Verse: 2 Peter 1:16; Luke 1:1-4
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
Devotional Thoughts:
In my article last week I was encouraging Bible study and Bible reading in general. But a thought occurred to me – why do we study the Bible? The Bible itself says that it’s important to read the Bible, but why do we believe the Bible?
Why do we believe what the Bible has to say?
My hope is that, in the next couple of articles, we might begin to have a good grasp on the answer to that question.
In this article, I want to consider authorship.
If you look back to the first verse listed above, Peter seems to be answering a question. It seems as if someone has questioned the authority and truthfulness of what the apostles are teaching, regarding Jesus, in the New Testament.
Let’s look back at the first verse. Peter says, “we did not follow cunningly devised fables.” He’s saying this isn’t a fiction tale. This isn’t the Iliad or the latest Marvel Avengers movie. This is factual information. Instead, he says, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He’s saying, we were there! And Luke says the same thing. We saw the things that Jesus did! Even more, most of the gospels and letters written in the New Testament were written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses.
Imagine, for a moment, that this Sunday Bret mentioned that he once beat Roger Federer in a tennis match. Federer, for those who don’t know, is one of the greatest tennis players ever. This claim by Bret would be ridiculous. No one, certainly not me, would believe him at all. But then imagine that someone stood up and said yes, I was there, I saw him beat Federer. And then imagine that another stood up and said the same thing, and when pressed, they even gave the exact same final score. Though I might not completely understand how that upset could be possible, I would have to acknowledge that the possibility of this claim being real was growing more and more likely.
In the New Testament, the disciples did precisely this, and more. They continued claiming the reality that Jesus died and was raised – most of them all the way to their premature deaths. Something incredible happened that caused these disciples, the same ones who fled in the garden of Gethsemane, to take the message of Jesus throughout the known world and, in the words of the Jews, turn “the world upside down,” even if it meant their own death.
Now to change gears a bit, let’s consider the Bible as a whole, both Old and New Testament. First, imagine that 50 people in our church were tasked with writing a book about God. We couldn’t talk or confer or compare notes with one another, we just had to write the book. I’d be hard-pressed to believe that there would be zero contradictions between everything that we wrote.
Here’s the miraculous thing – the Bible authors are made up of about 40 people, most of whom never met each other, living in different geographical areas, speaking and writing in different languages, over a time period of around 2,000 years, and not once do they contradict one another. In spite of the language, geographical, and time period differences, there are no inconsistencies or contradictions throughout their work. That’s miraculous. Only God himself could do something like that.
And He did.
Blessings,
Zac
