessed in <\/p>\n
313
\n00:23:06,520 –> 00:23:08,600
\nmany parts great political
\nchanges. <\/p>\n
314
\n00:23:09,240 –> 00:23:12,760
\nProvinces like Cyprus and Akaya
\nwere being exchanged between the<\/p>\n
315
\n00:23:12,760 –> 00:23:15,600
\nEmperor and the Senate.
\nParts of Asia Minor, for <\/p>\n
316
\n00:23:15,600 –> 00:23:18,560
\nexample, Presidio and La Keonia,
\nwere undergoing a process of <\/p>\n
317
\n00:23:18,560 –> 00:23:22,680
\nannexation and Latinization.
\nJudea itself was now a Roman <\/p>\n
318
\n00:23:22,680 –> 00:23:26,640
\nprovince and Reprocurator now an
\nindependent state under her <\/p>\n
319
\n00:23:26,640 –> 00:23:29,760
\nHerodian king.
\nYet in all this intricacy of <\/p>\n
320
\n00:23:29,760 –> 00:23:33,280
\npolitical arrangement, Luke is
\nnever found tripping. <\/p>\n
321
\n00:23:34,200 –> 00:23:37,680
\nInstances of supposed mistake or
\nanachronism have indeed been <\/p>\n
322
\n00:23:37,680 –> 00:23:41,360
\nalleged and laid to his charge.
\nBut after examination, as will <\/p>\n
323
\n00:23:41,360 –> 00:23:44,080
\nbe pointed out in the
\ncommentary, we are fairly <\/p>\n
324
\n00:23:44,080 –> 00:23:47,240
\nentitled at least to answer that
\nthey have not yet been proved. <\/p>\n
325
\n00:23:47,920 –> 00:23:50,160
\nOn the other hand, Luke is
\nequally at home with the <\/p>\n
326
\n00:23:50,160 –> 00:23:53,880
\nSanhedrin and its parties, the
\npriests and temple guard, and <\/p>\n
327
\n00:23:53,880 –> 00:23:57,000
\nthe Erodian Princess of
\nJerusalem, with the proconsules <\/p>\n
328
\n00:23:57,000 –> 00:24:01,320
\nof Cyprus and the Kaia.
\nAnd now Mark And Luke gives the <\/p>\n
329
\n00:24:01,440 –> 00:24:06,360
\nperfectly right word to describe
\nall these varied offices, The <\/p>\n
330
\n00:24:06,360 –> 00:24:10,360
\nrules of the synagogue and first
\nmen of Antiochem. <\/p>\n
331
\n00:24:10,360 –> 00:24:15,400
\nPisidia, the priest of Zeus at
\nLister, the Praters, victors and<\/p>\n
332
\n00:24:15,400 –> 00:24:20,040
\njailer at Philippi, the
\npolytopes of Thessalonica, the <\/p>\n
333
\n00:24:20,040 –> 00:24:23,920
\nAriopagus of Athens, the Asiats
\nwith the people, Assembly and <\/p>\n
334
\n00:24:23,920 –> 00:24:27,440
\nsecretary of Ephesus, the
\ncenturions, tribune and <\/p>\n
335
\n00:24:27,440 –> 00:24:33,120
\nprocurator of Judea, the first
\nman of Malta, and the captain of<\/p>\n
336
\n00:24:33,120 –> 00:24:36,440
\nthe camp at Rome.
\nAnd in every case, he’s got the <\/p>\n
337
\n00:24:36,440 –> 00:24:40,400
\nright proper description of the
\nman concerned. <\/p>\n
338
\n00:24:41,040 –> 00:24:46,640
\nNow to illustrate how easy it is
\nto fall into a pitfall. <\/p>\n
339
\n00:24:46,640 –> 00:24:52,800
\nA fortnight ago I spotted this
\nnote in the Weekly Spectator, an<\/p>\n
340
\n00:24:52,880 –> 00:24:58,600
\nEnglish serious journal, and the
\neditor indulges a column or two <\/p>\n
341
\n00:24:58,600 –> 00:25:01,240
\nof lighter matter, but always
\ninteresting. <\/p>\n
342
\n00:25:02,400 –> 00:25:07,560
\nNow Vicon Simon, who is a very
\nwell read, very learned man, was<\/p>\n
343
\n00:25:07,560 –> 00:25:11,440
\nreplying to a proposal in a
\ndebate in the House of Lords. <\/p>\n
344
\n00:25:12,600 –> 00:25:15,680
\nAnd that, says the editor of the
\nSpectator, alighted on a passage<\/p>\n
345
\n00:25:15,680 –> 00:25:19,880
\nin which Lord Simon illustrated
\nA contention by a reference to <\/p>\n
346
\n00:25:19,880 –> 00:25:23,920
\nthe proceedings of the Pickwick
\nClub at the classic of Dickens, <\/p>\n
347
\n00:25:23,920 –> 00:25:28,200
\nas you know, perhaps, and in
\nparticular to a derogatory <\/p>\n
348
\n00:25:28,200 –> 00:25:31,080
\nepithet applied by Mr. Pickwick
\nto a fellow member. <\/p>\n
349
\n00:25:31,560 –> 00:25:36,000
\nHis name, I think was Mr.
\nBlossom of Aldwich. <\/p>\n
350
\n00:25:36,360 –> 00:25:39,360
\nThat pulled me up.
\nI said Wilson Harris, a <\/p>\n
351
\n00:25:39,360 –> 00:25:45,440
\nreference to Aldwich in a book
\npublished in 1836, when the old <\/p>\n
352
\n00:25:45,440 –> 00:25:47,520
\nname had been dormant for
\ncenturies. <\/p>\n
353
\n00:25:48,120 –> 00:25:50,440
\nWhose was the slip?
\nThe speakers or the reporters? <\/p>\n
354
\n00:25:51,200 –> 00:25:52,880
\nI cannot say.
\nBut the truth must be <\/p>\n
355
\n00:25:52,880 –> 00:25:55,240
\nvindicated.
\nAnd the truth is that the <\/p>\n
356
\n00:25:55,240 –> 00:25:59,560
\ngentleman’s name was Blatton,
\nwhich matters little, and his <\/p>\n
357
\n00:25:59,560 –> 00:26:03,920
\ndomicile Aldgate, which in the
\ncircumstances matters quite a <\/p>\n
358
\n00:26:03,920 –> 00:26:06,560
\nlot.
\nSo you see, here is a cultured <\/p>\n
359
\n00:26:06,560 –> 00:26:13,920
\nman, Lord Simon, according with
\nEve, the reference to what is a <\/p>\n
360
\n00:26:13,920 –> 00:26:18,160
\nwork that’s entered into the
\nhousehold tongue almost of the <\/p>\n
361
\n00:26:18,160 –> 00:26:21,480
\nBritish people.
\nAnd in one sentence he makes 2 <\/p>\n
362
\n00:26:21,480 –> 00:26:24,680
\nmistakes.
\nHe gives the man’s name wrong, <\/p>\n
363
\n00:26:25,640 –> 00:26:30,440
\nand by an anachronism he gives
\nthe old name Aldwich to what was<\/p>\n
364
\n00:26:30,480 –> 00:26:35,840
\nafterwards changed to Algid.
\nBut the whole point of the story<\/p>\n
365
\n00:26:36,040 –> 00:26:43,520
\nis lost because Algid was the
\nplace of a famous prison in the <\/p>\n
366
\n00:26:43,520 –> 00:26:47,040
\ndays of Dickens, and the
\nreference put into the mouth of <\/p>\n
367
\n00:26:47,040 –> 00:26:51,240
\nMr. Pickwick is a satirical one.
\nHis name, I think, was Mr. <\/p>\n
368
\n00:26:51,240 –> 00:26:54,960
\nBlotterman.
\nAldwich is the representative of<\/p>\n
369
\n00:26:54,960 –> 00:26:58,440
\nthe prison.
\nIt’s satirical and scornful, but<\/p>\n
370
\n00:26:58,440 –> 00:27:00,480
\nby the change of name it’s all
\nlost. <\/p>\n
371
\n00:27:00,840 –> 00:27:05,840
\nHow easy it is to make a mistake
\nand look at all those pitfalls <\/p>\n
372
\n00:27:05,840 –> 00:27:08,680
\nwhich we’ve illustrated in that
\nlist of names of different <\/p>\n
373
\n00:27:08,680 –> 00:27:11,920
\nplaces.
\nAnd never once has Luke been <\/p>\n
374
\n00:27:11,920 –> 00:27:15,360
\nfound to be wrong.
\nSome notes, and I want them to <\/p>\n
375
\n00:27:15,360 –> 00:27:19,000
\nbe distributed, please.
\nAnd then while you have your <\/p>\n
376
\n00:27:19,000 –> 00:27:22,480
\nnotes with you, I’ll go over
\nsomething concerning the <\/p>\n
377
\n00:27:22,480 –> 00:27:26,200
\nstructure and purpose of acts.
\nWill someone please help in the <\/p>\n
378
\n00:27:26,200 –> 00:27:30,240
\ndistribution of these notes?
\nI thought this was so important <\/p>\n
379
\n00:27:30,800 –> 00:27:34,400
\nthat when I was told that
\nanything would be done that <\/p>\n
380
\n00:27:34,760 –> 00:27:40,400
\nwould help, I ventured to impose
\non the committee connected with <\/p>\n
381
\n00:27:40,400 –> 00:27:44,720
\nthis gathering one or two little
\njobs in the way of cycler <\/p>\n
382
\n00:27:44,720 –> 00:27:49,040
\nstyling.
\nNote and I would like to. <\/p>\n
383
\n00:27:49,520 –> 00:27:53,880
\nLuke punctuates his history and
\nact with a number of statements <\/p>\n
384
\n00:27:53,880 –> 00:27:56,800
\nwhich bear a family resemblance
\nand which might be called <\/p>\n
385
\n00:27:56,800 –> 00:28:01,200
\nprogress report, each of which
\nconcludes a section of his book.<\/p>\n
386
\n00:28:02,360 –> 00:28:05,200
\nThese guide the student in
\nanalysing the book. <\/p>\n
387
\n00:28:06,440 –> 00:28:09,920
\nThey indicate how the apostles
\nfulfil their Lord’s Commission <\/p>\n
388
\n00:28:10,480 –> 00:28:14,320
\nin Acts one and eight.
\nNow in Acts one and eight we <\/p>\n
389
\n00:28:14,320 –> 00:28:17,840
\nread, and Jesus is giving this
\nCommission to the apostles. <\/p>\n
390
\n00:28:18,480 –> 00:28:24,040
\nAnd Luke traces out in the
\nhistory how this Commission was <\/p>\n
391
\n00:28:24,040 –> 00:28:28,440
\nfaithfully discharged.
\nYe shall receive power, said <\/p>\n
392
\n00:28:28,440 –> 00:28:31,000
\nJesus.
\nAfter that the Holy Spirit has <\/p>\n
393
\n00:28:31,000 –> 00:28:35,560
\ncome upon you, and ye shall be
\nwitnesses unto me, both in <\/p>\n
394
\n00:28:35,560 –> 00:28:41,360
\nJerusalem and in all Judea, and
\nin Samaria, and unto the <\/p>\n
395
\n00:28:41,440 –> 00:28:46,160
\nuttermost parts of the earth.
\nHe shall receive power after <\/p>\n
396
\n00:28:46,160 –> 00:28:48,080
\nthat the Holy Spirit has come
\nupon you. <\/p>\n
397
\n00:28:49,080 –> 00:28:54,480
\nSo this work, said Luke, to
\nwhomsoever it may concern and <\/p>\n
398
\n00:28:54,480 –> 00:28:58,560
\nwhoever is willing to read about
\nit, this work is a work that was<\/p>\n
399
\n00:28:58,560 –> 00:29:04,880
\nguided by the Holy Spirit.
\nAnd this Holy Spirit was <\/p>\n
400
\n00:29:04,880 –> 00:29:09,760
\nconferred by Jesus Christ,
\nridden from the dead, who <\/p>\n
401
\n00:29:09,760 –> 00:29:12,640
\noffended to the right hand of
\npower. <\/p>\n
402
\n00:29:13,040 –> 00:29:15,320
\nBut Luke tells us something
\nmore. <\/p>\n
403
\n00:29:15,760 –> 00:29:19,960
\nHe tells us that the second book
\nthat he’s writing was a <\/p>\n
404
\n00:29:19,960 –> 00:29:24,600
\ncontinuation of the first.
