Luke 1:1-4

Transcript

00:00:00:39 – 00:00:39:25
Clint Loveall
Hey, everybody. Happy Tuesday. Welcome back. Thanks for being with us. As we get into the first opening verses of the Gospel of Luke today, as we move into a new study, a gospel, The Story of Jesus. You may know this. I’m sure you do. The word gospel means good news. And so of the four books that tell the story of Jesus life to some extent, but specifically his ministry and his impact, we think of those as the presentation of the good news and the Gospel of Luke in some ways begins with the most orderly version of that.

00:00:39:25 – 00:01:23:58
Clint Loveall
Matthew kind of jumps into genealogy. Mark just hits right away with John the Baptist. John gives us a beautiful Prolog, but not much in the way of real introduction. Luke is the one gospel that has a kind of preface, and I’ll read that for you. And then there’s actually quite a bit to unpack in it. So verse one, chapter one here, since many have undergone and undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have filled among us just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided after investigating everything carefully from the very first to write an orderly

00:01:23:58 – 00:02:05:15
Clint Loveall
account for you most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. So one of the things that makes this interesting is that Luke tells us what he’s trying to do right away before trying to do it, to hand down an orderly account, verified and validated by eyewitnesses and servants of the word, and adding his voice to those that have already been written, which presupposes that he is aware of some other gospel most likely, Mark, as we believe that was probably the earliest.

00:02:05:15 – 00:02:39:18
Clint Loveall
But we will talk about those relationships as we go through here. And interestingly enough, that is this is also then dedicated to a title, probably not a name, but a title most excellent Theophilus Theos in Greek is God, Filius Love. So one who loves God most excellent God lover, literally so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you’ve been instructed.

00:02:39:20 – 00:03:09:00
Clint Loveall
And it’s this word Theophilus Michael, that really kind of in many ways cements the relationship between Luke and Acts, because we see this title again as the person to whom the Book of Acts is sort of, I wouldn’t say dedicated, but designated at least. And so a very clear connection here that has really laid the foundation of that belief that Luke and acts are a two volume work written by the same person.

00:03:09:16 – 00:03:39:52
Michael Gewecke
Yeah. I think it’s worth noting here that the beginning of this is framed in a way that to its original audience it would be recognizable as a prolog of an important epic kind of work. It is very much both in the vocabulary and in the structure, A very formal entrance to this gospel, which may seem a little academic, but really, when you compare it to the other gospels, it has a kind of weight and gravity to it that I find really helpful.

00:03:39:52 – 00:04:05:16
Michael Gewecke
And it does set the tone for the story and that connection to act. I think it only goes to emphasize really the extent to which this is seen as the beginning of what is even more epic than this book itself. In other words, the life death of Jesus. The things that need done in the life of Jesus will actually extend beyond Jesus’s life into the very life of the church.

00:04:05:16 – 00:04:29:34
Michael Gewecke
And indeed, it is that church movement that will create the disciples who will then turn to Luke’s writing. Luke’s telling of the life of Jesus Christ, and will then find in it the story of Jesus the hope and promise of what he did. And it’ll become a really formative work in the life of the ongoing work of the church.

00:04:29:34 – 00:04:58:30
Michael Gewecke
And so that’s the kind of beautiful, constant relationship movement here of this gospel is the fact that it both seeks to show us the path of how we get from Jesus. And literally the beginning, all the way to that gospel being spread beyond his life, death and resurrection. And then now it’s held in the hand of the God lover of the one who desires to be in the midst of that circle of formation, that community of discipleship.

00:04:58:44 – 00:05:05:56
Michael Gewecke
And this then becomes the tool that will form them, which they’ll carry to go continue that work in the lives of others.

00:05:05:56 – 00:05:34:39
Clint Loveall
Yeah, and a couple of random insights here. Theophilus is thought by many Bible scholars to not simply be a generic title, but that Luke actually has a person in mind that Luke is writing to someone, perhaps someone of some political standing or of some social standing, but that this is an individual rather than a generic term for all those who love God.

00:05:34:57 – 00:06:09:27
Clint Loveall
Now it works both ways, but but probably the leading idea is that Luke is writing this to first and foremost, an individual. The other interesting thing is that Luke says the events that have been filled among us, you know, and this is important because we told you yesterday, Luke has a strong bias, a deep concern for the church, for the outworking of the work of Christ amongst the people of Christ.

