Luke 1:1-4

Many have undertaken to draw up on 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. 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, so that
you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. -Luke
1:1-4

Luke the Evangelist

Luke is a book that I have not really studied much of. I've touched a lot of the gospel with Matthew and John and the later books, but Luke was one I regarded as one that's kind of "similar" to Matthew so I breezed through it. I intend on taking this a different way this time around and start with Luke and decipher it for another perspective to the truth.

When first reading this, I didn't really understand the approach Luke was trying to take this. Verses 1-4 is kind of iterating what he's going to talk about in this book and who he's addressing this to. I decided to google a little more about Luke and it seems as if he was a sort of physician and a very consistent believer. He was well loved by Paul and followed Paul wherever he went. What I get from the four verses is that Luke is just like us. He had to "investigate everything from the beginning." Now I could be wrong on interpreting this, but I get the feeling that Luke was never really a witness to the things that have happened, but have heard and read about them from those who have been there.

This is what I like about Luke. I like how he's just like the rest of us. He wasn't really one who had a huge impact in the events that happened in the gospel. In fact, he's one of the very first who had to go through this tough faith. It's very hard to believe in something that you cannot see. Luke is telling us with these four verses that he has some really good resources and has decided to study and investigate them thoroughly. He has drawn up conclusions and is ready to deliver them as truth. As one who loves to see proof and the truth behind events, I love this approach Luke takes.

The other thing I like about Luke is that he's not just going to leave these things as speculations. He addresses to Theophilus that what he's heard and read is the truth and he's going to tell the people about it. He's taken these teachings as his own and understands them well enough to tell others about it as the truth. That's the kind of studying he's done. That's the kind of studying I wish to do as well.