Book Review: Can We Trust the Gospels? by Peter J. Williams

Peter J. Williams is the Warden of Tyndale House, Cambridge, one of the world’s leading institutes for biblical research. He was previously a lecturer in New Testament at the University of Aberdeen and is currently chair of the International Greek New Testament Project. He is also a member of the ESV Translation Oversight Committee. For some readers, all of these aspects to Dr. Williams background may not mean as much as to others. But for the purposes of this new book in the area of the Gospels, it clearly shows his ability and background in the area of study. In fact, there would be few individuals more qualified to write such a book.

This book strikes a great balance in simultaneously being a well-researched book but not coming across as an academic tome. Sometimes scholars in such specific fields struggle to communicate to a broader audience, but not so with this book. Although dealing with a specialized field, the reader does not require any special knowledge on the subject matter before picking up this book. Additionally, although not all the content in this book is original in the wider study of the Gospels, the majority of the arguments and the way they are used is original to Dr. Williams’ work. This has the added benefit of making it an even better resource as those with significant background understanding will still have much new content to consider.

The first chapter begins the book with a consideration of non-Christian contemporary sources concerning Jesus and the content of the Gospels. As Williams considers the works of Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, and Josephus, he brings together their testimony of what we can know from these sources outside the Gospels themselves. These sources clearly indicate that there were large numbers of Christians (p. 27) who believed in only one God (pg. 28). Additionally, these sources confirm many of the facts of the New Testament concerning Jesus’ life, ministry, and death under Pontius Pilate in Judea and that Jesus was worshiped by His followers (p. 35).

His next chapter considers the Gospels themselves and what exactly that genre of literature entails. Here Dr. Williams considers the wide-ranging area that has produced very early copies of the Gospels. In this section, he gives an excellent chart comparing some aspects of the Gospel accounts with other historic accounts about Emperor Tiberias (p. 40). These charts, and the accompanying explanation are a refreshing look at just how unique the Gospels are in that they offer greater certainty and clarity than any other ancient historical document. He emphasizes the fact that most scholars in the field agree the gospels were written early. Yet, he also helpfully points out that if you take away an anti-supernatural bias that some scholars have today, the dates may be even earlier from the evidence considered without that bias.

The third chapter considers the use of geographic terms and people-names by the Gospel writers. When considered from an historic context, the Gospels contain many names and places – all of which are exactly correct. They clearly knew the geography of the land of Israel at this specific time and they also used a correct proportion of the most common names of that era. These facts can only adequately be explained if those writing the Gospels were writing down eyewitness testimony by those who actually lived through it at the time. While a little lengthier, this chapter is a fascinating treatment of an argument for the Gospel’s authenticity that has only been available to scholars in the last several decades with modern computers. These statistical consistencies in the Gospels dispel any notion that they were written several generations after the events they record.

The next chapter offers an intriguing argument about undesigned coincidences in the Gospel accounts. Essentially, this chapter asks the question how four different accounts written by different eyewitnesses in different geographic areas and at different times can all compliment the material of the other three without being true? At some points, one Gospel will mention something that Jesus did or said but with no explanation, yet the explanation is given in one of the other Gospel accounts. While Dr. Williams acknowledges that any of these instances would not be all that persuasive on their own, when added together, they are difficult to explain unless what is being recorded in the Gospels is accurate history.

The fifth chapter considers whether we have Jesus’ actual words. The conclusion is a resounding yes. Historians have a greater knowledge “of what Jesus said than of sayings from any other ancient person who did not write a book” (p. 97). Some critics of the Bible and Christianity have suggested the words of Jesus in the Bible were a compilation of many wise men from the era. But this suggestion is made without any evidence to support it. Rather, Dr. Williams argues that the facts point to one individual, a real and historic Jesus, who said all of these sayings recorded in the Gospels.

Chapters six and seven consider if the text of the Gospels has been changed or what should be done about the supposed contradictions. Dr. Williams concludes that the text is clear and correct with more document evidence than any other books from the ancient world. Regarding contradictions, he shows that many of those suggested by critics can be easily done away with when we consider the ancient world in which the speakers and writers’ lives. For instance, he gives several excellent examples of paradoxes that Jesus spoke in the Gospels and how these are clearly not contradictions (p. 123-25).

This book by Peter Williams is an excellent and much needed resource in the field of Gospel studies. Too often apologetic books in this field are academic and require significant background in the subject matter. While this book would still be incredibly useful for someone with such a background, the majority of the people who are wondering if the Gospels can be trusted do not have such a background. For them, this book will be an informing and enjoyable read. It clearly sets forth the uniqueness of the Gospel accounts and of Jesus to which all the historic evidence points.