How Could The Apostles Remember Every Word That Jesus Said?

Most Bible scholars agree that the Gospels were written many years after Jesus died.  According to Bible Gateway, Mark and Matthew were written 50-60 A.D., Luke 60-61 A.D., and John 80-90 A.D.

How could John, for example, remember everything Jesus said, word for word, after 50 years? How could he quote Jesus accurately? And John quotes Jesus a lot! In John chapter seventeen, 25 out of the 26 verses in that chapter are direct quotes of Jesus praying. Have you ever wished you could hear Jesus praying? This chapter is like listening to a recording of His words. 

I am old enough to at least try to remember discussions from 50 years ago, and I can remember bits and pieces. But to accurately quote word for word a detailed discussion I had back then - forget it. I know there are, in rare cases, people who can recall events to the minute detail. But there are only a few dozen in the world. It's a condition called hyperthymesia. One such person is Marilu Henner who was once interviewed on the TV program 60 Minutes. She said she could remember almost every day of her life since she was 11 years old! At least the events. But what about the conversations?

The Apostles did not have the condition called hyperthymesia. When Jesus chose them, they were just uneducated, ordinary men!

When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and discovered that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:17)

There are many clues in the Bible as to how they were able to recall word for word what they had seen and heard long after it happened, with absolute and perfect accuracy. The first clue is in the verse above. They were "with Jesus." And being with Jesus, they became believers, followers, and were eventually given a supernatural gift -- the Holy Spirt. 

And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. (John 20:22)

They were not ordinary men anymore! Then after Jesus resurrected and ascended into Heaven, the Apostles were given another outpouring of the Holy Spirit to empower them. 

Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.  And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. (Acts 2:2-4)

Earlier, Jesus had promised this would happen.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Yes, they received the Holy Spirit which gave them special powers to discern, cast out demons, proclaim the Word of God, heal the sick, and even raise the dead! Wow! But does this mean they could recall conversations, word for word, from decades earlier? Yes, the Holy Spirit, also referred to as the Spirit of truth, guided them. 

 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. (John 16:13a)

If that's not enough, there is one more powerful clue that is the most important one of all! And the most convincing one as far as the Apostles ability to recall the words of Jesus accurately, without error, so they could write it down decades later. It's a promise that Jesus gave them while He was still on earth with them.

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

So, as you can see, what may be impossible for you and I, was not impossible at all for the Apostles. They could, in a supernatural way, recall everything Jesus did and said. And because they wrote down what they saw and heard, we can have an understanding of who Jesus is and what His expectations are of us. And we can be confident that the Bible is God-inspired, and the source of absolute truth.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)

Actually, all of the authors in the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, were inspired by the Holy Spirit. That's why we can be assured that the Bible is "God-breathed". Yes, men wrote the Bible, but they were men who were divinely inspired -- the Holy Spirit placing in their minds what words to write. The Apostle Peter affirms this:

Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:20-21)