Scripture
Over the past decade of my time here at the Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church I have preached through numerous books of the Bible, and also several portions of books of the Bible. Although I find it deeply gratifying to preach Christ from all the Scriptures, I also agree with Robert Murray McCheyne, who said, “How sweet and precious it is to preach directly about Christ, compared with all other subjects of preaching.”
So, in order to preach directly about Christ I have decided to preach through the Gospel of Luke. Now you may ask, Why the Gospel of Luke?
First, because the Gospel of Luke is universal. The outlook of this book is not narrow and Jewish but is wide and universal.
Second, because Luke is concerned for people on the margins. He wrote about people broken by the troubles of life.
Third, because the Gospel of Luke is volume one of a two-volume work. Luke wrote this Gospel and also the Acts of the Apostles. In the Gospel Luke “dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1), and in Acts Luke wrote about what Jesus continued to do and teach in and through the Church. Eventually, I would like to preach through the Acts of the Apostles as well.
And fourth, because the Gospel of Luke is about salvation. Luke wrote about how we come into a right relationship with God.
And so, for these reasons, I would like to preach through the Gospel of Luke.
Let us now read Luke 1:1-4:
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. (Luke 1:1-4)
Introduction
I became a Christian when I was nineteen years old. I was in the South African Air Force, and during a furlough from the Angolan Civil War, I made a profession of faith. Shortly after that I finished my service in the South African Air Force and began studying at the University of Cape Town.
As a brand-new Christian I attended church worship services on Sunday and got very involved in an excellent campus ministry. I was beginning to learn all about Christianity.
But then, one night during my first semester, I suddenly began to have very serious doubts about the gospel: What if the gospel is not true? What if there are other ways to heaven? What if I am wrong about Jesus and Christianity?
These and other questions bombarded me for hours and days on end. I was going through a crisis of faith and experienced profound doubt about the gospel.
Have you ever experienced doubt? Have you ever wondered about the truth of the gospel?
Obviously, I have. But, as you can tell, I am not only still a Christian, but now I am a preacher of the Christian gospel.
How did that happen? How did I move from doubt to certainty?
In a 2007 interview for Newsweek, the well-known atheist and best-selling author Sam Harris said, “I don’t want to pretend to be certain about anything I’m not certain about.” I think Luke would agree with Sam Harris, which is why he wrote his Gospel.
You see, Luke wrote his Gospel to help people who did not want to pretend to be certain. He wrote his Gospel to help people like me. He wrote his Gospel to help people have certainty of salvation.
Lesson
So, in today’s lesson we learn that every person can have certainty of salvation.
How can a person have certainty of salvation? By examining the methods of Luke, we learn that everyone can have certainty of salvation. Luke’s method consisted of the following:
1. Historical Accuracy (1:1)
2. Careful Research (1:2)
3. Proper Organization (1:3)
4. Clear Purpose (1:4)
I. Luke’s Method Consisted of Historical Accuracy (1:1-3)
First, Luke’s method consisted of historical accuracy.
Luke was not the first person to write about Jesus Christ. Others had written about who Jesus was and what he had done. As he said, “Many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us” (1:1). Perhaps Luke was thinking of the Gospel of Mark, which Luke may have used as one of his sources. The word “many” indicates that there were other writings as well, including works that are no longer in existence.
Luke was not trying to be critical of others who had written before him. He acknowledged that they had written reliable accounts. In fact, he noted that they had all received their information from those who were “eyewitnesses and ministers of the word” (1:2), by which Luke meant the apostles.
People knew that the apostles and others who knew Jesus personally would not be around forever. Eventually they would die. And so it was important to write down the life story of the most important person in all of history. Some had already done that. But Luke wanted to write the life story of Jesus too. Luke wanted to write an historically accurate and evangelistically compelling account so that everyone could have certainty about the person and work of Jesus Christ.
So he said, “It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account” (1:3).
Luke determined to write an account that was historically accurate. He examined everything he could. He read what had already been written, he talked with living eyewitnesses, and he discussed his findings with the apostles.
