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.
Luke 3:1-6
In the Fifteenth Year of Tiberius
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
Luke 3:23
Jesus Was About Thirty Years Old When He Began His Ministry
23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.
Acts 1:1-5
Luke's Writing About the Acts of the Apostles
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:14-41
Peter Addresses the Crowd about Jesus
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19
I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The Gospel of Luke is different from the other gospels...It has a prologue, as does Luke's other book the Acts of the Apostles...And it tells us about how a man, a physician, and now an author named Luke researched a Man named Jesus...He went around and met and questioned those who knew about Jesus and others who had been in contact with Him...Some scholars believe that Luke and the Acts were originally just one book...The New Testament treats them as two books...And we do know that the Book of Acts is a sequel to the Gospel According to Luke...And Luke's prologues tell us why his two books were written...And both books were written for Theophilus...Theophilus means beloved of God...The Gospel According to Luke is the longest of the four gospels...And who is this Theophilus?...These books were written by Luke, and we are told, to and for the most excellent Theophilus...This implies that Theophilus may have been of nobility...Some believe Theophilus was a Roman Official...Maybe he was an influential citizen, just wanting information on the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus...Some believe that Luke and Theophilus were friends and wanted to get Christianity started in other areas, and Luke's writing of the Gospel According to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles would be instrumental in doing that...We also learn that Theophilus has already been taught about Jesus...And Luke wrote what he wrote these books so that Theophilus may know the certainty of the things about those things he had been taught about Jesus...Theophilus now could take what he had learned about Jesus earlier, and compare and contrast what Luke had written about the Messiah...But as far as knowing who Theophilus was, we are not told...
Luke is great evidence of God...Luke's account of Jesus starts even before His birth...And Luke's account of the truth and of Jesus in his books are very orderly and give a historical perspective to his gospel...Luke made this careful study of everything he had heard and read about Jesus...He associated himself with those surrounding Jesus' ministry and wrote about Jesus and those who followed Him...Luke put all this in print for this man named Theophilus...Luke wrote his books to let Theophilus and us know the Truth, about what we have read and have heard about Jesus...Luke studied these things of Jesus and His Twelve Disciples and later His Apostles...And Luke was two thousand years closer to Jesus than we were...Jesus had died shortly before Luke's Gospel...Some estimate Luke's Gospel being written in the late 40's a.d. or in the 50's a.d....Others date his gospel around 80 a.d....Luke wrote that in the fifteenth year of Tiberias, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— and during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the Word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness...Then later Luke tells us that Jesus was approximately thirty years old when He began His ministry...So Luke gives us dates and names of historical people, who we can read about and look up dates about and around the time of Jesus...For in looking at the dates when Jesus came and dwelt on the earth, we get more of an historical Jesus and those things going on around His ministry...
We can use these names for dating Luke's writings...Those first reading Luke's books, would have been very much aided by these dates and time markers in his writings...The early readers would have known the exact dates of Luke's books, because they would have heard of the people like Philip, Pilate, and Herod...Some say Luke's books were written between the sixties and eighties a.d....No one can pinpoint today the exact year he wrote his two books, but many years ago one could have with the help of these mentioned names...But more importantly, most, if not all the main characters that were around Jesus were still alive, including His Disciples (accept Judas, who had killed himself)...So Luke could talk to the Disciples, since they were still alive and get their perspective on Jesus...So Luke had firsthand knowledge from the Disciples about Jesus...We know he talked to Peter as we read the Book of Acts...And from the Disciples, we see that Luke gives the non-believer something to think about...When Peter is talking to the crowd about Jesus, after His death, he says he is an eyewitness-as well as others who were eyewitnesses, "Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a Man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know...This Man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross...But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him."...So Luke is telling both the unbeliever and believer (of his time) that you yourself have seen these things (or could have seen them, or maybe know someone who saw Jesus), and Luke wants you to think about Jesus or what do you make of Jesus and His life...Anyone could have said there were no miracles, no wonders, or no signs but they did not...The unbeliever at this time (or anytime after His death) could not explain the life that Jesus lived and taught or the miracles that He did...
Luke gave us a historical perspective on things, as he wrote his gospel and the Acts of the Apostles...Luke was one of our first historical-type authors, as he included places, people's names, and other historical information in his books that we can make reference to those things as they were being read even today...And all the while Luke knew that what he was writing about was sacred and holy...And the words written were sacred and holy because of who he was writing about -Jesus...
We get a background of Jesus ancestors in his gospel, and then we get information about the births of both John the Baptist and Jesus the Messiah...This makes interesting reading and shows us something about Luke's researching...
If one believes in the author Luke and that he really did the research about Jesus, we have great evidence about a historical Jesus, and Jesus Himself...After all, it was just a few short years earlier that Jesus was alive...It is not like it is today, two thousand years later...In Luke's book the Acts of the Apostles he writes about some of the different Acts of the Apostles...Luke writes about several apostles, but focuses the Acts on Peter in the first part of his book, and Paul in the second half of Acts...And Luke may have written these two books (or at least the Acts of the Apostles) from Rome through Caesarea, Achaia, and Ephesus as he traveled with Paul around to the new churches, Paul was setting up and starting those churches...
When Luke writes about Peter after Jesus has died, resurrected, and ascended to heaven and he 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 about this healing...Peter knew all the information about Jesus firsthand...Peter was an eyewitness and one of the original Twelve Disciples hand chosen by Jesus...This was not just a typical story that Luke had heard about and was writing about it second hand...No Peter was there with Jesus...Peter or friends of Peter would give Luke clear evidence about Peter's relationship with Jesus...As Peter talks to a confused crowd in the Book of Acts we and the listeners are wondering how a fisherman has healed a man that was born a cripple...Luke says that Peter addresses the men of Israel, and asks, why should this healing surprise them or anyone...The men, in the crowd, looked at Peter and John, and are astonished of this 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...And it, in fact, did come...These men of Israel have rejected the Messiah and killed the Author of Life...Jesus died physically...Then God raised Him from the dead...Peter and the rest of the disciples and others were witnesses of His Majesty...They saw and walked with Jesus for three years...And this is what Luke wrote about, two books for all believers to read and come up with their own conclusions about who Jesus is...And while others might say that Matthew, Mark, and John might be biased writings on Jesus, because of their being so close to Him, not so with the author Luke...Luke's books were carefully investigated after Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension...The prophesied writings of the Old Testament were now fully accomplished by Jesus in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension back to heaven...St. Luke's books are written so that we may know the Truth and the certainty of the things surrounding Jesus' life and death and resurrection...
See Also Paul as Evidence for Jesus
See Also Jesus as Evidence for God