You know how you have the moments…
Maybe a phone call… or a conversation…
Where there’s a lot of small talk going on…
But you’re waiting for the reason for the call or conversation…
Like maybe one of your kids rings you…
And there’s a lot of small talk…
And the whole time you’re thinking…
What’s the problem… what do you need?
But then after 5 minutes, you think – “ohh maybe I was wrong…”
It was just a casual chat…
So, after a minute, you say, “Ok great chatting, gotta go…”
And THEN they say…
“Oh, actually, my car and bank account are broken…”
And you’re like… THERE IT IS…
THAT’S the reason for the call…
Well, the Gospel of Luke isn’t like that…
Luke lays it all out in the first four verses…
There’s no small talk…
He’s telling you upfront what his intention is – in writing to Theophilus…
that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
You see:
Matthew wrote with the Jew in mind…
Mark wrote with the Roman in mind…
John wrote with the non-Christian in mind…
But our man Luke wrote with the Christian in mind.
…that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
I’m writing so you can have
• Confidence in the gospel…
• Assurance of God’s love in his Son Jesus…
• Certainty about the person and work of Jesus the Christ…
His purpose is to offer the basis of assurance to the Christian…
That the gospel is trustworthy… reliable… historical…
So, Luke begins in verses 1-2 by saying:
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished (fulfilled) among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,
So, Luke says, listen, the story about Jesus it’s big…
I’m not the only bloke to have written about Jesus…
Many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been fulfilled …
In other words, as the Old Testament prophesies were fulfilled…
Or as redemption was accomplished…
And the word “accomplished” is a perfect tense…
Which is used of a past action that has present results…
So, he’s writing about what Jesus accomplished or fulfilled on earth…
That is currently turning the world upside down…
Luke is saying that the whole O.T. not only POINTED TO but was ACCOMPLISHED in JESUS…
• The Levitical laws…
• The judicial laws…
They all pointed to and were accomplished in Jesus…
It’s why in Luke 24:27 we’re told that “…beginning with Moses and all the Prophets,
he (Jesus) interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
Jesus interpreted all the Old Testament…
To show them:
• The things concerning Him…
• The law that prepared us for Jesus…
• And the prophets that pointed us to Jesus…
That the Law and the prophets… were accomplished or fulfilled in Jesus…
In Luke 24:44 Jesus confirmed that saying:
“THAT EVERYTHING WRITTEN ABOUT ME…
in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms MUST BE FULFILLED.”
Must be accomplished…
And remember the word “accomplished” is a perfect tense…
That is, was fulfilled in the past – but the results are still in the present…
I’m writing about the redemption ACCOMPLISHED in Christ in the PAST…
But its effects are still unfolding in the PRESENT…
Similar to how if you have ever had a FEARSOME REBUKE in the past…
While it was a past event it has ongoing effects…
So, your Dad rebuked you… but years later His words are STILL RINGING IN YOUR EARS.
That is, while it happened in the past - it still has ongoing effects.
So, given all Jesus ACCOMPLISHED… FULFILLED…
Given all those who were eyewitnesses of the PAST…
And ministers of the WORD…
Given how:
• Mark wrote to the Romans…
• Matthew to the Jews…
• And John to the lost…
Luke said, “it seemed good to me also…”
Look at verse 3…
it seemed good to me also,
having followed all things closely (carefully) for some time past,
to write an orderly account (Kateches) for you, most excellent Theophilus,
It seemed good to me…
That is…
Luke, “the beloved physician” according to Col. 4:14
The “fellow worker” according to Philemon 24
The faithful fellow worker, according to 2Tim 4:11 where Paul wrote from jail saying,
“Luke alone is with me…”
Given that he had followed all things about Christ CLOSELY… or carefully for a long time…
It seemed good to him… to write an ORDERLY account
The Greek word used there – is where we get the English word catechism…
It means to provide a systematic… logical… an orderly account of Christ’s life…
It’s why Luke’s gospel gives more space to the birth and infancy of Jesus…
It’s why ONLY Luke’s gives us the details about John the Baptist’s birth…
• Or the angel appearing to Mary to explain her pregnancy…
• Or Joseph and Mary travelling from Nazareth to Bethlehem for a census.
• Or the poor shepherds who come to worship the baby Jesus.
• Or Jesus as a child talking to the leaders in the temple…
But it’s not just details about his infancy…
It’s also the encounters and teachings of Jesus…
ONLY Luke tells us about
• The Prodigal Son…
• The Good Samaritan…
• The Rich Man and Lazarus…
• The Pharisee and the Publican…
And then there are details about Jesus that ONLY Luke shares:
• Like Jesus weeping over Jerusalem
• the warning to Peter about Satan
• the repentant thief on the cross
• As well as 3 of the 7 seven saying on the cross - they are unique to Luke...
• As well as the encounter with a resurrected Jesus on the Road to Emmaus…
Because Luke followed things closely for a LONG TIME…
And because he found Jesus magnetic… compelling… captivating…
• He just couldn’t leave the story alone…
• Like so many others – he had an ITCHY PEN…
• And was determined to write an orderly account…
So he researched and recorded it all for the most excellent Theophilus.
The name Theophilus suggests it was written for a gentile friend of some standing.
“Most excellent” was a Roman title of respect for someone of official importance.
Now, whoever this bloke is…
Over a quarter of the New Testament is written to him (Luke and Acts).
