The Gospels

How long has it been since you've read the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Have you ever read them through from beginning to end like you would a novel? A novel is fiction, but the four gospel accounts are the eyewitness testimonies of three men and the carefully researched account of Jesus life, death and resurrection by another.

Hollywood can't do them justice. They always have to "fix" it to make it appealing to a jaded audience. The real story is so much more vibrant, exciting, and dramatic than any fiction can possibly be. You don't have to read it in old King James English to get the real story; in fact, because the language is archaic, you will miss some of the story. It is a beautiful language, but God meant us to understand his word in our own language of today. No translation perfectly conveys the original, but the translators do an excellent job of getting really close.

We can't ask Jesus to show us his wounds to prove who he is as Thomas his disciple did. But we can read the testimonies which have been authenticated at least as thoroughly as any ancient writings have been.

We can't see the invisible God, but through the gospel accounts we can see Jesus in the accounts of his life. People from the beginning have imagined God different than he really is; Jesus came to show us the reality.

As we read these accounts, we can feel the loneliness of the leper outcasts. We can feel the hope of those who had given up hope. We can rejoice with those whose children were healed. We can sorrow with those whose children were murdered. We can peer into a spiritual world through Jesus' eyes. We can stand as close to the cross of Jesus as we dare: at the foot as John and Mary did, or at a distance as the women from Galilee did, or run and hide from it in fear as most of the disciples did. We can weep or we can jeer. We find there is a choice we have to make. Follow Jesus or turn away. Take the wide road or take the narrow one. We can ignore his story, but it is our loss to do so.