Week 1. Gospel of Luke. Luke 1:1-4

In this first week we will consider further just the first four verses in Luke’s Gospel.

The highly-recommended message opening of a continuing study of the Gospel of Luke by Pastor-search of Lakeside Community Chapel (Clearwater FL), Steve Kreloff, is available at the YouTube link here: As discussed in the Luke home page, nothing given here duplicates the teaching or writing of Steve’s teaching (or RC Sproul’s teaching series). What follows is intended to provide resources that may aid someone seeking to dig deeper into the text, and better hear our Father’s Voice.

Text of Luke 1:1-4

The NKJV translation is given below:

Ch 1 1 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

New King James Version (NKJV)Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission [of fair use]. All rights reserved.

The NASB translation is below:

Ch 1 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3 it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; 4 so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.

New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

Additionally, for reasons to be discussed, the Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) of this same passage is provided below:

Ch 1 1 Seeing that many did take in hand to set in order a narration of the matters that have been fully assured among us, 2 as they did deliver to us, who from the beginning became eye-witnesses, and officers of the Word, —3 it seemed good also to me, having followed from the first after all things exactly, to write to thee in order, most noble Theophilus, 4 that thou mayest know the certainty of the things wherein thou wast instructed.

Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) by Public Domain

Finally, the pdf attachment below is of a literal interlinear text known as the Newberry Interlinear:

We will discuss the Newberry further below, but for now, let us layout its framework. Each word is expressed by five lines as shown in the red font text at the left near the left side.

  1. The top line is, unhelpfully for non Greek readers, the original mss word in Koine. For our purposes here, the reader can simply ignore this line.
  2. The second line is a highly literal translation of the Koine mss word in Line 1, albeit with the limitations on all “literalness” discussed above.
  3. The third line is the “Lemma” again in Koine, which again can be ignored for now.
  4. The fourth line is the Strong’s number. Each such number is tagged to a lexicon (a cross-language dictionary) by us of “Strongs G____” where the number fills the blank. Can can use such quotes in a search engine to find many resources. For our purposes here we will standardized on using the Blue Letter Bible website, which is here. We’ll return to this resource below.
  5. The final line is a code that summarizes the role (or job) the word does in the Koine sentence, known as it’s morphology. We will return to this.

One other point on the Newberry (for now) has to do with word order. One of the major differences between Koine and English is that Koine is a highly inflected language, that is most of the words in any given sentence have prefixes and suffixes (and sometimes embedded letters) that identify the exact role that each such word has in the sentence. In English we have very few of such inflections and instead rely on word to convey sentence meaning beyond that given by individual words, known as syntax. What this means is that in Koine, the word order of a sentence can be used to invoke emphasis, connections, relationships that cannot be as freely done as in English.

The Newberry shown above is an interlinear of the Koine mss in its true word order, as distinct from many interlinear Bibles that are known as “reverse” interlinears, which have ‘lost’ the mss word order in order to make it easier to read in English. What the Newberry does instead, is use small numbers to show how the text should be read in English word order, while preserving the Koine mss order so one can see how the original text has emphasized the words. So in Luke 1:2 for example, the smooth English reading would be to read all the Newberry literal words that are un-numbered and then follow by reading them in numbered order. Thus we would first read: “As they delivered to us they the word…” Then we would follow the numbered word order: “having been from the beginning eyewitnesses and attendants.” This can seem awkward in English, which is why English translations reshape the Koine mss, add and drop words, to make for smoother reading.

Big Picture View of Luke 1:1-4

The opening four verses of Luke have a parallel in ordinary legal contract language known as the “whereas clauses.” Typical legal contracts began with a construction of: first a series of “whereas” clauses that give the context of the contract, then an identification of the parties to the contract, and finally something about the purpose or intent of the agreement.

Here is Luke 1:1 and 1:2 we have two such “whereas” clauses. This is followed by an identification of the parties in 1:3 (namely Luke, and the recipient of Luke’s writing a man, or a category, known as Theophilos, meaning literally “God-Lover”), and finally in 1:4 the purpose of such writing.

