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Bible Studies/Gospel accounts don't follow chronology strictly

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Expert: - 8/10/2008


Question
I'm looking for the best means to defend the way in which gospel writers weren't so strict in the chronology of their accounts. Looking at Luke 24:37-51, I find that Luke compressed forty days (as he himself admits in Acts 1:3b) into what seemed a single night! To unbelievers, this seems like sloppy storytelling and a warrant for not taking the gospel accounts seriously. Do the gospels fit a specific class of literature in those times in which this kind of thing was acceptable? Could you refer me to a non-canonical writing which has a good example of this style?

Answer
I do not know of a non-canonical, contemporary writing that would illustrate the way in which the gospels sometimes treat chronology.
Obviously, Luke knew of the different chronology in his two accounts. [John contains some similar themes to Luke.]  My conclusion is that Luke was not so much interested in teaching chronology as in teaching the meaning of the event.  In the gospel, Luke looks back to what had begun in Jerusalem and comes to completion there.  In Acts, he looks forward to the origin and spread of the Church from Jerusalem.  "Forty" can have a symbolic value.  
The texts of the appearances of Jesus to the official witnesses emphasize theology not chronology.
We have to accept and understand the ways in which the evangelists wrote.  To study the methods of the evangelists, you could seek: Raymond Collins, Introduction to the New Testament [Doubleday: Garden City, 1983].
If you would like more from me, please feel free to write again.
Best wishes, James.  

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Edward Bode

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A scholar of Jewish and Christian scripture (biblical studies), I hold graduate degrees from three universities in Rome [Italy]: Pontifical Gregorian University, Pontifical Biblical Institute, and the University of St. Thomas. I also have a master's degree in English. My special interests are the gospels of the New Testament and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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I have taught at three universities and two colleges. My published works include one book, several articles in scholarly journals, and numerous book reviews.

I hold a doctorate in sacred theology from the University of St. Thomas in Rome, Italy; a license in sacred scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome; a license in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.Additionally, I earned a master's degree in English from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo., and a bachelor of journalism from the same university.

I have been a member of the Catholic Biblical Association of America for 40 years. I am a former member of Society of Biblical Literature.I have spoken on academic topics to local, national, and international groups.

Education/Credentials
I hold graduate degrees from three universities in Rome [Italy]: Pontifical Gregorian University, Pontifical Biblical Institute, and the University of St. Thomas. I also have a master's degree in English.

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