01 JESUS IS REAL.pdf - Dr. George O. Wood

JESUS IS REALLuke 1:1–4accomplishments were based upon the shedding of others‘ blood. He exercised hisadministration through naked power and force. When you read this Gospel, you find that Jesusexercised His power solely by means of love. His administration was based also on the sheddingof blood, but it was His own blood and not another's. When you look at Mao, you find that whenhe left, he left his followers divided. They were in a competitive condition for control. But Jesusleft His followers united in a powerful condition to carry His news to the entire world. WhenMao left, there was nothing more. There was no hope for anything beyond this life. Howdifferent from the story of Jesus.When we open to Luke‘s prologue or introduction, verses 1–4, we find something unique in theGospel and something unique in the New Testament. The writer has given a formal statement asto the procedures that he used in penning his Gospel. It is a sentence in the Greek language thatis modeled along the lines of classical Greek. In fact, although in our modern Englishtranslations the words are broken up into two sentences, they were actually a very well structuredsentence—one sentence in the Greek language. He adopts the formal style of classical writers ofthe ancient world, whether it be Josephus writing the history of the Jewish people, or the Greekmedical men such as Hippocrates, or historians like Herodias or even the biographer Plutarch. Hebegins like that. Setting out this story in the style which would address it as a serious historicalwork, worthy of consideration by all.―Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,just as they were handed down to us by those who, from the first, were eyewitnesses and servantsof the Word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from thebeginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, my most excellent2