The Beginning

1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; 3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, 4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

Introduction

this morn

Genre

The first four verses of Luke are unique to Luke in all the narratives we have in the Bible. They are given in a classical introduction of a book of history. History, as a genre of literature, had only been around for a few hundred years, so just as Luke does here they usually introduce their work, site their sources, and give a reason why they have taken on the project.

Author

The writer of this book is Luke, but you may ask who is Luke. Luke is not one of the 12 disciples and may have been a later convert to Christianity. Most people believe he was a gentile, which makes this the only known author of the Bible that was not Jewish. Luke was a member of Paul’s missionary caravan. He served a position of a doctor, making him the first medical missionary. He joined with Paul sometime around chapter 16 of Acts, stayed in Philippi, and eventually rejoined Paul for his third missionary journey, that eventually lead Paul to being arrested and sent to Rome. Luke was one that was loyal to the end of Paul’s life, in fact Paul says to Timothy 2 Timothy 4:11 “11 Only Luke is with me… So Luke was a medical missionary who supported and assisted Paul, although by name, Luke is only mentioned by name twice, and by the pronoun we/us mostly. Too often we think that we are not accomplishing anything if we are not recognized for what we are doing. When looking at the ministry of Paul and all God accomplished through Paul it is hard to imagine him doing all he did without the support staff of men like Luke. These men would serve in the background, not receive credit, but remain faithful and through their lives would see God do great things! We all should aspire to be a Luke, not seeking credit, but seeking to see God do great things through our lives

The Inspiration of Luke

Luke 1:1 “1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,”

845Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.—54.476

Charles Spurgeon

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