The New Testament belonged to the world of ancient Judaism. It reflects its culture, faith, piety, and customs. The Gospels preserve these realities among their details and information, yet the Evangelists often did not explain them. They assumed their audience understood them. On occasion, the Gospels provide the earliest witness to Jewish practices, ideas, and language. For example, Luke preserved the earliest mention of the practice of naming a son at his circumcision, eight days after his birth (Luke 1:59-60; 2:21). So too, Luke is the earliest mention of the reading of the Prophets in the synagogue on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16-20; Acts 13:15). Modern readers of the Gospels, unfamiliar with ancient Judaism, overlook and miss such details. Unfamiliar with the world of the Gospels, they misunderstand the words of the Gospels. A particular example appears in the Gospel narratives of Jesus’ last hours. Jesus told Peter, “The cock will not crow today before you deny three times that you know me” (Luke 22:34; see Matt. 26:34; Mark 14:30; John 13:38), which Peter did (Luke 22:60-61; Matt. 26:74-75; Mark 14:72; John 18:27).
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Biblical Nomad to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.