Read or listen The Gospel of Luke online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

The Birth and Youth of Jesus – Luke 1 - 2

Dedication – Luke 1:1-4

The Jews got straight to the point in their writings. Instead, Luke, in true Greek style, began his book with a preface. These four verses are just one sentence in Greek. The language is the best Greek in the New Testament and shows that the writer was educated.

Who is the recipient of the letter, Theophilus? The name means “friend of God,” and so some think that it is actually a group whose pseudonym is Theophilus. However, verse 4 proves that Theophilus was one person. Whether the name was a pseudonym or a real one is up to speculation. In any case, we do not know the recipient. Whether Theophilus was the distributor, the “publisher,” or a high-ranking Roman official, or perhaps both, is uncertain. Luke uses the Greek word for him, "honored," which is used only three times elsewhere in the New Testament: Acts 23:26 and Acts 24:3 about Governor Felix, and Acts 26:25 about Governor Festus.

The opening verses of Luke remind us that Christianity is a historical faith: it is based on facts that have happened. It is not a question of what we know or have experienced, but of what God has done in history. Faith is not only a matter of reason and understanding, but it is also that.

Luke wrote to second-generation Christians, those who had not seen Jesus themselves. Through his writings, we too receive eyewitness testimony about Jesus (verse 2).