Chapter BY Chapter

You can see that there is a great deal of content that is the same in all three gospels.  There is also a good deal of content that each gospel also shares with just one of the other gospels.  Each also has some content that is unique to itself.  The presence of this shared content has been the subject of speculation with literary scholars.  It has prompted the theory of a mysterious document they call “Q.”  This, they claim must have been a proto-gospel that contained the material that is found in all three gospels.  This is the kind of theory that one would want to push if you wanted people to think that the gospels were written more than 100 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  There is one big problem with this theory.  Nobody has ever found a shred of papyrus claiming to be the mysterious “Q.”  There is one simple answer to all this, and Luke’s gospel confirms this fact, as we shall discuss further later on in this gospel.  Can you see what “Q” is by looking at the picture above?  It is sufficient to now say that the writing of the gospels were so close to the actual events, that “Q” is the actual events that took place.

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Theophilus

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Who is Theophilus?  There are several different theories as to who he might be.  No matter how much evidence there may or may not be for each theory, the simple fact is we do not know who Theophilus was because the Bible does not identify who he was.

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The name “Theophilus” literally means “loved by God,” but carries the idea of “friend of God” or “one who loves God.”  This has led some to believe that “Theophilus” is just a generic title that applies to all Christians.  However, from the context of Luke and Acts, it seems clear that Luke is writing to a specific individual, even though his message is also intended for all Christians in all centuries.  While both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts have applications for all Christians, they were probably written to a specific individual whom Luke addresses as “most excellent Theophilus” (Luke 1:3).

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Since it seems clear that Theophilus was an actual person, we will look at what we do know about him from the Bible and then discuss a few of the many theories as to who he might have been.  First, it is important to note that Luke addresses him as “most excellent,” a title often used when referring to someone of honor or rank, such as a Roman official.  Paul used the same term when addressing Felix (Acts 23:26; Acts 24:2) and Festus (Acts 26:25).  Therefore, one of the most common theories is that Theophilus was possibly a Roman officer or high-ranking official in the Roman government.

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Another possibility is that Theophilus was a wealthy and influential man in the city of Antioch.  There are second-century references to a man named Theophilus who was “a great lord” and a leader in the city of Antioch during the time of Luke.  Such a man would fit the description, as many scholars believe that Theophilus could have been a wealthy benefactor who supported Paul and Luke on their missionary journeys.  That would account for Luke’s wanting to provide an orderly and detailed account of what had happened.

Another theory about who Theophilus was is that he was the Jewish high priest named Theophilus ben Ananus.  Theophilus ben Ananus was high priest in Jerusalem in A.D. 37-41.  He was the son of Annas and the brother–in-law of Caiaphus.  While less popular, this theory seems to be gaining popularity among some groups.  Still another theory is that the Theophilus Luke was writing to was a later high priest named Mattathias ben Theophilus, who served in Jerusalem in A.D. 65-66.

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Yet another theory about the identity of Theophilus is that he was the Roman lawyer who defended Paul during his trial in Rome.  Those who hold this theory believe that Luke’s purpose in writing Luke and Acts was to write a defense of Christianity, somewhat akin to a legal brief.  If this theory is correct, Luke’s writings were designed to defend Paul in court against charges of insurrection and, at the same time, to defend Christianity against the charge that it was an illegal, anti-Roman religion.

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While each of these theories holds possibilities, it seems most likely that Theophilus was a high-ranking or influential Gentile for whom Luke wanted to provide a detailed, historical account of Christ and the spread of the gospel throughout the Roman Empire.  Whether this Theophilus was a wealthy relative of Caesar, an influential government official, a wealthy benefactor who supported Paul or Paul’s Roman lawyer does not really matter.  We cannot know for sure who Theophilus was, but we can know what Luke’s intentions for writing were (https://www.gotquestions.org/Theophilus-Luke-Acts.html and https://www.christianbook.com/hcsb-harmony-of-the-gospels-ebook/steven-cox/9781433669842/pd/15353EB?event=ESRCG).  Most likely, Theophilus was the one from Antioch.  He may have had specific questions about the gospel as well as wanting to know it’s certainty.  He seems to view Luke, a Greek physician, as most authoritative to give him honest and factual answers.

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Purpose

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Luke makes the purpose of this gospel, very plainly.  Many have undertaken a narrative of the things that took place.  Those people were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word.  It seemed good to Luke to write an orderly account so that the “most excellent Theophilus” may have certainty of the things he was taught.  Theophilus may have asked Luke, “Why is this religion coming from the Jews?  Shouldn’t Jewish religion be for the Jews only?”  The gospel of Luke answers these questions.  Perhaps Theophilus asked Luke to research these accounts further and report back to him.  For some reason, it seems that Theophilus wanted more certainty and trusted Luke to do the investigation.

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This purpose personifies Biblical inspiration.  God didn’t just magically cause the Bible writers to spit out some words.  God revealed himself in history.  God’s revelation motivated the writers to write about God’s revelation so that the readers may know these things with certainty.

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Luke also shows in this gospel, as we shall see, how that the coming of Christ and the gospel was meant for the whole world all along.

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When It Was Written

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Most scholars date the Gospel According to Luke to be written in 64 A.D. or thereafter.  However the beginning and ending verses in Acts, which was written by Luke, takes a wrecking ball to most theories.  Acts 1:1, “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach.”  Acts was written after Luke.  So, Luke continues to tell of the deeds of the apostles after Jesus was taken up to heaven.  Then in Acts 28:30-31, “He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.”  So, Acts was written while Paul was still spreading the gospel in Rome and paying for his own housing.  In other words, he was not in a physical prison at this time.  He may have been under guard, but he had enormous liberties, preaching the gospel and even converting some of the Emporer’s staff.  2 Timothy 4:16 indicates that he was released from the trial he was to undergo.  “So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.”  Therefore, Paul was released from his prison and impending trial and free to travel as he pleased.  This put Acts before 64 A.D.  This also puts some of the other gospels before this time, certainly Matthew and Mark would have been written before this.  John was certainly traveling about telling the gospel according to John.  Whether he had written it in full yet is unknown, but he certainly could have had some notes he was keeping for reference.  Luke refers to the other gospels (plural) as “eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us.”  The key word here is “word,” which is from the Greek, “logos,” and contracted as genitive, masculine, singular.  Genitive means it belongs to something – which in this case is the eyewitnesses and ministers.  Singular tells us that there is one message.  The eyewitnesses and ministers have a unified, consistent message.

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The typical dating of the gospels has been as follows: