The New Testament, in order of appearance.

Blogs ago, I started off on a reading project, one which I thought I’d read through the New Testament in order.  As my wife will tell you, I’m not the kind of person who ever finishes reading projects—well, not in due time like other people.  In fact, currently I am reading several books, all of which I will finish, eventually.  James Joyce’s Ulysses, Kirk Byron Jones’ Holy Play, Joseph Campbell’s Thou Art That (which I’ve finished once already), Graham Greene’s A Burnt-Out Case (which I’ve also finished once already), The Portable William Shakespeare, The Secret Life of Houdini, Hunter S. Thompson’s The Rum Diary, and I think that’s it.  I just get in moods as to what I want to read on a given day.  And then there’s always Ambrose Bierce.  I have the ability to always pick-up any book exactly where I’ve left off, even if it’s been months.  The only exception is a good Ken Follett book—those I usually finish in a couple of days.

ANYWAY, I abandoned my reading the New Testament in order project simply b/c I already follow a daily devotion schedule from The Book of Common Prayer, as well as reading over and over the texts of the Revised Common Lectionary for the week.  But I’ve had a lot of interest in what the order of the New Testament really is, historically speaking rather than canonical.

So here you go.  This order is based on a collection and translation by Edgar J. Goodspeed and J.M. Powis Smith, published in 1933, called The Short Bible, in which they seek to present the development of Judeo-Christian thought by publishing an abridgment of the Bible in the order which the books were written.  Since I assumed their findings may be antiquated, I adapted the order which follows by consulting a few resources to help critique and in some case rearrange their presented order.  Consequently, I believe that what follows is pretty close to the “historical” order of the New Testament (though I’m sure my Intro to New Testament professor might find some errors):

1. 1 Thessalonians. Written by Paul from Corinth around 51CE.

2. 2 Thessalonians. Maybe written by Paul as a follow-up to his previous letter a few months later.

3. Jude. I’ll be bold and put this letter, said to be written by Judas, one of Jesus’ brothers mentioned in Mark 6.3, here.  Scholars are divided as to when this was written (or by whom) but they suggest that it may be one of the earliest of the writings of the New Testament, based on its raw Jewish roots and influence from apocryphal literature.

4. Galatians. Written by Paul in the mid-50s.

5. 1 Corinthians. Written by Paul in 54CE.

6. 2 Corinthians. Written by Paul sometime between 54 & 56CE and after a visit to Corinth that didnt turn out as well as the Apostle had hoped.

7. Romans. Written by Paul in 58CE, in hopes of visiting a city he never ended up visiting.

8. Philippians. Written by Paul anytime from the late-50s to early 60s, presumably while imprisoned.

9. Philemon. Written by Paul, from prison, sometime between 60 & 62CE.

10. Colossians. Though it is disputed whether or not Paul actually wrote this, it echoes many Pauline themes and is assumed to be written by a follower, maybe after Paul’s death, in the mid-60s.

11. Mark. Finally, a Gospel!  Attributed to Mark, though anonymously published in the late-60s, before the fall of Jerusalem in 70CE.

12. Matthew. Based on Mark w/ stories unique to itself.  Again, anonymously published but attributed to Matthew.  Dated sometime between 80 and 90CE.

13 & 14. Luke / Acts. Two volumes written by the same anonymous author, traditionally identified as Luke, around the same time as Matthew (80-90CE).  Here again, much of the Gospel is based on Mark, sharing some w/ Matthew, but also w/ stories unique to itself.  The Acts of the Apostles closely parallel that of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.

15. Ephesians. The circulation of the Acts of the Apostles renewed interest in the Apostle Paul, leading someone to compose a letter using his name and reflecting some of his themes (though showing none of his literary style) somewhere around 90CE.

16. The Revelation of John. Written by a “John” who wasnt the same who wrote the Gospel as a response to the tyrannical reign of Caesar Nero (54-68CE) late in the first century.

17. Hebrews. Written anonymously, no later than 95CE.

18 & 19. 1 & 2 Peter. Attributed to Peter but in a high quality of Greek that would’ve been “above” Peter’s social standing.  Most likely, these letters were written as a “tribute” to the fallen Christian icon.  And these, too, were written sometime during the prolific period of the 90s.

20. James. A letter attributed to James, the brother of Jesus, who was martyred before 70CE.  If that holds true, then a latter date isnt plausible.  But it shows a lot of similarities w/ Christian writings late in the first century.  So, as suggested by Goodspeed and Smith, we’ll leave it right here.

21. The Gospel of John. Written w/in the context of the Christians’ expulsion from the synagogue, which took place in the decades following the fall of Jerusalem (80-90CE).  But its highly developed Greek may suggest an even later date, into the early-second-century.

22-24. The Letters of John. All of these were written in the tradition of and after the Gospel of John, placing them around or after the start of the second century.

25-27. The Pastoral Letters (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus).  Though these were written in the Pauline tradition, they reflect a knowledge of the book of Acts (written after Paul’s death) and the climate of the early second-century, which is when they were probably written.

So there you have it—a probable order of the New Testament, beginning w/ the writings of someone who never even met the historical Jesus.  My hope is that this is something that enriches yr understanding of our faith, how it developed & came into our hands & hearts.  And as Paul closes the first written book of the New Testament, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!” as you embark on reading the New Testament in order!

Be someone’s biggest fan (1Th 2.1-16).

We encouraged you, we comforted you, and we kept urging you to live the kind of life that pleases God. ~1Thess 2.11, GNT

This was how Paul described his ministry among the Thessalonians. He and his companions were cheerleaders. Paul was the Thessalonians biggest fan.

You have those people in your life, who say that they’re yr biggest fan. They are there for you to support you, no matter what. Whether you were playing the dive bar in town for pennies or the biggest auditoriums, they’d still be there.

Despite adversity, what others might say, whatever they have to do—they’ll be there for you, cheering you on, no matter what.

So who are yr biggest fans? Who’s walking around out there, as if they’re wearing a goofy t-shirt with your name on it? Who thinks the world of you?

I can name a few in my life (one in particular, and she knows who she is). They help me believe in myself—believe in what God can do in me and through me.

And I can tell you that as brothers and sisters in Christ we should be one another’s biggest fans as Paul was for the Thessalonians, and as Christ is for us.

Give someone a compliment today (1Th 1.1-10).

“We remember before our God and Father how you put yr faith into practice, how yr love made you work so hard, and how yr hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm” ~1 Thess 1.3, GNT

Boy if you want to make someone feel good, compliment them. And not some sly compliment where a person replies, “Okay, so what do you want?” A REAL compliment, genuine compliment. A celebration of a strength or gift. Find something right with a person and lift it up.

Too often people tear one another down. “You’re not wearing THAT are you?” “You’ll never be good enough.” And those are the voices that stick in our head—a parent’s voice, bullies at school, bosses at work. And if we listen, we never WILL be good enough.

Paul is all about building people up; he’s all about complimenting people on what they are doing right. And the Thessalonians have been getting it right—practicing their faith, showing their love for God in service to others, making use of their time laboring for the Commonwealth of God while waiting for its Chief to return.

Like Paul, we should be the type of people who build people up, rather than tear them down. Let people know when they get it right, rather than remind them when they’ve gotten it wrong. Help people see what the can do, rather than always rubbing in their face what they cant.

Go and give a compliment to someone today.

Reading the New Testament in order.

I’ve decided to read the New Testament in the order which it was written. Though the traditional misconception is that Matthew is the first book of the New Testament, Paul’s first letter to the community in Thessalonica has it beat by some thirty or more years. He wrote it around 51CE, to a church that he had planted only a couple of years earlier, in order to encourage them to continue building on what he had taught them and assure them of Christ’s imminent return.

But before I begin with chapter one in my next blog, let’s talk a little bit about misconceptions. Yes, the letters of Paul are our earliest written witness to the life and teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And most of Paul’s letters were written BEFORE the Gospels themselves (earliest estimates dont have the first of the Gospels, Mark, written until at least 55CE and most likely closer to 65CE, almost a decade after Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians). Before Paul began writing, the Story of Jesus and his Message was an oral tradition. Paul himself first heard about Jesus before he read about him, and interestingly enough, Paul was the first to write about him.

Thus Paul has a unique voice when talking about Jesus because he has nothing to refer to. He cant say, “See where it says here in the Gospel of John.” There was no Gospel of John. Paul had to draw upon the Story as shared with him by those who had seen and heard and then told others the Message of forgiveness and new life. Paul had to draw upon the help of the Spirit in order to put into words, for the first time, the Word made flesh.

So I’m looking forward to this, and looking forward to sharing it with those who want to read along. And I’ll try to make every text as relevent to life as I can, as well, so that we dont just learn more about the past but, perhaps more importantly, learn how we can live into the future promised us through the New Life offered us through the Raising of Christ.