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Luke 1:1-4
By J.D. Myers | January 21, 2009
Luke begins his account of the life of Jesus by stating who he is writing it for, and he also provides a bit of insight into the methods he used to glean the information that follows.
1:1. First, he recognizes that many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of the things which have been fulfilled among us. It is possible that he is referring to narratives like Matthew and Mark, but there may have been others as well which we no longer have available to us.
1:2. Second, Luke is careful to note that he is only referring to those accounts which were written by eyewitnesses of the events, and that these individuals delivered their accounts directly to him. He did not get his information, either verbal or written, through secondhand sources.
1:3. Having received these accounts, Luke decided to write his own. Why should he do so when there were already accounts by eyewitnesses? Becuase it seemed good to him. That is, he wanted to write an account. Frequently, the desires of our heart are from God, and should be pursued with passion, especially if they bring glory to God and fit within our gifts, talents, personality, and abilities. Luke certainly believed he had these, for he writes next that he had perfect understanding of all things from the very first. This doesn’ t mean that Luke understood everything about Jesus and knew every detail about his life, but rather that Luke had thoroughly investigated the events he records and could vouch for their accuracy. Such statements were expected from individuals who were writing historical accounts, especially if their account was for legal or official purposes.
Luke states next that he desired to write an orderly account. He does not elaborate on how he intends to organize his account. Possibly, his intent was to write a chronological narrative.
Luke is writing this narrative for one person, the most excellent Theophilus. We don’t know who he was exactly, but the term most excellent indicates that Theophilus was a high-ranking Roman official. Of the various titles given to Roman officials, this is one of the highest. Some have written that the only Roman title higher than the one Luke uses here is “Caesar.”
It is also unclear if Theophilus is this person’s real name, since the name means “Lover of God.” It may be that Luke is writing to a man who wishes to keep his identity secret. Curiously, in Acts, which was also written by Luke to Theophilus, Luke does not use the title “most excellent.” Instead, he simply writes to “Theophilus.” Why? Ultimately, we don’t know. Some speculate that maybe Theophilus lost his position of prominence, maybe as a result of becoming a follower of Jesus.
1:4. Whoever Theophilus was, Luke writes to him so that he may know the certainty of the things in which he had previously been instructed. Apparently, Theophilus had been taught about the life of Christ before. By whom we are not told. Luke writes his account to confirm what Theophilus had learned.
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