Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/1189422
24 Matthew and Luke, the two gospel writers who depict select events surrounding Jesus' birth, make a number of remarkable claims. In Luke alone, we have miracles like the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary, Jesus' mother (1:26-33), lots of angels appearing in the shepherds' fields (2:9-14), and of course the virginal conception itself (1:34-35, 2:15-16). But can we believe such stories? Did Luke even think he was reporting sober history or was he a mythmaker like various others in antiquity? The first four verses of his Gospel, often called his prologue or preface, make it clear that he very much thought he was telling what really happened. A closer look at these verses reveals a remarkable number of elements that went into the composition of this Gospel and presumably the other Gospels as well. First, Luke is aware that his is not the first written account to circulate, and it sounds like he has seen at least some of those accounts. These could refer to full Gospels like Mark and Matthew or shorter sources that recorded key excerpts of Jesus' life. Second, what Luke records he attributes to those who were eyewitnesses of Jesus' life, an especially important point since Luke had not been one. Third, other information came from "servants of the word," an expression that may well refer to authorized transmitters of the information about Jesus. Fourth, Luke did not rely just on what others told him or on what he read; he functioned as a responsible historian. Probably while Paul was detained in Caesarea in Israel between 57-59AD, Luke, who had been traveling with him, interviewed as many people as he could. But Luke wasn't interested in just chronicling events. He wanted to convince his patron, Theophilus, who probably had helped fund his work, that what he had learned about Jesus was true. None of this guarantees that Luke succeeded in every detail, but that was certainly his intent. We can't dismiss the Christmas story by saying that the biblical writ- ers were just another group of mythmakers. This is the Christmas story and the truth. Craig L. Blomberg, PhD distinguished professor of new testAment "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." – Luke 1:1-4 WhAt Kind oF story is the christMAs story in the gospels? December 19