So, what was the expected outcome?
What was Luke - the only Gentile writer in the N.T. - hoping to achieve?
Look at verse 4:
…that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been TAUGHT.
• That you may have certainty…
• That you may have confidence…
• That you might have assurance…
About all the things you were TAUGHT regarding Jesus…
Concerning Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
That you may be confident that all you have heard is true…
• That Jesus is the Christ…
• The promised Messiah…
• The God-Man who came to save Jew and Gentile…
Most excellent Theophilus that you might have CONFIDENCE in all you were TAUGHT…
• In the HISTORICITY of the gospel…
That the Christian faith is historical, verifiable and therefore a reasonable faith.
That there is no REASONABLE doubt that Jesus lived, died and was resurrected.
• I have interviewed eye-witnesses…
• I have met those he healed…
• I have listened to those he taught…
• I have done ministry with those who were his disciples…
• I have spoken with all the women who saw him…
• I met the bloke who carried his cross…
• Simon of Cyrene, in fact, I met his but two sons, Alexander and Rufus as well…
All these people were still alive…
All these facts could be checked…
And Luke the historian, had already done that…
And he is writing to assure the most excellent Theophilus…
You can be absolutely CERTAIN; all you have been TAUGHT is true…
AND IF IT IS TRUE…
Then you can have assurance that the promises are also true…
That if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord…
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead… you will be saved…
Not might… Not probably… Not hopefully…
You will be saved…
You can have assurance that your sins are forgiven…
That if you confess your sins that he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…
You can have assurance that nothing shall separate you from the love of Christ.
For there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus…
For while we were still sinners Christ died for us…
It’s why Paul wrote:
if we have died with Him, we will also live with Him…
Then a day is coming when the trumpet will blast…
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,
and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning,
nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
We will pass away…
Heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus said
My words will not pass away.
And my Kingdom will not pass away…
Therefore, most excellent Theophilus you can have confidence in all you were TAUGHT…
Friends…
You can have CONFIDENCE…
You can have ASSURANCE…
That all you have been taught through the Word of God…
• That it is TRUE…
• That it is RELIABLE…
• That it is HISTORICAL and VERIFIABLE…
I think sometimes because the collection of 66 books that make the Bible…
That they were written thousands of years ago…
That we are so far from that time…
It almost seems impossible to have CONFIDENCE it’s TRUE…
Like that game “telephone” you play as a kid…
The first child is given sentence…
Then they whisper it to the next child….
Maybe the sentence is, “Darren Middleton is handsome…”
And this truth is repeated over and over until the last child…
Spits out some gibberish about “...... ........ being handsome”
And the idea is to illustrate how Truth is so easily corrupted as it is passed on from person to person…
Well, some think the Bible is like the game of Telephone…
That over the thousands of years of transmission - it must have been corrupted…
But that’s not what happened at all…
The truth wasn’t passed down a line of men and corrupted over time…
• It was recorded at the time of the eyewitnesses…
• It was recorded in the lifetime of the disciples…
• It was recorded when the actual names of the witnesses were used…
• Like Simon of Cyrene, the father of Rufus and Alexander…
• It was recorded when it could have been checked and verified…
Indeed, even non-Christian historians made reference to Jesus…
• The Jewish historian Josephus refers to Jesus twice in his ‘history of Judaism’ in AD 93 – though not positively…
• Indeed, even the Roman politicians Pliny and Tacitus around the same time make reference to Jesus’ execution during the reign of Pontius Pilate.
• In fact, Pliny specifically states that the Christians worshipped Christ as a God. Again not positively…
And as far as the reliability of the transmission of Luke’s writings…
Indeed, the whole bible…
• There are more than 5000 manuscripts of the Greek N.T - far more than any other ancient writing - including about a dozen from the early second century testifying to the reliability of the gospel witness.
Listen, there is more evidence for the reliability of the Bible than almost any other document in history…
Therefore, you can have confidence… you can have assurance…
That all you have been taught through the Word of God…
• That it is TRUE…
• That it is RELIABLE…
• That it is HISTORICAL and VERIFIABLE…
And that’s increasingly important in a day when FAKE NEWS is the NORM…
It’s increasingly important in a culture that’s become cynical about ABSOLUTE TRUTH…
It’s increasingly important when people are encouraged to find their OWN TRUTH…
And as Christianity claims that the gospel is reliable…
• That the claims about Jesus are verifiable…
• That Jesus’ teaching on morality is true for all people - at all times…
• That the Bible’s teaching on life, gender, sexuality or marriage is not only TRUE but GOOD…
It’s increasingly important because people are increasingly hating on those Biblical truths.
And governments ate increasingly becoming intolerant of Christian morality…
Seeking to pressure Christian organisations and individuals to compromise…
And…
• The COURAGE to stand firm…
• The COURAGE to accept loss…
• The COURAGE to endure vilification…
Will only be found in those who are confident that what they have been TAUGHT is TRUE…
And listen…
As an individual…
You personally can have the assurance that what you have believed…
That VERY BIG STORY ABOUT JESUS…
• The promises He made…
• The salvation He promised…
• The redemption He accomplished…
• The life and virtues He called you to…
• And the cross He told you to pick up…
That Luke wrote…
To Christians like you and Theolophilus… to give you assurance…
• That the foundation you have built your Christian life on…
• This VERY BIG STORY OF JESUS…
It’s reliable, accurate and trustworthy… Amen?
