Thoughts for the Day

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 eye-witnesses and servants of the word.  Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also for me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things that have been taught.’

So then, to the opening 100 verses of Luke’s gospel. And it is reasonable to start by asking whether Luke is to be believed.  There seems plenty enough evidence that it was written by Luke around 70 AD, give or take, but that doesn’t tell us whether he was telling the truth.  “Fake news” has become all too pervasive, but it is hardly new!  We find elsewhere that Luke was a steadfast travelling companion of Paul.  Might he then merely have been a propagandist, filtering, spinning and embellishing the truth to promote their agenda?  Or was he simply a collator of stories about Jesus, driven to collect every piece of folklore before the generation of eyewitnesses died out, a bit like folksong collectors in early 20^th century England?  During the years accompanying Paul he must have heard pretty much every possible challenge to the truth of the gospel and the integrity of the evangelist.  If he is telling the truth, how is he to convince his readers, then or now?  Luke, we find, sets out his stall as a historian or investigative journalist, one who has, as he puts it, “carefully investigated everything from the beginning” so that he could “write an orderly account … so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught”.  “Careful investigation” implies some level of verification, not simply writing down whatever stories may had been doing the rounds.  (Gosh, isn’t this so topical?)  And he punctuates his narrative with other historical figures and timestamps, details that add authenticity but equally invite his readers to check him out.  He knows the narrative will make outrageous and challenging claims, so it seems he does the best he can to establish his credibility from the outset.  But is that enough for you or me?  And, if not, how will we decide?