Luke 1:1-2
1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us . . .
At the beginning of his Gospel, Luke tells the reader that many people had tried to write down what had happened. His words are about Jesus’ life, death, and rising, as well as the start of the church. He said that he and the others got their information from people who were there. The best way to find out what really happened is to ask people who were there what they saw. This shows that Luke wrote while the first people who followed Jesus were still alive. In other words, other people could read the work and say it wasn’t true. They would have told everyone if he had lied or made up the Gospel according to Luke, and the church would never have grown. Luke wrote before the apostle Paul died, so we know he wrote early in the history of the church. Following this, he wrote the Acts of the Apostles.
To figure out if what was written in the Gospel is true, scholars know that the time it was written is important. Say someone today wrote about someone who died a hundred years ago; they would only be believed if they used written accounts from people who knew the person. A documentary about the argument over when the Gospels were written was made by the Learning Channel. Profs who are liberal like to say that the events happened after the year 70 AD because they don’t believe in magic or prophecies. They say that since the Gospels record Jesus saying that the temple would be destroyed, they had to be written after the fact to make Him look like a prophet.
The documentary comes to the conclusion that there is too much proof that the liberal view is wrong. The writing style in some pieces points to the 50s AD. Also, the fact that the earliest fragments came from scrolls instead of books proves that the conservative scholars were right when they said they were from the 50s and early 60s AD. The show is called “The Eyewitnesses” because the Gospels were written while the witnesses were still alive, just like Luke said in the beginning. These witnesses had the power to support or deny the truth of what was written. There is evidence that Jesus lived a very interesting life and mission, died, and rose from the dead.
Think about this: The reason many people are so against this truth is that Jesus’ life shows that Creator God wants everyone to turn away from their sins and believe in order to be sure of going to heaven. Even though we can choose how to live, the faith says that God will hold us responsible. That’s the message that liberal experts won’t accept, even though there is proof. Are you going to accept that message? What does this truth mean for your life?
