Things Accomplished Among Us
INTRODUCTION
St. Luke’s Gospel contains many precious things which are not recorded in the other three Gospels. For example, the histories of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the angel’s announcement to the Virgin Mary, and, in general terms, the first two chapters of his Gospel. Only St. Luke records the conversions of Zacchaeus and the penitent thief, the walk to Emmaus, and the famous parables of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the rich man and Lazarus, and the lost son. These are parts of Scripture for which every well-instructed Christian feels peculiarly thankful. And for these we are indebted to the Gospel of St. Luke.
Christianity is a religion built on facts. Let us never lose sight of this. It came before mankind at first in this shape. The first preachers did not go up and down the world proclaiming an elaborate, artificial system of abstruse doctrines and deep principles. They made it their first business to tell people great plain facts. They went about telling a sin-laden world that the Son of God had come down to earth and lived for us and died for us and rose again for us.
Let us aim at greater simplicity in our own personal religion. Let Christ be the Sun of our system, and let the main desire of our souls be to live the life of faith in him and to daily know him better. This was St. Paul’s Christianity (see Philippians 1:21).
He calls them eyewitnesses and servants of the word (verse 2). There is an instructive humility in this expression. There is an utter absence of that man-exalting tone which has so often crept into the church. St. Luke gives the apostles no flattering titles. He affords not the slightest excuse to those who speak of them with idolatrous veneration because of their office and nearness to our Lord.
He describes them as eyewitnesses. They told people what they had seen with their own eyes and heard with their own ears (see 1 John 1:1). He describes them as servants of the word. They were servants of the Word of the Gospel. They were men who counted it their highest privilege to carry about, as messengers, the tidings of God’s love to a sinful world and to tell the story of the cross.
Well would it have been for the church and the world if Christian ministers had never laid claim to higher dignity and honor than the apostles claimed for themselves.
We have no good reason for supposing that he saw our Lord work miracles or heard him teach. To say that he obtained his information from the Virgin Mary or any of the apostles is mere conjecture and speculation. It is enough for us to know that St. Luke wrote by God’s inspiration. Unquestionably he did not neglect the ordinary means of obtaining knowledge. But the Holy Spirit guided him, no less than all other writers of the Bible, in his choice of material. The Holy Spirit supplied him with thoughts, arrangements, sentences, and even words; and the result is that what St. Luke wrote is not to be read “as the word of men” but “the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
Let us take care to hold on to this great doctrine of the plenary inspiration of every word of the Bible. Let us never allow that any writer of the Old or New Testament could make even the slightest verbal mistake or error when writing, since he was “carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Let it be a settled principle with us in reading the Bible that when we cannot understand a passage or reconcile it with some other passage, the fault is not in the Bible but in ourselves. The adoption of this principle will place our feet on a rock. To give it up is to stand on quicksand and to fill our minds with endless uncertainties and doubts.
Finally, St. Luke informs us of one main purpose he had in mind in writing his Gospel. It was that Theophilus may know the certainty of the things which he had been taught (verse 4). There is no encouragement here for those who place confidence in unwritten traditions and the voice of the church. St. Luke knew well the weakness of human memory and the readiness with which a history alters its shape both by additions and alterations when it depends only on word of mouth and report. What therefore does he do? He takes care to write (verse 3).
There is no encouragement here for those who are opposed to the spread of religious knowledge and talk of ignorance as the “mother of devotion.” St. Luke does not wish his friend to remain in doubt on any matter of his faith. He tells him that he wants him to know the certainty of the things he had been taught (verse 4).
Let us close the passage with thankfulness for the Bible. Let us bless God daily that we are not left dependent on human traditions and need not be led astray by ministers’ mistakes. We have a written volume which is “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).
Let us begin St. Luke’s Gospel with an earnest desire to know more for ourselves the truth as it is in Jesus and with a hearty determination to do as much as we can to spread the knowledge of that truth throughout the world.
Orderly account. We must carefully observe that this expression does not imply that Luke followed the chronological order of the chief events in our Lord’s life more than the other evangelists. It rather means that he grouped together and classified in an orderly way the principal facts which he was inspired to record.
Altogether, Luke’s writings make up more than one fourth of the New Testament.
prologues, explaining the writer’s sources, purpose, and approach, were common in the scholarly writings of the Greco-Roman world (including those by such noted historians as Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius, and Josephus). Luke’s prologue thus marks his gospel as a serious literary and historical work, commanding the respect of even the most sophisticated, well-educated Gentile readers.
The verb accomplished can be used of being fully persuaded (AV, ‘most surely believed’), but this meaning is unlikely here. The word has about it the air of fulfilment (cf. 2 Tim. 4:5)
MAJOR IDEAS
Quality #1: Luke’s account is a historical account ().
Quality #2: Luke’s account is an orderly account ().
Quality #3: Luke’s account is a personal account ().
Quality #4: Luke’s account is a certain account ().
CONCLUSION
The verb translated accomplished (peplērophorēmenōn) is an intensive compound word that indicates the complete fulfillment of something, in this case the redemptive plan of God.
Luke’s intensive research and detailed writing reveals the immensity of his pastor’s heart. He cared enough about Theophilus’s soul that he made this Spirit-empowered effort to bring that one man to a more precise, accurate knowledge of the truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. (For other New Testament examples of that kind of concern, see Acts 18:26; 19:1–5.)
So the phrase in consecutive order is better understood as a reference to the logical, systematic nature of Luke’s writing. The New King James Version’s translation of this phrase, “an orderly account,” captures the essence of Luke’s purpose in writing.
In Colossians 4:14 Paul referred to his dear friend as “Luke, the beloved physician.” Since verses 10 and 11 of that chapter identify Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus as the only ones among this list of Paul’s fellow workers who were “from the circumcision” (i.e., Jewish), it is reasonable to conclude that the people Paul refers to in verses 12–17, including Luke (v. 14), were Gentiles.
The eyewitnesses were also ministers of the word. This unusual expression (found nowhere else in the New Testament) appears to mean ‘men who preached the Christian gospel’. But we should not overlook the facts that John speaks of Jesus as ‘the Word’ (John 1:1) and that elsewhere Luke seems to regard preaching Jesus and preaching the word as much the same thing (Acts 8:4; 9:20; cf. also Acts 10:36ff.). He is approaching John’s thought, for these men were servants of the Word as well as of the word. He is also implying that his authorities were not so much academic historians as men who knew and lived by the word they preached.
Delivered is wide enough to cover both oral and written tradition; Luke may well have both in mind.
Ned B. Stonehouse sees truth as specially important here. The ‘main impact’ of the Prologue is ‘that Christianity is true and is capable of confirmation by appeal to what had happened’.
A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching the next Sunday evening on “The Love of God.” As the shadows fell and light ceased to come through the great cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns; next, the two wounded hands; then the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel. There was nothing else to say. The love of God is Jesus’ life given for us.
Lloyd Douglas tells about a man who on a visit to his old violin teacher, asked, “What’s new?” “I’ll tell you what’s new,” said the teacher. He grabbed his tuning fork and banged it. The “A” came out loud and clear. “Do you hear that? That’s an ‘A’,” he proclaimed. “Now, upstairs a soprano rehearses endlessly and she’s always off key. Next door I have a cello player who plays his instrument very poorly. There is an out-of-tune piano on the other side of me. I’m surrounded by terrible noise, night and day.” Plunking the “A” again, he continued, “Do you hear that? That’s an ‘A’ yesterday, that’s an ‘A’ today, that will be an ‘A’ tomorrow. It will never change.” Luke is insisting on the same kind of certainty: “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Most of 9:51–18:35 is not found in any other Gospel.
Evidently Luke, as an educated doctor, dedicated himself to this task, becoming a meticulous and thorough student of Jesus’ life. This is evident in his Gospel, for 30 percent of it is new information—not contained in the other three Gospels.
Luke tells Jesus’ story from Luke’s unique perspective of a Gentile, a physician, and the first historian of the early church.
The words “events that have been fulfilled” point to the theme of the book—Jesus Christ who fulfilled God’s plan and purposes through his ministry, his death, and his resurrection. This “fulfillment” has eternal significance for all who read the words Luke wrote in his Gospel.
Luke set out to explain the entire gospel story to Theophilus, from the story of the birth of John the Baptist until the ascension of Christ.
In Acts, Luke continued the story of the spread of the gospel until Paul brought it to Rome.
We can thank Theophilus for his concerns. Without his questions, we would not today have this Gospel, with its story of Jesus’ birth and childhood and its record of many of Jesus’ parables (most of 9:51–18:35 is not in any other Gospel).
Several examples of Luke’s concern for logical order can be mentioned. In Luke 3:19–20 the arrest of John the Baptist is placed next to the baptism account due to topical considerations, whereas chronological considerations would place it later (cf. Mark 6:17–18), after Jesus’ baptism (Luke 3:21–22). In 4:16–30 Luke recorded Jesus’ “first” sermon even though earlier he had preached/healed in Capernaum (4:23). In 6:12–16 Jesus’ calling of the twelve disciples is placed before his withdrawal with them in 6:17–19, whereas the order in Mark is reversed (3:13–19 and 3:7–12). In Luke 8:23 Jesus’ sleeping is mentioned before the storm (cf. Mark 4:37–38). In Luke 8:42 the daughter’s age is given at her first mention rather than as a parenthetical comment at the end (cf. Mark 5:42). In 9:14 Luke placed the number of people present next to the amount of bread needed (cf. Mark 6:44), and in 22:56–62 he placed Peter’s denial next to the mention of Peter in 22:54–55 rather than reintroducing him later as Matthew and Mark did (cf. Matt 26:57–58 and 26:69–75; Mark 14:53–54 and 14:66–72).
It is by far the longest of the Gospels, and it contains many extras that are not included in the other three Gospels—to begin with, the entire content of the first two chapters, which detail the advent of Christ beginning with the histories of Zechariah and Elizabeth, then the Annunciation to Mary, culminating in the Nativity. We can thank Luke for the stories of Zacchaeus, the penitent thief, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and the famous parables of the Pharisee and the publican, the rich man and Lazarus, and the prodigal son.
One of the famous stories of New Testament scholarship recounts the early skepticism of the famous Sir William Ramsay regarding Luke’s history, and how the facts completely changed his mind so that he eventually wrote: “Luke’s history is unsurpassed in regard to its trustworthiness.”
What he meant by “orderly account” was a systematic arrangement grouped around themes he wished to emphasize.
What he meant by “orderly account” was a systematic arrangement grouped around themes he wished to emphasize. The facts were never altered, but the way he grouped and juxtaposed them, his artistic and logical arrangement, was meant to pierce the reader’s heart. Luke took great pains to present the gospel with maximum power. This, of course, was done under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The result was a compelling story—especially when it is read and studied in sequence.
noting his careful arrangement of his materials to emphasize his theology. For example, Luke selected exactly ten stories for the birth and infancy narratives in chapters 1 and 2. Five deal with events before Christ’s birth, and five are post-birth. Further, there are special pairings of the events within each quintet—all for a purpose.
Prominent among the great theological emphases in Luke is love. Matthew’s keynote is royalty, Mark’s is power, and in Luke it is love. Love uniquely shines through in saying after saying and parable after parable in this Gospel.
The offer of salvation for all is far more prominent in Luke than in the other Gospels. The word is not even used in Matthew and Mark and appears only once in John. But Luke employs it six times, as well as using “to save” more than any other Gospel. The angel announcing the birth of “a Savior” said the good news was for “all people” (2:10–11). Samaritans find grace and give it. Simeon sings about “light … to the Gentiles.” Jesus heals non-Israelites. The mission of the seventy has reference to the Gentiles.
Luke records Jesus’ repeated references to his coming death and gives profound detail concerning both the passion and the cross. Simeon’s prophecy (2:34–35) refers to the coming passion. The ox is a traditional symbol for the Gospel of Luke because it is a sacrificial animal. Luke lifts high the cross.
The Gospel opens with repeated references to the Holy Spirit: the baby John in his mother’s womb (1:15), Elizabeth and Zechariah filled with the Spirit (1:41, 67), the Holy Spirit upon Simeon (2:25–27), Jesus’ conception by the Spirit (1:35), the Spirit descending like a dove upon Jesus when he was baptized (3:22), the Spirit leading him into the wilderness (4:1). Thus the Holy Spirit was emphasized, culminating in his descent at Pentecost in Acts 2.
He delighted in mentioning individuals: Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Martha, Zacchaeus, Cleopas, the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet. Jesus’ parables in the Gospel of Matthew center on the kingdom, but those in Luke stress people.
Luke’s Gospel transcends the first century’s neglect of women. We hear their names more there than in any other Gospel: Mary, Elizabeth, Anna, Martha, her sister Mary, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, the widow of Nain, the widow who gave all she had, the daughters of Jerusalem, the women in Jesus’ parables.
We see Luke’s heart for babies and children in the stories of the infancy of John and Jesus. Luke gives us the only information about Jesus’ boyhood. He also speaks of various individuals’ only sons or only daughters.
Luke also shows himself powerfully disposed to the poor. He portrays Jesus as coming to preach the gospel to the poor and blessing the poor. The shepherds were poor. Joseph and Mary made an offering of the poor at Jesus’ birth. Luke cared about the poor. He also repeatedly warned about the dangers of riches. The parables he recorded repeatedly return to these themes: the rich fool, the unjust steward, the rich man who ignored the beggar Lazarus, the rich young ruler, the widow’s mite.
Luke’s Gospel is a singing Gospel. It resounds with the music of praise to God. Early on we find the Magnificat (1:46–55), the Benedictus (1:68–79), the Nunc Dimittis (2:29–32), and the Gloria (2:14). The verb rejoice is found in Luke more than in any other book in the New Testament. Likewise joy occurs regularly. There is joy in Zacchaeus’ receiving Jesus. There is joy on earth in the finding of the lost sheep and the lost coin, and there is joy in Heaven when lost sinners are found. The Gospel ends just as it began—with rejoicing.
Luke the historian will make you certain about the Gospel. Luke the theologian will touch you with God’s love and grace. Luke the physician will help you to love people. Luke the musician will set your heart to singing.