Today’s reading: Luke 1
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
As we study over the next six weeks, how can we continually keep this truth on our hearts and in our minds? Will our study be more meaningful if, with each passage, we take time to remember every single one of them is intended to point us to Jesus Christ our Savior? Let’s try it.
Our text for today is Luke 1 – the birth of John the Baptist foretold, the birth of Jesus foretold, Mary visiting Elizabeth, the birth of John the Baptist and Zechariah’s prophecy. These stories are familiar to many of us. Rather than focus on the storyline, I’d like to begin our study in Luke 1 by focusing on verses 1-4. What these verses tell us about the author and his commitment to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ is significant.
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 (Luke 1:1-4).
A few interesting facts I learned this week that emphasize Jesus Christ is good news wrapped in a person:
- Luke is the only one of the gospels that was written by a gentile (Matthew, Mark and John were all Jews). Why is this significant? The saving grace of Jesus Christ is available to anyone who puts their faith in him. Knowing part of the Bible, the inspired word of God, was written by an author outside of the Jewish community helps gentiles (or non-jews like most of us) see themselves as part of the good news story.
- Luke was not one of Jesus’s apostles. He did not personally walk with Jesus during his earthly ministry. According to verse 2, he interviewed many eyewitnesses and completely investigated everything. The evidence he found to support Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah must have been overwhelming. He couldn’t keep it to himself, but had to share the good news.
- Luke was a physician. He captured more detail than the other gospels, as the book of Luke is the most complete record of Jesus birth and childhood. Rather than just focusing on the storyline, Luke emphasized Jesus’ tenderness, care and kindness toward people throughout his writing. A Savior who humbled himself and became a servant to all is a leader I want to follow. That is good news.
- Luke addressed this letter to Theophilus (verse 4), or “Lover of God”. While many interpreters consider this to be a specific person, it could also have generically meant any Christfollower. According to verse 2, Luke’s objective was not to provide Theophilus with an historical justification of the Christian faith (did it happen), but to encourage faith by connecting the dots on what happened and what the good news really meant.
The good news of Jesus Christ impacted the life of Luke so significantly he was compelled to pass it on by writing this letter. As we study together over the next six weeks, I dare you to ask God to speak to you through his word. God used Luke to write part of the New Testament. Who knows what he has in store for you.