Now when he came near to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and many people of the city were with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the coffin: and they that bore him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto you, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet is risen up among us; and, God has visited his people.

And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, And certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven demons, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, who ministered unto him of their substance. And when many people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spoke by a parable[.]

Let’s do a little experiment here. I’m going to read this parable to you without comment. I want you to try to imagine yourself as a person who has never heard it before, had no frame of reference for it, and didn’t have a clue what Jesus was talking about here. The closest you’ve come to this is sowing a few seeds in the ground one time as a kid.

Listen to the parable; you have never heard it before. What do you conclude that Jesus was driving at? Let’s begin, then, in Luke chapter 8.

By the reckoning of some historians, when it comes to the gospel accounts, we have two eyewitnesses, a scribe, and one contemporary historian who was able to collect the stories and put them in order. It makes a very comprehensive set of documents. They make our job a little more difficult, but why should it be easy?

Now, I have made this point before, but I have to make it again right here. Some people (whose elevator doesn’t go to the top floor) think that contradictions in the gospel accounts invalidate them. Ironically, rather than invalidate them, they confirm them. Let me explain. For the testimony of witnesses to be valid, that testimony must be independent of the testimony of others. The existence of inconsistencies between witness accounts are important because they establish the independence of the sources.

There are also differences that arise from the purpose of the author. Luke says up front that his purpose is to set these things in order—seemingly, chronological order. Matthew and Mark, however, may have no such intent, and they may group messages and events to make a greater point. So don’t play the fool by nitpicking. Try rather to understand what the witnesses want us to get about Jesus and his work and his message. Now, instead of consulting the scholars first, let’s consult Luke himself…