“People to meet in heaven: Theophilus”
Luke 1:1-4
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
Ever heard the phrase, “Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to see is true; only the names have been changed to protect the innocent”? Remember what it’s from? It’s from a police show back in the 60’s called, “Dragnet!”
It first aired on the radio back in 1947. And since it did so well, it moved to TV just a few years later in 1951.
But it’s not like other cop shows, like Miami Vice, CSI or NYPD Blue. This series, they said, meant to give the audience a feel for the danger and the heroism of police work. As actor and star of the show, Jack Webb, once told Time Magazine, “We try to make it as real as a guy pouring a cup of coffee.”
And they did a pretty good job! Over it’s nearly sixty years on radio and TV, there were almost eight hundred episodes! Even today, Jack Webb’s ID and his LAPD sergeant’s badge, #417, are on display at the Police Academy in LA.
But of all the things for which the show is so well known, the most memorable are the words, “All we want are the facts, ma’am. Just the facts.”
That’s just how it is in the words of Luke chapter 1. “Just the facts.”
Please turn with me in your Bible to page 1087, as I read the words of Luke chapter 1. I’ll start at verse 1: “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.”
Now whenever we read those words, we typically yawn a little and gloss over them to move on to what comes next. After all, they’re not much more than just an introduction. Why bother with them when you can have the gospel story that comes next?
But if we could, let’s take a moment to really look at them to see what they have to teach us.
Let’s start at verse 1: “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us…”
Let’s stop there. “Many have undertaken to compile a narrative,” he wrote. That’s interesting!
What does it mean? It means that Luke isn’t the only one who’s written a gospel account. Matthew did. Mark did. And John will. But apparently, there were others too, who wrote of the words and deeds of Jesus. “Many have undertaken to compile a narrative.”
Though Jesus lived and worked among us for only thirty-three years, He had such a profound impact on all who lived and worked in and around Galilee and Jerusalem, they couldn’t help but write it down.
But these weren’t people who thought they heard it right and wanted to pass along a good story. Look at verse 2: “Just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word have delivered them to us.”
“Eyewitnesses” and “ministers of the Word,” he said. People who were there. People who saw it happen. People who knew Jesus face-to-face.
Is it any surprise? It shouldn’t be. Not only were there twelve disciples and not only did Jesus send out the seventy-two. And not only was there a group of women who, out of their own means, cared for their needs. There were others, many others, who loved and followed Jesus.
That’s what Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”
“Five hundred brothers,” he wrote! Even more, when Peter preached at Pentecost, more than three thousand people believed!
Or think of the countless thousands whom Jesus touched—the poor, the hungry, the deaf, the dead, the blind and the lame. Maybe they too couldn’t help but write of the things that Jesus said and did.
No wonder Luke wrote: “Many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us.”
“A narrative,” “an account,” he said. “A description of things that really took place.”
That too is what Peter, another eyewitness, once said: “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”
“Eyewitnesses,” he said. We were there. We saw it happen!
Now look at verse 3: “It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past.”
“Followed all things closely,” he said. Luke was no naïve, gullible, I’ll believe anything that comes along, kind of guy. He was a doctor, a physician, a scientist. He carefully, patiently, and systematically recorded the things that Jesus said and did. He interviewed eyewitnesses. He checked, and double-checked, his sources.
And he went back to the beginning. Who was this Jesus of Nazareth and where did He come from? Who really were His father and mother, His brothers and sisters, and what were they like? And what did they think of Jesus? He left no stone unturned.
But why would Luke bother? Why would he work so hard to get it right?
Because if the story of Jesus was just a story, if it was all made up and none of it were true, it would be the absolute worst lie anyone has ever told mankind.
That’s why he wrote: “It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account.”
Then finally, in verse 3, we find a name, Theophilus, a name that means, “Friend of God.”
Who was he? We’re really not sure, which is why we want to meet him in heaven!
But there is a clue. Look again at verse 3. “Most excellent Theophilus,” he wrote. In the Greek, it’s kratistos, a word that means, “strong,” “mighty,” “honored,” and “noble.” It‘s a term reserved for high government officials like prefects and governors, the socially and politically elite, ones with power and money.
So why would Luke write this letter to him? Maybe because Theophilus loved God, but he had a lot questions. And before he would stake his life on earth and his eternity in heaven on this Man from Galilee, he had to know who He really was and what He came to do.
Did Jesus truly heal the sick and raise the dead? Was He crucified and did He really rise from the dead? And what about the hardships and persecution that so many were suffering. Were they signs of God’s judgment or God’s blessing?
The “Most Excellent Theophilus” didn’t want hearsay or speculation. He wanted the facts from the ones who were there. And that’s why Luke wrote this letter.
Even more, to write this book, not to mention Luke’s second book, the book of Acts, was a big deal. In fact, both books, Luke and Acts together--fifty-two chapters long--are longer than all of Paul’s letters combined!
It’s a two-volume deluxe edition, that begins with the birth of Jesus and reaches to the spread of Christianity throughout the world. It would have taken years to write and the cost would have been enormous! Not only was parchment expensive, so was the cost of hiring scribes to copy it and to count the words and letters, and to double check and triple check each manuscript, and to carry them to all the churches by hand.
But how glad we are that he did! We have the gospel according to Saints Matthew, Mark and John. But had it not been for Luke, we would never have known that God sent an angel named Gabriel to an old man named Zechariah in the temple to say: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.” Nor would we have known that God would send him again, six months later, to a town called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to Joseph. And there he would say: “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus.” Nor would we have known that when He was only twelve years old, the boy Jesus would go to the temple in Jerusalem and confound the teachers of the Law.
Or think of the words we read each Christmas: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, everyone to his own city.” Or think of the song the angels sang over the fields of Bethlehem: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” It’s all because of Luke.
Or think of the parables, like the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Good Samaritan, the Shrewd Steward, the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son. We would never have known Jesus said them at all had it not been for Theophilus and his good friend, Dr. Luke.
And this gospel, printed in black and white before you, is not some cute little contrived myth or story. And neither is your faith based on some arbitrary decision, some blind leap in the dark. It’s based on a clear, ordered, systematic, carefully researched, divinely inspired, eyewitnessed, first-hand account, so that you and I might believe in Jesus.
Nearly fifty years ago, back in 1971, Clint Eastwood starred in a movie called Dirty Harry. It’s about a dirty San Francisco cop named Harry Callahan.
And of the many lines for which the movie is so well known, the most famous happens near the beginning, as a bank robber is lying wounded on the ground. As Callahan aims his .44 Magnum at him, he said, “I know what you’re thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself.” And he said, “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya punk?”
And as the man surrenders and Callahan walks away, he asked, “Hey…I gots to know!”
There’s something every one of us “gots to know,” and that’s if Jesus is who He said He was. And that’s why we’re so thankful for Theophilus and for Dr. Luke.
As John once wrote in his gospel account: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
We thank You, dear Father, for this man named Theophilus and for Dr. Luke. Grant that, by Your grace, we may someday meet them in heaven. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen