Luke – Can we trust the Map?
I don’t know how many of you watch the show Survivor. I know – many of you are thinking – that is garbage. It is all about greed and money. And I’ll grant that it is. But I love to watch, it because I learn a lot about people from it. It is amazing how different personalities interact and react in different circumstances. Anyway – a new series of Survivor has just started and is set in the Pearl Islands amongst the history and traditions of pirates and treasure. And one of the rewards for winning challenges is a piece of a treasure map which will lead them to a huge stash of supplies (food, lights, blankets, etc) hidden somewhere on their island. Without the complete map, they could be searching forever to find these much needed supplies. But with the full and accurate Map, the treasure is theirs.
Today, I want us to begin on a journey which will lead us to a treasure. We all want to find some sort of treasure don’t we because we have this belief that it will be beautiful, that it will satisfy all our needs. Craig Randall drove a garbage truck in Peabody, Massachusetts. In a garbage container one day, he noticed a Wendy’s soft drink cup bearing a contest sticker. Having won a chicken sandwich the week before, Randall checked it, hoping for some french fries or a soft drink. Instead, he peeled a sticker worth $200,000 toward the construction of a new home. Well sometimes treasure is found in the most odd places.
The treasure that we will be looking for is not financial treasure. It is Jesus. We will be working our way through the Gospel of Luke in an attempt to get to know Jesus better – to find out what made him tick – to find out who He is really and most of all to find out how we can be his disciples.
But before we begin on our treasure hunt, we’ve got to make sure we have a trustworthy map. So the question that I want to ask this morning is – “Can we trust the map?”
Could you please open your bibles to Luke 1. Now if you didn’t bring your bibles – let this be a warning –you need to bring your bibles to church to follow along. Firstly so you can follow and make sure that we are following the Map and that I’m not leading you astray. Secondly, so that you can take more in for yourself By looking at the map, it will be easier for you to understand that we have to go 30 paces past the third tree on the left, rather than me just telling you. And thirdly, you need to bring your map, so that you get used to using it yourself so that if anything happens to me or Pastor Roger, you can follow the map by yourself. So please bring your map with you – there may be just some treasure for those who bring their bibles next week!!!!
Before we read, lets pray …
Lord, You’ve said that your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. This morning, we pray that as we examine your word, that you would guide us. Lead us in your paths we pray and help us to see you more clearly this morning. Amen.
Read Luke 1:1-4
This passage, right at the beginning of this gospel account tries to define for us the credentials of this treasure Map.
It was customary among the great Greek and Hellenistic historians, including the first-century Jewish writer Josephus, to explain and justify their work in a preface. Their object was to assure the reader of their capability, thorough research, and reliability. So the author here outlines his sources, the method of making the map and the purpose for which the Map was made. We’ll examine each of these soon, but one thing seems to be missing … the identification of the author himself.
Can we Trust the Map? - Is the Author Credible?
If you were to trust a treasure Map, you’d want to know that the author of it was reliable and knew what he / she was talking about, so it is strange that no one seems to take credit for this account. But this letter doesn’t have any identifying statement. But we do have some clues.
Firstly - the gospel is addressed to a guy named Theophilus (vs 3) whose name literally means “Lover of God.” Some people think that this is enough proof to claim that the Gospel was addressed not to an individual, but to all people who love God. But this doesn’t make too much sense. Because the author addresses him as “most excellent.” This title or mark of respect was reserved for important officials or members of the aristocracy. Paul uses the same word to address the Governors of Caesarea – Felix and Festus – Acts 23:26, 26:25). It doesn’t make any sense in using such as specific title for a symbolic group of people and so it is likely that this is a real person.
Now there are only 2 occasions when Theophilus is mentioned in the Bible. One here in Luke and the other in the introduction to Acts.
Acts 1:1-3 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 showed himself to these men 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.
What we have here is a 2 volume set, written as a history of the Christian church, to some important official. Who ever wrote Luke, also it seems wrote Acts. And here is where we get some clues. 2C Acts is predominantly written in third person – that is “He did this …, They went there…” Except for 4 passages (Acts 16:10-17, 20:5-16, 21:1-18, 27:1-28:16) where it changes to first person – “We did this … We went there.” From these sections and information gleaned from the other narratives, we can narrow it down to about 7 men – Titus, Demas, Crescens, Jesus Justus, Epaphras, Epaphroditus and Luke.
To narrow it down further, we need to look at some other features of these accounts.
• Firstly, these two accounts – Luke and Acts - are widely regarded as the most cultured writings of the New Testament. Literary speaking, the Greek is very good. The writer of these 2 books is very well educated and widely read. In some sections, the style is very classical. In others it takes on an Aramaic style, while in others, it is very similar to the Greek Old Testament translation the Septuagint. For you trivia buffs - the author of Luke and Acts uses 266 words which are not used elsewhere in the New Testament – quite incredible when you think he is writing about the same things as Mark and Matthew. Who ever wrote it was very skillful with the pen – he was educated and more than likely was of Greek background, not Hebrew. Luke was the only real candidate who could satisfy these requirements. He was a Greek and a Doctor (Col 4:14). He was highly educated at university level.
• Secondly, these accounts do indicate that the author was interested in medical facts. Luke dwells on more details relating to people’s state of mind and health than do Mark and Matthew. He was a doctor remember.
• Thirdly, all external evidence from the very earliest dates in the second century believe that Luke was the author of this gospel. Really there is no other credible option and there is almost uninanimous agreement between scholars today that Luke was the author.
So who is this fellow? Can we trust the Map he wrote for us? Is he trustworthy?
• Luke was most likely a Greek speaking Gentile by birth.
• He was probably one of the early converts of Paul’s first missionary Journey to Antioch, but we aren’t sure of this.
• In any case He was a traveling companion with Paul for many years and was a fellow worker in the gospel (Phm 24).
• He was a physician by profession (Col 4:14) and gave medical care for Paul
• He went with Paul from Troas to Macedonia and became the pastor of the Philippian church.
• When Paul returned to Philippi on his third journey, Luke went back to Jerusalem with Paul. When Paul was imprisoned there and when he was transported to Rome, Luke accompanied him.
• He stayed with Paul in prison in Rome and was the only one who remained as Paul faced death (2 Tim 4:11)
Is the Author Credible? Yes - Luke was not just a spectator, studying Christian life from the outside, but he was an active preacher and missionary himself. He was so closely associated with Paul and probably witnessed his death for the sake of the Gospel. To him, this was no mere game – his whole purpose of life, everything he held dear depended on getting the facts straight. I want to put to you that we can trust this map, because the author is trustworthy.
Can we Trust the Map? – Are the sources of information credible?
Luke begins his gospel by writing
Luke 1:1 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.
Luke sets out to show his sources are credible by showing that many have gone before him. There was apparently quite a bit of interest in Jesus’ life by this time and were many accounts of Jesus’ life, one of which was Mark’s gospel which Luke draws on heavily. It was likely that they were truthful, authentic, and genuine accounts – they had been written in such a way that they were orderly and gave an account of the things that had happened, but in this case, they were not considered sufficient by Luke and so he is setting out to write his own account.
Many of these other account writers were like Luke, they were not eyewitnesses. The information that was gleaned however, in this and other accounts was directly obtained from eyewitnesses to the events. Eyewitnesses are incredibly important when it comes to determining the truth of something. Think about it for a moment. Does our law courts rely on second or third hand information which was passed on through gossip. No – that’s called heresay and is not admissible in our courts. Only eyewitness accounts are credible, because that minimizes the risk that the truth will be distorted.
Luke in his travels with Paul, had plenty of opportunity to meet and talk to many of the apostles and those who had been followers of Christ while he was on this earth. It was likely that Luke’s Gospel and Acts were written about 60AD. This is just 30 years after Christ’s death. His research was likely taking place for several years before this and so it is likely that many eye witnesses to the facts were still alive.
Note that Luke’s sources - these eyewitnesses - were servants or ministers of the word. They were not passive observers whose lives had not been affected by Christ. They were people who had been transformed by the Gospel and were actively working in the service of Christ. This word Servants or Ministers is the Greek word used for any one who was subordinate to the directions of another. It literally meant “under rowers” which conjures up pictures of the war ships of the day filled with servants or slaves under the deck rowing to propel it along. Luke was saying that these eyewitnesses were working for Christ to propel the gospel. Like he himself, their lives had been changed and so their testimonies were not distant memories, but dynamic and trustworthy accounts of what had happened to change their lives. Their memories stuck with them as if were just yesterday.