Examination of the Important Koine Words in this Passage

Here we will begin looking at certain the key words used in Koine mss for the purpose of understanding better the distinctive meaning of the work in Koine and so gain a richer understanding of how a single word, or word phrase, in English can best express the root idea.

To Set in Order… (NKJV), Compile an Account… (NASB)

The Newberry has the opening phrase in Luke 1:1 to draw up a narration of [those] matters in reference to what we as Christians have come to fully grasp and believe. The YLT cited above has a very similar, literal wording to the interlinear (which is characteristic of such translation): to set in order a narration of the matters.

So, let us example the following words, based on the Newberry:

  1. To draw up [set in order, NKJV] [compile, NASB]. This is the Koine word Strong’s G392. We can find a transliteration by putting “G392” in the BlueLetterBible.org search window, to yield an English transliteration of anatassomai. (A transliteration is not a translation but a letter for letter replacement of the Koine with English to get the sounds to parallel). What is important to us are two resources at this site: the expanded definition, and the concordance of other uses in the New Testament. As can be seen, this is itself a special word conveying the idea of a very carefully researched subject matter for the purpose of equally careful exposition. This is the kind of language that would be used for a Ph.D. Dissertation, a formal report / book written by an archaeologist of a multi-year dig-investigation of some historic site, or, as we shall see, a detailed medical autopsy that carefully, scientifically gives a full exposition of the cause of death. The word only occurs in the New Testament here in Luke 1:1, which makes it significant. Luke is setting forth his claim in the very first breath of the text that all that follows has been carefully pulled together in one coherent form, and so is factual, reliable, true.
  2. A narration [account, NASB]. Newberry tells us that the word the NASB gives us as “narration” is G1335, and from Blue Letter Bible we find the following Koine-source information: diēgēsis, which comes from its verb form to mean carrying forward a narration to its full account, the complete story. Thus again in the opening breath Luke claims that his drawing up, setting in order, is to give us the full extent of the events he is reporting based upon (as we shall see) eyewitness accounts. He is not claiming that what he has written is everything there is to know, or can be known from other sources or by other means. Rather he is attesting to that from his careful, methodical research, he is telling the full story, all the way to the point of completion as he has found it. Again we learn from Blue Letter that this word only occurs here in the New Testament, at Luke 1:1, which is itself notable.
  3. [These] Matters [things, NKJV and NASB]. Here we see from Newberry that the word identified as G4229 leads to a Koine word from which we get English “pragmatic,” but as seen in the Blue Letter definition means something much more than “practical.” G4229 is about done deeds, accomplished facts. Luke is not writing about his experiences, his emotions, feelings, hunches, rumors, wishes and what might have beens. Luke is giving an account of what actually happened. Think of a witness in a courtroom. The judge will not tolerate such a witness to speak about anything but the facts as he knows them directly. As the very old TV show “Dragnet” the police offices used to repeatedly say to those who had been observers of some key event, “Just the facts, ma’am.” Luke is claiming that is exactly what he has done. So it is a narration, and in that sense a “story,” but it is not a made up story, as a book novel would be. These opening words are claiming that all we are about to encounter in this magnificent Gospel actually did happen, really, and it happened on the authority of eyewitness account all of which has been carefully, systematically compiled by Luke the Koine scholar and a trained physician who had particular capabilities of observation and interpretation of what is before his eyes (and ears).

Eyewitnesses and Servants [Ministers, NKJV]

In Luke 1:2, Luke makes even clearer that his research methodology was what is commonly known as “primary research,” namely field work with actual eyewitnesses (G845). There is an interesting appended phrase after “eyewitnesses,” namely: servants (NASB), or ministers (NKJV), G5257. This word, G5257, is most-interesting because of its range of meaning in Koine. It’s prefix means, literally, “under” of “sub-” (in the sense of below, or lesser). Ships and boats were an important part of Greek culture then as now. Then, ship power was either sails or rowers. One form of rower power was multiple levels of rows, as floor levels. So there was a top level with as many rowers as space permitted, but below them, would be one, or even two lower levels of rowers (a famed Greek trireme had three levels). This word servants / ministers (G5257) was used of the “under rowers,” those on the lower levels. As such, these rowers were subordinate to the top level sailors who had overall perspective and command of the ship. The word came to me a ordinary worker with one’s hands, or simply a servant.

