The Gospel According to Luke, Part 1: Introduction :: By Donald Whitchard
Luke 1:1-4; Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 Summary: This is the first in a series of messages covering the Gospel of Luke. Luke used his mastery of research and inquiry to give us an accurate and Spirit-inspired account of Jesus’ life and ministry. “In as much as many have taken in hand […]
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Luke 1:1-4; Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
Summary: This is the first in a series of messages covering the Gospel of Luke. Luke used his mastery of research and inquiry to give us an accurate and Spirit-inspired account of Jesus’ life and ministry.
“In as much as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered to them to us, it seemed good to me, also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you and orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of these things in which you were instructed” (Luke 1:1-4, NKJV).
This gospel is my personal favorite, seeing as it was written by not just a physician, a man of science, but who was a student of history as well. I earned a degree in history while in college and went on to have a career as a high school teacher for several years. As a Christian, I view the Scriptures not only as the inspired Word of God but also as historically accurate accounts of the events and direction of the nation of Israel and its place in the affairs of humanity. Conservative Bible scholars, teachers, archaeologists, and others have made it their priority to affirm this belief and show that the Book revered by both Jews and Christians is the undisputed truth of God’s declarations, laws, warnings, and grace.
Luke’s detailed records have been a specific source of study for both scholars and preachers alike over the centuries.
Scholars such as Sir William Ramsey, a noted skeptic of the nineteenth century, originally set out to disprove Luke’s gospel as nothing more than legend and myth, believing that the historical record he wrote was inaccurate and thus striking a blow to the Bible’s claim of inerrancy. However, after several years of exploration and research, Ramsey concluded that what Luke had written down was “history of the highest order” and “worthy of being in the same category as the Greek historians.” He also became a follower of Christ as a result.
Numerous books and commentaries have been written about Luke’s Gospel over the years. It, along with the entirety of Scripture, is to be studied (2 Timothy 2:15; Acts 17:11), analyzed and researched. An objective person will see that the Scriptures are not just stories of faith but are logical, rational, and accurate records of human nature stripped of all self-exaltation. The Scriptures are superior to all other “religious” writings. They are inspired by the Holy Spirit, and He used varied writers over the centuries to present the truth to a fallen world and to show that He is Sovereign over all things (Joshua 1:1-8; Psalm 119:1-2,89,105; Luke 24:47; Romans 3:10-18; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
What about Luke himself? He was probably from the major Roman city of Antioch, located on the western coast of the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the area of Lebanon/Syria. It was in Antioch where the name “Christian” originated (Acts 11:26) due to the work of the apostle Paul and his associate Barnabas, who were teaching new believers there about the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. It is likely that Luke was led to faith in Jesus Christ by these two men’s faithful instructions, and he ended up as one of Paul’s many traveling companions. Luke is mentioned in Paul’s varied letters to the churches (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24).
After Paul’s martyrdom in or around AD 67, Luke continued to travel, preaching the gospel and working with churches in Asia Minor. He may also have worked with the apostle John, by then the last living apostle and the only one of the twelve who would die a “natural death” around AD 96-100 shortly after writing his gospel, the three letters that bear his name, and the book of Revelation while exiled on the island of Patmos. Luke, according to church tradition, met a martyr’s death by hanging around AD 80-85.
Luke is the only biblical writer who was not Jewish. He was of Greek ancestry, trained as a physician and writer of history, noted for attention to details unique to his account of Jesus’ life and mission. He wrote his gospel as well as the book of Acts of the Apostles around AD 60-62. This early date is the most probable since Paul was still living and under house arrest (Acts 28), awaiting an audience before the emperor Nero to present his case (Acts 25:11-12, 26:32).
Neither Luke’s Gospel nor the book of Acts mentioned any record of persecution, which began in AD 64 after Rome was nearly consumed by a fire which many citizens believed Nero started to build an opulent new palace and other accommodations. He needed a scapegoat to take the blame away from him and accused the Christians, already suspected of their alleged disloyalty to the empire, of being the ones who started the fire. Severe persecution broke out, and both Paul and Peter were killed while languishing in Roman prisons.
A major reason many scholars give for an early date of writing the New Testament is the fact that the destruction of the Temple, as prophesied by the Lord Jesus, had not yet happened (Matthew 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6). An event as cataclysmic as this would have been recorded as proof of Jesus’ prophetic office and His divinity. Any competent student or writer of history will go to the earliest written records to confirm or refute the account of the event in question or of the life to be studied.
This method of research is found in this gospel, as Luke gathered materials such as testimonies of those who had seen and heard Jesus teach, along with gathering written records, eyewitness accounts from the apostles, the testimony of the aged mother of Jesus, Mary, who had been placed under the care of John by Jesus while He was dying upon the cross (John 19:25-27), and the testimonies of the living eyewitnesses who had seen Jesus after His resurrection (Matthew 28:11; Mark 1:45, 2:12, 5:15-16; Luke 24:35; John 20:24-29; Acts 4:12,20; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 2 Peter 1:16-21; 1 John 1:1-4).
Scholars who tend to argue for a late date in the writing of the Gospels seem to not take these factors into account. It would be more affirming to conclude that nearly all the New Testament was written prior to AD 70 save for John’s writings, which were written toward the end of the first century AD. While the original accounts are, to our knowledge, long gone, the numerous copies made by the disciples of the original apostles and other faithful scribes still provide us with the accurate account of the life of our LORD.
This introduction continues in the next message, which will deal with the Gospel’s characteristics, the reason for which it was written, and a blunt look at the historical background in which it takes place.
The Gospel of Luke will be presented on “The Reality City Review” broadcasts as well.
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