This week I have been reading through the document entitled "Acts of the Apostles". Through reading it has really struck me how detailed and accurate this document is. It was written by man named Luke. Luke was a disciple of the early church in the first century A.D. he wrote this book to a man named Theophilus. He wrote this as a first hand witness of being a traveller with the apostle Paul. He was a doctor and academic who gave up his life a s a doctor of the physically to be a doctor of the spiritually sick. The accuracy he writes with, the first hand witnesses he travelled with and the document he compiled that is the gospel of luke and Acts is written from the first hand accounts of people who knew Jesus and first hand account of luke himself. The earliest fragments of these two volumes written to Theophilus date back to the century after it was written in. These fragments show that the words have not changed to a degree that affects the meaning of what was written - even in 1,900-ish years.This fact alone is quite incredible. The gospel of luke is actually quoted by Paul in one of his letters meaning that it must have been written in paul's lifetime and thus was written before 67ishAD, Probably around 60AD. The historicity of this book is undeniable - it is an incredible source thats only point of controversy is wether Jesus rose from the dead. The historical evidence is so overwhelming through the 27 different documents that make up the new testament plus many other non biblical documents written by Josephus and Tacitus to name a few. The documents all line up and agree with each other with Luke the Doctor contributing the document that really ties every other one of the documents together. He was a smart man, a doctor who states that in compiling the books of Luke and Acts he went to the eyewitnesses (The 11 disciples, the other at least 70-odd other followers including James and Jude as well as Paul). This was a document based on the key witnesses of who Jesus was and with great detail showing definitive knowledge of the Mediterranean.
The historical and documented evidence for Jesus is overwhelming and through reading the book of Acts I was totally struck by the call to which those who accept the truths in the gospel are summoned.
The call is to preach the gospel to all peoples, and just like Paul my mission is to do many many many msisionary journey's around my university (Macquarie University), my city (Sydney) and the wider world.
The historical facts are as absolute as the force of gravity.
The call is to tell others and through the Holy Spirit let us pray that they may not be ignorant to the facts and accept the great news that from the beginning the Lord God has planned to make a way for us to return to him and through coming down himself as the man they called Jesus he died to save us all that we can live in eternity with him. It is not about what we can do because we are helpless (look how many wars we started) but what God has done for us.
He has left us on this earth with the Holy Spirit so that as many people as possible may come to know him. This is our call!
Let us preach this good news to everyone.
Amen.
