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The Gospel of the Messiah
according to Luke |
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Chapter 1:1-4 - Introduction
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Being a Christian means being a disciple of
Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish rabbi who lived in
the first century of the Common Era. In the days
of Jesus, being a rabbi was not an official
position. The word itself, in the Hebrew, means
“great one” or “revered one.” The word “rabbi”
originally was used to designate someone who was
distinguished for their learning, an
authoritative teacher of Torah and a spiritual
leader (The
Jewish Encyclopedia, pg. 294). In this way,
the word “rabbi” wan an honorific title given to
a teacher of Torah and this is why John
explained the meaning of the word as “teacher”
(John 1:38).
What, then, does it mean to be a disciple? The
word “disciple” simply means “student.” In
Hebrew, the word for “disciple” or “student” is
“talmid.” To be a talmid to a rabbi is to be a
student to a teacher. Our Rabbi explained the
disciple/rabbi relationship in Luke 6:40: “A
pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone,
after he has been fully trained, will be like
his teacher.” To be a disciple of a rabbi is to
learn from him so that you will be like him.
Practically speaking, what does it take to be
like your rabbi? Lancaster, in his article “The
Great Omission: Raising Up Disciples,”
summarizes thusly what can be learned from the
rabbinic literature regarding what the duties of
a disciple were:
1) To memorize their teacher's words.
2) To learn their teacher's traditions and
interpretations.
3) To imitate their teacher's actions.
4) To raise up disciples.
In the tractate of the Mishnah called “Pirkei
Avot” (meaning, “Ethics of the Fathers”), the
tradition to raise up new disciples is
attributed to Ezra and the Men of the Great
Assembly (cf. Avot 1:1). As those who claim
Jesus of Nazareth as our rabbi, it is our duty
to be his disciples and to raise up more
disciples for him. Unlike the other Jewish sages
who would train disciples who would then go on
to be rabbis to their own disciples, since our
Master is alive, our job as disciples of Jesus
is to raise up more disciples for him.
We read the great commission in Matthew
28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded
you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the
end of the age.” If we are to be faithful
disciples of Jesus, we will have to know all
that he taught and commanded. If we are to raise
up more disciples for him, we will have then
teach others what we have learned. To do this,
we must study the books left to us that contain
his teachings.
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1Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an
account of the things accomplished among
us, 2just as they were handed down to us by
those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses
and servants of the word, 3it seemed fitting for
me as well, having investigated everything
carefully from the beginning, to write it out
for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; 4so
that you may know the exact truth about the
things you have been taught.
The book of Luke beings with a four-verse
prologue in which the author provides us with
the motivations and purpose in writing this
gospel. The author is not identified in the text
but, according to early church tradition, it was
Paul’s traveling companion Luke (cf. Colossians
4:14). Specifically, a fragment called “The
Muratorian Canon,” dated to the 2nd
Century AD, identified Luke as the author of
this gospel. This same source and other early
church traditions indicate that Luke also wrote
Acts. In this way, the books of Luke and Acts
are really a two-volume work, with the book of
Luke focusing on Jesus’ mission to Israel and
the book of Acts focusing on Jesus’ Messianic
community’s mission to the world.
In 1:1, Luke admits that others have already
ventured to “compile an account of the
things accomplished among us.” This is likely a
reference to the book of Mark, which most
scholars understand to be a written version of
the gospel message that was presented orally.
The stories and teachings found in the gospels
were firstly communicated orally by the original
eyewitnesses, the Apostles. For example, in Acts
10, we find Peter presenting the gospel to
Cornelius. Peter presents the gospel by first
mentioning the ministry of John the Baptist
(10:37), that these events were foretold by the
prophets (10:43), the ministry of Jesus
(10:38-39), the arrest, trial and execution of
Jesus (10:39), the resurrection of Jesus (10:40)
and the commission to proclaim the good news of
Jesus (10:42). All of these elements form the
core narrative that Mark wrote down. Luke takes
Mark’s core narrative and adds additional
stories and teachings found in other sources.
The book of Luke shares material found in the
book of Matthew which the book of Mark does not
contain. Scholars’ have postulated that there
existed a document containing the teachings of
Jesus which Mark did not have access to and
Matthew and Luke did; scholars’ call this
document “Q,” from the German word “quelle,”
meaning “source.” Additionally, there are
stories, particularly the birth narratives,
which are only found in Luke. For these, Luke
must have had access to other documents or
perhaps access to the original eyewitnesses
themselves.
In 1:3-4, Luke provides us with the reasons why
he endeavoured to write his documents, namely,
that there would be a detailed and
chronologically accurate account of the life,
teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Additionally, Luke wrote his gospel so that
those who were presented with the gospel would
be able to have a better understanding of the
details of the one they’ve put their trust in.
The gospel is addressed to a man named “Theophilus,”
a name which means “God lover.” Theophilus could
refer to an actual person and this would be
supported by the fact that Luke addresses him as
“most excellent,” a phrase Luke only used for
Roman dignitaries. Nevertheless, the book of
Luke is beneficial to all God lovers everywhere,
since it transmits to us the stories about and
the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah
of Israel and the world’s Lord. |
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