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Inasmuch
as many have undertaken to compile an account of the
things accomplished among us, just as those who from
the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the
word have handed them down to us, it seemed fitting
for me as well, having investigated everything carefully
from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive
order, most excellent Theophilus; (NASB) Luke 1:1-3 |
Luke tells us that he collected information from eye witnesses
and he carefully wrote what he heard in chronological order.
Luke is the only writer who claims to have written in chronological
order. The other gospels tend to be written in thematic order.
That was common in those days. Chronology was less important.
Humans Have Limited Knowledge. Now let we ask the
following question, "How did Matthew know the words of
Jesus' prayer?"
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Then
Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and
said to His disciples, "Sit here while I go over
there and pray." And He took with Him Peter and
the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and
distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply
grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep
watch with Me." And He went a little beyond them,
and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father,
if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not
as I will, but as Thou wilt." And He came to the
disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter,
"So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one
hour? (NASB) Matthew 26:36-40 |
According to this passage, Jesus left most of the disciples
and only took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him when
He went to pray. Then just before He prayed, He left them ("went
a little beyond them") to pray. What is bad is they went
to sleep. So even though their hearing was great, being asleep
did not help them to know what Jesus said. Now Mark and Luke
were nowhere near since they were not apostles. So your point
is an excellent one. How did these writers, as well as Luke
(Luke 22:40), know what happened?
God Wrote Too!
Even though Christians have been taught that the Bible was written
by two authors - we tend to forget at times like this. We forget
that the Bible was written by men AND it was written by the
Holy Spirit. Listen to the following passage,
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But
know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture
is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy
was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved
by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (NASB) 2 Peter 1:20-21 |
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