Luke 1:1-4 – Introduction

Luke 1:3

1. Luke was a physician and one of Paul’s co-workers on his missionary journeys (Colossians 4:14) and authored both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles (Luke 1:1-4).
   1. In the Gospel of Luke, Luke wrote what Jesus did here on earth; in Acts, Luke writes what Jesus continues to do through his disciples.
2. The fact that Luke carefully researched underlines the importance of telling the Gospel in an accurate, thoughtful and credible way.
   1. Luke’s careful research also highlights the fact that the Gospel is not a myth to be believed, but is actually historical fact that can be studied.
3. When Luke writes that he has written this down “in order” it does not necessarily mean that he means chronological order but that he has chosen to present his gospel in a logical order.
   1. The basic text does not include the word “right”, as it does in some Bible translations.
4. Theophilus means “friend of God” and theologians dispute whether this Theophilus was a real person or whether the name is symbolic. One possibility is that Theophilus was real and that Luke gratefully used his name to address not only Theophilus personally but all the friends of God.
   1. Since Acts ends with Paul waiting to be tried before the emperor (Acts 28:19), Luke and Acts could be defensive writings to show the emperor that the Christian message was not dangerous for Rome. Theophilus could then be the Roman official who handled the matter.
   1. Theophilus may well have been an early house church leader who had sufficient financial resources to take on the responsibility of copying and distributing the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts.