Abide

Read: Luke 1:1-4

Luke when writing his gospel wanted to give an orderly and accurate account about Jesus in the form of a gospel/letter of sort. Luke addresses his gospel to man named “Theophilus” that means in Greek, “lover of God”. Luke also holds Theophilus in high esteem because addresses him as “most excellent” — a title that Paul used to address Festus and Felix when he was on his way to Rome to be tried (Acts 24:3, Acts 26:25). Theophilus could have been a high ranking Roman citizen or something to that extent. Regardless though, Luke’s purpose was to show this man who loved God and was esteemed by Luke just who Jesus was.

Luke tells how he accomplished this task too. First, he “compiled accounts” about the things accomplished among “us”. Because Luke and Acts are probably a two volume set, Luke is including himself in the “us” – that is build a story of things in the present. He dovetails from these present tense accounts to the traditions that they had received “since the beginning”. He’s talking about the testimonies about Jesus’ life by those who walked, talked, and lived with Jesus while he was on earth — the eyewitnesses — many of who were probably still alive when Paul was writing Luke and Acts. Luke states that he was careful in his investigation so that he could accurately reflect the life and ministry of Jesus and the history of the early church.

The veracity of Luke’s account has been corroborated by archaeology. He names people, places, and events that many thought were fictional, but when a few discoveries were made in the 1800’s archaeology started taking Luke more seriously. Sense that time, many more discoveries have been made corroborating Luke’s gospel. From a historical perspective, this vindicates his assertion that he “investigated everything carefully”. The historical corroboration along with the high quality of the source materials used by Luke such as eyewitnesses show that the content of Luke isn’t merely mythological account of a a Jewish rabbi from Galilee, it is an accurate and historical account of the Savior of the World, Jesus.

Christians can trust the content of Luke’s gospel and the reality of their faith like Theophilus, knowing they have the “exact truth” about Jesus written in the pages of the of the Bible. Jesus was no fake, and for this reason, Christians can speak honestly about the gospel and hold to their convictions.

Lord, You have given me the exact truth! Help me to know it well!