00:06:09:27 – 00:06:37:01
Clint Loveall
And so he says here the events that have been fulfilled. But notice he doesn’t he doesn’t link that only explicitly to the cross and resurrection of Jesus, but to all the events that have been fulfilled among us. And then finally, Michael, I would just point out something that you only notice by its absence if you open the gospel of Matthew, you jump right in to the Jewish lineage, to Abraham.

00:06:37:24 – 00:07:02:00
Clint Loveall
If you open the gospel of Mark, you start right away with the words of a prophet. Here we have really no trace of Judaism. There’s no mention of Scripture. There’s no mention of prophecy there. We are going to get to a genealogy, but we get there in a different route. Bye bye, Luke and, you know, I think we said this yesterday.

00:07:02:00 – 00:07:40:40
Clint Loveall
Luke is in many ways the most generic. And when I say that, I don’t mean boring. I mean that Luke has in mind the broadest audience. He is not simply thinking of Jews or Gentiles. He’s thinking of everybody. And I think it’s very interesting. Again, we sort of notice it by its absence, Michael, that this is not particularly Jewish and there’s no real reference in these opening verses that give us the impression that that’s going to be of main of utmost importance to Luke.

00:07:41:02 – 00:08:15:59
Michael Gewecke
You know, a key word in this whole section that we have that you might just read past comes in verse three, the endeavor to write an orderly account for you that were the orderly is essential. And anybody who is a person who values the details is going to appreciate Luke because the ordering of this book is intentional. And in fact this very thesis statement positioned at the very beginning of this book tells us that there has been thought given to how this story is going to be told.

00:08:15:59 – 00:08:42:48
Michael Gewecke
And if you look at the other gospels, it’s not that they’re not orderly, but their order is very different. When you look at Matthew, the things are grouped in groups of seven and there’s these place things, particular things that happen at the foot of mountains versus the peak of mountains. And there’s particular kinds of movements that happen between Jesus’s teaching of a parable versus a healing story and how there’s patterns and repetition in those gospels.

00:08:43:02 – 00:09:05:18
Michael Gewecke
That’s one example. And Matthew, Mark and John do their own kinds of things like that. And in fact, the people who seek to go find the the gaps or the holes in the biblical story, they’re often looking in those places to see. Wall did Jesus do this thing year or did he did it do it here or, you know, is that a repeat, all that kind of stuff?

00:09:05:34 – 00:09:26:25
Michael Gewecke
Luke here is going to lay out this story. It’s going to be orderly by geography. It’s going to be orderly in many ways by time, because he’s going to give us some of these essential time frames of Jesus’s life, his birth, his early ministry, his movement towards Jerusalem, and then, of course, the time frame of the church’s growth and acts.

00:09:26:25 – 00:09:54:28
Michael Gewecke
So the orderly account does matter here. And I think that the narrative here being set as a telling of the eyewitness accounts that you see at the beginning servants of the world, this is a blanket recognition. And scholars point out that there’s a sense in which Luke may be telling us here that there’s not necessarily a significant amount of eyewitness testimony in this part of the telling of the story.

00:09:54:46 – 00:10:04:42
Michael Gewecke
But it’s been researched, it’s been organized, it’s been laid out in a sensible way so that we can understand it. And you’re going to see that kind of order built throughout.

00:10:05:27 – 00:10:39:59
Clint Loveall
Yeah. And, you know, one of the one of the repercussions of that, I think, Michael, is and you know, this is a sensitive discussion for for some people they would be very uncomfortable with this idea. But Luke is telling us something in that first he’s telling us that there is other sources that that he’s relating to. He many have undertaken to set down an orderly account just as they were handed to us.

00:10:40:15 – 00:11:03:39
Clint Loveall
So I to decide. Part of what Luke is telling us is that some of that work involves the work of editing, that he is looking at materials that he’s deciding what to include. And I know we love this narrative, this idea that Luke sort of holds his pen and then God moves it for him and the story comes out.

00:11:04:01 – 00:11:50:33
Clint Loveall
But, but I think of all the Gospels. Luke is, is most clear about some of what that work involves for him. He’s sorting through information. He’s hearing stories, he’s looking for what to include. He’s looking for information about Jesus so that he can compile it into what he believes is the most compelling, helpful, accurate I would authentic maybe version of the story of Jesus so that people can be introduced to what God has done for them and to respond to what God has done to them.

00:11:50:49 – 00:12:24:43
Clint Loveall
And, you know, I would say that’s true in all the gospels. That’s that’s part of the purpose of every writer. But I think in Luke, we see it just very, very clearly. And I know that’s a conversation that could make some people uncomfortable. But I think it’s fascinating that Luke is telling us that that’s part of what he’s doing, that’s part of his process, part of his task, part of his job here is that he’s trying to present what he understands to be the most accurate and reliable witness to the work of Christ in our midst.

00:12:24:43 – 00:12:33:32
Clint Loveall
And I think I think that’s important, Michael, just that that is a that’s a relatively big deal.

00:12:33:32 – 00:12:58:33
Michael Gewecke
It does also open to us a little bit of a glimpse into how discipleship and growing in the faith looked. And we see it here at the end of verse four that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. So it’s clear that there’s already been teaching done, there’s already been instruction as to the fundamentals of the faith.

00:12:58:33 – 00:13:29:18
Michael Gewecke
But here Luke makes it very clear that the purpose of this is to provide the orderly account, the structure, the real truth telling story of this is the stuff that matters. This is what you need to know to understand who Jesus is and knowing the truth concerning those things, knowing that those are shored up, that there’s foundation, that there’s been a thoughtful account, given that there’s been thoughtful attention paid to those resources that you name Clint.

00:13:29:36 – 00:13:56:36
Michael Gewecke
I mean, the idea presented here, especially when you figure that this is a very kind of formal and in some ways maybe even impressive opening for a gospel. What you see in that is this sort of note that you would communicate to an early Christian. You can trust this, you can rely upon this. This is something that you can allow to be the foundation of what you believe.

00:13:56:36 – 00:14:09:36
Michael Gewecke
It’s going to come around and maybe fill in gaps that you haven’t been instructed in yet. And those places where you have been instructed. This is going to show you why that is the truth. And Luke makes that explicitly clear right from the start.

00:14:10:01 – 00:14:46:06
Clint Loveall
I think the closest the closest equivalent we have, Michael, may be the idea of a biographer, someone who studies a person, sorts through the information they can glean about that person’s life, and then brings us a picture of that person as as a result of their work. And if you’ve read biographies, imagine that you were to say to someone a comment about Abraham Lincoln, who’s never heard about Abraham Lincoln, Imagine what you would have to fill in behind that.

00:14:46:30 – 00:15:13:03
Clint Loveall
Now, imagine in Luke’s world the idea that someone has said Jesus saves you from your sins. Jesus is the Son of God and the basics of the faith. And the response is, Well, who is Jesus and why could Jesus do that? And how has Jesus done that? And then Luke feels compelled to begin to compile that information so that it helps serve the cause of sharing Christ with others?

00:15:13:03 – 00:15:25:10
Clint Loveall
And I really think, you know, I hope that’s not an uncomfortable idea for someone that Luke is functioning as a biographer here, because I really think that’s a helpful I think that’s a helpful framework.

00:15:25:37 – 00:15:57:36
Michael Gewecke
Yeah, there is a lot of theology in the book of Luke Clint, but there’s also a sense in which Luke may be maybe unique in some ways from the other gospel writers is very much trusting of the story itself, of course, is Jesus’s teachings and healings. But when Luke hears talking about the truth, I can’t look beyond that without thinking that Luke is talking about Jesus himself, that the truth is that this it’s the story of Jesus’s life.

00:15:57:36 – 00:16:21:03
Michael Gewecke
It’s the story of who Jesus was, of what He did. And then ultimately it’s the story of what Jesus will do in and through the church by the power of the spirit that comes in acts. And so that’s what makes this beginning of Luke. And then the connection that acts so powerful is because we, the reader, come to see very, very quickly that they are intrinsically bound up with one another.

00:16:21:03 – 00:16:42:12
Michael Gewecke
The believer who is receiving this book needs to know the story of Jesus found in Luke. But the story of Luke and who Jesus is would not have the same force and meaning if it wasn’t for acts and the people carrying that story forward, the people whose lives have been marked and changed by it. And that’s the beautiful relationship between them.

00:16:42:30 – 00:16:53:45
Michael Gewecke
And I think that’s why the truth contained in Luke is the essential foundation required for the actions of acts and then the invitation of acts to be Christian even today to be meaningful.

00:16:54:25 – 00:17:22:24
Clint Loveall
And as we kind of move to the end of our time here today, Michael, I want to just mention something that we won’t have time to do justice. But one of the questions that comes up when you read gospels is the moment that Luke and Matthew differ on something, or that Luke or Matthew have has a story in them that Mark doesn’t have.

00:17:22:24 – 00:17:53:58
Clint Loveall
And so how how they found this information and why each one includes it is a fascinating kind of exploration for Bible scholars and and in a in a very small nutshell, let me give you an outline of what we think we know, because this may have some impact on our conversation. It is generally assumed that Mark is the earliest gospel and there are significant parts of Matthew and Luke that have the same information that Mark has.

00:17:54:10 – 00:18:26:24
Clint Loveall
So that makes sense that Luke and Matthew both had access to. Mark There are things that Luke has that Mark and Matthew don’t have, so Luke must have had some sources to himself. The same is true of Matthew, and then there are some materials that are in Luke and Matthew that are not in Mark. And so scholars have considered that there may have been some other collection of stories, perhaps even something written down, though no trace of it has really ever been found.

00:18:26:45 – 00:18:56:02
Clint Loveall
But there must have been some canon of stories that Luke and Matthew had access to that Mark either didn’t have access to ignored for some reason, or quite possibly came about after he was finished with his work. And I say that to sort of indicate that there there is a complexity to each of the presentations of Jesus that gives them a uniqueness.

00:18:56:25 – 00:19:20:56
Clint Loveall
And we talked a little bit yesterday about some of the uniqueness of Luke, and we will see them here. But one of the fascinating questions is where does Luke get some of this material? And we don’t have good answers for some of it. We have guesses for some of it and others we just say we don’t know, to be quite honest, we don’t know and we’ll try to point out when we run into those.

00:19:22:10 – 00:19:45:43
Clint Loveall
But again, there’s just it is a it is a more complicated picture sometimes than people think of. People might think of. Well, Luke just he just knew all about Jesus and he sat down and he wrote this story. I assure you, it was more difficult than that. It was more complex than that. There were many more layers to it than that.

00:19:45:43 – 00:19:52:44
Clint Loveall
And I think Luke is being is giving us a nod that direction here in the in the prelude, the preface.

00:19:53:06 – 00:20:30:09
Michael Gewecke
Just one last word in the gospel of John. You see the idea of witness often and that is an important part of John’s telling of the story of Jesus as he looks at that from a very theological perspective. What we’re going to discover in the Book of Luke is that Luke two uses that idea of witness. Very often, though, there is some distinctiveness, while John is a very theologically minded gospel showing us the spiritual truth of who Jesus is and consequently who Jesus is, not Luke depends upon witnesses because it is the witness accounts that we see today.

00:20:30:28 – 00:20:59:06
Michael Gewecke
Those who have undertaken that goal to set down an orderly account. It’s those things that we’re told that Luke investigates carefully, that he takes the time to go through. And so witnesses in this gospel are also essential. It’s not as if Luke sat down with one source paper and took it and glossed over a few connecting words and then boom out pop the gospel that that is not the case at all.

00:20:59:06 – 00:21:44:42
Michael Gewecke
This has been carefully constructed. It’s been carefully researched and investigated, thought through, and that dependance upon witnesses, I think all the more Clint makes this book relevant to our present context. Because to your point, unlike the other gospels where we may have some cultural gaps, we all get what a biography is on some fundamental level. And though this is not the same as a modern biography, it shares some central core fundamental beliefs as that that that the idea that those accounts of a person could be researched, investigated, vetted and that that vetting helps us get to something true about that person, that that’s maybe a small little section of what Luke is, but that’s in

00:21:44:42 – 00:21:48:09
Michael Gewecke
Luke. And so we might be able to relate to that as we study it.

00:21:48:32 – 00:22:17:34
Clint Loveall
Yeah. And I think for that reason, Michael, it maybe isn’t entirely fair to think of Luke as a historian because, well, while Luke does believe that he’s writing things that happened, that they are historical, his point is not so that people will know the past, right? This is very much a history that points toward a future. His point is that so people will know Jesus.

00:22:17:34 – 00:22:44:38
Clint Loveall
And so I don’t think it is I don’t think it’s sufficient to think that Luke is is bringing us a historian’s perspective on Jesus. That’s not deep enough. This is written from a faith perspective. He he does believe these things to be historical, but he includes them ultimately, because more than that, he believes that they point toward the work of Jesus Christ.

00:22:44:38 – 00:22:58:12
Clint Loveall
We’ll have lots of opportunities to have those kind of conversations. But I don’t want anyone to get the idea that Luke thinks he’s only talking to us about the past, that that’s not deep enough for for a way to understand.

00:22:58:12 – 00:23:12:51
Michael Gewecke
Luke Well, friends, thanks for being with us here today. We’ve started. Luke We’re in it, and we hope that you might invite anyone else who you think would appreciate our time together. That said, we are grateful for this time and look forward to seeing you all tomorrow as we continue on in this book.

00:23:12:52 – 00:23:21:27
Clint Loveall
Thanks, everybody.