Flipbooks

13 U n i t 1 — L e s s o n 2 This lesson has a lot of concentrated listening and reading, so consider making this reflection more active. Have learners write their answers on sticky notes. Then have the group work together to categorize and compare responses. Option: Look up and bring pictures of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a fantastic find of the twentieth century. There was not enough space to include them in this lesson, but if you have time, look at some images of these scrolls and talk about how the scribes centuries or even millennia ago took such good care to transcribe the text of the Bible, and how there are only a few variations between then and now, even after centuries of transcription. Consider bringing a copy of the Apocrypha (Concordia Publishing House has a fine edition) for your learners to look at. Remind them that it is not considered part of the canon by Lutherans because the Jews in Jesus' day (and today) do not con- sider it authoritative. In fact, you can point out that the Roman Catholics did not officially consider it part of their canon until 1546, after the Protestant Reformation. 11 How Did God Pass on the Canon? We've looked at some things about what God's Word is and does, but we still haven't looked at the history of how we got the sixty-six different books of the Old Testament and New Testament canons. Let's step back in history and trace how God gave His gift of the Bible to us. Roughly 1500 BC While God's people are wander- ing in the wilderness after the exodus, Moses writes down the first five books of the Bible, called the Torah (the Law). These are written in the Hebrew lan- guage. Through Moses, God not only records for the first time the first histo- ry of God's people (Genesis) but also spends a lot of time talking to Moses, who then relays to the people what God says. God's people take the Torah with them into the Promised Land. Roughly 1500–500 BC While God's people are in the Promised Land, God continues to speak to them through prophets and poets, who record God's Word to them on scrolls. These are mostly written in Hebrew, though some pieces are recorded in Aramaic. These writings, the ones God's people consider God's Word, are likely kept and preserved in the temple. These make up the rest of the Old Testament. By the time of Jesus, these have been transferred into a book and translated into Greek. Roughly 400–100 BC During the Time between the Testaments, some other books are written. We call some of these the Apocrypha, or "writings." Jews in Jesus' day did not consider these books to be part of the canon. Roman Catholics have some of these books in their Bibles, but because Jews at the time of Jesus and the early Christians did not con- sider these books part of their canon, we Luther- ans do not include them in our Bibles. Roughly AD 51–90 After Jesus' resurrection, the Gospel message spreads. The apostle Paul writes letters to the early churches, and thirteen of them were collected. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were each also inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down accounts of the life of Jesus. Other witnesses or near-witnesses to Jesus' ministry write letters (including Revelation), and these are widely read. These are written in the Greek lan- guage. Within the first two centuries of the Church, Christians agree that these books are God's Word to them. Though there are some other books (called Gnostic gospels) out there, the Church as a whole does not agree to them or adopt them. Each of the books in the New Testament had to meet certain important guidelines: The author had to be a witness of Jesus or have been close to someone who was. The Early Church had to use the book and consider it authoritative. W hat's one interesting or new thing that you've learned from reading this page? W hy is that?

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