The Exact Truth
Luke 1:1-4
July 2, 2017
This morning we are going to begin a new study in the word of God.
We are going to be working our way through the gospel of Luke.
THIS MORNING IS REALLY SIMPLY A PRIMER
TO GIVE US MOTIVATION FOR STUDYING THIS BOOK.
Just for a little information, you might like to know that
Luke is responsible for writing about ¼ of the New Testament.
• He is credited with the gospel of Luke (which is the longest of the gospels)
• And with the book of Acts.
• Some even credit him with Hebrews, but that’s tough to prove
In this gospel Luke not only gives us the longest gospel,
But he also includes quite a bit of information
That the other gospels do not.
Luke gives us 7 miracles and 17 parables
That are totally unique to his gospel account.
• It is also generally believed that Luke was in fact a Gentile, and that is based on a couple of New Testament passages.
Acts 1:19 “And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)”
Where Luke refers to the Hebrew language as “their own language”
Colossians 4:10-14 “Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also Barnabas’s cousin Mark (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him); 11 and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me. Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas.”
And there of course Paul lists all the members of the circumcision who are with him
And Luke is not listed among them.
• We also learn from the passage in Colossians that Luke was “the beloved physician”, and that is saying quite a bit since most physicians were seen as scammers and quacks and were most certainly not “beloved”.
• From our text this morning, we also learn that Luke was a dedicated historian/investigator of facts.
He wasn’t interested in superstition or mere hearsay, Luke wanted the truth.
These facts are what makes his gospel both unique and valuable.
We have here a gospel written by a Gentile
And by a Gentile with a passion for the truth.
There is obvious benefit and intrigue then for us who are in fact Gentiles.
Well, this morning we begin with simply the prologue.
It is Luke’s announcement of the project he has undertaken, and even from that we learn a great deal about the importance of this study.
There are 5 points we need to see here from these 4 verses.
#1 HIS OBSERVATION
Luke 1:1-2
Luke was aware of something profound that was occurring,
And that was that many were giving their story regarding Jesus.
Luke says, “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us”
“accomplished” there is a long compound Greek word that means
“the complete fulfillment of something”
The idea then is that there were many people
Who were doing their best to record an account
Of the complete life and works of Jesus.
And Luke says that they were trying to pass them on (2) “just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,”
SO…
• Luke does not claim apostleship, and neither did most of those who
were also trying to give a detailed account of the life of Jesus.
• Luke puts himself more in the role of an investigative reporter who
was doing his best to talk to as many eye witnesses as he could to
find out the truth regarding this Jesus.
And his reasoning is obvious:
BECAUSE THERE WERE
SO MANY ACCOUNTS OF JESUS FLOATING AROUND.
And of course you know this is true.
We learn this even from the gospel accounts that
FASCINATION WITH THE MAN CALLED JESUS WAS OFF THE CHARTS.
Matthew 4:23-24 “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.”
Matthew 9:23-26 “When Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder, He said, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. This news spread throughout all that land.”
Matthew 9:27-31 “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: “See that no one knows about this!” But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land.”
Mark 1:25-28 “And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.”
Mark 1:40-45 “And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and He said to him, ” See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.”
Luke 4:14 “And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.”
Luke 4:37 “And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.”
Luke 5:13-15 “And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.”
Luke 7:14-17 “And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!” This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.”
You get the idea?
AND ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE TYPES OF STORIES
That were floating around about Jesus.
Especially given the way that people tend to exaggerate and embellish
In order to make their story more entertaining and fascinating to their audience.
One can only imagine what the stories about Jesus
Must have been like by now.
Scripture gives us insight as to some of the ideas that were floating.
Matthew 14:1-2 “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Matthew 16:13-14 “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
It’s not surprising that society was getting the facts about Jesus wrong.
And it’s not surprising that society was eager to spread those false truths.
People love the sensational, people love to have a good story to tell,
And so people have always been guilty of
Allowing their fascination to run away with them.
Of course that wasn’t all.
There were also those who were
DETERMINED to spread a deliberately FALSE STORY about Jesus.
We remember:
Matthew 28:11-15 “Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ “And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.”
Or we remember what Paul told the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 11:1-4 “I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”
And indeed this reality is warned about all throughout the New Testament
As we see the warnings against false prophets and teachers
Who will malign the truth.
1 John 4:1-3 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”
2 John 7 “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.”
I think you get the idea.
The ideas about who Jesus was and what He did
Were everywhere and not all of them were reliable.
Certainly we can understand this in our own day.
We hear all sorts of testimonies about Jesus.
…things He has supposedly done.
…things He has supposedly said.
…things He supposedly desires.
…things He supposed will do.
Beyond that we see Jesus painted in any number of different lights
And most of the time He is painted as that which is
Most pleasing to the people telling the story or listening to it.
Luke fought the same battle.
It wasn’t that Jesus wasn’t talked about,
It’s just that not all that was said about Him in the world was reliable.
That was Luke’s observation.
#2 HIS DECISION
Luke 1:3a, 3c
“it seemed fitting for me as well…to write it out for you…”
With so many reports out regarding Jesus,
Luke developed a burning in his stomach to publish his report as well.
THAT’S NOT TO SAY THAT
Luke viewed everything being said about Jesus as false,
It’s just that there was so much being said,
He felt the need to clarify what was true.
And I like that mindset.
I like that Luke said “it seemed fitting”,
For when would we ever reach a point where we would decide that it wasn’t “fitting” for us to bear witness of Christ?
I also like that Luke determined “to write it out”
That carries with it two ideas.
• One is that most of the stories of Jesus were just passed down via word
of mouth and that subjected them to be ever changing. There
needed to be some concrete record kept.
• It also insinuates that many of the stories of Jesus were just floating
around independent of one another and there needed to be
some sort of cohesion given to them.
There is something to be said
For a systematic approach to looking at the life of Jesus.
One may take one story of Jesus independent of the rest
AND TOTALLY MISS what Jesus was all about.
For example:
How many in our day quote the story about the woman caught in adultery and seek to use that to insinuate that Jesus was clearly against confronting sin?
Of course if you read of Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well,
Then you know that Jesus had absolutely no problem confronting it.
When stories are kept independent of one another
It is easy for the hearer to develop wrong notions of Jesus,
There needed to be a systematic and complete record of His works.
(that’s why we also study His works the same way)
Luke understood that.
He wanted to give a definite, total, and lasting account
Of who Jesus was and what He did.
So Luke decided to write his own account.
His Observation, His Decision
#3 HIS CREDENTIALS
Luke 1:3b
“having investigated everything carefully from the beginning”
Oh God bless you Luke for your diligence!
• Luke wasn’t interested in hearsay…
• Luke wasn’t interested in legend…
• Luke wasn’t interested in gossip…
And Luke wasn’t willing to just take anyone’s word for it.
• Just because a man came up claiming that Jesus gave him sight, Luke
wasn’t about to just believe it at face value.
Instead, when he heard a testimony or a report regarding Jesus,
He went on the hunt.
HE “INVESTIGATED” WHAT HE HEARD.
Where is this blind man who claims to have regained his sight?
• I want to talk to him.
• I want to talk to those who witnessed.
Where is this dead man whom Jesus gave back to his mother?
• I need to speak with him.
• I need to speak with the funeral director who declared him dead.
Is there anyone here who was present at His baptism?
Is there anyone here who was present at His trial?
Is there anyone who was present at His crucifixion?
Is there anyone who saw Him after He rose?
You get the idea.
Luke wasn’t just sentimental, and he wasn’t biased.
He just wanted the truth about this man.
AND THIS IS FASCINATING.
You are familiar with the other gospel accounts; Matthew, Mark, and John.
They are most certainly inspired accounts and totally true.
And when you read them it is evident that these men had an agenda.
• Matthew is particularly interested in proving that Jesus is the Messiah; the
King.
• Mark continually pushes Jesus as the humble servant.
• John no doubt wants the world to know that Jesus is in fact God.
But Luke didn’t seem to hold any such agenda.
Luke just wanted to know what the truth about Jesus was,
And he was willing to investigate it.
And now, having finished his research,
He knew he was responsible to publish all that he had learned.
• He didn’t write because he was a fluent writer…
• He didn’t write because he was easy to read…
• He wrote because he had investigated the truth and felt it needed to be published.
His Observation, His Decision, His Credentials
#4 HIS METHOD
Luke 1:3c
“to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theolphilus;”
And this reiterates what we said a moment ago.
• Luke was not interested in another verbal story to be handed down.
• Luke was not looking for hearsay or gossip.
• Nor was Luke looking for some sort of random accounts of what Jesus did.
Luke sought to bring ORDER and FOCUS and a FOUNDATION
To these stories about Jesus.
His desire was to “write it out…in consecutive order”
Doesn’t mean that every word here is in absolute chronological order.
Certainly Luke does maintain a basic general chronological order as he moves throughout the life of Jesus.
• He moves from forerunner to birth to childhood to ministry to death and to
resurrection.
RATHER IT SPEAKS TO LUKES COMMITMENT TO
A COMPLETE AND STRUCTURED ACCOUNT.
The KJV translates this “an orderly account”
You know how verbal testimonies and eye witness accounts can be.
One person’s perspective can be a tricky thing.
And it is entirely possible that two different people can be at the same event and come away with two very different descriptions.
• People may have seen something from different vantage points.
• People may have been in different moods.
• People may have been influenced by others thoughts.
While the stories of Jesus would have most certainly be plenteous,
There is certainly little doubt that there was any real order given to them.
Luke wanted to get to the bottom of it all.
He was willing to do the work
That he might tell an accurate and orderly story.
That was his method.
#5 HIS GOAL
Luke 1:4
“so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.”
The “you” here is clearly the man Luke refers to
As “most excellent Theophilus”
(Luke writes the account of Acts for him as well)
We don’t know anything about this man
Other than the fact that Luke refers to him as “most excellent”
(which were also titles Luke used for Felix and Festus)
What we do know is that Theophilus had heard quite a bit about Jesus.
He had had no shortage of teachers
Who were willing to tell him about Jesus.
And it is apparently Luke’s concern
That at least some of what he had heard was not accurate.
So Luke’s goal is to investigate, and publish a work on Jesus
Which he could call “the exact truth”
I love that title, and I can FEEL LUKE’S FRUSTRATION in having to use it.
• Today, everyone has an idea about Jesus.
• Today, our airwaves are filled with “Jesus experts”
• Everyone has the answer…
• And everyone claims to be speaking the truth.
Do you suppose that it was any different in Luke’s day?
So Luke can’t just give us the truth about Jesus,
He must give us “the exact truth” or the real truth, or the truthful truth.
• The truth that comes from dedicated study and careful investigation.
• The truth that comes from hard work and commitment.
• The truth that will stand the test of time as Luke’s gospel certainly has.
It reminds me of how Paul instructed Timothy
(no doubt Paul was a positive influence on Luke as well)
2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”
THIS WAS THE PASSION OF LUKE.
He didn’t just want to talk about Jesus,
He wanted to talk accurately about Jesus.
And all of that gives us tremendous insight
Regarding what we are about to be studying.
LUKE’S GOSPEL IS A GOSPEL OF DISCERNMENT.
Luke wasn’t questioning the other gospel accounts
(he actually may not have even known about the Matthew and Mark at the time of his writing; he certainly did not know about John)
• Luke was writing for discernment against public opinion.
• Luke was writing for discernment against private experience.
• Luke was writing for discernment against personal vision.
• Luke was writing for discernment against prophetic proclamation.
There were all sorts of ideas and theologies floating about Jesus.
Luke’s goal is to give you the accurate and unperverted story of Jesus.
WHY?
Because the truth about Jesus is the most important truth that the world will ever be given.
• Who Jesus is…
• What Jesus did…
• What Jesus taught…
• What Jesus requires…
These aren’t just interesting questions,
They are the very foundational questions of life
And all eternity hangs in the balance.
Is Jesus God? (If He isn’t then He is unfit to be a Savior since He also carries the guilt of Adam and as a mortal how can He bear an eternal weight of sin?)
Is Jesus Man? (If He isn’t then how can He die and bear the punishment of men?)
Did Jesus really live holy? (If He didn’t then He is unfit as a Savior)
Did Jesus really die? (If He didn’t then no atonement has been made)
Did Jesus really rise? (If He didn’t then who can be sure His atonement was effective?)
Did Jesus really work miracles? (then how do we know if He is divine? Or how do we know if He was from the Father?)
IT MATTERS WHO HE IS.
For if you believe in a false Jesus
Then you are believing in a Jesus who cannot save?
Then comes the questions of what Jesus TAUGHT and what He DESIRES.
• How did Jesus say a person is saved?
• What did Jesus say a redeemed person looks like?
Do you understand the significance there?
We have an entire movement of preachers today
• Who love to tell us how Jesus is our ticket to obtaining the world,
• But according to Luke, Jesus was emphatic that you had better forsake this world.
So you may in fact be recognizing the real Jesus,
BUT IF YOU AREN’T DOING WHAT HE SAID,
Can you really make a claim to having been redeemed?
• What if you were told Jesus doesn’t care if you sin?
• What if you were told Jesus never judged anyone?
• What if you were told repentance isn’t important, but tolerance is?
• What if you were told Jesus just wants everyone to do their best?
Do you see the point?
• It matters that we are right on Jesus.
• It matters that we know who He is.
• It matters that we know what He said.
• It matters that we know what He requires.
If we are wrong on any of that then salvation flees away.
Someday you will stand in eternity and you may find that you were wrong on any number of things.
• You may find that you should have been Republican instead of Democrat or Democrat instead of Republican.
• You may find that the toilet paper really goes over instead of under.
• You may find that Ford is better than Dodge and Chevy is better than both.
OR NOT…
And it doesn’t matter if you were right or wrong about any of those things.
But if you step into eternity without being right about Jesus,
You will spend eternity in hell.
Getting it wrong on Jesus is not an option.
Luke understood that, and this was the motivation for his gospel.
He wanted Theophilus and you and me
To know “the exact truth” about Jesus.
And he did the work to make sure it was the truth.
How’s that for a primer?
It definitely makes this study worthwhile.
So join us as we embark on a study of Jesus
And the salvation He accomplished.
Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