\nYou know that the precious of <\/p>\n
405
\n00:29:24,720 –> 00:29:28,080
\nthe Gospel tells us that it was
\nwritten to Theophilus. <\/p>\n
406
\n00:29:28,920 –> 00:29:33,520
\nAnd in Acts he tells us that the
\nformer treatise he wrote unto <\/p>\n
407
\n00:29:33,520 –> 00:29:37,880
\nthis most excellent Theophilus
\nin order that he might know <\/p>\n
408
\n00:29:38,480 –> 00:29:42,320
\nthis, which Jesus began to do
\nand teach. <\/p>\n
409
\n00:29:42,640 –> 00:29:45,320
\nAnd if that word began.
\nBut I think we’re justified in <\/p>\n
410
\n00:29:45,320 –> 00:29:49,800
\nstressing because it’s the first
\nrecord of Luke. <\/p>\n
411
\n00:29:49,960 –> 00:29:55,000
\nThe Gospel is an account of what
\nJesus began to do. <\/p>\n
412
\n00:29:56,280 –> 00:29:59,840
\nThen Acts is a continuation of
\nwhat Jesus did. <\/p>\n
413
\n00:30:00,120 –> 00:30:03,760
\nAnd therefore, we have the work
\nof Jesus continued through the <\/p>\n
414
\n00:30:03,760 –> 00:30:07,360
\ninstrumentality of the Spirit
\nguiding the men. <\/p>\n
415
\n00:30:07,600 –> 00:30:13,120
\nIn other words, Luke is claiming
\nthat this movement is divine in <\/p>\n
416
\n00:30:13,120 –> 00:30:18,960
\nits origins and divine in its
\nguided development during the <\/p>\n
417
\n00:30:18,960 –> 00:30:22,160
\ncourse of the history that he is
\nrecording. <\/p>\n
418
\n00:30:23,640 –> 00:30:28,320
\nAnd we’ve given you in the next
\nparagraph some of the references<\/p>\n
419
\n00:30:28,680 –> 00:30:32,840
\nwhere Luke tells us of the
\nSpirit guidance in this witness.<\/p>\n
420
\n00:30:32,840 –> 00:30:35,640
\nThey were continually guided by
\ngut Spirit. <\/p>\n
421
\n00:30:35,720 –> 00:30:38,080
\nFor example, in those
\nquotations. <\/p>\n
422
\n00:30:39,040 –> 00:30:45,880
\nNow when we read Luke carefully,
\nwe find that he is very <\/p>\n
423
\n00:30:46,120 –> 00:30:49,520
\ndiscriminating in the space that
\nhe allot to events. <\/p>\n
424
\n00:30:49,520 –> 00:30:52,720
\nAnd if he devotes A considerable
\namount of space to any <\/p>\n
425
\n00:30:52,720 –> 00:30:56,960
\nparticular thing, it is because
\nhe attaches importance to it. <\/p>\n
426
\n00:30:57,920 –> 00:31:02,640
\nHe records, for example, Paul’s
\nconversion 3 times that the <\/p>\n
427
\n00:31:02,640 –> 00:31:07,640
\nindex of the importance he
\nattaches to this because Christ <\/p>\n
428
\n00:31:07,800 –> 00:31:12,560
\napprehended this one time
\npersecutor and made him the <\/p>\n
429
\n00:31:12,760 –> 00:31:17,040
\nforemost executor of his work in
\nthe spreading of the gospel <\/p>\n
430
\n00:31:17,040 –> 00:31:21,600
\nthroughout the Roman world.
\nCornelius’s receptionist twice <\/p>\n
431
\n00:31:21,600 –> 00:31:26,040
\nrecorded because it was
\nimportant in illustrating the <\/p>\n
432
\n00:31:26,040 –> 00:31:31,560
\nspread of this Gospel that it
\nwas of divine purpose too that <\/p>\n
433
\n00:31:31,560 –> 00:31:34,680
\nthe Gentiles were received into
\nthe Christian community. <\/p>\n
434
\n00:31:35,800 –> 00:31:40,320
\nIt refers to the Jerusalem
\nDecree 3 times, because that was<\/p>\n
435
\n00:31:40,320 –> 00:31:45,200
\nan important arrangement made at
\nthe Mother Church in Jerusalem <\/p>\n
436
\n00:31:46,000 –> 00:31:51,440
\nwhereby Gentile communities and
\nJewish communities could live <\/p>\n
437
\n00:31:51,440 –> 00:31:57,640
\ntogether harmoniously, and it
\nwas a provision whereby those <\/p>\n
438
\n00:31:57,640 –> 00:32:01,880
\ntwo diverse factions could be
\nwelded together in one <\/p>\n
439
\n00:32:02,040 –> 00:32:06,320
\ncommunity.