During the nineteenth century, liberal Bible scholars tried to argue that Luke was a bad historian, and that his Gospel was riddled with factual errors. In the past century, however, that assessment of Luke has been completely reversed. The more scholars learn about the ancient world, the more we see how accurate an historian Luke was. One historian concludes:
Wherever modern scholarship has been able to check up on the accuracy of Luke’s work the judgment has been unanimous: he is one of the finest and ablest historians of the ancient world.
Some people say that in order to believe the gospel we must jettison our reason and simply have faith. The fact is, however, that the gospel is grounded in history. A Christian is someone who believes that Jesus is who he said he was and that he did what the Bible said he did. If Luke got his facts wrong in one area of his Gospel, then how could we trust his testimony in other areas about the virgin birth or resurrection of Jesus Christ? Our entire salvation depends upon what Jesus accomplished in time and space, that is, in history, and if Luke got anything wrong, then we are doomed.
Fortunately for us, however, Luke was an outstanding historian. He did not write a partially fictional account of the life of Jesus. No. He wrote an historically accurate account about the person and work of Jesus Christ.
So, Luke’s method consisted of historical accuracy.
II. Luke’s Method Consisted of Careful Research (1:2-3)
Second, Luke’s method consisted of careful research.
In order to write a book that was historically accurate, Luke had to do extremely careful research. He did not just write nice stories about Jesus in his spare time. In fact, careful research requires a scholarly temperament, which was one of Luke’s character traits. We sense this from his literary style. His introduction to the Gospel of Luke is one long, polished sentence in Greek (and also in English). Listen to it again:
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.
Who begins a book with the word “Inasmuch”? Or who writes with such an elevated style? Or who writes such a formal introduction to a book? Only a highly educated, scholarly author writes in such a manner.
Actually, Luke used a common, formal introduction to books that was used by ancient historians. Listen to how similar Luke’s introduction is to the introduction Thucydides gave to his famous History of the Peloponnesian War:
But as to the facts of the occurrences of the war, I have thought it my duty to give them, not as ascertained from any chance informant, nor as seemed to me probable, but only after investigating with the greatest possible accuracy each detail, in the case of both the events in which I myself participated and of those regarding which I got my information from others. And the endeavor to discover these facts was a laborious task.
Like Thucydides, Luke wrote in a formal style, which was appropriate for an educated audience in the ancient world.
For all of his literary skills, Luke was not an eyewitness of the events of Jesus’ life. He admits that right at the very beginning, honestly distinguishing himself from “those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word” (1:2). Luke was not an apostle. Nevertheless, he was a close companion of the apostles, and so it seemed good to him write a Gospel. He wrote on the basis of the testimony he had received from the apostles, and he wrote as one who had “followed all things closely for some time past” (1:3).
What was Luke’s background? His name is Greek, which means that he was a Gentile. That would explain why he wrote a book that presented Jesus as the Savior of the world—a Gospel for Gentiles as well as for Jews, a universal Gospel.
We also know that Luke was medically trained. At the end of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he sends greetings to them from “Luke the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14).
We also know that Luke travelled occasionally with the apostle Paul. In addition to Colossians, the only other two places in the entire Bible where Luke is mentioned by name is in 2 Timothy 4:11 and Philemon 24, where Paul called Luke a “fellow worker.” In the book of Acts, there are a few instances in which Luke refers to “we” (Acts 16:11, 16; 20:6, 7; 21:1), an indication that he was travelling with the apostle Paul at the time.
What this means is that Luke was in an excellent position to know the truth about Jesus Christ. He had access to the writings and the people who knew Jesus personally. One commentator says that “if Mark was a storyteller, and John was a philosopher, then Luke was an investigative reporter.” The result of his research is a rich account of the person and work of Jesus Christ. With a doctor’s gift for investigation and observation, Luke noticed things that other people overlooked. And because of Luke’s careful research, we can have confidence that what he wrote is trustworthy.
III. Luke’s Method Consisted of Proper Organization (1:3)
Third, Luke’s method consisted of proper organization.
Luke said that he wanted “to write an orderly account” (1:3). Therefore, we would expect that his Gospel be organized in some careful way.
Luke’s Gospel is organized in a largely chronological manner. He told us about the events in Jesus’ life in roughly the time when they occurred. But he could not tell us everything. So, sometimes he organized events logically.
The key to understanding Luke’s Gospel is given to us in Luke 19:10, where Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Jesus often identified himself as “the Son of Man,” especially in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus declared that he is the Savior who had come on a seek-and-rescue mission. And so Luke organized his entire Gospel to show who Jesus is and what he had come to do in order to seek and to save the lost.
One way Luke organized his Gospel is that in the first part of Jesus’ life and ministry, Jesus was seeking the lost (Luke 1:1-19:27). And in the final week of Jesus’ life and ministry, Jesus was saving the lost (Luke 19:28-24:53).
Or, here is another way Luke organized his Gospel:
1. Luke 1:1-4:13: The Introduction of the Son of Man.
2. Luke 4:14-9:50: The Ministry of the Son of Man.
3. Luke 9:51-19:27: The Rejection of the Son of Man.
4. Luke 19:28-24:53: The Salvation of the Son of Man.
So, Luke’s method consisted of historical accuracy, careful research, and proper organization.
IV. Luke’s Method Consisted of Clear Purpose (1:4)
Finally, Luke’s method consisted of clear purpose.
What was Luke’s purpose? He told us that his purpose was “that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (1:4).
When Luke said “you,” he was speaking most directly of his friend Theophilus (1:3). There has been a lot of discussion whether Theophilus was a real person. Since Theophilus can be translated “lover of God” or “loved of God,” many have suggested that Theophilus refers to anyone who is loved of God. However, it is more likely that Theophilus was a real person because Luke referred to him as “most excellent Theophilus” (1:3). When speaking to a person of rank, it was common to refer to that person as “most excellent,” as when Claudius Lysias addressed Felix in Acts 23:26.
But, when Luke said “you,” he was also speaking to us. Since Theophilus can be translated as “lover of God” or “loved of God,” it is the kind of name that Luke providentially used to refer to anyone who wants to have a relationship with God.
Who is Theophilus? You are Theophilus, if you love God and are loved of God. Therefore, Luke’s Gospel is for you.
Was Theophilus a Christian? We don’t know for sure. But we do know that he had heard the basic message of the gospel. He had been instructed in the faith. Perhaps he was having doubts. Perhaps he was a brand-new believer in Jesus Christ. We don’t know much about Theophilus.
But we do know that Luke wrote this Gospel so that people like Theophilus, and you, and me “may have certainty concerning the things [we] have been taught” (1:4).
Interestingly, in the Greek text the word “certainty” comes at the very end of the sentence. In Greek that was done for the sake of emphasis. The Greek word for “certainty” (asphaleian) can also mean “infallible.” And so the Greek word for “certainty” here in verse 4 means “the absolute certainty, the truthfulness of the report concerning the history of Jesus.”
Luke wanted Theophilus to know about Jesus, and he wanted him to have absolute certainty about the good news of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
This is what you and I need as well: a sure and certain knowledge about the person and work of Jesus Christ, and the salvation that comes only through faith in him. We need to know who Jesus is. We need to know for sure that he is fully human and fully divine. And we also need to know what Jesus came to do. He came to live and die and rise again from the dead to save sinners who look to him for salvation.
We need to know for sure because we sometimes have our doubts, like I was having at the University of Cape Town.
How did I overcome my doubts?
The answer is found in the introduction to the Gospel of Luke. I did not find certainty of salvation by looking at my own good works. I knew that they were not acceptable to God. I did not find certainty of salvation by looking to the time of my conversion, as if my experience would save me. I did not find certainty by looking within myself or by looking at some external experience.
I found certainty of salvation by looking to Jesus as he was revealed to me in the Bible. Luke gave me an historically accurate, carefully researched, properly organized, and clearly purposeful account of the person and work of Jesus. As I read the Gospel, I learned that Jesus indeed came to seek and to save the lost, of whom I was one. That cured my doubting soul.
Luke’s Gospel is for anyone who needs to know Jesus. It is for people who have never met Jesus before, and for people who need to meet him again, as if for the very first time. It is for people who aren’t quite sure about Jesus, for people who are just starting to trust in him, and for people who have known him a long time, but still need to become more secure in their faith. It is for anyone who needs certainty of salvation.
Do you know Jesus? Do you have certainty of salvation? If you want to be sure, look to Jesus as he is revealed in the Gospel, and join me every Sunday as we begin our study of Jesus, who came to seek and to save the lost. Amen.
