A Christmas Letter
The gospel of Luke is a letter, at least it begins like one:
Dear Theo,
Since I know you love God as I do, I decided to write you. Much is being said and written about Jesus. You may have heard some information circulating concerning Him. I have checked many of these accounts carefully with eyewitnesses. After doing my homework, it seemed good to report what I have learned. I am convinced Jesus was and is the Messiah, God’s Son. Let me tell you how I came to that conclusion.
Following this salutation, Doctor Luke, the only non-Jewish gospel biographer, begins his story with the appearance of the angel Gabriel announcing God’s plans. A forerunner, John, will be born to an aged couple, Zechariah, and Elizabeth. Then, Gabriel reports the Messiah, Jesus, will be born to a young virgin girl named Mary.
In a later letter to Theophilus, Luke says, “I tried to write ‘all’ that Jesus began both to do and to teach.” (Acts 1:1). Obviously, he was serious when he said “all.” God alone knows how many scrolls it took to write the gospel of Luke. My Bible has twenty-four chapters covering thirty-four double column pages. That is a long letter. We should not be surprised by the length of Luke’s letter. Another gospel writer, John, said if everything Jesus did was written down, the world could not contain it. (John 21:25)
Luke’s story is booked between his beautiful account of Jesus’ birth, our focus of the season, and the victorious description of the Resurrection. Between those two events, Luke explains God’s attempt to reveal Himself to us through His Son Jesus. It is a glad/sad story. Since all that Jesus did could not be written down, the events Luke selects to tell are intriguing. His nativity account is beautiful. It is the most read Christmas story in the world.
With a few well-chosen words, Luke tells of Jesus’ beginning ministry, baptism, the appearance of the Holy Spirit like a dove, and the voice of God announcing His pleasure with this act of obedience. Like Matthew, Luke presents a genealogy of Jesus. Matthew’s genealogy is traced through Joseph. Apparently, Luke’s genealogy is through Mary. Christian ladies everywhere should be pleased.
Note Luke’s meticulous account of the Resurrection. Luke’s conclusion of his letter is notable. Jesus led the disciples out of Bethany and blessed them. As He was blessing them, He was “carried up” to heaven. The disciples returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
Joy! That’s the spirit of Christmas! Joy! Joy! Joy!
