Following Jesus, fulfilling His mission, in community together.

The Gospel of Luke – the Good News for Everyone. Introduction

This week has been a tough week for many across the world as we were reminded again of the death to innocence with the murderous events of Sept 11 twenty years ago. Stories were retold of heroism, system failures, horror, survival grief, and terror.

Like Aust journalist Damon Johnston “we waited for the inured, but they never arrived” – part of emergency field hospital set up at Chelsea Piers on New York’s Hudson river – they’d been told 500 injured were on their way – they never came.

Probably everyone in this room could remember where they were on Sept 11 – for me I was on the top floor of a high rise apartment building in Melbourne CBD doing a couple of Masters subjects at Ridley – woken by a phone call from Robyn to turn the TV on…

So too Dr Luke records his account of the life of Christ – Luke and Acts appear to have been written at about the same time—Luke first, and then Acts. Together they make up about 28% of the New Testament and Luke is not mentioned by name in either book.

Combined, they make a two-volume work written around 60-70ad is addressed to “Theophilus” (1:3; Acts 1:1) giving a sweeping history of the founding of Christianity, from the birth of Christ to Paul’s imprisonment under house arrest in Rome (Acts 28:30, 31).

Luke 1:1–4 (NLT) 1 Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. 3 Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.