Certain Truth - Luke 1:1-4

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,

just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word.

Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning,

it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, Most Excellent Theophilus,

so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

Now if you could turn in your Bibles to 2 Peter, which is on page 1222 in the Church Bibles, 2 Peter chapter 1,

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

starting in verse 16.

So 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 16.

2 Peter 1:16

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,

but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

For he received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the majestic glory,

saying,

This is my Son, whom I love.

With him I am well pleased.

We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

And we have the word of the prophets made more certain,

and you will do well to pay attention to it,

as to a light shining in a dark place,

until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.

For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man,

but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Let's pray together.

Father, thank you.

Thank you for your Son, the Lord Jesus.

Thank you for your word.

Thank you for your word.

Which is a revelation of your Son,

teaching us and making us known who you are.

Thank you for your Holy Spirit,

who teaches us,

opens up our minds,

so that we can understand your word,

not just intellectually,

but in a way that it applies to our hearts,

changing us,

and making us more like you.

So, Father, come amongst us by your Spirit,

and help us,

that we might know you more and more,

and come to love you in a deeper way.

Thank you for your word.

Bless these coming weeks as we look at Luke's Gospel together,

that it would be an encouragement,

that it would be an encouragement,

helping us to understand the God who has come to seek us and save us,

so that we in turn can seek others and bring the message of Christ to a needy world.

Help us, we pray,

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, have your Bibles open in Luke's Gospel.

I wonder,

do you believe everything that you hear in the news?

Did the Russians help Trump secure his political victory?

Is climate change the reason for all the flooding across our planet?

Well, according to a recent poll on Clareburn Live,

54% of people in Ireland don't trust the news they hear,

and a further 19% say they are unsure.

The news, they say, is,

well, it's just stories that have been made up to distort,

deceive, and promote a political or moral bias.

It's all fake news.

And with the influence of social media,

it's very difficult for us to know what is fake news and what is true news.

Well, Luke, who is the author of Luke's Gospel,

has some news for us.

Keep your finger in Luke's Gospel, Chapter 1,

and flick on to Acts, Chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

So you've got Luke,

then John,

and then Acts,

Acts, Chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

Keep your finger in Luke,

and go to Acts, Chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

You may know that Luke is the author of two books,

the Gospel of Luke,

and also the Book of Acts,

sometimes referred to as a two-volumed work.

They're together.

And this is what Luke,

Acts, Chapter 1, Verse 1 says.

Acts 1:1

In my former book,

so there he's referring to Luke,

my first book.

In my former book, Theophilus,

I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.

So Luke is all about

what Jesus began to do and to teach.

And Acts, if we were to read through that,

is what Jesus continues to do and teach,

ultimately through his church,

by his Spirit.

Back to Luke's Gospel, Chapter 1.

So Luke is all about

what Jesus began to do and to teach.

But at the beginning of Luke's Gospel,

Luke makes this extraordinary claim.

Look what he says in Luke 1, Verse 4.

Luke 1:4

He says he writes this,

so that you may know the certainty

of the things you have been taught.

Luke wants us to know,

right at the very beginning of his work,

of his writings,

that the things that he is going to write about,

the things that you may have been taught about Jesus,

is not fake news,

but it's true news.

It is reliable.

It is dependable.

You can believe it and trust it.

It is certain truth.

These are not made-up stories,

but historical facts about a living person

called Jesus Christ,

who claims to be nothing less

than God who has come in human form,

with absolute power,

and supreme authority,

to seek and to save what was lost,

to change and transform lives,

so that we might be in a relationship with him

that is secure and safe for all eternity.

Know the certainty of these things.

Well, how do we know

that all this is not made up?

How do we know

that what Luke begins to write

is not just Luke promoting

his own biased views

and kind of forcing upon

some guy called Jesus

all these great things?

You see, there are many people

who think that the Gospel of Luke

is fake news.

One author,

his name is Dr. Bart Ehrman,

has written many books

making this claim.

His most recent book

has this subtitle.

It's quite long,

so listen.

This is the subtitle of the book.

How the earliest Christians

remembered,

changed,

and invented

the stories of the Saviour.

