The Certainty of Those Things -- Why Luke Wrote

Series: Luke: An Orderly Account - Dr. Randy White

I. Matters Most Surely Believed (v. 1)

Luke writes about "those things": identifiable events that occurred in history, not religious ideals detached from time and place.
The Christian faith makes claims about what God has done; if the events are untrue, the message built upon them cannot stand (1 Cor. 15:14-17).
Christianity is not chiefly advice about how to live; it is news about divine acts that call for belief, interpretation, and response.
Luke's opening directs attention away from the sincerity of the believer and toward the truth of the things believed.

"Most surely believed among us" describes matters fully carried and firmly established among the believing community.
Luke does not begin with uncertainty and hope that writing will make it true. He records the settled truth so that another may know its certainty.
The phrase "among us" identifies a community formed around shared truth. Christian conviction is personal, but it is not invented privately.
Luke acknowledges that "many" had written before him. Another faithful account does not compete with truth; it can establish and clarify it.
The prologue therefore begins with confidence rather than novelty: Luke's purpose is not to invent a new message, but to give settled truth an orderly and durable form.

The account rests upon those "which from the beginning were eyewitnesses"--people who saw the events for themselves (Luke 24:48; 1 John 1:1-3).
Luke distinguishes himself from the original eyewitnesses. His honesty about his sources strengthens rather than weakens his account.
"From the beginning" matters: the testimony reaches back to the earliest events and does not begin with legends arising generations later.
Eyewitness testimony does not make every witness infallible, but it gives Luke access to those positioned to know what actually occurred.

The eyewitnesses also became "ministers of the word." What they saw placed them under obligation to serve the message.
They "delivered" the testimony to others. Gospel truth travels through faithful stewardship, not anonymous rumor (2 Tim. 2:2).
The witnesses did not own the message and were not free to reinvent it. A steward delivers what he has received (1 Cor. 4:1-2; 15:3).
The chain is visible: events were witnessed, testimony was delivered, Luke wrote, and Theophilus could know. Certainty is connected to faithful transmission.
Every link serves the truth beyond itself: the witnesses serve the word, Luke serves the reader, and the written account continues serving those who receive it.

Luke had "perfect understanding of all things from the very first": he traced the relevant matters accurately from their earliest point.
"It seemed good to me also" reveals genuine human judgment. Inspiration included Luke's research, understanding, vocabulary, and writing (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21).
Scripture can be fully inspired while displaying the writer's real labor. Divine superintendence did not erase Luke's mind or method.
Luke's care rebukes careless confidence. Being convinced that something is true is no excuse for handling its details inaccurately.

Luke wrote "in order" so that events, testimony, and meaning could be understood as a coherent whole.
Careful arrangement is not mere literary polish. Truth clearly ordered helps the hearer see how the parts belong together (Prov. 22:20-21).
Luke's order is purposeful without requiring every episode to be strictly chronological. He arranges a truthful account that can be followed and understood.
The Gospel will unfold as one account: promise and fulfillment, rejection and reception, the cross and resurrection, Jerusalem and the nations.
Good order does not manufacture certainty; it removes needless confusion so that the strength of the underlying testimony can be clearly seen.

Theophilus had already been "instructed." Luke writes to strengthen a taught man, not merely to introduce an uninformed one.
Faith does not fear closer examination. Sound instruction becomes more secure when it is anchored to reliable testimony.
Believers still need confirmation. Prior instruction is not a reason to stop learning, but a foundation upon which fuller understanding can be built (2 Tim. 3:14).
Luke addresses one man by name, reminding us that careful instruction of one person may serve more people and endure longer than the teacher can foresee.

Luke's aim is "that thou mightest know the certainty." Biblical certainty is informed conviction, not an unsupported inward feeling.
The Gospel offers firm footing: established events, eyewitness testimony, careful investigation, and an orderly written account (John 20:30-31).
Certainty does not mean possessing an answer to every imaginable question. It means knowing that the truth received rests upon a reliable foundation.
Luke does not ask Theophilus to believe because doubt is forbidden; he writes so that uncertainty may give way to knowledge grounded in truth.
The proper response is neither gullibility nor endless suspicion, but settled confidence in testimony that has been responsibly received, examined, and preserved.