The object of Luke was to confirm Theophilus and through him all his readers in the faith
in which he had already been orally instructed, and to lead him to the conviction of the irrefragable
certainty of the facts on which Christianity rests.^1000
Luke wrote for Gentile Christians, especially Greeks, as Matthew wrote for Jews, Mark for
Romans, John for advanced believers without distinction of nationality. He briefly explains for
Gentile readers the position of Palestinian towns, as Nazareth, Capernaum, Arimathaea, and the
distance of Mount Olivet and Emmaus from Jerusalem.^1001 He does not, like Matthew, look back
to the past and point out the fulfilment of ancient prophecy with a view to prove that Jesus of
Nazareth is the promised Messiah, but takes a universal view of Christ as the Saviour of all men
and fulfiller of the aspirations of every human heart. He brings him in contact with the events of
secular history in the vast empire of Augustus, and with the whole human race by tracing his ancestry
back to Adam.
These features would suit Gentile readers generally, Romans as well as Greeks. But the
long residence of Luke in Greece, and the ancient tradition that he labored and died there, give
strength to the view that he had before his mind chiefly readers of that country. According to Jerome
the Gospel was written (completed) in Achaia and Boeotia. The whole book is undoubtedly admirably
suited to Greek taste. It at once captivates the refined Hellenic ear by a historic prologue of classic
construction, resembling the prologues of Herodotus and Thucydides. It is not without interest to
compare them.
Luke begins: "Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning
those matters which have been fufilled among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from
the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word: it seemed good to me also, having
traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most noble
Theophilus; that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast
instructed."
Herodotus: "These are the researches of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, which he publishes,
in order to preserve from oblivion the remembrance of former deeds of men, and to secure a just
tribute of glory to the great and wonderful actions of the Greeks and the barbarians; and withal to
put on record what were their grounds of feud."
Thucydides: "Thucydides, an Athenian, wrote the history of the war in which the
Peloponnesians and the Athenians fought against one another. He began to write when they first
took up arms, believing that it would be great and memorable above any previous war. For he
argued that both States were then at the full height of their military power, and he saw the rest of
the Hellenes either siding or intending to side with one or other of them. No movement ever stirred
Hellas more deeply than this; it was shared by many of the barbarians, and might be said even to
affect the world at large." (Jowett’s translation.)
These prefaces excel alike in brevity, taste, and tact, but with this characteristic difference:
the Evangelist modestly withholds his name and writes in the pure interest of truth a record of the
gospel of peace for the spiritual welfare of all men; while the great pagan historians are inspired
by love of glory, and aim to immortalize the destructive wars and feuds of Greeks and barbarians.
Contents of the Gospel of Luke.(^1000) Luke 1:4: ἵνα ἐπιγνῷς περὶ ὦν κατηχήθης τὴν ἀσφάλειαν.
(^1001) Luke 1:26; 4:31; 23:51; 24: 13 (Acts 1:12).
A.D. 1-100.