Rewarding Surprises
Presently, I am in a group studying the gospel of Luke. I have been familiar with and knowledgeable of the gospel for years, but the study has brought some rewarding surprises to mind.
As a fellow writer, I marvel at the enormity of Luke’s work. He not only wrote the gospel, but he penned the book of Acts. When I say penned, I mean literally, i.e., with a quill on papyrus or skins in cold, dark places and perhaps even while at sea. I write with a computer; still, writing is a difficult, time-consuming business.
Luke’s motive was to tell his friend, Theophilus, about Jesus and do so as accurately as possible. Portions of the book of Acts are Luke’s eyewitness reports, but not so with the gospel. Luke apparently never met Jesus. He was dependent on the eyes and ears of those who had been with Jesus. This involved multiple interviews with multiple people. A true historian checks and rechecks his sources. Corralling people for interviews is unpopular and difficult.
Luke was not a preacher. He was not an apostle. He was not a Jew. He was a physician. Sometime somewhere he met up with the apostles (perhaps on a house call) and became a follower of Jesus. I can understand this a little. I, too, have never seen the face of Jesus of the first century; but I know Him, and I am a follower of Him. Whenever I am asked if I am a Christian, I like to say, “I am a follower of Jesus Christ.”
Recently, I spent a couple of days and nights in the hospital. I marvel at the sophistication of the present practice of medicine---blood samples, computerized thermometers, blood transfusions (matching types is a necessity), automatic blood pressure readings, medicines---oral and intravenous, etc. I lay in bed thinking about our Bible study and wondering what medicine was like in Luke’s day.
I was impressed and constantly gave thanks for the people who have trained to be helpful to people like me. I rejoiced that many of those attending me were young. Then, I remembered a story. A wealthy tourist traveling around the world visited a leper colony. There he met a very weary young nurse ministering to painfully dying humanity. The rich tourist expressed distress, “I wouldn’t do this for all the money in the world.”
The weary nurse responded, “Neither would I.”
