I Remember Jesus

One night I was very, very sick.

I had a fever and lay motionless, miserably studying the yellow light that spilled along the edges of my varnished bedroom door.

Comfort broke through my misery along with the light each time my mom came in to check on me. Her hand felt cool on my forehead and she encouraged me as mother's do. I can still sense what her presence was like beside me. If I were an artist, I could draw the scene in minute detail.

That took place almost 50 years ago. Half a century.

My Grandmother gave me a vivid account of the time she was weeding the family garden in Nebraska and her sister accidently struck her in the head with a hoe. The weather and events of that day played back to me through Grandma's recall like HD TV. That happened almost 100 years ago. A century.

The Apostle John wrote his personal account of Jesus' ministry within 40 - 60 years of the resurrection. The Apostle Paul's memoirs (epistles) earlier than that.

Last month we visited a special museum exhibit of the Dead Sea scrolls. These ancient fragments were discovered in the 1940's near Qumran, on the West Bank of the Jordan river. As it turns out, the Qumran scrolls date back 2,000 years and demonstrate that texts of the Hebrew bible from the middle ages match closely their predecessors of the previous millenium. In short, nothing's been lost in the translation...literally.

Accompanying the exhibit were also copies of early New Testament bible texts. I was surprised to learn that there are copies of Paul's letters in existence that are dated - with some debate - to the late 3rd century. That's the late 200's.

If my daughter lives another 75 years and gives her daughter the account of my grandmother's memorable day in the family garden, it will be as fresh as Paul's record of early Christianity.

My mother's soothing words. Grandma's vivid recollection of the warm blood spilling down her head.

John and Paul had even more stimulous and reason to capture detailed and accurate accounts of their historical record.

"We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, be we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." 2Peter 1:16

What do you believe?