1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative
concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, 2
even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were
eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, 3 it seemed good to me
also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the
first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus; 4
that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things
wherein thou wast instructed.
This preface is a perfect gem of Greek art; even in the English Version it
loses little, if anything, of its literary charm. As a prologue it is
regarded as unsurpassed for brevity, modesty, and dignity. However, its
value lies not in its beauty but in its testimony to the veracity of the
writer and to the historic worth and absolute credibility of the gospel
story. The fact of inspiration should not blind us to the human means by
which the Spirit of God secured accuracy in the communication of truth and
in the composition of the Holy Scriptures.
Here we are admitted to the study of a great historian. We see about him
his tools and his material; we are informed as to his motives and methods
in work, and are told of the qualifications he possesses for his great
task. First of all, he has before him many written accounts of the
ministry of Christ. He does not reject these as inaccurate but regards any
one of them as inadequate. By comparing and combining them he secures
valuable outlines for his more complete narrative.
Then, too, he intimates that he is living and writing amidst the scenes
and in the very atmosphere of the events he is recording; only recently,
as he indicates, have these “matters ... been fulfilled.” Again, he has
access to the testimony of men who were eyewitnesses of these events and
who have been public teachers of the gospel.
Further, he assures us of the absolute accuracy with which he has
investigated the incidents of the life and ministry of Christ, even from
the earliest scenes; he has sifted his material and weighed the evidence
and is to record only established facts.
These facts he is to relate “in order,” that is, in the sequence of time,
and further still, with the system and the careful regard to proportion
and to completeness which should characterize a scientific, historical
composition.
Then again he dedicates the book to Theophilus whose title, “most
excellent,” indicates that he is a man of rank and official position, one
to whom an author would not venture to present hasty, imperfect, and
inaccurate work, especially when the one addressed had been instructed
already in reference to the matters related.
Thus this preface shows the supreme purpose of Luke was to confirm the
belief of Theophilus, who is apparently his patron and friend, and to
deepen his conviction of the truth of the gospel story. Surely, such an
introduction must remind every reader that our Christian faith is based
upon an impregnable foundation of historic fact.