Are Luke’s sources credible? - Yes. We can have confidence then, that Luke’s map is trustworthy because the author is trustworthy, his sources are trustworthy.
Can we Trust the Map? – Is the method used to make the Map credible?
So now we need to ask whether the method of data collection is credible. Luke writes in vs 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,
Luke declares to us that he himself investigated the information. He gathered the information, spoke to the eyewitnesses, arranged the accounts, filled any holes and sorted out any contradictions. 5B Not only that – he did it carefully.
What was left was enough information to set down an ordered account of Jesus life in Volume 1 and the history of the early church in Volume 2. You know what the amazing thing is here? It is that Luke has written more in the New Testament than any other writer – 28% of the New Testament comes from Luke’s pen and it is all carefully researched material which God inspired him to write.
William Ramsey was not convinced of the historicity of Luke’s writings in the Book of Acts - especially as they pertained to the missionary journeys of Paul - and he spent years of investigation into the matter. His work was so scholarly and commendable that the Queen of England knighted him for his labor. But Sir William Ramsey, instead of finding Luke in error, discovered that the writing was completely accurate, and he described Acts as the most perfect historical document of all time.
I said before that Luke wrote this while many of the eyewitnesses were still alive This is important for 2 reasons. Firstly, Luke could go to them for information and secondly, they could check the accuracy of Luke’s account and either hold it up as truth or reject it as heresy. When you do any kind of scientific research, it needs to be verifiable. In my studies at university, I did a lot of laboratory research and one of the critical steps was replicating the experiment. You had to repeat it to ensure that you got the right result. Because if you didn’t, you couldn’t trust the first result. Every scientist needs to ensure their work can be replicated by others to show its validity. For Luke, this was achieved by publishing his work while many of his sources were still living. They were able to validate his investigation and his account.
The word “Orderly” in vs 3 could mean a chronological account or an account which is arranged thematically. There is no information either way to tip the scales, and so we shouldn’t worry too much whether the order of this account is slightly different to that of Mark or Matthew’s account. What is remarkable is that it fits in with the rest of the Bible (New Testament and Old Testament) perfectly. 66 books with over 40 authors all woven into one marvelous book.
Are Luke’s methods credible? - Most definitely Yes. We can trust the Map because Luke was a credible author, his sources were credible and his method of research was credible.
Can we Trust the Map? – Is the purpose for writing credible?
And lastly, I want to encourage you that we can trust the map because of the purpose for writing was credible. Luke’s reason for writing this account was so that Theophilus could know for sure what he had been taught. 6A I like how the Message puts it …“I decided to write it all out for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the reliability of what you were taught.” Though we don’t know for certain whether Theophilus was a believer or not, we know that he had received some teaching about Jesus. And Luke desires that he know the Truth with certainty.
God doesn’t want us to hold onto a bunch of wild stories about his Son. He is the God of truth and wants us to be certain of the things we believe. This is why Luke’s gospel was written so we can trust the map given to us, because it’s purpose is not to lead us astray, but it is to guide us into all truth.
Is Luke’s purpose credible? - Yes. He is a credible author, has credible sources, used a credible method and had a credible purpose
How important is God’s truth to your life? Do you want to find the treasure that will lead to an eternity spent with God? Well if you do, you’ve got to find Jesus. He’s that treasure that we all need as part of our lives to make us perfect. As we look into Luke’s Map of Jesus’ life over the coming months, I pray that our eyes would be opened to see Jesus afresh. I don’t want us to just learn for the sake of learning though. To find treasure as great as Jesus, will surely revolutionize our lives. We need to be prepared for that. We need to be praying for that for ourselves and for those sitting in the seats around us. Are you prepared to come on a voyage of discovery with me? Are you prepared to trust the map and find the treasure? Well be here next week at 9:00am sharp – that’s right – 9:00 am with your bibles in hand and an open heart.
Let’s Pray
