Reading & Writing in the First Century —

The New Testament makes many significant claims. But one that can be easily overlooked is its claim that it is a written record. Turning to the Gospels, for example, we notice Luke’s opening statement: “Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.” (Luke 1:1-4, emphasis added) Similarly, the apostle John claims, “This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.” (John 21:24, emphasis added)

While most Christians accept this claim without question, skeptics make their own claim declaring that people in the first century could not read or write and therefore “that no one would have written the events of the life of Christ or his teaching much before the close of the first century at the earliest; [so] it was suggested that they circulated for around one hundred years as oral teaching, and during this time many myths and legends crept into the basic historical core.”[1]

Now, for the sake of the argument, let’s just assume for the moment that the critic is correct that people in the first century were illiterate. Does this then cast doubt on the historicity of the gospel records? Not at all—for several reasons. First, as Bible scholar Brian Edwards points out, while “[t]he art of memorizing has been largely lost today…There was nothing unusual in the time of Jesus, and much earlier, in a whole speech being accurately remembered and recorded. The art of memorizing was well advanced in an age that had little means of storing information. Even an oral passing-on of information would be presumed to be accurate.”[2] As a matter of fact, “The Greek historian Xenophon (c 430-354 BC) tells of an educated Greek called Nicolaus who could repeat by heart the whole of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey—all 24,000 lines!”[3] Second, Jesus purposely taught in a style that was easy to remember. “[H]e used parables, poetry, real-life stories and incidents. Many of his statements were deliberately exaggerated in order to shock and grab the attention and memory of his hearers and…Much of his teaching came within a context that could never be forgotten: feeding a great multitude, a storm at sea, a trick question by those baying for his life, a man raised to life after four days. Similarly his stories were often shockingly vivid: the rich man and Lazarus, the good Samaritan, the unjust judge.” And third, “Sacred teachings were a familiar concept to Jews and all the sayings of Jesus would have been given this status…The apostles were well aware of their responsibility in communicating an accurate account (2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1).”[5] Hence, even if the critics were correct about illiteracy in the first century (which they’re not as will be demonstrated below) it doesn’t follow that myth or legend crept into the NT.