1:1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
(ESV)
An angel visiting a childless man. A virgin giving birth. A paralysed man walking. 5,000 people being fed with a little bit of bread and some fish. A dead man coming back to life.
What kind of book would you think would contain all these stories? We may be familiar with them, but if not, we might imagine we are reading a fantasy novel.
We read all those stories in this book, but before we get to them the human author speaks. He wants us to know that what he has written is true. He has written history.
This paragraph is a bit like a dedication page we still have at the beginning of books. He writes to “most excellent Theophilusâ€.
Who is this man? We are not told, but we know he already knows much of what Luke is about to write, but Luke wants him to be certain of the truth of what he believes. It may be that he was a wealthy patron, who funded Luke to do this work.
Luke has not cut corners. He hasn’t thrown this together. It is “an orderly accountâ€. He has compiled what we are about to read from the accounts of those who were there at the time. “Eyewitnesses†and “ministers of the word.â€
We know that he travelled with Paul (an apostle of Jesus Christ, so travelled preaching the message of Jesus Christ), and presumably then he spent time interviewing the disciples who travelled with Jesus.
Whatever conclusion we come to about this book, we can’t settle for believing these are “spiritual stories†which didn’t really happen but have a meaning that is important. Luke is claiming they happened - and this claim is either truth or a lie.
So as we read this book, it is important we do so with this authors statement in mind. He wants us to know the truth about Jesus. He wants us to have “certaintyâ€. Anything less, and Luke will have failed. He is not content to leave us as agnostics. He does not want us to be doubters.
It raises the stakes for us as readers - will we read? As we read, will we believe? It is not enough to just enjoy the stories.
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