Alert blog reader Barb Sims, who also follows the reading schedule, pointed out after my Sunday blog on Deuteronomy 2 that we were supposed to be in Luke, not Deuteronomy. I need to follow my own schedule!

So, we will return to Deuteronomy in November. In the meantime, look at this fantastic introduction to Luke:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. (Luke 1.1 – 4, ESV)

The Gospel of Luke, written by a Gentile, a medical doctor who traveled with Paul…

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16.9 – 10, ESV, emphasis mine)

Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. (Colossians 4.14, ESV)

…written by Luke, a Gentile…to a Gentile, Theophilus.

We don’t know anything about Theophilus, whose name in Greek means “lover of God,” leading some to believe that maybe he was a composite – it’s written to all lovers of God. But Randy Stinger has written a marvelous novel, The Advocate, which I read almost 10 years ago. Here’s part of the book’s blurb on Amazon:

Theophilus has proven himself in the legal ranks of the Roman Empire. He has survived the insane rule of Caligula and has weathered the cruel tyrant’s quest to control the woman he loves. He has endured the mindless violence of the gladiator games and the backstabbing intrigue of the treason trials.

Now he must face another evil Caesar, defending the man Paul in Nero’s deranged court. Can Theophilus mount a defense that will keep another innocent man from execution?

Randy portrays Theophilus as an attorney, appointed toward the end of the book to defend Paul’s appearance before Nero. In this imagined scenario Luke writes his two-volume set Luke/Acts to bring Theophilus up to speed on what Paul believes.

So let’s look at that introduction again:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile…

• a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were
• eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write
• an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
• that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

A “narrative” and “orderly account” from the testimony of “eyewitnesses” that “you may have certainty.” I reminded us a few months ago that without the resurrection there would be no “the Bible,” no Gospel of Luke because there would have been nothing to write about.

As we read these familiar stories again, let’s remind ourselves that Luke’s account is not a collection of fanciful tales, loosely strung together to teach moral lessons. It’s an “orderly account” of the life of a real person, Jesus of Nazareth, who, as we’ll learn at the end of the book, was put to death by the Romans and came back to life. It’s a story worth reading!

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (2 Peter 1.16, ESV)