Who is Theophilus? Do you know a Theophilus? Do you have a Theophilus? I have been thinking about this a lot lately, and I wanted to share it with all of you. I don’t think I have a Theophilus…so who is this Theophilus? Well, turn with me to chapter 1 of The Gospel of Luke verses 1-4:
“Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.”
So you are probably thinking, big deal, Luke, who wrote The Gospel of Luke, is telling some guy about why he wrote this
gospel. But….we need to read deeper, and look at the situation. I think if we understand who Luke was, and who Theophilus was, then we can really understand the significance of why this verse is so important.
Luke was a gentile, not a Jew. All of the other Gospels in the bible are written by Jews. For those of you who don’t know, there are 4 Gospels in the bible. Why are there 4 Gospels? Because they all give a different account and angle of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. Matthew (a Jew) teaches to the Jews, that Jesus was the king of the Jews. Mark (a Jew) teaches the gentiles that Jesus was a servant of man and God. John (a Jew) teaches us that Jesus is the Son of God and shows the deity of Jesus. Luke on the other hand is a gentile, and is teaching the Greeks that Jesus is the perfect God/man. Interestingly, Luke is the only gentile author in the bible. He also wrote Acts, and some say the Book of Hebrews (some say Paul).
So who is Luke? Luke most likely was a gentile, we know that because in Col. 4:10-14 it indicates Luke was not “of the circumcision.” Luke was very educated, and wrote very well, he wrote in Greek. Many have said that Luke was physician, and was a close associate of Paul. Most likely Luke met Paul in Phillipi. Luke and Mark both assisted Paul in the ministry. Scholars say that the book of Luke was written as an account (eyewitness accounts) of the life and teaching of Jesus the Christ for Theophilus (who was a new believer in Jesus the Christ). This is the kicker, the name Theophilus means “lover of God or God lover.”
More than that, Luke tells Theophilus in chapter 1 verses 1-2 that he is not the first to write an account of the life of Christ and about his ministry (nor would he be the last). Interestingly enough, the life of Jesus the Christ has been written about more than any other thing in our world (of course your colleges and universities will not tell you that). He is writing about things that “have been fulfilled,” or events that have already taken place. He goes on to tell Theophilus that he interviewed eyewitnesses to Christ, from his beginning, to his crucifixion and death. Since the Greeks were very analytical in nature, it was important to emphasize that these were eyewitness accounts he was reporting on. In verse 3 Luke tells Theophilus that he studied and verified all the things he has written as fact, from “the very first to give an orderly account.” In verse 4, Luke sums it up best “that you may know the CERTAINTY of those things in which you were instructed.” Notice I emphasized certainty, that means 100% for sure, no second guessing, no speculation. Basically, Luke says that he wrote these events based upon eyewitness accounts, proving them as fact.
So, Luke, was writing to Theophilus to reinforce his beliefs. To
assure that what he believed was in fact true. What this teaches us, as Christians is that we need to know what we believe and why. I don’t mean just learning and repeating verses from the bible, but why we believe what we believe. For example, why is Jesus God? Do you know why, could you tell someone why? Could you trace references to Christ all the way back to Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament? So I ask you brothers and sisters, do you have a Theophilus? Someone who you can share Jesus with? A friend, a family member, a coworker, your spouse? What are you doing to advance the kingdom? Isn’t that what this is all about? Are you teaching Christ to others or keeping your beliefs bottled up?
So you might be scratching your head by now and wondering what does this have to do with music? Everything. When I hear a band say, we are Christian, but we really don’t talk about Christ in our music, then what are they doing to advance the kingdom of God? So maybe, you are my Theophilus’??? I challenge you all, in this New Year, to find a Theophilus, and make it your personal mission to help bring that person to Christ.
God bless you all, I want your thoughts. Please leave a comment
Josh
This is very interesting. I’ve been a believer for a while, but I’ve learned new things from this article alone. I want to accept your challenge to learn more about the different prophecies of Christ so I can better defend my faith.
I Peter 3:15,16
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
My wife is part Jewish so she has spent a lot more time in the Old Testament than I have. She is Messianic and she explained to me that she did an in depth study of Christs death when she saw Passion of the Christ. She explained to me that since Christ represents the Passover lamb, He would have had to have been crucified on Passover. The night that He was captured is when Passover would have started (the Hebrews begin their day at night). Before the Jews would slaughter the lamb on Passover, they would have to make preparations for the feast. The beatings that Christ experienced in a way represents the ‘preperation’ part of the feast. Then Christ was crucified at the time of day that the Jews would slaughter the lamb. Also depending on how Passover fell on the Hebraic calendar that year passover would alternate. It could be either three days long or four days long. We know from the scripture that Christ rose after three days. According to the research that my wife did, the year that Christ died Passover was three days long. This would begin the feast mentioned in Leviticus called First Fruits. This is a joyous celebration which represents a new life or new beginning.
This is interesting for many reasons, but I’d like to just present just one thought:
We know not just Biblically, but Historically, that Jesus Christ really existed and was crucified. Now whether you believe He was the Son of God and Messiah takes faith. To me it raised this question, How would a normal man who professed to be the Son of God arrange to be captured when Passover started, beaten or ‘prepared’ to be slaughtered, and crucified or slain at the time they would slaughter the lamb??
Wow! What a site. You have a real knack for making a blog readable and easy on the eyes. I am always interested in reading other sites about religion, they give me a lot to think about. I don’t have time to read everything right now, I found this site when looking for something else on Bing, but I’ve bookmarked your homepage and will check back soon to see your latest articles. What is your preferred translation of the Bible? I think they are all good, don’t really have a favorite myself. I have a web site with Biblical passages on it. Please visit it – it as at http://www.GotTB.com. God’s Peace!