This weekend I mentioned to people how cool it was that there used to be people who knew people who knew Jesus. That the Christmas story started not as a movie or a children's play or even as Luke 2 but as this story about how a guy was born. That thought occurred to me while reading about Mark's gospel, and I found a quote from a 4th century historian quoting a 2nd century church leader.

The first history written about followers of Jesus dates around 326ad by a guy named Eusibius. We still have copies of that book. There are some crazy stories in there, but at one point he quotes a guy named Papias. 

Papias lived from around 70ad to around 155ad. He was a bishop in the church, and collected stories (people still do that today...collect stories I mean) from people that knew Jesus. He wrote a book called the sayings of Jesus. We lost that book, the only way we know it existed is because Eusebius quotes it. 

"For I did not take pleasure as the many do in those who speak much, but in those who teach what is true, nor in those who relate foreign precepts, but in those who relate the precepts which were given by the Lord to the faith and came down from the Truth itself. And also if any follower of the pastors happened to come, I would inquire for the sayings of the leaders, what Andrew said, or what Peter said, or what Phillip or what Thomas or James or what John or Matthew or any other of the Lord's disciples were saying. For I considered that I should not get so much advantage from matter in books as from the voice which yet lives and remains."

Instead of reading things that had been written about him, Papias would listen to stories of people who knew people who knew Jesus. 

I love hearing things like that because it reminds me how simple Christianity is. Jesus came lived, died, rose, ascended then sent his spirit. Since then people have been following his teaching, and encountering his spirit.