Assurance of the Truth

Assurance of the Truth - Luke 1:1-4

INTRO:

The year is two thousand and twenty!

While I was away (on our family vacation to visit Clara’s family members in London, followed by a ministry leg to encourage the Farrs in Johannesburg [my sister, and our church’s missionaries to South Africa]), I let that sink in—2020. You know, according to the Back to the Future movie franchise, which aired its first film in 1985, the majority of us should be flying our cars instead driving them. Three and a half decades later, although the technology might be available, it’s far from being cost effective and practical. While the franchise may have oversold what the future holds, Back to the Future is getting its very own Broadway musical this year. (I think it launches in Feb.) So that’s something I guess? ;-)

Actually, what the year 2020 germinated in my mind that is stirring a great deal of prayer and thinking is the fact that this is a new decade. For the first time in my life, largely because of my relationship in ministry alongside you in this church family, I am fervently seeking clarity from the Lord in prayer concerning the last decade and the next. (And I’ve already asked our elders and deacons to do the same.) Where has the Lord brought us, and where might he be pleased to take us now? My hope is that you will join me in giving God glory for what he has accomplished among us over the last 5-10 years, and that we will listen with honest and open hearts as to what he might have accomplished had we been more dependently submissive to his leading. Then too, I’m praying for God to graciously give us an even sharper focus for the future as to how our church family specifically can be used most effectively within the scope of all the other things God is accomplishing in our community and worldwide. First and foremost, we want to be faithful to God’s calling for all of his people this side of heaven. And then secondly, we’re praying for God to help us find a more specific niche, a central area to work on, over the next 5-10 years ahead of us. We encourage you to pray and to share your thoughts with us.

Listen, I also want to challenge you to do this same thing in the scope of your own life (and with those God has placed within your sphere of responsibility and influence). Carefully and prayerfully listen to God’s word to evaluate what changes need to be made in your life from past years. And prayerfully seek God, asking him to guide your plans that will have an impact on the next decade of your life. Take care that you don’t artificially dictate to God what he ought to do with you, but submissively give him your all and your everything to do with as he pleases.

PRAY:

“Lord, teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Ps. 90:12)

Amen.

To begin this decade, we’re launching a sweeping sermon series through Luke & Acts. No, it won’t take the whole decade, and yes, we’ll take some breaks for other sermons or shorter series. If you were here just before the holidays you’ll recall that we already dipped our toes in Luke at the close of last year because the beginning is well-suited to the Christmas season, but I jumped over the prologue and promised to come back. So let’s return to Luke’s own introduction.

Luke 1:1–4 ESV

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 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, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

What we’ll be covering today is an introduction of sorts to Luke’s Gospel. And I can’t take credit for most (if any) of the information today. I’m firmly resting on the shoulders of others who’ve literally given decades of their lives in the careful study of Luke and Acts.

So I plan to share with you some features that make the gospel of Luke unique, to provide a basic outline of the book, and to hit some highlights from this prologue, which includes the author’s purpose.

Distinctives in Luke

I don’t want to inundate or bore you with facts and figures that are little to no consequence for how you study Luke, but I do want you to be aware of some features that very well can make a difference in terms of overall understanding, or things that help us grasp the importance of Luke’s contribution to our scriptural canon.

One the primary factors that makes Luke’s contribution unique is his clear intention to provide a sweeping scope of both the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the birth and mission of His Church right up to the very time of Luke’s writing. From my perspective, it seems evident that Luke intended from the beginning of the first book that he would also compose the second, and so we really must not try to understand one without its relationship to the other. - And by sheer volume of content then, we have this Gentile convert holding the status of being the largest contributor of content in the N.T. His mentor Paul was certainly the most prolific writer and greatest contributor of N.T. doctrine, but Luke the central storyteller who carefully and eloquently bridges for us the life and mission of Jesus with the life and mission of his church.

In his style Luke has a flare for the artistic (such as the inclusion of songs) and is vivid in his storytelling, right down to sharing the thoughts and intentions of some key figures, which I can only assume must have come from personal interviews and eyewitness accounts. Luke in particular emphasizes Christ’s compassion on the poor and needy, the sick and hurting, that he came to seek and save the lost, and that those who respond to him rightly are those who view themselves as sinners who are spiritually destitute and undeserving. Luke also appears to narrate with greater detail the important role and involvement of women in the life and ministry of Jesus.

More than 50% of Luke’s content is found in only this gospel, not only at the beginning and end with the birth narratives and Christ’s ascension, but also in the major middle section of Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem. (As much as 49 percent of that section is unique to Luke and contains a high concentration of teaching and parable. - Bock, 23)

A Basic Outline of Luke — (credit: Darrell L. Bock)

Luke’s Preface and Introduction of John and Jesus (1:1-2:52)

After his preface, Luke provides a unique comparison of John the B and Jesus, showing that both are fulfillment of God’s OT promises but that Jesus is clearly superior. “John is the forerunner, but Jesus is the fulfillment. Everything in Luke 1-2 points to the superiority of Jesus.” (p. 20 - Bock, Baker Exegetical Commentary)

Preparation for Ministry: Anointed by God (3:1-4:13)

Galilean Ministry: Revelation of Jesus (4:14-9:50)

Jerusalem Journey: Jewish Rejection and the New Way (9:51-19:44)

The Jerusalem Journey, as Bock has termed it, is that lengthy middle section that is largely unique to Luke and focuses on Christ preparing his disciples for his departure and carrying on his ministry. - This crucial section also depicts the ongoing and deepening rejection of Jesus by the majority of Israel (illustrated most acutely in conflict with the religious leadership), moving forward Luke’s theme demonstrating that while Christianity certainly owes it roots to Judaism, it is indeed a distinct New Way. Christ is the fulfillment of the OT law as well as the true purpose for the OT law (as Paul calls it the tutor to lead us to Christ). The law is no longer the way to relate rightly to God, Jesus is.

Jerusalem: The Innocent One Slain and Raised (19:45-24:53)

In the passion section, Christ’s innocents is made clear and his deity more fully revealed. Following Jesus’ resurrection, Luke alone relates the episode with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and only Luke gives careful attention to the Christ’s ascension. (As he begins Acts, the important connection is made clear.)

You thought I would never actually get to it, but let’s look more closely now at Luke’s prologue and briefly discuss his purpose.

Luke’s Prologue & Purpose

In verse three in our Bibles the author states, “It seemed good to me… to write an orderly account.”

Who is this “me” who doesn’t name himself but is definitely the author of both this Gospel account and Acts (of the Holy Spirit by the Apostles)? Very early church tradition widely accepted that Luke, the physician and companion of Paul, was the author. Although in the 19th century some scholars decided to raise doubt upon the fact for sport, these doubters are grasping at straws. Both internal evidence, such as the “we” passages in Acts (once Luke had joined up with Paul), as well as this external evidence of acceptance by the early church, make us as comfortable as we can be with naming Luke as the author.

At the beginning of this elaborate and well-crafted single sentence (in the Greek), the author notes that his task is building on the tradition that others have already put together in writing or in oral repetition. It certainly appears that at least Mark, if not also Matthew, was already circulating in written form and which Luke utilized as one of his sources. But as Luke speaks of “many,” he evidently had other credible sources, possibly similar resources to what Matthew used, plus additional material, including eye-witness testimony, no doubt. Notice the suggestion of this in verse two, indicating that he himself was not an eyewitness.

We see here too that these eyewitness on whom he relies were primarily none other than the apostles themselves, the “ministers of the word” (the gospel), who delivered them to those now following Christ as well.

Back in v. 3 again, Luke says specifically that he has “followed closely,” which can and probably should be translated as “investigated carefully,” in order to provide an “ordered account” (fairly chronological, but especially logical). We will see that his statement of having trustworthy resources, making careful investigation, and giving an orderly account serve to reinforce his purpose of generating confidence in the truth of the narrative.

It doesn’t appear that Luke knew at the time of writing that this was to end up being recognized as Scripture inspired by the Holy Spirit. That role and responsibility was with the Holy Spirit. But we can derive that Luke fully intended for his part to be meticulously diligent in his research was well as deliberate with clarity of communication in order to generate assurance for his readers.

This orderly account is addressed to Theophilus. - Who is this Theophilus and what is up with his hair? Well, actually, that picture is of "Doc” from Back to the Future, played by Christopher Lloyd. … Just working to maintain your focused attention here.

Theophilus appears to be a real person addressed, and “most excellent” is a term of respect for someone of some social rank. It’s possible too that he served as patron (meaning the person who provided financial backing) for Luke’s research and writing, but we can’t be certain. As we continue our journey in Luke’s carefully compiled and crafted narrative, we can surmise that he intends this account not only for Theophilus but also for anyone with similar questions concerning what they’ve been taught about Christ and His Church.

Theophilus may have been troubled by questions like, “Is the Christian faith I believed in really the truth and the only truth? If it is true, why was Jesus rejected by His people and crucified? Why are Christians being persecuted? Why have most of the Jews rejected the message, while the Gentiles are receiving it?” (Steve Cole, Adapted from Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker Exegetical Commentary], 1:65).

When we take Luke’s statement here at the outset (v. 4) with a broader picture of primary themes, we conclude that he had in mind at least the following goals in writing, and which seems to answer these questions:

Luke desired to assure his readers of the certainty of what they had been taught. (ESV Study Bible) - Luke says that he has carefully researched and compiled and crafted this so that Theophilus and others like him may know (the literal translation of the Gk there in v. 4). This knowing means to discern something clearly and distinctly, as true and valid. Luke’s goal was to assure his readers that what they had been taught concerning Christ was indeed true and to answer some of the difficult questions likely being raised during his day. - It seems very likely too that Luke recognized the important function that a written form of the things they had been taught by the Apostles would be effective in carrying on accurate teaching. Oral tradition was good, but written would be better. And with all true underlying credit due to the Holy Spirit, Luke was right. We are still reading Luke-Acts less than 50 years shy of 2000 years later! (To go along with our decade theme for the day, that’s 195 and a half decades that we’ve been reading Luke’s writing that the Holy Spirit inspired.)

Luke demonstrates clearly that it was indeed within God’s plan that Israel would largely reject Jesus and that the Gentiles are invited into the kingdom with equal status.

Luke demonstrates too that it was indeed God’s perfect plan that Jesus be crucified.

To clarify what it means to respond to Jesus and how His disciples should live until the day He returns. - Darrell Bock states, “This is a major burden of the Gospel of Luke: to define Jesus’ mission and that of the disciples who follow him. The bulk of Luke explains how Jesus prepared the disciples for his departure and prepared them to minister in his absence. This is where the crucial Lucan section of chapters 9-19, the Jerusalem journey, fits into the Gospel and controls its purpose.” (p. 2) - And so we maintain this crucial connection between Luke and Acts, portraying both the sovereign plan of God and the continuation of Christ’s mission through his disciples, the Church.

Where do you fit into this picture?

Conclusion:

Over the next year and decade, you will continue to be bombarded with competing truth claims. Many of those things don’t even come in obvious forms as truth claims. They are simply assumed as fact and promoted as such because it helps push along a human-centered agenda, sometimes an even more base and selfish agenda even than that! Of course we should note that there is an important place for man in this universe within the scope of God’s agenda, but we are not the be all and end all of all things—God is. The glory of the triune God is the purpose and goal of all things, and he has graciously invited us to recognize Him as such, to repent of our wayward rebellion, and to be restored to him through Jesus, and then to become focused members together as a part of this goal—to know him and make him known.

Here is what Luke desired for his audience, and it is beautifully and wonderfully relevant to us today: You can be certain of both the historicity of Jesus and the validity of His purpose for coming, and certain of the establishment and purpose of His church. And you can be sure that he is returning, and that we ought to be living our lives with laser focus on that fact.

PRAYER