\nNow we might note Luke’s <\/p>\n
440
\n00:32:06,520 –> 00:32:09,760
\npermission.
\nIt doesn’t tell us, although the<\/p>\n
441
\n00:32:09,760 –> 00:32:13,160
\nbook is called the Acts of the
\nApostles, of the activities of <\/p>\n
442
\n00:32:13,160 –> 00:32:16,840
\nall the apostles.
\nIt centers in the work of Peter <\/p>\n
443
\n00:32:17,160 –> 00:32:20,720
\nand of John.
\nAnd then in the second part, it <\/p>\n
444
\n00:32:20,720 –> 00:32:25,520
\nis entirely taken up, or almost
\nentirely taken up with the work <\/p>\n
445
\n00:32:25,520 –> 00:32:29,760
\nof the apostle Paul.
\nAnd the Gospel is taken first <\/p>\n
446
\n00:32:29,760 –> 00:32:35,160
\ninto Asia Minor, then into
\nGreece, then in the Asian <\/p>\n
447
\n00:32:35,160 –> 00:32:39,560
\nprovince with episodes as its
\ncapital, and then lastly Paul <\/p>\n
448
\n00:32:39,560 –> 00:32:44,360
\ngoes to Rome as a prisoner.
\nNow upon this basis of <\/p>\n
449
\n00:32:44,360 –> 00:32:49,440
\nproportion it must be evident
\nthat Luke attaches considerable <\/p>\n
450
\n00:32:49,440 –> 00:32:53,200
\nimportance to the speeches.
\nI haven’t figured out what <\/p>\n
451
\n00:32:53,200 –> 00:32:59,160
\nproportion of acts is devoted to
\nthe speeches, but it’s a very <\/p>\n
452
\n00:32:59,160 –> 00:33:04,880
\nconsiderable proportion.
\nAnd it is thus evidence that the<\/p>\n
453
\n00:33:04,880 –> 00:33:09,600
\nrecord of the speeches, which is
\na record of the testimony made <\/p>\n
454
\n00:33:10,320 –> 00:33:15,600
\nof what was preached by these
\n1st century leaders, is <\/p>\n
455
\n00:33:15,600 –> 00:33:20,800
\nimportant to the understanding
\nof this movement, to know for <\/p>\n
456
\n00:33:20,800 –> 00:33:24,960
\nwhat it stood, to know what the
\ndivine purpose that was embodied<\/p>\n
457
\n00:33:24,960 –> 00:33:30,880
\nin it was set out to accomplish.
\nAnd therefore we shall devote <\/p>\n
458
\n00:33:30,880 –> 00:33:35,800
\nour time principally in the
\nensuing afternoons this week in <\/p>\n
459
\n00:33:35,800 –> 00:33:40,520
\nan examination of the speeches.
\nThe trial speeches take up an <\/p>\n
460
\n00:33:40,800 –> 00:33:46,880
\nastonishing part of Acts.
\nAbout 1\/3 of Acts is devoted to <\/p>\n
461
\n00:33:46,880 –> 00:33:50,040
\nthe time when Paul was arrested,
\nto his arrival in Rome. <\/p>\n
462
\n00:33:50,680 –> 00:33:55,960
\nIf we’ve got to write measures
\nfor the importance of things, it<\/p>\n
463
\n00:33:55,960 –> 00:34:01,960
\nis evident that Paul’s arrest
\nand the presentation of his case<\/p>\n
464
\n00:34:01,960 –> 00:34:06,640
\nbefore the highest authorities
\nin Rome were vital to the object<\/p>\n
465
\n00:34:06,640 –> 00:34:08,920
\nthat Luke had in writing his
\nrecord. <\/p>\n
466
\n00:34:09,800 –> 00:34:14,560
\nWe shall see as we trace through
\nthe book of Acts and <\/p>\n
467
\n00:34:14,560 –> 00:34:18,159
\nparticularly those trial
\nspeeches, what Luke was aiming <\/p>\n
468
\n00:34:18,159 –> 00:34:23,520
\nat, and I hope we shall thrill
\nwith an understanding of the <\/p>\n
469
\n00:34:23,520 –> 00:34:27,360
\nexperiences of these 1st century
\nChristians. <\/p>\n
470
\n00:34:28,360 –> 00:34:31,199
\nWill you please turn to your
\nsecond sheet, the analysis of <\/p>\n
471
\n00:34:31,199 –> 00:34:35,920
\nActs Roman triggers You’ve got
\nfrom 1:00 to 8:00. <\/p>\n
472
\n00:34:37,040 –> 00:34:41,480
\nThose are the various decision
\ndivisions of the book. <\/p>\n
473
\n00:34:42,800 –> 00:34:47,280
\nYou have in the second column
\nthe references, chapter one, <\/p>\n
474
\n00:34:47,280 –> 00:34:52,000
\nverse 1 to 247, and underneath
\nthe words the Progress report. <\/p>\n
475
\n00:34:53,040 –> 00:34:57,160
\nNow let us read down these
\nprogress reports and observe the<\/p>\n
476
\n00:34:57,160 –> 00:35:00,360
\nfamily likenesses.
