It seemed good to me
OPINION —
When Luke was writing the introduction to his gospel, he noted two groups of people:
1) “those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word” (1:2), and
2) “many” who were compiling “a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us” (1:1).
The first group would be the apostles, and the other would be a second generation of disciples who came after them. Luke would be part of that group. So, he began his treatise to Theophilus by acknowledging the original communicators of the good news and then the others who followed in their wake (of which he was one). If Luke had a literary agent, he would have been tearing his hair out. The last thing you’re supposed to do as a writer is say anything that takes away from the uniqueness of what you’re writing. But that’s exactly what Luke did. He told Theophilus he did what others before him had done and were doing.
Except he doesn’t say it exactly like that.
His precise words were, “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” (v. 3). “It seemed good to me” is Luke’s way of saying, I had to be a part of that group. It didn’t matter whether others had already done this — he had to do it, too.
That isn’t that hard to understand, is it? He had a passion for the story (“having followed all things closely for some time past”). He had an idea as to how he thought it could be presented (“to write an orderly account for you”). And then there was his relationship with Theophilus.
The name means “lover/friend of God” and was probably given to him when he was baptized. “Most excellent” is used in the book of Acts for Roman officials, so it’s likely that Theophilus was a Roman official who had become a disciple of Jesus. Perhaps in talking with Luke he had expressed a desire to have something in writing that told the story of Jesus. That would explain Luke’s words to him, “that you may know the certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (v. 4).
If you follow this thread, it gets more interesting. Luke writes the gospel of Luke for his friend Theophilus. Then he writes volume two (the book of Acts) for him as well (see 1:1-2 there). If you do a word count, Luke wrote more of the New Testament than any other writer — almost 28% of it. The apostle Paul is second (even if you count Hebrews which was probably not written by Paul). Paul writing much of the NT makes sense because most of his letters were addressed to churches all over the Roman world. Luke-Acts is written to just one person. The most prolific New Testament writer was not writing for the masses but for a friend. He was not breaking any new ground, just telling an already familiar tale of “all that Jesus began to do and teach.”
God did amazing things with Luke’s “It seemed good to me.” Maybe we should think about whatever seems good to us and get busy doing it!
Find more of Bruce’s writings at his website: a-taste-of-grace-with-bruce-green.com
