Luke : Day 1

What are your expectations as you begin to read Luke’s Gospel? Sometimes the Bible is assumed to be a collection of fables - surely anyone with a brain can see that they aren’t meant to be taken literally!?

But when we read the first four verses, we see that Luke was taking this all pretty seriously. This first small section is addressed to a man called Theophilus, and it explains why Luke wrote this account of the life of Jesus. 

Read Luke 1: 1-4 (Luke chapter 1, verses 1 to 4.)

Some phrases explained:

'The things that have been fulfilled' - things that were predicted and have now actually happened. 

'They were handed down to us' - these events were described and passed on by Jesus' first followers.

Luke was very clear in his introduction. He said, “I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning” (verse 3). This doctor liked to get his facts straight! He went right back to what happened at the start, before the birth of Jesus, checking out the claims made by Jesus’ apostles (messengers). He spoke to eyewitnesses and laid everything out in an ‘orderly account’.

What was Luke’s aim? To assure Theophilus of ‘the certainty of things he has been taught’ (verse 4). Theophilus may have been a Roman official, perhaps someone Luke met on his travels. He had heard all about Jesus, but perhaps he had his doubts. So Luke did some research in order to give Theophilus and other new Christians confidence that these weren't just stories.

Do you get the impression that Luke was assembling a collection of fables? No, it’s clear that he was trying to communicate history. He was well aware that this is not a normal biography; a doctor would not be easily convinced by tales of a virgin birth, or a dead man coming back to life! But something about the life of Jesus, and the impression He made on his followers, and the things Luke actually observed in the lives of the first Christians, convinced him that it’s all true.

What do you think? Remember that you can pray to God and ask Him to show you what is true.

“…so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” 

Luke 1:4