It is most likely that Luke is referring to multiple people who aided his research in finding eyewitnesses, bringing him to specific locations and individuals, gathering letters and other contemporary documents that would have written eyewitness accounts but who themselves may have died. This is exactly the category of helpers that research authors today acknowledge in the front matter of major publications which may include research people at other institutions, librarians, and other helpers. What Luke is telling us here that he used other resources (these servants) along with actual eyewitnesses, as one would expect of a systematic investigation.

Having Investigated Everything Carefully from the Beginning

In Luke 1:3, Luke gives further emphasis to the reliability of his reporting by the following:

  1. Luke himself was a direct participant in many of the events
  2. His record starts from “the beginning” of the events
  3. He is accurately reporting the matters, “having investigated everything carefully”–so he has done more than just assemble unexamined / untested even eyewitness reports
  4. He is methodically reporting, “in consecutive order” (G2517). The Koine word occurs five times in the NT, but only by Luke in his Gospel and Acts. It’s a historian’s term of art meaning following a coherent sequence of events, having no important gaps in the narrative, fitting all the data together.
  5. He is doing it in writing, a important point, though obvious, as this was to be a contemporaneous, permanent record, not something just orally reported and passed on with attendant distortion of such unwritten reporting. Here we have a document that can be critically examined, and carefully studied, that reliably spans the many centuries since its writing.

So That You May Know the Exact Truth

Finally, in Luke 1:4, Luke makes clear his intended purpose for all research and methodology he has used and that is to establish for Theophilus, and us, a record that enables a “knowledge” that is “certain,” or as the NASB has it “”know the exact truth.” The word translated “know” is G1921 and expresses the idea of a full knowledge by the prefix “epi” to the common Koine word for knowing “gnosko” which comes down to our English by a “k” replacing “g” becoming “knosko” and so we have “diagnosis,” “prognosis,” and so forth. This form suggests that Luke has not left out anything material in his narrative account. Luke is not saying that he is reporting all and only that which can be known; he is only saying that from his research he has withheld anything relevant to a full account.

The word translated “exact” (NASB) “the certainty” (NKJV) translates the Koine word G803. This Koine word is rooted in the idea of firmness, stability, security. So in such context here it carries the idea of complete reliability, which is what we mean when we claim something is “true.”

But “truth” or “certain” knowledge claimed by Luke is something more than a collection of statements each of which are true, though he certainly includes that idea. In Luke 1:4, he refers to what Theophilus has been given is the Koine word G2727, from which we get our term “catechized” (catechism). This refers to Theophilus having been given a coherent, whole teaching, perhaps in part by other writings and by oral communications, is now in this account by Luke being given the whole factual, ordered, reliable written record on which his teaching has been founded.

Of the Word (The Logos)

Returning to Luke 1:2, the Koine gives us the well known word “logos” (G3056) which word has powerful range of meaning. It can mean simply “word,” but it is far richer than that. A better translation is “revelation” or even “narration” of an organized whole disclosure, as we actually use the word “logos” in our time to append whole fields of study such as “geology,” “biology,” etc.

Further, “The Logos” is the very opening of John’s Gospel referring to Jesus Himself being the full Being of God brought into spacetime as a full human, as the revelation (the full image of God): “Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”  Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:8-9, NASB)

So Luke’s use of the term “The Logos” may well suggest that he is saying his entire Gospel narrative is, in essence, about the One Being who is God with us.

