Luke 1:1-4
Luke's Investigation of the Gospel
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 Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me 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.
Colossians 4:14
Paul Call's Luke, His Good Friend and Doctor
14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.
Galatians 1:11-24
Paul Meets Peter
11 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21 Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.
2 Peter 3:14-16
Peter Talks about Paul's Letters
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Acts 3:11-26
Peter Speaks to the Onlookers
11 While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.
17 "Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21 He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.'
24 "Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.' 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."
Luke, Peter, and Paul are great evidences that Jesus is an historical figure, and that He lived, died, and resurrected...
Luke wrote the Gospel According to Luke and also the Acts of the Apostles...Luke searches out and writes a gospel, the Gospel According to Luke, and he tells the story of Jesus...He writes this book for Theophilus...Luke's gospel has many characters...Then Luke goes on to write another book called the Acts of the Apostles...The two main characters in the Acts of the Apostles are Peter and Paul...Luke, Peter, and Paul knew each other...He seems to have known them well, as much as he writes about them...Paul calls Luke a Dear Friend in his epistle to the Colossians...Since Luke is a friend of Paul's and we know that Paul meets Peter in Jerusalem, and writes about their meeting in Galatians, we might assume they all know each other...So when Luke wrote to Theophilus about his orderly account of Jesus in his first book and the third gospel, both Peter and Paul were alive, and all three were probably friends...The three knew each other while they were alive...When Luke wrote his two books of the Bible, both Paul and Peter were still living...So when Luke says he carefully investigated everything in his books from the beginning, he would most likely have personally talked to Peter and Paul...When Paul writes to the Colossians, he tells the Colossians about his dear friend Luke...When Paul writes to the Galatians, he writes about when he first met Peter...When Peter writes his second letter in the New Testament, Peter mentions how some people have a hard time understanding some of Paul's letters...All three of these men were alive around the same time and would have shared information on Jesus...Also to further this idea, when Luke writes about Paul, he uses "we passages"...We see these "we passages in the Acts 16:10-17, Acts 20:5-15, Acts 21:1-18, and 27:1-28:16...For example, Acts 16:10 Luke writes and uses "we and us"...He writes that "After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave Macedonia, concluding that God called us to preach the gospel to them"...
In Luke's book the Acts of the Apostles he writes about some of the Acts of the Apostles...He writes about several apostles, but focuses the Book of Acts on Peter in the first part of his book, and Paul in the second half of Acts...When Luke writes about Peter after Jesus has died, resurrected, and ascended to heaven and tells us about Peter healing a crippled man in the name of Jesus, we need to be reminded that Luke would have talked to Peter (or someone who was close to Peter) about this healing...This was not just a story that Luke had heard about and was writing about second hand...As Luke writes his accounts about Peter, we see he talks to a confused crowd and they are wondering how a fisherman has healed a man that was born a cripple...Peter addresses the men of Israel, and asks, why should this healing surprise them...The men, in the crowd, looked at Peter and John, and are astonished of the healing...It was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob that was involved in this healing...All the prophets starting with Moses and then from Samuel on have spoken about this day, that a Messiah would come...The Messiah had come...But the men of Israel have rejected the Messiah and killed the author of life...He died physically on a cross...Then God raised Him from the dead...Peter and the disciples and others were witnesses of His Majesty...They saw and walked with Jesus for three years...Even Moses wrote about Jesus, saying that God would send up a prophet like me from among your own people, and you must listen to Him...Anyone who does listen, will be completely cut off...It is by this faith and in His name that this crippled man was healed...It was by faith and by Jesus that the crippled man was given a complete healing in front on all the crowd that was there watching, and now all the current crowd sees his good health of the former crippled one...
In the New Testament the epistles written by Paul and Peter are completely focused on Jesus...Paul and Peter went around after Jesus' resurrection and His ascension to heaven and told everyone they could about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Messiah...This is what they believed...They believed what they saw...They believed in what they taught...And they had seen Jesus die and come back to life...What good would have there been for a dead Messiah, who never came back to us?...If Jesus is not alive and did not resurrect then Luke's, Peter's, and Luke's teachings are lies, and the Christian faith is useless...
Peter's story, and Luke's writings and their friend Paul's show us that the Book of Acts are true...Three men together focused on finding out more about Jesus, and spreading His word...The three did not need hearsay information about Jesus...Peter and the other disciples saw what happened...They saw His miracles and they saw Jesus after He died...Luke writes about the eyewitnesses of His majesty...Five hundred people saw Him after His resurrection according to Paul (1 Corinthians 15:6)...These Acts that Luke writes about actually happened...Luke's story was not about non-historical or made up characters...They were about his friends and others Luke met who saw Jesus and believed in Him...Luke's story,, in the Acts of the Apostles, is about these three friends sharing eyewitness stories of God and His Son Jesus...