\nProgress report number one. <\/p>\n
477
\n00:35:00,360 –> 00:35:05,280
\nAnd the Lord added to the church
\ndaily such as should be saved. <\/p>\n
478
\n00:35:05,680 –> 00:35:09,600
\nProgress report #2.
\nAnd great fear came upon all the<\/p>\n
479
\n00:35:09,600 –> 00:35:13,160
\nchurch, and upon as many as
\nheard these things, and <\/p>\n
480
\n00:35:13,160 –> 00:35:17,480
\nbelievers were the more added to
\nthe Lord multitudes, both of men<\/p>\n
481
\n00:35:17,480 –> 00:35:22,240
\nand women.
\nProgress report #3 And the word <\/p>\n
482
\n00:35:22,240 –> 00:35:25,160
\nof God increased, and the number
\nof disciples multiplied in <\/p>\n
483
\n00:35:25,160 –> 00:35:28,040
\nJerusalem greatly.
\nAnd the great company of the <\/p>\n
484
\n00:35:28,040 –> 00:35:33,680
\npriests were obedient to the
\nfaith. 4 Then Judea and Galilee <\/p>\n
485
\n00:35:33,680 –> 00:35:37,440
\nand Samaria, and were edified.
\nNow you’ll notice in progress <\/p>\n
486
\n00:35:37,440 –> 00:35:40,640
\nthree that the disciples
\nmultiplied in Jerusalem. <\/p>\n
487
\n00:35:41,000 –> 00:35:44,040
\nLuke is telling us of the
\nprogress of the work, and he <\/p>\n
488
\n00:35:44,040 –> 00:35:47,360
\npunctuates his remarks by the
\nprogress reports and says how <\/p>\n
489
\n00:35:47,400 –> 00:35:49,320
\nit’s been fulfilled.
\nJerusalem. <\/p>\n
490
\n00:35:49,880 –> 00:35:54,560
\nNow in Section 4, the churches
\naddressed throughout all Jubea <\/p>\n
491
\n00:35:54,720 –> 00:35:58,960
\nand Galilee and Samaria, and
\nwere edified and walking in the <\/p>\n
492
\n00:35:58,960 –> 00:36:01,720
\nfear of the Lord and in the
\ncomfort of the Holy Spirit were <\/p>\n
493
\n00:36:01,720 –> 00:36:06,600
\nmultiplied 5.
\nAnd the word of God grew and <\/p>\n
494
\n00:36:06,600 –> 00:36:10,520
\nmultiplied 6.
\nSo were the churches established<\/p>\n
495
\n00:36:10,520 –> 00:36:13,040
\nin the faith and increased in
\nnumber daily. <\/p>\n
496
\n00:36:13,680 –> 00:36:18,360
\nAnd that follows the account of
\nhis first missionary journey and<\/p>\n
497
\n00:36:18,360 –> 00:36:21,240
\nthe report at the end of the
\nsecond missionary journey. <\/p>\n
498
\n00:36:21,240 –> 00:36:24,720
\nSection 7.
\nSo mightily grew the word of God<\/p>\n
499
\n00:36:24,720 –> 00:36:28,680
\nand prevailed.
\nAnd the last section closes the <\/p>\n
500
\n00:36:28,680 –> 00:36:31,560
\nbook.
\nAnd it may not seem to fit in <\/p>\n
501
\n00:36:31,560 –> 00:36:36,080
\nwith the suggestions we’re
\nmaking, but we shall see, God <\/p>\n
502
\n00:36:36,080 –> 00:36:39,480
\nwilling, when we come to our
\nlast study on Saturday, how <\/p>\n
503
\n00:36:39,920 –> 00:36:45,280
\nremarkably that ending of Acts
\nconforms to the aim and purpose <\/p>\n
504
\n00:36:45,280 –> 00:36:49,160
\nof these other endings.
\nNow, if you mark your Bibles, <\/p>\n
505
\n00:36:49,520 –> 00:36:52,920
\nsome do, some don’t.
\nI’m a a constant Hubble marker <\/p>\n
506
\n00:36:52,920 –> 00:36:55,360
\nmyself.
\nYou might, in the margins of <\/p>\n
507
\n00:36:55,360 –> 00:36:59,200
\nyour Bibles at these points,
\njust indicate some ways of your <\/p>\n
508
\n00:36:59,200 –> 00:37:02,040
\nown devising.
\nSo this is the end of one of <\/p>\n
509
\n00:37:02,320 –> 00:37:06,080
\nLuke’s sections.
\nAnd then you can have a little <\/p>\n
510
\n00:37:06,080 –> 00:37:10,400
\nexercise in analysing each
\nsection and observing out <\/p>\n
511
\n00:37:10,400 –> 00:37:13,960
\nperfectly.
\nLuke, within the compass of that<\/p>\n
512
\n00:37:13,960 –> 00:37:18,880
\nsection, moves forward in the
\ndevelopment of this historical <\/p>\n
513
\n00:37:18,880 –> 00:37:22,600
\ntheme.
\nYou have another page, which as <\/p>\n
514
\n00:37:22,600 –> 00:37:26,160
\na matter of convenience I
\nthought would help you, which <\/p>\n
515
\n00:37:26,160 –> 00:37:30,520
\ngives an outline of the events
\nin Acts and their days. <\/p>\n
516
\n00:37:31,040 –> 00:37:35,680
\nI’m not going to go over that,
\nbut such a list is of continual <\/p>\n
517
\n00:37:36,600 –> 00:37:43,080
\nhelp to students in relating
\nevents to the progress of time. <\/p>\n
518
\n00:37:43,640 –> 00:37:47,000
\nAnd with that we’ll close.
\nI’ve forgotten one thing. <\/p>\n
519
\n00:37:47,000 –> 00:37:49,600
\nPerhaps I might go back to it.
\nWho was Luke? <\/p>\n
520
\n00:37:50,120 –> 00:37:52,920
\nHe never tells us and he never
\nmentions himself. <\/p>\n
521
\n00:37:53,320 –> 00:37:56,040
\nAnd the only time we know of him
\nis when he uses we. <\/p>\n
522
\n00:37:56,520 –> 00:37:59,480
\nWe when he’s with Paul, he says
\nwe. <\/p>\n
523
\n00:37:59,920 –> 00:38:04,920
\nBut there’s a hint, a hint in
\nCorinthians that Luke and Typhus<\/p>\n
524
\n00:38:04,920 –> 00:38:07,120
\nwere brothers.
\nAnd when we think of the <\/p>\n
525
\n00:38:07,640 –> 00:38:12,960
\nmagnificent work that Typhus did
\nwith that very difficult <\/p>\n
526
\n00:38:12,960 –> 00:38:16,880
\necclesia, that Corinth, we can
\nsee there were two very two <\/p>\n
527
\n00:38:16,880 –> 00:38:20,720
\nbrothers, a very outstanding
\nstature, who were poor <\/p>\n
528
\n00:38:20,800 –> 00:38:24,480
\ncompanions.
\nAnd they formed with her mothers<\/p>\n
529
\n00:38:24,480 –> 00:38:31,120
\na very magnificent group of
\npioneers whose work is a source <\/p>\n
530
\n00:38:31,120 –> 00:38:34,280
\nof continual helpfulness as we
\nstudied. <\/p>\n
531
\n00:38:34,800 –> 00:38:35,160
\nThank you.\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Class 4 from this series was used in GCT Episode 381. 1 00:00:00,160 –> 00:00:02,200 Is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":786,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/s\/8765608\/podcast\/play\/112900636\/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-11-20%2F63893c93-0576-abff-5035-b1c09744ca40.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:38:30","filesize":"35.25M","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"tags":[],"series":[18],"class_list":["post-1422","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","series-gct-ext"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t