God Made The Message

Intro:

1. John Bunyan, wrote Pilgrim's Progress testified, "Read the Bible, and read it again, and do not help to understand something of the will and mind of God, though you think they are fast locked up from you. Neither trouble yourself, though you may not have commentaries and expositions; pray and read, and read and pray; for a little from God is better than a great deal from man."

2. What we have before us is not a mere commentary from a dead man, but the inspired Word of God. How wonderful that God worked through a man named Luke to give us two volumes – Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts.

3. God made the message.

Trans: We need to see how important this book is, Wiersbe notes:

“Imagine how confused you would be, if in reading your N.T., you turned the last page of the Gospel of John and discovered – Romans! “How did the church get to Rome?”

You would ask yourself; and the answer is found in the Book of Acts.”

The subject is literally, “I composed” it is the independent clause, which is followed by four independent clauses.” Ac. 1:1-3

I. The message is about the Chronology of Jesus.

A. The first Account.

First – is an adjective, an adjective is a word joined to a noun to qualify it’s meaning. The Latin is “a thing thrown to.” The noun is λογος the Word…

Longenecker, “The Acts of the Apostles is the name given to the second part of a two-volume work…Originally the two volumes circulated together as two parts of one complete writing. [Gospel of Luke, 60 AD; Acts, 61 AD]. But during the late first or early second century, the first volume because associated with the Gospels. Luke’s second volume became separated, and given the title Acts.”

Lin. Key to the Greek N.T, “The first of two, not implying a third.”

“The Greek article τον specifies an antecedent writing and the suffix of the verb translated “I told you about” calls for the possessive “my.” Luke uses the word logos in the technical sense of a section of a work that covers more than one papyrus roll. The occurrence of the adjective protos, “first” rather than its comparative proteros “former” need not imply that Luke intended his Gospel to be the first in a series of three or more books.”

In my first book – that was the Gospel of Luke, it is best “in my first volume.”

Luke and Acts are two parts of one work…

Volume 1 is The History of the Founder of the church; Volume 2 is The History of the Followers of the church. The gospel of Luke is a narrative about Jesus Christ in His Incarnation; Life; Substitutionary death; Resurrection; and Ascension…

“The Gospel of Luke portrays Jesus as the incarnate Son of God – the Living, eternal, all-powerful God of heaven dressed in human garb. Here in flesh and blood was God in all His power, rubbing shoulders with humanity.”

B. The human Author.

I told you about – Luke is mentioned by name only 3 times in the New Testament: Col. 4:14/ 2 Tim.4:11/ Philm. 24

“Luke was a well educated Greek living in Asia Minor, a Gentle – the only Gentile writer of N.T. He was a physician, a doctor. He never actually met Jesus but wrote about 30 years after Jesus rose from the dead.”

He was Paul on various occasion as the “we” passages demonstrate – Ac. 16:10-17; 20:5-21:18; 27:1-28:16. Luke being a doctor gives details lacking in the other Gospels.

“He records how sick Peter’s mother-in-law was (4:38); he observed which ear of the high priest servant was cut off (22:50); he speaks of the drops of blood falling from our Lord’s face in the Garden (22:44); Luke tells us more about the birth of Christ then the other gospel writers; only Luke records – the announcement to Zacharias and Mary; the songs of Elizabeth and Mary; the birth and childhood of John the Baptist; the visit of the shepherds at Christ’s birth; the circumcision and presentation in the temple; and the childhood of Christ.”

I told you about – a verb, indic. mood, aorist tense, meaning “to make or to do.” Luke made this by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 2 Tim. 3:16-17/ 2 Pet. 1:20-21

C. The one being Addressed.

Dear Theophilus – “loved by God” or “friend of God” Lu.1:3 with Ac. 1:1

“Some people think of Luke may have been a slave, the personal Theophilus, who was seriously ill. Through Luke’s medical skill and care Theo was restored to health. In gratitude Theo gave Luke his freedom. Luke, in turn, to show his gratitude gave Theo the most precious gift he could think of – the message concerning Jesus.”