http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=259
The Silence of the Scriptures: An Argument for Inspiration
J.W. McGarvey (1829-1911) once was characterized by
The London Times
as the greatest Bible scholar on either side of the Atlantic. There is
no question but that the professor of sacred history in the College of
the Bible at Lexington, Kentucky (where he taught for forty-six years)
was one of the most skillful defenders of the Scriptures in his day. His
books on Christian evidences, and other topics, are still classics and
should be circulated widely.
In the summer of 1893, McGarvey delivered a lecture on the “Inspiration of the Scriptures” before the
YMCA
at the University of Missouri. His arguments appealed mainly to certain
internal evidences from the New Testament itself that argue for the
Bible’s supernatural origin. One of McGarvey’s points was this: the very
brevity of the New Testament narratives is astounding. For
example, in connection with some of the most dramatic episodes of the
New Testament, where we would expect the writers to satisfy our longing
for loads of details, the sacred narrative contains only abbreviated
descriptions.
Consider the episode of Christ’s baptism. How many pages might have
been consumed in describing this epochal event, had such been left to
the literary skill of human authors? God broke a verbal silence of
fifteen centuries and audibly acknowledged His beloved Son. And yet,
Matthew records the circumstance with but a dozen lines, Mark and Luke
utilize about half that space, and John has only a sentence of about
twelve words describing the occasion. McGarvey asked: “What man with a
writer’s instinct could have stopped short of many pages in describing
the scene so as to do it justice?” (n.d., p. 6). The scholarly professor
cited other equally impressive examples of the startling restraint
employed by the New Testament writers. It is quite reasonable, he
argued, to conclude that God Himself was supervising the composition of
the documents. The Bible was not designed to satisfy our
inquisitiveness. Only such materials as were consistent with the Lord’s
higher purpose were incorporated into the text.
McGarvey’s argument is quite compelling. Moreover, we are convinced
that it may be pursued even further. A strong case can be made in favor
of the Bible’s inspiration on the basis of things that it
omits altogether. In other words,
the silence of the Scriptures—in
areas where human curiosity clamors for additional information—is
another internal evidence that reflects the heavenly origin of the
biblical documents. Let us consider this matter.
NO ORIGIN FOR GOD
The Bible begins with the simple declarative, “In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.” Neither in Genesis 1, nor elsewhere
in Holy Writ, is any attempt made to explain the
origin of the
Creator of the Universe. His self-existence is assumed as a primary
truth. The prophets speak of His eternal presence without any adorning
explanation. From everlasting to everlasting, He is the eternal God (cf.
Psalm 90:2 and Deuteronomy 33:27).
The religions of ancient paganism postulate bizarre origins for their
deities. Egyptian theology “dwelt on the birth of the gods from Osiris,
and told how he, the sun, brought forth the seven great planetary gods,
and then the twelve humbler gods of the signs of the zodiac; they, in
their turn, producing the twenty-eight gods presiding over the stations
of the moon, the seventy-two companions of the sun, and other deities”
(Geikie, n.d. 1:27). How significant it is that Moses, who grew up in
Egypt, incorporated no such foolishness into the Genesis record. A
Babylonian creation epic,
Enuma elish, tells how pagan deities,
Apsu and Tiamat, “procreated the other gods” (Mitchell, 1988, p. 69).
The mythology of India spoke of Brahma, “the father of all creatures,”
being hatched from a great egg of golden splendor. The Greeks
constructed genealogical tables chronicling the history of their gods,
etc., but the Scriptures stand aloof from such absurdities.
NO DESCRIPTION OF GOD
The literature of heathenism is filled with representations of its
gods. For instance, Baal, a Canaanite deity, frequently became a factor
in the apostasy of the Hebrew people. Baal was a god of fertility. He is
depicted on ancient monuments holding a lightning bolt in his hand
(suggestive of his control of the weather); at other times his genital
organ is prominently displayed because he was the “god of sex.” His
mother, Asherah, the patron goddess of sex, is depicted in a vulgar
fashion in the artwork of ancient Ras Shamra (see Boyd, 1969, pp.
117-122). El, the husband of Asherah, is portrayed as an old man with
white hair and a beard (Smick, 1988, 1:411). Many other pagan gods
likewise are represented quite graphically.
The God of the Bible, however, never is given any sort of a physical
description. While it is true that anthropomorphic (meaning “man form”)
language is employed frequently in Scripture to denote certain
attributes of the Lord (e.g., the “eyes,” “hands,” etc., of the
Lord)—because such figures are necessary to accommodate a human level of
comprehension—nevertheless, the divine writers clearly stress that God
is a
spirit being and, as such, has no physical composition (John
4:24; Luke 24:39). He is invisible to human sight (1 Timothy 1:17;
6:16). If the Bible is a work of fiction, why is there no description of
God?
NO DESCRIPTION OF JESUS CHRIST
When William Manchester wrote his acclaimed biography,
American Caesar—Douglas McArthur,
he referenced descriptions of the illustrious military commander on
more than seventy pages (1978, p. 781). By way of contrast (even though
Jesus Christ is the central character of the Scriptures, and is found
either directly or indirectly in every book of the Bible), there is not
one line in the New Testament giving a depiction of His physical
attributes. In fact, the only remote reference to Jesus’ appearance is a
vague allusion in the book of Isaiah where the Savior is represented as
having “no comeliness” that His fellows would consider desirable
(Isaiah 53:2). Imagine that. No description is given of the most
prominent person of the Bible, the founder of the Christian
religion—only a passing prophetic remark that suggests He was
less-than-handsome! What group of writers, desiring to ensure the
success of Christianity, would have adopted such an approach?
THE SILENT YEARS
With the exception of the miraculous events connected with the birth of
Jesus, we know little of the first thirty years of His life upon this
Earth. When He was eight days old, He was circumcised according to
Jewish law (Luke 2:21). Thirty-three days later He was presented in the
temple (Luke 2:22-39). There is the account of the visit of those
wise-men from the east (Matthew 2:1-12), and then the flight into Egypt
to escape the wrath of Herod (Matthew 2:13-23). There is a general
reference to His eventual settlement at Nazareth (Matthew 2:23:Luke
2:39-40), and then the record of a visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was
twelve years old (Luke 2:41-50). Following this, there is a blank space
in the narrative that covers eighteen years in the life of Christ. Other
than the generic notation that He was advancing in wisdom, stature, and
in favor with God and men (Luke 2:51-52), we know absolutely nothing of
this time span. Are we not curious? Would not an average human
biographer have given some interesting data? That is a normal
expectation. It was this very circumstance that called forth a number of
ancient spurious writings, known collectively as the Apocryphal
Gospels. These extra-canonical documents arose because of the desire to
have a fuller knowledge of certain periods of the life of Christ that
the genuine Gospels omitted. Consider, for instance, the
Childhood Gospel of Thomas.
It depicts the boy Jesus making little birds out of clay and causing
them to fly away. Again, when another boy accidentally bumped into Him,
Jesus supposedly caused him to die immediately (see Findlay, 1906,
1:671-685). No such absurdities deface the New Testament.
MISCELLANEOUS OMISSIONS
In addition to the foregoing cases, there are scores of biblical
contexts within which there are strange absences of information—from a
purely human viewpoint.
(1) Moses is the most prominent character of the Old Testament. He is
mentioned more than 750 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, and
approximately 80 times in the New Testament. At a very early age he was
adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter (a brilliant strategy by his mother to
save her son’s life). He thus was reared as an Egyptian prince. The
first forty years of his life were spent in the environment of Egypt’s
splendor and power. Between Exodus 2:10 and 2:11, however, there is a
silent gap of four decades. Only the book of Acts briefly says: “And
Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and he was
mighty in his words and works” (7:22). What were those words and works?
What exciting events occurred during that first third of Moses’ life? We
long to know, but the Holy Spirit did not see fit to supply the
information.
(2) The most revered item of furniture in Israel’s sacred tabernacle
was the “Ark of the Covenant,” that small wooden chest, overlaid with
gold, which contained the tables of the ten commandments, a pot of
manna, and Aaron’s rod that had budded miraculously. What happened to
the ark? Sometime after the chest was placed in Solomon’s temple (1
Kings 8:1-11), it simply vanished. Movies and television specials have
speculated regarding its fate, but no one knows what happened to it.
Surely a non-inspired literary genius would not have left the ark’s
destiny shrouded in obscurity. Indeed, the apocryphal book of 2
Maccabees has Jeremiah hiding it in a cave until the time when God would
restore His people (2:4-8). Men cannot resist the temptation to speak
where God has been silent.
(3) Joseph of Nazareth was the foster father of Jesus, and Mary was his
mother. The benevolent character of Joseph is tenderly revealed in
Matthew 1. He was willing to endure the scorn of his peers by taking his
pregnant betrothed into his home. What happened to him? He simply
disappears from the New Testament record following that journey to
Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve years old (Luke 2:41ff.; cf. Matthew
12:46). And what of Mary? Surely she was one of the noblest women God
ever made. Apparently she was in the care of the apostle John following
the death of her son (John 19:26-27). We find her in the company of the
disciples following Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:14). But how did she
eventually die? There is not a clue. What human biographer would have
left these matters dangling?
(4) Is it not most unusual that there are no descriptions of the Lord’s
apostles in the New Testament, and, except for a few scant references
(see Luke 4:38; 1 Corinthians 9:5), there is no information regarding
their families.
(5) The mission of John the Baptizer was to prepare the Jews for
Christ. Accordingly, John immersed those who repented of, and confessed,
their sins (Matthew 3:6-8). His baptism was “for the remission of sins”
(Mark 1:4), and those who rejected it were repudiating the very counsel
of God Himself (Luke 7:30). Unquestionably the Lord’s apostles
submitted to John’s baptism, but where is the record of such? One can
only infer it. Furthermore, where, after the establishment of
Christianity, is there any mention of the evangelistic work of Andrew,
Simon the Zealot, Thomas, et al.? The labors of most of the apostles are
missing from the record. Who in the world, following common literary
impulses, is going to pass over things of this nature? Finally, with the
sole exception of James (see Acts 12:1), there is not a word as to how
the apostles died.
(6) When Jesus died, following His six hours of agony on the cross, the
veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, there was a
tremendous earthquake, and, perhaps most shocking of all, the tombs in
Jerusalem were opened, “and many bodies of the saints that had fallen
asleep were raised; and coming forth out of the tombs after his
resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many”
(Matthew 27:52-53). Did these ex-corpses speak to folks on the street?
What was the effect of this miracle upon the citizens of the city? What
ultimately happened to those saints? Are we to be left hanging?
Additionally, what was the impact of that severing of the temple’s veil?
There is not a word concerning the panic that must have seized the
Jewish leaders.
(7) The book of Acts is one of the great adventure narratives of the
New Testament. It tells of the establishment and growth of Christianity.
A major component of that expansion was the ministry of the brilliant
zealot, Saul of Tarsus (later to become known as Paul, the apostle).
Paul’s conversion and his fruitful missionary campaigns are detailed in
thrilling fashion from Acts 9 onward. Towards the end of Acts, Paul is
arrested as a result of Jewish harassment. Ultimately, he appeals his
case to Caesar (the Roman Supreme Court, if you will), and is taken to
Rome. As the book of Acts concludes, Paul has been under
house-arrest—daily chained to a Roman soldier—for two years. But Acts
then ends quite abruptly. When did Paul appear before Caesar (Acts
27:24)? What did he say? What effect was produced?
(8) There is a considerable amount of extra-biblical evidence
indicating that the author of the third Gospel was Luke, the physician
(Colossians 4:14). This view was “universally believed” by the middle of
the second century. No one “speaks doubtfully on this point” (Plummer,
1896, p. xvi). Moreover, both external and internal evidence suggests
that the author of the third Gospel also penned the book of Acts. The
Muratorian Canon (a fragmentary list of New Testament books from the
late second century
A.D.) states that Luke
compiled “the Acts of all the Apostles” for “most excellent Theophilus
(see Acts 1:1; cf. Luke 1:3). Luke was an associate of Paul on several
of the apostle’s missionary journeys and during the dramatic voyage to
Rome. This circumstance is reflected in the “we” segments of the book of
Acts (16:10-17; 20:5-21:18; 27:1-28:16). The character of Luke’s
writings reveals that he was a brilliant scholar and a devoted companion
to Paul—to the very end of the great apostle’s life (see 2 Timothy
4:11). And yet, as valuable as his contributions were, the New Testament
student knows absolutely nothing of his background (e.g., where he was
born, his educational training, his family associations, his conversion,
etc.). Nor is anything known of his death. He is the only Gentile
writer of the New Testament (his literary contributions comprising about
25% of that document), yet he is ever discreetly in the background. He
is named in only three places in the entire New Testament (Colossians
4:14; Philemon 24; 2 Timothy 4:11). Given the propensity of ordinary
journalists, would any writer—who played such a prominent role in the
affairs he chronicled—have so veiled himself? Surely, to the analytical
person, this must suggest the superintendence of the divine Spirit of
God.
CONCLUSION
What shall we make of these—and many other—puzzling omissions from the
sacred text? Simply this: the Holy Spirit was the guiding hand behind
the composition of the Bible. He incorporated into the sacred volume
only such materials as were germane to the divine purpose. He did not
cater to human curiosity. Thus, Bible inspiration is demonstrated as
much by its exclusions as by its inclusions. The wide variety of
evidence documenting the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures is truly
profound.
REFERENCES
Boyd, Robert T. (1969), A
Pictorial Guide to Biblical Archaeology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).
Findlay, A.F. (1906), “Gospels (Apocryphal),”
A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, ed. James Hastings (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark).
Geikie, Cunningham (n.d.),
Hours with the Bible (New York: Hurst).
McGarvey, J.W. (n.d.),
Sermons (Cincinnati, OH: Standard).
Manchester, William (1978),
American Caesar—Douglas McArthur, 1880-1964 (Boston: Little, Brown).
Mitchell, T.C. (1988),
The Bible in the British Museum (London: British Museum).
Plummer, Alfred (1896),
The Gospel According to Luke (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark).
Smick, Elmer B. (1988),
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, ed. Walter Elwell (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).