And although he was once

a firm Christian,

he now makes this claim.

He says that the New Testament

and the Gospels in particular

don't provide a trustworthy account

of the historical Jesus.

Instead, what we have are books

that are forgeries,

certain contradictions,

have morally questionable teachings,

and have been edited

and changed through the centuries.

Quite a claim.

Now, you might run into Bart

tomorrow when you're at work,

and you might ask people in work

or school,

do you know him?

They may never have heard of him.

But you can be absolutely sure

they've been influenced

by his writings

as it's filtered out

through the media

and through other publications.

People say you simply

can't trust the Gospels.

They're forgeries,

contradictions.

They've been changed

and edited

to suit the author's

particular political

or moral bias.

So, the question is,

is Luke's Gospel fake news

or true news?

Can we trust it?

Well, let's see

what Luke has to say.

First,

Luke wants us to know

that what he has written

is an orderly account.

Look at chapter 1,

verse 1.

Many have undertaken

to draw up an account

or write up an account

of the things

that have been fulfilled

among us.

End of verse 3.

So, he says,

it seemed good also to me

to write an orderly account

for you,

most excellent Theophilus.

In other words,

this is not a random collection

of sayings and stories,

but a carefully compiled

historical account

about the person of Jesus.

It's an account

of the Gospel.

We know that

from the New Testament

we have four Gospels,

Matthew,

Mark,

Luke and John.

Sometimes Matthew,

Mark and Luke

are put together

known as the Synoptic Gospels.

Now, their material

is all quite similar.

They're the same

almost in style.

John's Gospel

is different.

He seems to have

other material.

And they're like,

together,

they're like biographies

of the life of Jesus.

Now, the fact that

we have four Gospels

doesn't mean we have

four different versions

of the Gospel.

And we have to try

and figure out

which is the right one.

Now, there's only

one Gospel story.

There's only one account.

But yet,

we have different

presentations

of that same story.

Each one

has their particular emphasis.

So, Mark,

for example,

has no account

of the birth of Jesus.

It's the shortest.

It's like he jumps

straight in,

right into the action.

He wants to get it all out

as quick as possible.

Whereas, Luke

takes his time.

He goes into

great detail

about the birth

of Jesus,

listing historical events

so that we can know

it's true.

Matthew,

if you were to read

through that,

is equally long,

but seems to be written

for those who

are from a more

religious background,

while Luke's account

is more suited

to those who are

from a non-religious

background.

And many claim

that Theophilus

was one who was

from a non-religious

background.

John is more theological,

whereas Luke is more

straightforward and simple.

They've all got

their own particular

emphasis,

they've all chosen

their particular material,

and each one reflects

each author's

particular presentation.

But we must be clear

and understand

there is only

one Gospel.

And like all the

other Gospel authors,

Luke has set about

writing an orderly

account about the

person of Jesus.

But more specifically,

this orderly account

that Luke has put

together is not

something new.

It has actually been

planned from

eternity past.

So again,

look at verse 1.

He says,

many have undertaken

to draw up an account

of the things

that have been

fulfilled

among us.

So the coming

of Jesus

isn't an accident

or a surprise,

but something

that has been

fulfilled.

It's been planned

by God

and purposed

by God

in eternity past

and has now

been fulfilled.

have a look

at what Jesus

says about

himself,

which comes

at the very

end of Luke's

Gospel,

Luke chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

Right at the

very end of Luke's

Gospel,

Luke chapter 24,

Luke 24:44

verse 44.

So Jesus is

speaking to

his disciples.

It's after

his death.

It's after

his resurrection

from the grave.

And he's

explaining to

his disciples

who have been

completely confused

by what has

happened.

And Jesus

seeks to remind

them what has

happened.

Verse 44,

he said to

them,

this is what

I told you

while I was

still with you.

Everything,

that is

everything about

the life of

Jesus,

everything must

be fulfilled

that is written

about me in

the law of

Moses.

The law of

Moses is the

first five books

of the Old

Testament,

the prophets

and the Psalms

which is referring

to the rest of

the Old

Testament.

He says

everything that

has happened,

my coming,

my birth,

my death,

my resurrection

was all

written about

in the past

and it is

now being

fulfilled.

Verse 45,

then he opened

their minds

so that they

could understand

the scriptures

and he told

them,

this is what

is written.

Read through

the Old

Testament scriptures

and you will

see that Christ

will suffer

and he did,

he died

and he will

rise from

the dead

on the third

day and

he did

and repentance

and forgiveness

of sins will

be preached

in his name

to all nations

beginning at

Jerusalem.

Back to

chapter 1.

So Luke's

orderly account

is not just

his ideas

and his

experience,

rather he

wants us to

know that

this is the

account of

Jesus

that was

planned and

promised by

God in

eternity past

and has

now been

fulfilled

with the

coming of

Jesus Christ.

So Jesus

is not just

some invention,

it is not

just a

religious bias,

he is the

focus and

fulfillment

of all

history.

So,

Luke wants

us to

know that

it is an

orderly

account.

Second,

Luke wants

us to

know that

this

orderly

account is

the result

of careful

investigation.

Look at

verse 3.

Therefore,

he said,

since I

myself have

carefully

investigated

everything

from the

beginning,

it seems

good also

for me to

write an

orderly

account.

If you

were to

read through

Colossians,

one of

Paul's

letters,

you'd

discover

that we

read there

that Luke

was a

medical

doctor.

But he

was also

very skilled

as a

historian.

He provides,

you read

through Luke,

he provides

accounts of

people who

were ruling

and people

who were in

charge at

certain times

and certain

months.

And he

was also,

it appears,

an investigative

journalist.

And he

has,

it seems,

two main

sources for

his material

as he

carefully

investigates

everything

from the

beginning.

First,

there's what's

called the

oral tradition.

Luke wasn't

the first

person to

start writing

an account

of Jesus.

Again,

look at

verse 1.

He says,

many,

there were

many people

who have

undertaken

to draw

up an

account

of these

things.

So circulating

very soon

after the

life of

Jesus

were these

written

accounts of

Jesus.

There were

many

accounts.

And the

earliest that

we know

of is the

Gospel of

Mark,

which was

written about

40 years

after the

life of

Jesus.

Luke was

written about

20 years

later,

but Mark

40 years

after.

This is one

of the

accounts of

the many

accounts that

were written.

But we have

to ask the

question,

where did

these accounts

come from?

Where did

they get

their information

to start

writing about

Jesus?

Well,

look at

verse 2.

These

accounts

came just

as they

were handed

down to

us by

those who

from the

first were

eyewitnesses

and servants

of the

word.

Handed

down is

a technical

term,

and it's

what scholars

call the

oral tradition.

That is,

the life and

teaching of

Jesus was

being passed

on verbally

to other

people.

If we want

information today

about someone

or something,

we would go

to a

research library

or we'd go

to the

internet.

Well,

in the first

century,

they didn't

have these

kinds of

resources.

They weren't

available.

Instead,

information and

history was

preserved as

it was passed

on orally.

Well,

you say,

that's all

well and

good,

but how do

we know

that what

people passed

on orally

and what

Peter said

to Mary

and what

Mary said

to John

and what

John said,

how do

we know

that it

didn't get

distorted

as it

got passed

along?

It sounds

a bit like

Chinese

whispers to

me.

How do

we know

it's true?

Well,

the second

of these

sources were

the eyewitnesses

accounts.

So again,

look at

verse 2.

They were

handed down

to us by

those who

from the

first were

eyewitnesses

and servants

of the

word.

So what

Luke has

access to

was handed

down,

was passed

on orally

by those

who were

eyewitnesses,

those who

were servants

of the

word.

These

eyewitnesses

and servants

of the

word were

the first

apostles,

the disciples.

Those were

the people

who were

with Jesus.

They heard

him speak.

They ate

with him.

They saw

his deeds.

They experienced

his resurrection

and we'll

get to

meet some

of these

characters

as we

go through

Luke.

But these

eyewitnesses

not only

handed these

things down

orally,

but they

themselves

began to

write down

and arrange

material about

the life of

Jesus.

Let me

give you

two examples

of these

servants of

the word

who began

to write

down their

eyewitness

accounts.

