More than ever, we are bombarded with fake news everywhere we look. If you’re on social media or cable news and do even the slightest bit of fact-checking on the stories that come through your feed, you’ll quickly realize that people from every political persuasion are working overtime slanting, spinning, controlling their narrative, and sometimes just flat-out making stuff up! And this isn’t even mentioning AI deepfakes, which at this point are nearly indistinguishable from reality. If you care about the truth, you end up not believing much of what you see and learn to check the source.

Friends, this morning we are beginning a new sermon series on the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke is one of four accounts of the life of Jesus of Nazareth—his life, death, and resurrection—that were written by close associates of Jesus, or by their companions, in the first century AD. And for about the next 18 months or so, we will be doing a deep dive into Luke, this rich, beautiful Gospel that tells us all about who Jesus is, what he did, what he said, and why it matters.

You see, the word “Gospel” means “good news,” and the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—were written to tell the good news that God is redeeming the world through His Son, Jesus Christ, who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and died on a Roman cross around AD 30 for the sins of the world. His once-for-all death was the perfect sacrifice for sinful human beings, whose sins were laid on Christ’s shoulders. But Jesus did not remain dead—he rose from the grave so that all who turn from their sins and believe in him can receive forgiveness of sins and everlasting resurrection life in him. That’s the good news! This is what the Gospels are all about.

So we’ll be taking a deep dive into Luke. Let’s talk about Luke. Of the four Gospel writers, Luke is pretty unique. For one thing, it’s the longest Gospel. For another, it contains some of the best-loved stories Jesus ever told—the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, Zacchaeus, and many more. He also wrote a sequel, the Book of Acts, which tells the story of the early church. We actually preached through Acts several years ago, and you can find those sermons on our website if you’re interested.

But besides all that, in his Gospel, Luke does something none of the other Gospel writers do: he has an introduction. He doesn’t just jump right in with the story of Jesus but explains in his own voice exactly what he’s doing and why he’s writing. And it has a lot of relevance for us today. So that’s what we’re looking at this morning. Let’s read it again:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, ² just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, ³ it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴ that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:1–4)

Luke says that many have written accounts of Jesus—that would be the other Gospels—and that they all contain what was handed down from the people who were in the room where it happened. Eyewitnesses. And he’s going to do the same thing, having followed everything closely, and write an orderly account for someone named Theophilus.

We don’t know much about Theophilus. The name means “lover of God,” and although some older scholars thought it might not refer to a real person, it almost certainly does. Luke is writing to Theophilus—probably a new Christian, perhaps someone supporting him in his work. But why?

This is the really important thing—Luke gives the reason he wrote his Gospel, and it’s one that speaks to us today: that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. Luke wrote his Gospel so that Theophilus—and all of us—could be sure about the things we have been taught about Jesus. And so, for all of us who read this Gospel, this is why it’s written, and this is the big idea of the passage: We can trust the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We can trust that the things the Gospel of Luke contains—and by extension the other Gospels—are true. Are reliable. Are a sure thing. We can bet our lives on it. We can trust the Gospel about Jesus so we can know him and have eternal life in him.

And that’s what we’re going to spend time looking at this morning.

Luke actually gives us several reasons why we can trust the Gospel:

1. The writings and the witnesses

2. The credentials

3. The fulfillment

Let’s get into it.

1. The writings and the witnesses

Let’s look at the beginning again:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, ² just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us…

Right off the bat, Luke gives us several reasons why we can trust the Gospel of Jesus, and it all has to do with the writings and the witnesses. Let me explain this with four examples.

First, Luke points out that “many have undertaken to compile a narrative.” Many. Who are the “many?” He’s referring to the other Gospels—probably at least Mark, possibly Matthew if Luke was written after it. There’s also John, but most scholars believe that one was written last, toward the end of the first century. By contrast, Luke is writing sometime in the early AD 60s.

The point is that there are multiple witnesses, multiple Gospels. It’s not just one source. God in His goodness and providence has given us multiple witnesses to testify to the life of Jesus.

Have you ever stopped to consider how unusual this is in the history of religion? As far as I know, there’s nothing else like this—multiple full accounts of the central figure of a faith, written close in time to the events, that confirm one another. In many other religions, the stories originate from one person who claimed divine revelation. There’s no ability to cross-check.

Imagine this: we’re all here in this room and suddenly hear a horrendous crash right outside the window. I have to stay here because I’m preaching, but several of you run to look. You see things with your own eyes, you talk to others, and then later I ask different people what happened. Four unrelated witnesses all say, “The blue car ran the red light and hit the red car.” You know what I’m going to believe? That the blue car ran the red light and hit the red car.

We all rely on the testimony of others. The presence of multiple Gospels helps us have assurance that what they say is true. And if someone who wasn’t even there comes along later and says, “Actually, the red car hit the blue one and a green one,” I’m not going to believe them.

Second, notice that the sources are eyewitnesses. Luke says, “those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us.”

This is a significant detail. We know a lot about how history was written in the ancient world because Greek historians told us. They placed enormous value on eyewitness testimony. The best historians tracked down the people who were “in the room where it happened” and recorded their accounts. They even named their sources so that readers could verify them.

Luke does the same. He records names of eyewitnesses throughout his Gospel: Peter, James, John, Mary, Zacchaeus, and many more. Often he tells you where they lived. He’s not adding color—he’s acting as a historian signaling, “Check if you want; these people exist.”

One scholar has even researched the distribution of names in the Gospels and shown that they match the most common names used in first-century Judea—another small confirmation.

Third, consider the timespan. All four biblical Gospels were written within a generation of Jesus’s ministry—mere decades after the events. Mark was likely writing in the AD 50s—around 20 years after Jesus. Matthew and Luke were slightly later, but by the late AD 60s at the latest.

You know what that means? It’s too soon to make things up.

If I told you a sea serpent came out of the Schuylkill River and ate a horse in the 1800s—well, maybe, who knows? You weren’t there. But if I told you it happened here in the 1990s—and you lived here then—you’d say, “No way, I would have heard about that.”

Friends, thirty years is not enough time for legends to develop undetected. Too many eyewitnesses were still alive. Too many people could say, “That didn’t happen.”

Fourth, Luke calls what he and others have produced a narrative—a historical account, not a book of moral proverbs or philosophical meditations. The Gospel is rooted in history. Christianity stands or falls on the historical reality of Jesus—especially his resurrection. If it didn’t happen, Christianity isn’t worth following. If it did, it changes everything.

Luke is encouraging you: look into it. If you’re a skeptic, don’t just doubt—investigate.

So the first reason we can trust the Gospel is because of the writings and the witnesses. Whether you’ve been a Christian for 40 years or are just starting to explore Christianity, you can trust that what Luke tells us is Gospel truth.

2. The Credentials

Luke also gives his credentials as a historian:

… it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus…

First, Luke says he “followed all things closely”—meaning he was thoroughly familiar with the material. He also wrote an “orderly account”—that is, carefully arranged and structured. Luke takes his work seriously. He has done his research, and the details matter.

Are there ways we can test this? Yes.

One of them is how Luke includes time markers throughout his Gospel. For example, the next section begins, “In the days of Herod, king of Judea”—a specific, traceable reference. Later he tells us Jesus’s ministry began “in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar”—AD 28 or 29. Luke intentionally anchors his story in verifiable history.

Some scholars in the 19th century claimed Luke was unreliable. But history has not been kind to those claims.

For example, in Acts 17 (also written by Luke), it says this:

And when they could not find them, they dragged [a local believer] and some of the brothers before the city authorities… (Acts 17:6)

The Greek word translated “city authorities” is politarchés—a word critics in the 19th century said Luke made up, because it was found nowhere else.

Then in 1877, archaeologists discovered a Greek inscription on a stone from the ancient gate of Thessalonica containing the word politarchés—the exact term Luke used!

Luke got it right.

There are dozens of examples like this—over 30, according to one scholar. You can’t make this stuff up.

It’s like reading a story set in Philadelphia where someone talks about ordering a “steak sandwich” or a “po’ boy.” One thing you know: they’ve never been to Philly. Luke always gets the local details right.

Craig Keener summarizes:

“When all has been examined, a number of scholars rank Luke among the more accurate historians, such as Polybius, Thucydides, and Tacitus.” (Acts of the Apostles 1.202)

Friends, you can trust the Gospels because Luke has the credentials of a serious, accurate historian.

Now, let me speak to the skeptic for a moment. I’ve been giving you evidence for the reliability of the Gospels. The danger is thinking that if I just give you enough evidence, you’ll be convinced.

But unbelief isn’t only a matter of the mind—it’s a matter of the heart. Scripture says our minds are darkened because of our rebellion against God. We don’t want it to be true.

So if you’re a skeptic, here’s my challenge: Doubt your doubts. You have a high bar for belief. Do you have the same high bar for unbelief? Have you interrogated your assumptions with the same critical spirit?

If you do, you may find that unbelief rests on faith commitments just like belief—perhaps even more so.

Christianity is reasonable, but ultimately belief in Christ is a matter of the heart, not just the mind.

3. The fulfillment

Let’s return to verse 1:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us…

That word “accomplished” is better translated “fulfilled” (as in the CSB):

Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us… (Luke 1:1 CSB)

Friends, you can trust the Gospel of Jesus because it fulfills the promises of God—promises made hundreds or even thousands of years earlier.

Over and over in the Old Testament, God promised to send a king who would rule His people and bring righteousness to the nations—a king born in Bethlehem, from the tribe of Judah, who would suffer for the sins of the people.

Just a few examples:

• He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. (Gen. 3:15)

• The scepter shall not depart from Judah… (Gen. 49:10)

• I will raise up your offspring after you… and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. (2 Sam. 7:12–13)

• He was pierced for our transgressions… (Isa. 53:5)

• The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… to bring good news to the poor… (Isa. 61:1–2)

All these promises point to Jesus of Nazareth.

Later in Luke’s Gospel, the risen Jesus meets disciples who are confused about the Messiah’s suffering:

“Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:25–27)

Friends, the whole Bible points to Jesus. The more we read it, the more we see how all of God’s promises find their fulfillment in him.

If not Jesus, then who?

So you can trust the Gospel because it fulfills God’s long-promised plan of redemption.

Gospel connection

Let’s look again at verse 3:

… to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus…

Look at those words: “for you.” Theophilus, as we said, was likely a new believer. Think about this. Consider all the effort Luke went through to write his Gospel—possibly years of research, travel across thousands of miles to interview eyewitnesses, checking historical records, reviewing earlier Gospels.

And for whom?

For one person.

“For you.”

Luke gave his very best so that one person could have certainty about what he’d been taught. So let me close by applying this to two groups of people.

First, if you are laboring to show Jesus to others—discipling men or women, leading a Citygroup, teaching your children, sharing Christ in your workplace—know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
If Luke gave years of his life for one believer, can we not give our time and effort so that others might know Christ?

Second, if you are here without Christ: Luke gave years for one person to have certainty. But look at what God gave for you—not just that you might have certainty, but that you might have eternal life.

God did not give years of study. He gave His one and only Son.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy… (Titus 3:4–5)

If you have not yet bowed the knee to Christ, calling him Lord and receiving forgiveness of sins in his name, would today be the day?

God has gone to the greatest lengths imaginable to reach you. One of the key verses of Luke’s Gospel is this:

“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Are you lost? Dead in your sins?
Turn to him today and be saved.