This is the way Luke, the author of one of the Gospels and the author of The Acts of the Apostles, begins his narrative about the life of Jesus Christ:
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
As I read this recently, Scripture came to life, making me deeply curious about this person who contributed so much to the life of the church through the two biblical books he authored.
Imagine Christmas without visualizing the shepherds and the star, or reading the prayers and prophecies of Zachariah, Elizabeth, Mary, and Simeon. And imagine never being able to read about the day of Pentecost or the momentous events that advanced the church of Jesus Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Rome. These are just a few examples of stories and details that are only found in Luke’s writings.
Of course, God is sovereign, and the Bible’s stories are his stories. He could have used anyone who would respond to the Holy Spirit and do the work of recording them. He chose Luke. In my opinion, he made an excellent choice!
Luke was a beloved physician and a faithful missionary partner to the Apostle Paul. He was a wise and trustworthy journalist as well. This first paragraph of Luke’s gospel states his intention, methods, sources, writing practice, and purpose—to serve his audience, that we may know the certainty of the things we have been taught. With no boasting whatsoever, he made clear from the outset that he was qualified, prepared, and authorized by God to be his scribe.
Luke tells us that he sought out and read the written accounts about Jesus and the Apostles that were available at the time. He met and interviewed eyewitnesses, investigating the veracity of the oral histories and facts he heard. Luke then used all of his knowledge, skill and expertise, guided by the Holy Spirit, to provide priceless and accurate documentation of the first-century news stories that changed the world forever. He wrote an orderly account indeed.
Those of us who aspire to serve others with our writing can learn a lot from this man who demonstrated great journalistic integrity and skill. Many of us feel that we are living in a time when there are very few historians and news reporters we can trust.
There are many reasons to trust Luke. The Scripture gives us a good sense of his character, his ethical concerns, his spiritual fervor, and the various areas of knowledge, experience, and expertise that contributed to his excellent storytelling.
The Bible is silent as to the occasion of Luke’s becoming a disciple of Christ. He was a Gentile, probably from Antioch, who may have been a “God-fearer,” a non-Jewish worshipper of the God of Israel. He did not know Jesus Christ personally and was not among his original apostles. However, he was a contemporary and spent time in the presence of some of the original apostles, hearing and accurately recording their eyewitness testimony. For this reason, his writings gained apostolic authority. Deemed to be trustworthy and Holy Spirit-inspired, they were included in the scriptural canon.
Luke never mentions himself by name in either Luke or Acts, indicating a character of humility. He didn’t seek a byline. In Acts, Luke is a participant in some of the stories, but apart from using the pronoun “we” on several occasions, feels no need to draw attention to himself.
Paul refers to Luke by name three times. In Colossians 4:14, he is called “the beloved” or “dearly loved” physician. Luke was one of Paul’s numerous companions and fellow laborers at the time, named among those who sent “greetings” to the churches and to Philemon (1:24).
Sometime later, Paul reveals in 2 Timothy 4:11 that at one point on a missionary journey, Luke was the only friend that remained by his side: “Only Luke is with me.” While Demas and others had forsaken him, Luke remained loyal, sharing in some of the hardships that seemed to accompany Paul’s ministry. This is another character trait to admire.
Luke was no carnal or nominal follower of The Way. He was a born-again, Spirit-filled disciple. Luke was an invested partner, a co-laborer with the apostles. He committed himself to the apostle’s doctrine (Acts 2:42). He followed closely the unfolding story of the expanding ministry of the word, reporting the statistical growth resulting from their outreach to both Jews and Gentiles.
Luke gives total credence to the gifts of the Spirit. He objectively reports the impartation of healing, prophecy, tongues, discerning of spirits, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, and miracles. He witnessed these exciting phenomena right from the front lines, like an embedded reporter on assignment for God. He never engaged in controversies but reported what he observed.
Like Paul, Luke was a highly educated man. According to one source of archeological/biblical research, Luke was likely to have been trained in one of the medical schools connected to Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine. This school emphasized the personal relationship of trust between doctor and patient. This is surmised because he served as a personal physician to the Apostle Paul and brought him great comfort.
After being shipwrecked on the island of Malta with Paul, the missionary team ministered to native people suffering from fever, dysentery, and other diseases (Acts 28:8-9). Luke records that God healed a chief official’s father when Paul laid hands on him and prayed for him. He then reports, “When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured” (28:9). Clearly, Luke’s medical training and compassion for the sick would have been a tremendous asset on the mission field.
But Luke was no mere clinician. Throughout his gospel and the book of Acts, Luke never misses an opportunity to recognize supernatural healings and to celebrate the role of the Holy Spirit in every aspect of their work. He reports the appearance of angels, miraculous rescues, and astonishing supernatural healings.
Luke also emphasizes prayer more than the other three Gospel writers. In Luke, he cites 26 instances of Jesus and other protagonists praying (8 of them unique to his gospel) and 34 in Acts. He was a man of science, and a man fully persuaded of the power of prayer. Without a doubt, he assumed that prayer was a central, essential discipline in the Christian life.
Another distinction of Luke’s writing is his awareness and concern for the poor, the outcast, and the sinner. This is illustrated by the number of mercy or justice-related parables unique to his gospel: The Good Samaritan (10:25-37), Invitation to the Banquet (14:12-24), The Prodigal Son, The Rich Man and Lazarus (16:19-31), The Pharisee and Tax-collector (18:9-14), the sinful woman who washed Jesus’s feet (Lk. 7:36-50).
Luke also reports verbatim Mary’s prayer of exaltation to the God who “has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble; and who has “filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. (Lk 1:52-53). He quotes Jesus’s exhortation to avoid covetousness and show generosity to those in need (Lk. 12:15-21)
If Luke were working as a journalist today, it is not hard to guess where his interests and priorities would lie.
The gospel of Mark, considered by most scholars to be the first written, was already in circulation and available to Luke as a primary source. Luke may also have had access to Matthew’s account. This would explain the stories that the three Synoptic gospels have in common.
Along with these sources, Luke must have spent extensive time in Israel and conducted interviews with individuals named in his narrative. Otherwise, it is very hard to explain how he knew what he knew.
For example, how was Luke able to add such intimate detail to his narratives of events surrounding the conception and birth of Jesus? We can’t know exactly, but he may have had the opportunity to visit with and interview Mary and other friends and family members from Nazareth. I imagine Luke taking copious notes!
Knowing that Jesus had traveled repeatedly from town to town, Luke may have retraced his steps to look for people with stories about their encounters with the Son of God. He would have heard for himself many stories of healings, teachings, deliverance from demons, crowds following Jesus, and the feeding thousands with just five loaves of bread and a couple of fish.
In one of the “we” sections in Acts (when Luke was traveling with Paul), Luke reports a series of prophetic warnings about the perils Paul would (and did) encounter if he insisted on going to Jerusalem. One of these occasions was in Antioch, and we know that Peter was also present at that meeting. Luke had become a close-in part of Paul’s entourage, and this brought him into contact with the most important informants to be cited in his later journalistic efforts. In a sense, he was part of the “press corps” allowed into the presence of prominent witnesses and leaders in the spread of the gospel.
Another “we” section of Acts (Ch. 27) highlights an interesting aspect of Luke’s general intelligence. Luke was with Paul on his third missionary journey when their ship ran into very rough weather. The crew took a series of drastic measures in attempting to save the lives of the souls on board. Luke describes in detail their nautical techniques, using the accurate vocabulary of seamanship.
Scholars suggest that Luke either already knew a lot about seamanship, or he researched later the correct terminology to include in his narrative. He may have gained this specialized knowledge while serving as a ship doctor at some point in his career. Either way, he demonstrated the discipline of good journalism. Journalists often have to study many aspects of the topic at hand in order to provide credible and accurate reporting. In this case, the minute details of this harrowing time at sea may not be entirely necessary to the story, but it says a lot about Luke that it is there.
In an era when 67% of Americans now believe that journalists invent or slant news stories to mislead the public, Luke’s integrity, objectivity, and observational powers are compelling and refreshing. Throughout his gospel and Acts, he proves himself to be the kind of reporter we can admire and trust.
His desire, as stated in Luke 1:4, was to contribute writings that would help God’s people have certainty about the gospel story. He captured oral histories, testimonies, and eyewitness reports so that throughout the generations, we all can behold the beauty of Christ and his church. And he did it with consummate skill and grace.
Sources:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/10/18/st–luke–evangelist–physician—patron-of–artists.html
https://www.pewresearch.org/2022/01/05/trust-in-america-do-americans-trust-the-news-media/