We read

from one

earlier.

Have a look

at 2 Peter

2 Peter 1:16

chapter 1

verse 16.

Somebody got

the page

for me

there.

2 Peter

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

1, 2, 2, 2.

2 Peter

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

So Peter,

the writer

of this

letter,

was a

disciple

and look

what he

says.

2 Peter

2 Peter 1:16

1 verse

16.

We did

not,

underline,

we did

not follow

cleverly

invented

stories when

we told

you about

the power

and coming

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ.

But we

were eyewitnesses

of his

majesty.

And

speaking of

the,

when they

saw Jesus

transfigured,

verse 18,

he said,

we ourselves

heard this

voice that

came from

heaven when

we were with

him on the

sacred mountain.

Flick over a

page,

maybe two

pages,

to 1 John.

here's

another

account

of

somebody

who's

writing a

letter but

wants us

to know

that what

he's

writing is

true.

Speaking of

Jesus,

he says,

that which

was from

the beginning,

that's

Jesus,

he says,

which we

have heard,

which we

have seen

with our

eyes,

which we

have looked

at and

our hands

have touched.

This is a

living person,

it's not

made up.

This we

proclaim

concerning

the word

of life.

The life

appeared,

we have

seen it

and testified

to it,

and we

proclaim

to you

the eternal

life which

was with

the Father

and has

appeared

to us.

Go back

to Luke

Luke 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

So you

see,

Luke goes

back to

the earliest

sources.

These letters

were written

within 15

to 25

years of

Jesus'

resurrection.

So Luke

is going

back to

the earliest

sources,

those eyewitness

servants of

the word

accounts.

A scholar,

one of the

good guys,

Richard

Bochum,

wrote a

book called

Jesus and

the Eyewitnesses,

and he

says this

about the

writing of

the Gospels.

Many of

the eyewitnesses

to Jesus,

life,

death,

and resurrection

were still

in wide

active circulation

during these

years,

able to

function as

trusted,

authoritative

sources and

guardians of

the tradition,

a commonly

revered

practice and

presence in

oral

societies.

So you

see, Luke

not only

consulted with

what people

wrote and

what people

had said,

but he

was able to

check it

all out with

the eyewitnesses

and servants

of the word.

So,

he wants us

to know that

this, what

he's written,

is an

orderly

account.

This

orderly

account has

come after

careful and

thorough

investigation,

and he

does all

this so

that we

can be

absolutely

certain

about the

truth of

Jesus Christ.

Let me

read verses

3 and 4,

Luke chapter

Luke 1 · chapter mention

1.

Therefore,

since I

myself have

carefully

investigated

everything from

the beginning,

it seemed

good also to

me to

write an

orderly

account,

most

excellent

Theophilus.

so that

you may

know the

certainty

of the

things you

have been

taught.

So,

first,

we can

know the

certainty

of Luke.

This is

true news,

not

fake news.

And this

little phrase

that we have

here in

verse 4,

that you

may know

the certainty,

has the

meaning of

security and

stability.

One writer

and speaker,

John Piper,

has pointed

out that

that same

word or

phrase is

only used

in two

other places

in the

New Testament.

And in

both cases,

it refers to

security,

something that

is locked

up,

something that

is absolutely

secure and

unchangeable.

So,

Luke is

saying that

his message,

this message

about Jesus,

the things that

you have been

heard,

the things

that you

have been

taught,

is absolutely

secure.

It is

reliable and

dependable.

It is

unshakable and

immovable.

This is

true news,

not fake

news.

It is

something that

is rock

solid,

foundational.

You can

build your

life upon

it.

You can

entrust your

life to the

very words

that are

spoken in

Luke's

gospel.

people will

tell you

that all

this stuff

about Jesus

is not

true,

that we're

all wasting

our time

reading these

gospel accounts.

You can't

believe the

Bible.

It's made

up,

it's a

forgery,

it's full

of contradictions.

But Luke

has done all

the hard work

for us so

that we can

be absolutely

certain that

what we read

about Jesus

is certain

rock

solid,

unshakable,

immovable

truth.

But

second,

this

certain

truth

is

extremely

personal.

