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     Wouldn’t this be an interesting worldwide poll – “Who is the one person who ever walked on the earth that everyone in the world today is likely to know of?”  Likely the majority would answer, “Jesus of Nazareth.”  Moreover, when He was on earth, He was hardly known outside of Palestine.  Only after His death and resurrection did His worldwide impact begin, spreading so rapidly that 30 years later the apostle Paul reported that the news of Jesus had been heard by the whole world (Colossians 1:23).  What is even more perplexing about Jesus is that we have so few 1st century A.D. documents written about Him, yet His impact continues unabated 2000 years after He walked on terra firma.
     The most complete accounts about Jesus are found in the Bible, by the gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Also about 40 ancient documents (written a few decades after His death) addressing various subjects make reference to Jesus.  The gospel writers, claim Jesus is God, that He performed innumerable miracles and then make the wild claim that He rose from the dead, three days after being mercilessly crucified as a criminal.  The New Testament claims that what is written, including that about Jesus, is by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16).  You would think that God would give us a multi-volume set giving us every detail of Jesus’ life, yet all we have recorded are parts of about 40 days of His life.  That is at best less than .0035% of His life, and not more than 2% of the three years of His teaching ministry.
     The brevity of the gospel writers is readily evident.  For example, why is Christmas, the celebration of Jesus birth, not supported by volumes of details about His birth, His parents?  Who was Joseph?  Who was Mary?  Where is the account of the pregnant Mary making the gruesome journey on a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem?  Why did Joseph choose this specific time to make that perilous trip?  How long did they stay in the stable before moving to an inn?  What did the locals think of the “stable” birth or even if they became aware of it?  Why the announcement of Jesus’ birth by angels to unknown local shepherds in the hills of Judea and not to Augustus caesar Himself, or at least to the high priest in Jerusalem?  Who were the shepherds and what was their background?  None of these questions are answered.  In fact Mark and John do not even mention Jesus birth.  Matthew focuses more upon Jesus being born to a virgin and the King Herod’s attempted murder of Jesus.  Luke on the other hand, giving the most detailed account, yet focuses upon Mary – the prophecy of Jesus birth given to her and her interaction with Elizabeth about the prophecy.
     The inventiveness of some second century writers reflects their dissatisfaction with God’s brevity.  The Protoevangelium includes 25 chapters between the announcement to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus through Herod’s slaughter of the babies in Bethlehem in attempt to kill Jesus.  Another book, The Gospel of the Infancy, contains 50 chapters on the first 12 years of Jesus life.  How much truth there is and how much is fiction in such books is anyone’s guess.
     In the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) of the Bible, God has given us what is necessary for us to believe in Jesus (John 20:30-31) and has emphasized that which He considers important.  John concludes his account “...many other things which Jesus did, which I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the book that would be written.” (John 21:25).  Although this is hyperbole, one is left to wonder how many volumes would be filled if all of Jesus life was recorded.  The brevity of the Bible reflects an non-human element – divine inspiration.

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