I Know What I Saw

I started reading a great little book from my college Bible professor, Dr. Gary Burge, called The New Testament in Seven Sentences: A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic. (Dr. Burge was at my college, King College, before moving to serve on the faculty of North Park College, Wheaton College, and now Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, MI, where he is professor of New Testament.) 

I'm just getting started with the book, but I've already been struck by an observation he made. I guess I already knew this, but never really thought about the fact that the early church was birthed and grew long before anyone had access to the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Stories of Jesus were certainly circulating and some or all of the Epistles, but it was this one event that made all of the difference. In fact, Dr. Burge notes that in Acts, "When these early believers preach about Jesus, the resurrection is the critical element in every presentation. It is the power of Jesus that converts, not well-reasoned presentations about his public life."

He notes that, "The life of Jesus certainly was compelling, but the resurrection of Jesus was profoundly confirming that God was at work here in ways they could barely measure."

Then later, "At some point the community of Christians recognized that if their faith was anchored to the resurrected, living Jesus, they wanted to know more about him. If it was Jesus in power who was transforming the world, then it made sense that reflection on his earthly life was necessary as well." Which led to the Gospels being written down. 

I think sometimes Jesus follower forget to appreciate the depth to which our faith is dependent on an event - the resurrection. You might try to argue someone's beliefs, but you can't argue with what they (the disciples in this case) witnessed.