Four authors devoted over one-third of their books to describing the events of the last week of Jesus’ earthly life. Two of the authors were eyewitnesses of and participants in this central week in human history; one author was a young lad who was with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane; and the fourth did not know Jesus personally but interviewed the people who were involved. In order that these four would get the story right, Jesus promised to send “the Spirit of truth…[who]will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). Jesus added, “But when the Helper comes…He will testify of Me” (John 15:26) and will “bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).

The Holy Spirit inspired Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to write their Gospels about Jesus’ life and moved them to tell only the truth. Did they forget to write down that Jesus had married Mary Magdalene? No, that alleged marriage never happened. Matthew heard Jesus declare, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”(Matt. 20:28). He did not come to start a ‘holy family.’ Were these four authors too embarrassed to tell about a plot to steal Jesus away from the tomb but didn’t count on the soldier spearing Jesus? These four told other embarrassing facts about Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial, Thomas’ doubting. But their gospels show that the disciples did not believe Jesus would rise, even after the women told them that they had seen Jesus alive.

Most importantly, these authors repeatedly demonstrate that Jesus is true God; for example, the apostle John wrote, “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).

Satan has persuaded several modern authors to twist the story about Jesus in order to give people many excuses not to believe in it—or to believe that the Church has lied all these centuries. Books and movies such as “The Robe,” “The Last Temptation of Christ;” plays such as “Godspell” and “Jesus Christ, Superstar;” the “Matrix” movie series and the latest hot seller “The DaVinci Code” handle the true story the same way that the chief priests did. For these last mentioned bribed the soldiers to tell people that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body while they slept.

The author of The Da Vinci Code states that his fiction story is based on the true events. The author claims that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, that their children became the royal bloodline in France, that Jesus was only a man whom the Council of Nicea narrowly voted to declare as God, and that the Christian church has aggressively covered up these “facts.”

It is true that at the Council of Nicea met to debate about Arius’ teachings and declared them to be false doctrine. This council was not a political power play, as many liberals teach. The 400 bishops at that first council confessed that Jesus is true God equal to the Father because the Bible taught that. Nevertheless the false teachings of Arius thrived for many years afterwards.

St. Paul wrote about a time when people would be “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7), who will “not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they [would] heap up for themselves teachers and [would] turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2Timothy 4:3-4). When people don’t want to believe God’s true Word, the devil will invent many fables for people to believe.

As we again hear the accounts of Jesus life, death and resurrection during Lent, consider again what St. Peter declared, “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). Let us thank God for inspiring the four Gospel authors to write the truth for us to know. We should also thank Jesus for laying down His life as a ransom for all people and thank the Holy Spirit for giving us faith in Jesus and the certain hope of eternal life through Him. May the message of Lent and Easter renew our confidence in Jesus’ work of salvation as revealed in God’s book of truth, the Holy Bible.