The Gospel of Luke, chapter 1 (New Living Translation)
Verses 1 through 4
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 a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.Though not named in the writings of this book, it is agreed throughout Christian scholarship that the writer is Luke, the physician, who was a companion of the Apostle Paul.
Apparently, Theophilus had some questions about what he was taught about Jesus, what he's read from people other than the disciples, so we can assume Theophilus is a believer. Luke is writing to encourage and assure him that he's been taught the truth.
After the writings of those who were eyewitnesses of Jesus' ministry, life, death and resurrection were circulated, others have used those accounts to write their own version or pass on what they've read or heard.
Luke starts out by assuring Theophilus that he's carefully investigated all the accounts from the very beginning and is now endeavoring to write his own careful account of the events that occurred, the teaching that was brought and the miracles that were performed. And being a doctor, we can believe that Luke's investigation was exhaustive and well thought out. It is by this careful account that Luke hopes to prove to Theophilus that what he's heard and read is the truth about Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
