I can trust it

Morsels of food are delicious because of the little things, the subtle seasonings, the dash of salt, the sprinkle of garlic, the garnish of parsley, the touch of glaze, or the hint of lemon.  Ahhhh - so delicious!

Since the time of Jesus, the rise of the university has spawned the rise of scientific investigation.  Modern people have looked back over the span of 2000 years and many times have wrongly assumed that what was written in days of Jesus lacked the methods of scientific inquiry.  What gets glossed in that way of thinking is that scientific advancement was well and alive in the Roman Empire and is illustrated everywhere one wants to look.

Engineers for the Roman military were able to invent rapid fire weapons that humiliated the enemy.  Engineers for the government designed aquaducts that could bring water hundreds of miles using the force of gravity but some even go uphill when the terrain requires it.  They learned to drill for oil, mix concrete feet for piers underwater and move dirt by the ton to create mile-long ramps and bridges and extensions to a shoreline.  Their medicine was second to none.  Doctors had a whole array of hand tools in their bags and knew about the human body from years of investigation and observance of how the body acts and reacts.  Doctors had the training to show them how to validate their observations and findings.  Astronomical records were kept containing tremendous accuracy.  And in the navigation of seas, Rome had no equal in getting troops, supplies, and commercial products to their destinations with efficiency and without mishap for the great amount of water travel they used.

So, to think of the people of Jesus' day and time as simple and primitive, given to notional thinking about how things work, and experiencing life on the most basic terms would be the polar opposite of the truth.  And, if a person of wealth, or government official wanted to investigate something to ensure its accuracy and truth, he could do so with methods commensurate to other scientific pursuits in this advanced, ancient world.

The way the gospel of Luke opens is a true reminder of this second-to-none world of the Romans.  It has something to say to the person inclined to think that Jesus' time and place had little to offer a modern person.  To be sure, the Romans didn't consider the world outside of Greece and Italy as civilized, and in the realm of religion, the religions found in the provinces were merely superstitions for the locals.  So, it is very noticeable that in the middle of Rome's arrogance from all their advances in technology and their belief that no one else had anything to offer them, a medical doctor with a Roman name would take the time to address a Greek magistrate working for the Roman provincial government about a matter that really shouldn't have mattered - one of those outlying superstitious religions.

Verse 3 -

εδοξε καμοι παρηκολουθηκοτι ανωθεν πασιν ακριβως καθεξης σοι γραψαι κρατιστε θεοφιλε

(I thought it wise to write you, Most Excellent Theophilos, since I have followed the succession of everything closely and carefully from its inception.)

Like modern scientists, Luke described his method of recording the Jesus movement.  A scientist has to follow things closely when observing, and he or she has to record the order of successive stages carefully.  People in Luke's day were as curious as people now, and had just as much need to trust their experts when they drew conclusions from their observations.  Luke says this was the case as he examined Christianity ανωθεν (from its inception).

But it gets better.  Luke wanted Theophilos' trust.  He wanted him to trust him.  He was a doctor and knew how extremely important proper documentation was in gaining people's trust.  So, besides telling Theophilos that he followed everything closely and carefully from day one, he told him how he knew.

Verse 1 -

επειδηπερ πολλοι επεχειρησαν αναταξασθαι διηγησιν περι των πεπληροφορημενων εν ημιν πραγματων

(Seeing that many people have sat down to write a narrative from memory of the things that have happened among us.)

Evidently, records existed from a number of different writers who had circulated stories of the deeds of Jesus from the first third of the 1st century.  Luke had come along after these writers, but had their writings to refer to.  These works could have included  gospel of.  Mark in particular is thought to have been an early rendering of Jesus' events since it is so episodic in nature and contained no genealogy.  Luke records having a number manuscripts at his disposal or that he had collected for himself over the years.

Verse 2 -

καθως παρεδοσαν ημιν οι απ αρχης αυτοπται και υπηρεται γενομενοι του λογου

(and from what was imparted to us by eyewitnesses who were there from the start and from followers who became so as a result of their message.)

To the records he referred to in verse 1 that he had read, Luke adds two other pieces of evidence - eyewitnesses and subsequent followers.  Any serious inquiry would have to include primary evidence.  That's why he includes the eyewitnesses.  But, a movement is not a serious movement unless people have been affected by the message left by the originator and those who were actually there.  Thus, followers of Jesus' message who became Christians without the benefit of actually seeing Jesus in action became the secondary evidence that attested to Christianity's authenticity.

There is a tasty morsel contained in verse 4 of Luke 1.

ινα επιγνως περι ων κατηχηθης λογων την ασφαλειαν

(so that you can ascertain the accuracy of what you were briefed on.)

Theophilos was evidently a magistrate in some official capacity for Rome.  He had had his briefing on what to expect from the religions  in the province.  He would have definitely been advised of the Jews' beliefs and what to allow and disallow with them.  But the Christian movement was new.  How should he treat them?  Were they a threat in any way to Rome's security and dominance in the province?  Pliny the Younger in around 113 A.C.E. wrote Emperor Trajan concerning both of these matters 50 to 70 years later than Luke.  Pliny's letter serves as both verification and instruction about the concern provincial governors had in how to treat provincial Christians and illustrates how someone like Theophilos would need someone like Luke to help him understand this growing religion.

Luke had one other credential to support Theophilos' choice as the voice he wanted to hear about the Christian movement.  An official asks a person with scientific standing to expertly assess something, for sure, but Luke also was a part of this Christian movement. That's good news because Luke didn't just give Theophilos a favorable report from an outsider, Luke started at the beginning of the movement, cited primary evidence (eyewitnesses), showed the secondary effect Christianity had on people beyond the first generation, and admitted to being one of Jesus' followers.  Twice he refers to "us" as he told Theophilos that he could trust that the Christian movement was benign in its intents to usurp Roman authority.

των πεπληροφορημενων εν ημιν (the things that have happened among us)

παρεδοσαν ημιν (what was imparted to us)

That's comforting to me.  I don't have to depend on evidence merely from the early church fathers, from apocryphal literature, or from orthodox documents from the established church 2 1/2 centuries removed from Jesus.  I have a document written by a scientist, addressed to a government official containing sound scientific evidence that Jesus lived, died, rose, and influenced the next generation with his teachings.  What else could a modern person want!?  That the scientist had also been touched by Jesus' message?  With Luke, I have that too!