I have been pondering Luke chapter 1 in the opening statement the last few days. It says, “It seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of the things that you have been taught.”
If Jesus came, lived, and died in my day, how would I know and show that Jesus was the son of God? I would want video of his life, his death, and his resurrection. I would want eyewitness testimony, interviews with his family, friends, and enemies. I would want any pictures anyone had so that I could validate his words, his life, and his actions.
On a human level, I would want to know also how he talked and how he lived. I would want to know that He is powerful so I would need to see the supernatural. But I also would need to know that he was good, so the supernatural acts would have to only be those that serve others and never himself. I would want him to be the kind of man-God who would stand up to the elitism of the religious leadership, but was tender towards those that were looked over. He would need to be able to handle the questions and answers of the human heart as well the questions and answers from those who hated him. I would not want him to fit my understanding of him or else he would be too small, but I would also want to understand and know enough of him that I could know him well. I would need to know that he filled the prophecies that were made for hundreds upon hundreds of years but still was the God of today. I also would need to know that he could deal with evil in a just way, yet still be love. I would want to know that he understood what it was like to feel tired, hurt, frustrated, and everything else that goes with being human. But I would also want to know he overcame.
In all these things, I realized I would be writing a gospel.