Additional Lexicon (Definition) Resources

In the above discussion we have relied on the lexicon resources of Blue Letter Bible website, which are identified by their principal author: James Strong (1822 – 1894) and James H. Thayer (1828 – 1901). These particular lexicons are generally regarded as reliable, but there are many other lexicons available, just as there are numerous English dictionaries. In addition, the Bible is in a certain sense its own lexicon by examining where the same word, or parallel words, are used elsewhere. This can be done by using the Strongs number–which is distinct from the Strong’s lexicon, but the same person–or by using cross references given in the margins or footnotes of various study Bibles, or by books such as the useful Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge (the original or the “new” version), or simply by the concordance index included with many published Bibles.

A useful guideline for getting a deeper understanding of any sentence, text portion, or individual word is the widely cited principle: the Bible is its own interpreter. Jesus Himself made numerous and frequent citation of the Old Testament. The four Gospels, though each distinctive in particular ways, provide parallel views of the words and events during the public ministry of Jesus much as one would expect from independent witnesses giving reports on what they observed. The Epistles themselves have numerous parallels by which one given text makes clearer or more nuanced another, and connects the whole body of God’s revelation together, both the New and Old Testaments.

Newberry Interlinear with Zodiates Definitions

Attached in a pdf below is this passage we have been examining, Luke 1:1-4, from the Newberry interlinear Bible. This is the same translation as was given above but for the additional resources shown by the gray boxed texts.

On the second and third lines of the Newberry, certain important words have been highlighted in gray background. These words have expanded definitions given also in gray text in various boxes elsewhere on the page, linked by their respective Strong’s numbers. The text in these additional boxes are from another lexicon, Zodhiates, as cited in the very rightmost, bottom box. I have excerpted from the full definitions given by Dr. Zodhiates as I thought to be most-relevant to our passage here in Luke 1. Further within each such box of text, I have highlighted by red underlining what I believe is most useful to our context.

Harmonization of Word Meaning Resources for Luke 1:1-4

Words are like stakes in the ground, that with prepositions and connectives, are strung together to create a whole thought, sentence by sentence. Each choice for an English word, puts such stake at a particular place in the ground and moves all the stake-connecting ‘string’ ever so much, and changes, perhaps only by nuance, that whole thought we are seeking to grasp.

Translators of Bibles that seek to be word-for-word translations, are stuck, with finding one English word for the corresponding Koine mss word (in most circumstances). And in choosing that one English word they have to consider the vocabulary level of the intended reader, the semantic range of the word chosen, as each word has a range of possible meanings / uses, as well as give consideration of the flow or smoothness of the overall sentence. So we have seen in comparing four translations–NKJV, NASB, YLT, and Newberry–some differences in how they have done this work. Any one of these translations, as well as numerous others (such as ESV, NET, CSB, KJV, NIV, etc.) are adequate for this task as a general principle. However, it can be very useful to consider the most-notable words in any given sentence or passage with further care as we have been doing here.

How Does This Word Study Help?

The bottom line question for all that has been discussed here is what is the net value of it? What does one understand better, more clearly, more deeply, more meaningfully, by considering the meaning of certain of the key words in these four opening verses?

My answer is that it leads to a firm foundation for authority of Luke’s Gospel. We live in an age when very word “truth” has lost almost all meaning. There are claims of “my truth” and “your truth,” which says, in effect, “my opinion” and “your opinion.” There are other claims of “science” as “truth,” made by people who have no clue what “science” is (a refutable search for the natural laws of the universe, that are always provisional, and never directive). The confusion of what’s real, true, worthy, good is particularly acute with respect to claims of ultimate reality–some would use the term “religious” or “spiritual” reality but these words have been largely corrupted too. Put in other words, if a claim is to be made about ultimate reality, and Luke’s Gospel is in essence entirely on that subject, the natural response is the question, “says who?”, which is the root issue of authority.

Luke’s Gospel is not just another story of a three or so year period of events and words from two thousand years ago, like thousands of other stories and storytellers. These opening words of Luke lays the foundation of authority that all that follows in its 24 long chapters is true, that is true-truth. By digging into the depths of the words Luke chose to establish such claim to authority we can, or should, see it much more clearly.