{"id":18720,"date":"2020-01-20T15:10:55","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T21:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=18720"},"modified":"2020-01-20T15:11:47","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T21:11:47","slug":"marys-testimony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/marys-testimony\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary’s Testimony"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

by Matthew W. Bassford<\/p>\n

In Luke 1:1-4, Luke claims to be engaged in the practice of inspired history. He hasn\u2019t accumulated his knowledge of Jesus via direct download from the Holy Spirit, nor is he an eyewitness to the events of the gospels. Instead, he has consulted those who were eyewitnesses and pieced their stories together into his narrative.<\/p>\n

Luke most likely carried out his investigative work between 57 and 59 AD. So far as we can tell, he was neither a Jew nor a native of Palestine. Instead, he appears to have joined Paul when the apostle passed through Troas toward the beginning of the second missionary journey (note the shift between \u201cthey\u201d and \u201cwe\u201d in Acts 16:8-10), stayed in Philippi when Paul left (\u201cthey\u201d again in Acts 16:40), left Philippi with him toward the end of the third missionary journey (\u201cwe\u201d in Acts 20:6), and remained with him through the end of the book.<\/p>\n

Unless Luke had other travels we don\u2019t know about, then, the only significant chunk of time he spent in Palestine was when Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea during those years in Acts 24. If he had circulated through the Galilean and Judean churches at that time, he would have had no trouble finding disciples who remembered the momentous events of Jesus\u2019 ministry, 30 years before.<\/p>\n

Scholars, most notably Richard Bauckham in Jesus and the Eyewitnesses<\/em>, have argued that Luke cited his sources by naming them in his narrative. This explains, for instance, why we know the identity of one of the disciples whom Jesus met on the road to Emmaus (Cleopas) and not the other. Cleopas was the disciple whom Luke interviewed. Simon the Pharisee in Luke 7 is probably another source.<\/p>\n

However, this pattern breaks down during the birth and childhood narratives of Luke 1 and 2. All the named characters are fairly major (and so would be named whether witnesses or not), and most of them (Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna) are surely dead by the time of Luke\u2019s inquiries. Where, then, is Luke getting his information?<\/p>\n

\"\"

Mary Visited by the Angel Gabriel Luke 1:26-38<\/p><\/div>\n

Our best clue appears in Luke 2:19 and Luke 2:51. Even though there is no particular narrative reason for Luke to do so, he pauses twice to note that Mary, Jesus\u2019 mother, treasured up these events in her heart. Of all the characters in the story, Mary is the most plausible (and sometimes the only possible) eyewitness. If, as is commonly believed, she was a teenager when Jesus was born, she would have been in her seventies during Paul\u2019s Caesarea imprisonment\u2014a long life for someone in that time, but certainly not impossibly so.<\/p>\n

Indeed, if Mary was still available at the time of his search, Luke would have sought her out above almost all other eyewitnesses\u2014precisely because her testimony was unique. If Mary is Luke\u2019s source in Luke 1-2, his statement that she stored these things up in her heart shifts from being irrelevant to being vitally important. Like an ancient veteran who still remembers battles from World War II, Mary would have remembered the events surrounding her Son\u2019s birth all her life, and she would have been happy to share her testimony with the Gentile historian.<\/p>\n

Skeptics like to dismiss the early events of Luke as a pastiche of myth. However, we have good reason to believe otherwise. Luke\u2019s words imply that rather than being sourceless speculation, his account comes from the best source of all\u2014the young virgin who spent nine months carrying the Son of God under her heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Matthew W. Bassford In Luke 1:1-4, Luke claims to be engaged in the practice of inspired history. He hasn\u2019t accumulated his knowledge of Jesus via direct download from the Holy Spirit, nor is he an eyewitness to the events of the gospels. Instead, he has consulted those who were eyewitnesses and pieced their stories…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[279,690],"class_list":["post-18720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-history","tag-luke"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43252,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-we-passages-in-acts\/","url_meta":{"origin":18720,"position":0},"title":"The \u201cWe\u201d Passages in Acts","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford Like the other historical books of the New Testament, neither Luke nor Acts explicitly identifies its author. However, it is evident from the introduction to each book and the style used throughout each that both were written by the same hand. The first identification of this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51921,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-last-years-of-pauls-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":18720,"position":1},"title":"The Last Years of Paul’s Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Philippians 2:17-30 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul had written the Roman brethren that he would like to go to Spain after seeing them - Romans 15:23-25, 28 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Things didn\u2019t go quite as Paul planned. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After going to Jerusalem, he was arrested, but he did go to Rome \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6706,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-a-preacher-move\/","url_meta":{"origin":18720,"position":2},"title":"Must a Preacher Move?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 22, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Over the years, I have heard various individuals argue against preachers being located in a particular area and working with one congregation. Typically, they will point out that Paul, and those with him, worked with many congregations, moving from city to city. In their view, elders\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/07\/WagonTrain-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":63239,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pauls-imprisonment\/","url_meta":{"origin":18720,"position":3},"title":"Paul’s Imprisonment","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 10, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Philippians 2:17-30 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We all have a tendency to make assumptions about what does not appear \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Those assumptions help us to organize what we do know \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We do this whether we are trying to determine why someone walked by without saying \u201cHi!\u201d or when we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9611,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/location\/","url_meta":{"origin":18720,"position":4},"title":"Location","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 119:153-160 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Bible doesn\u2019t contain fillers. Every word exists in its text for a reason - I Corinthians 2:11-13 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That doesn\u2019t mean we are always aware of the reason but we should acknowledge that God does know His purpose \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The four gospels only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Part of the Madaba Map showing Bethabara. The map says in Greek, \"Bethabara, the place of Saint John's baptizing.\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Sapsaphas_Madaba-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":47860,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/you-cant-cite-pauls-testimony-regarding-himself-he-could-be-a-liar\/","url_meta":{"origin":18720,"position":5},"title":"You can’t cite Paul’s testimony regarding himself. He could be a liar","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How can you justify Paul's claim as being an apostle if he is a liar, who spends a lot of time claiming he isn't a liar? Shouldn't one use other sources to substantiate a person's claims? If I used my wife or children as an alibi, the police would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18720\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}