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1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. ~ Luke 1:1-4
The writer of the Gospel according to Luke is also the writer of the book of Acts. Luke wrote more of the New Testament than anyone else, even more than the Apostle Paul. Luke is a man that the Apostle Paul calls the “good physician” in Colossians 4. Luke was a medical doctor who was a companion of Paul. He was also a Gentile convert to the Christian faith. Whereas the other Gospel writers were all Jewish, Luke was not; he was the only Gentile to contribute a Gospel account.
In v.3 we are introduced to Theophilus which is a Greek made up on two Greek words (theos and phileo), which means "friend of God." Theophilus was a Gentile who probably held some important office in the Roman government.
According to our text, Luke wrote this Gospel in order to bolster Theophilus' confidence in his narrative. Luke does this by referring to three important facts. First, he says in v.3 that his narrative is based on thorough and careful research. The Lord Jesus used the precise nature of Doctor Luke to provide a precise understanding of His life and ministry. Luke assures that he has followed all things; that is, he does not include anything that he has not traced back to a reliable source. He has followed all things accurately; his work has not been careless but painstaking. He has followed all things accurately for a long time. He has not been hasty in his work. And, as a result, his work is trustworthy.
In v.1 Luke uses the word fulfilled. This word is sneaky because it references the work the Lord Jesus accomplished to provide you and me with a personal relationship with God. In order for us to have a relationship with God, the Lord Jesus had to sustain or fulfill in every way the truth. Having done so, He made it possible for us to be forgiven and thus be born again. Our born again status enables us to have this personal relationship with God.
In addition, in v.1, Luke guards us against two errors in studying the Gospels. One is the error that our belief in the inspiration of the Bible implies that each writer got all of his narrative directly from God by dictation. Luke shows clearly that he wrote his Gospel on the basis of sources and research. So inspiration means that God chose Luke and guided him in his writing so that it would all be true and powerful.
The other error that v.1 guards us against is the claim that until the writing of the four gospels, Jesus' teaching and works were only passed down orally. If, as Luke says, many had earlier written down accounts of Jesus' sayings and deeds, then there is no reason to think people had not done this from the beginning. So the first thing Luke stresses is the number of his sources: there are many, including Mary the mother of the Lord Jesus.
We read in v.2, "just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word." Luke's writings of what the Lord Jesus said and did were quality resources because eyewitnesses were involved. Luke includes himself among those who received reports directly from the eyewitnesses. So not only are there many sources which he can use to corroborate each other, but even better, he has had direct access to the eyewitnesses themselves.
The eyewitnesses were the apostles and Mary. We can see this from the way Luke describes the work of the apostles in Acts, who had the task of bearing witness to what they had seen and of ministering the word, which probably means preserving the sayings and deeds of the Lord Jesus, and teaching it to the churches.
The third Gospel presents the Lord Jesus as the Son of man which was the Lord's favorite title for Himself, one He used more frequently than any other name. In Matthew the emphasis is upon the Lord Jesus as king. In Mark we see Him as the servant of God. Here, in Luke, He is the Son of Man.
The thesis to the Gospel, which forms a brief outline of the book, is found in Luke 19:10, where we read, "The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost."
In this one verse we have the divisions of this Gospel. First, the Son of man came, and, in the beginning of this Gospel, Luke tells us how He came to earth as a man. Then, He came to seek. The first part of His ministry consists of seeking man out. Finally, He moves on to save by means of His cross and resurrection.
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