Luke, The Historian

by J.M. Gault, Portslade | Category: General | Nov 1979

A two-volume history

It is sometimes said by non-Christian critics that there is no real evidence for the historical Jesus. They no doubt mean that such evidence does not exist apart from the Bible, and by implication they discard the historical content of the four Gospels. They argue that the Gospel writers were not impartial since they were personally committed to the teaching of Jesus, and were interested in so persuading others.

While the Gospel written by Luke is part of the inspired writings, it is also a carefully researched and accurately compiled historical document. The author in his preface to the Gospel says, "it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, ... that thou mightest know the certainty... (Luke 1:3-4).

An examination of this Gospel will reveal evidence of the author's meticulous research. His orderly presentation of the facts is impressive. An example of his care for detail is the fact that he fixes the date of the ministry of John the Baptist by six separate concurrent events:

"Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius

Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of

Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and

Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, in the high-

priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came unto

John ..." (Luke 3:1-3).

Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles and once again his preface is interesting in that he refers to the previous treatise, and to the point where that treatise ended - "the day in which Jesus was received up" (Acts 1:2). He then proceeds to record the sequel to that glorious event: the day of Pentecost and all that followed.

As a result, his two works; the Gospel that bears his name and the Acts of the Apostles, are a two-volume history of the most momentous period in the history of the world. They are documents of supreme importance to the Christian faith, but are also worthy of the attention of any impartial secular researcher. A history which has been so thoroughly researched, and compiled with such care for detail, should not lightly be discarded as unreliable.

The historian

We know little about this man Luke, who wrote more than one-quarter of the New Testament. He is mentioned in the Bible only three times:

Colossians 4:14 :"Luke, the beloved physician"

2 Timothy 4:11: "Only Luke is with me"

Philemon 24: "Luke, my fellow worker".

That he was a man of learning is implied by his profession, and his training would have made him careful for detail. He was a Gentile, the only Gentile writer in the New Testament, and his writings, by their language and style, and the care taken to explain Jewish words and localities, are seen as being primarily for Gentile readers. Although addressed to Theophilus they were obviously meant to have a wider circulation.

Luke was a companion of Paul in some of his travels and a fellowworker with him in the Gospel. We learn from certain passages in the Acts of the Apostles that he was present during some of the events recorded. There are four such passages: Chapters 16:10-17, 20:5-15, 21:1-18 and from 27:1 to 28:16, known as the "we" passages where the writer changes from the third person to the first person plural.

His travels

A close bond existed between Paul and Luke. Paul calls him "the beloved physician" and Luke's medical skill was obviously appreciated by the aged and frequently ailing apostle. Luke was with Paul and Silas at Philippi although he does not appear to have shared their prison experiences. He was at Miletus when Paul sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church, and was probably present at that wonderful meeting. He would have witnessed the tender parting and heard the apostle's farewell words, "I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace". It reads like an eye-witness account.

From there he went on with Paul on the long journey to Jerusalem, calling at Tyre and Caesarea. He was present at the meeting of Paul with James and all the elders at which the apostle to the Gentiles reported on his work among the Gentiles (Acts 21:1-18).

For two years he was Paul's companion in imprisonment in Caesarea and was at the side of the apostle on the eventful voyage to Rome. His most graphic account of the voyage and shipwreck has been acknowledged by seafaring men as a remarkable account by a man who was not himself a seafarer. He was with Paul the day he finally reached Rome, the great goal of the apostle's life-work. Paul's own desire had been to go there. "I must also see Rome" (Acts 19:21), and the Lord had revealed to him that "thou must bear witness also in Rome" (Acts 23:11). At Rome, and in prison there, Luke was to be Paul's companion to the end. How beautiful are the words, "only Luke is with me": a lovely commendation of the unobtrusive and gentle Luke whose presence brought so much comfort to the aged and lonely prisoner of the Lord.

It was no chance happening when Luke met Paul. God, who had carefully chosen and prepared the man Saul of Tarsus to be His apostle to the Gentiles, also carefully selected the man Luke, who was to record the important events in the spread of the gospel and in the establishment of churches of God.

The great wisdom of God is seen in the bringing together of these remarkable men, who although they had obviously so much to give each other, also had their own independent roles to play in the service of God.

His research

As the constant companion of Paul, Luke would have ample opportunity to carry out his research. He must have met many of the great personalities of the early churches. We may be sure that he would have made the most of his opportunities for questioning the apostles and others about the true course of events.

He speaks of the testimony of eye-witnesses, and that of those early ministers of the word whose personal knowledge of their Lord would give credence to their testimony. He also refers to narratives which he researched, perhaps personal correspondence and other documents circulating in the churches (Luke 1:1-4). Luke carried out his researches carefully and systematically under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The period covered by the history

Dispensationally, Luke's history covers the whole of the transition period from Law to Grace. His record commences with the angel's announcement to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, that the fore-runner was to be born, and it ends with Paul's final declaration to the Jewish elders at Rome that the gospel would be sent to the Gentiles.

The extent of the overlapping of the two dispensations is not easy to define, but the transition could be said to have its beginning with John the Baptist. He was the last, and possibly the greatest, of the long line of Hebrew prophets in that it was his unique privilege to point to the Son of God in the flesh and say, "Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world". About thirty years earlier the first positive indication that the new age was about to dawn was given to his father and mother, the faithful priest Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth. The angel said to him,

"and he shall go before His face. .. to make ready for the Lord a

people prepared for Him" (Luke 1:17).

The major events of the next seventy years or so are recorded by Luke, ending in that final meeting of the apostle and the elders at Rome. From morning until evening Paul expounded to them the things concerning the Kingdom of God (Acts 28:23). He showed them Jesus in the Law and the Prophets in what must have been a remarkable exposition by the onetime young Jewish Pharisee. When they were unable to agree among themselves, Paul spoke "one word" of deep significance (Acts 28:25). From Isaiah 6, he quoted the prophet's words of condemnation to an unbelieving nation. Their hearts had still not changed at the news of Jesus, their Messiah. Their attitude was typical of their nation's long history of disbelief, and Paul tells them that

"the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will

hear it" (Acts 28:28 AV).

It is as though the apostle was finally drawing the curtain on the dispensational privilege which Israel had enjoyed of the first hearing of the gospel (Acts 3:26). Paul had personally practised this principle in his own preaching, (Rom. 1:16), but now their day of privilege was over. The last

feeble rays of the dispensation of the Law were about to die away. The transition could be regarded as complete.

Such was the broad vision of Luke, and such his sense of history with regard to the divine purposes, that at such a significant moment he drew his record to a close.

J.M. Gault, Portslade | Nov 1979
General