We're not

just to

stand back

and admire

this and

say,

what a

wonderful

piece of

writing.

How clever

Luke must

have been

to have

done all

this

investigation

and checking

out with

eyewitnesses

and putting

together his

material.

What a

wonderful

author he

is.

What a

great piece

of writing.

No,

this is

personal.

We're to

act on

it and

believe it.

Look at

verse 3

again.

Therefore,

since I

myself

have

carefully

investigated

everything

from the

beginning,

it

seemed

good

also

to

me

to

write

an

orderly

account

for

you,

most

excellent

Theophilus.

It's a

wonderful name,

isn't it?

He's

written to

this person,

a guy

named

Theophilus.

It's

personal.

We don't

know much

about him

other than

the fact

that he

must have

been

somebody

of high

position

and

influence

because

nobody

gets to

be called

most

excellent

for

nothing.

He's a

mover and

shaker in

his world,

a wealthy

man.

And Luke

is saying

to Theophilus,

this gospel

that I am

writing for

you is

not only

true,

but it's

for you,

it's

personal.

We're not

just to

admire it

as a

wonderful

piece of

writing,

we're to

act on

it and

believe it.

And it's

as if we

are to

read this

as Luke

speaking to

us,

what I

am

writing

is for

you,

Johnny.

And you

insert your

own name,

this is

personal to

you,

it's

truth for

my life

and for

your life.

Let me

show you

briefly

four ways

this touches

on us

personally

and how we

can build

our life

upon this

truth.

First,

when you

are struggling

to make

sense of

life and

the foundations

on which

you build

your life

are shaken

to the

core and

people are

telling you

that all

this is all

made up and

what you

believe is a

nonsense and

you can't

trust it,

I guarantee

you need to

know that

the God

who has

existed from

all time

and who

sent his

son, the

God, man,

the Lord

Jesus Christ,

the God

who loves

you, who

came down

to seek

you and

save you

through his

incarnation and

to bring you

into an

eternal

relationship that

is safe

and secure,

it is

true.

And you

need to

know that

when you

go into

your workplace

tomorrow or

go into

school tomorrow

and people

completely

undermine it,

you need to

be sure what

you believe

and why you

believe it.

Second, when

you are weighed

down with

past failure

and you're

broken by

present shame

and you're

conscious of

sinful

behaviours,

you need to

know that

when Jesus

Christ died

on the cross,

he was

dying for

your sin,

when Luke

writes about

Jesus crying

out,

Father

forgive,

he was

taking the

judgement for

you and

he was

providing

forgiveness

for you so

that you

could be

set free

from your

guilt.

You need

to know

that when

you are

weighed down

with your

past failures

that this

gospel of

freedom is

absolutely

certain.

Third,

when you

are walking

through

suffering

and when

you are

facing the

dark reality

of death

itself

and the

grave only

awaits,

you need

to know

that the

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ,

defeating

death and

destroying the

grave and

when Luke

records his

account that

Christ rose

from the

grave and

appeared bodily

to his

disciples,

you need to

know that he

destroyed the

grave and

was securing

salvation for

you and

this is a

rock solid

dependable

truth for

your life

when you

are suffering

and facing

certain

death.

death.

And

fourth,

as we

look out

into our

broken

world,

we see

power hungry

leaders,

threatening

nations,

devastating

floods,

terrorists

blowing up

at will.

We need

to know

that when

Luke tells

us that

the risen

Lord Jesus

ascended to

be at the

Father's

right hand,

is now

ruling with

all power,

with all

authority,

and is one

day going to

come back

again and

make all

things new

and put this

broken world

back together

again,

is an

unshakable

and immovable

reality for

your life.

The

incarnation,

the

crucifixion,

the

resurrection,

the

ascension

that Luke

will tell

us all

about,

is true.

And he

says,

I have

written

this

gospel

that you

and that

you

and that

you

and that

I

may know

the

certainty

of the

things that

we have

been taught.

This,

this

gospel

is the

foundation

for our

life.

This is

what we

rest in

and this

is what

we

believe.

Do you

trust your

life

with the

words of

Luke

about the

person of

Jesus Christ?

Christ?

I hope

you do.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.