Today I began reading through Eyewitness:  The Life of Christ Told in One Story.  This harmony of the Gospels was compiled by Frank Ball.  One of the uniquenesses of his work is that when the Gospel writers reference an Old Testament scripture, giving us only a portion of the text, Eyewitness gives the full text to offer a more comprehensive view of the writer’s intent.  Ball’s contention is that because the original readers were much more familiar with the Old Testament scriptures, there was less need to put the entire text into the gospel.  A mere reference to the text would bring to the minds of the original readers the full text they were drawing from.  In writing this way, they also saved on scroll space, since it was at a premium.

Eyewitness begins with a pre-gospel introduction that weaves together passages from Genesis 1:1-3, Isaiah 9:2 and Malachi 3:1 together with Mark 1:1, Luke 1:1-4, John 1:1-18, 2 Peter 1:16, 1 John 1:1 and Revelation 1:3-8.  One Perfect Life by John MacArthur does something similar, but in much more extensive fashion by including sections covering Creation, Fall and Prophesies of the Coming Messiah.  The simplicity of the introduction to Eyewitness is refreshing!

“The prophet Isaiah wrote:  People who walk in darkness will see a bright light.  Upon those who live under dark shadows of death, the Light will shine.”

“Here begins the wonderful news of Jesus the Messiah, the Lamb who has been slain since the founding of the world.  God sent John the Baptizer to spread the news about the Light so people might believe….”

“Moses gave us the Law, but Jesus Christ gave us grace and truth.  By being born again, not physically out of human desire but spiritually by the will of God, all believers can benefit from His rich grace by which He has blessed us repeatedly.”

“The eyewitnesses have seen the majestic splendor of Jesus Christ, the Word of Life, with their own eyes, touched Him with their own hands, and heard Him with their own ears.  He is the Father’s only Son, who existed from the beginning.”

“Many people have written about what God has done in fulfillment of His promises.  These are not clever, fictional stories from our imagination.  People have carefully investigated all these accounts so you may be certain that this record is accurate.”

These highlighted sections from the introduction to Eyewitness are simple yet powerful in how they convey the confidence we as Christ-followers can and should have in the story of Jesus.

No person, no story has been more investigated, critiqued and maligned than the Story of Jesus.  I have to ask, “Why is that?”

Well, I think it’s obvious.

There has never been anyone like Jesus.

There has never been anyone born of a virgin like Jesus.

There has never been anyone that made the claims that Jesus made and then backed them up.

There has never been anyone that claimed they would rise from the dead and then walked out of the grave alive.

There has never been anyone that inspired the hope that Jesus inspires- forgiveness, healing and restoration.

There has never been anyone that divided people and nations like Jesus’ divides- He alone is The Way, Truth and Life.

There has never been anyone like Jesus.

And I too am an eyewitness to His power, glory and grace, for He has rescued me from my sin and given me the hope of eternal life.

Every day I am an eyewitness to His grace, goodness and greatness.  In what ways are YOU an eyewitness?

 

To learn more about Walking As Jesus Walked and Discipling As Jesus Discipled, visit:  SONLIFE.COM