Ryle - The Book of Luke

The Gospel of Luke

by

J. C. Ryle

The volume now in the reader's hands, is a continuation of the "ExpositoryThoughts on the Gospels," of which two volumes have been alreadypublished.

The general design of the work has been so fully explained in the preface tothe volume on Matthew, that it seems needless to say anything further on thesubject. I will only remark that I have steadily adhered to the threefoldobject, which I proposed to myself, when I first began. I have endeavored toproduce something which may meet the needs of heads of families in conductingfamily prayers--of district visitors in reading to the sick and unlearned--andof private students of the Bible who have neither large libraries nor muchleisure. These three classes I have constantly kept in view. Their needs havebeen continually before my eyes. Whatever would be unsuitable to them I havediligently tried to avoid.

I now send forth this volume with an earnest prayer, that the Holy Spirit maybless it, and that God may be pleased to use it for His own glory and thebenefit of many souls. My chief desire in all my writings, is to exalt the LordJesus Christ and make Him beautiful and glorious in the eyes of men; and topromote the increase of repentance, faith, and holiness upon earth. If thisshall be the result of this volume, the labor that it has cost me will be morethan repaid.

I have a strong conviction that we need more reverent, deep-searching study ofthe Scripture in the present day. Most of Christians see nothing beyond thesurface of the Bible when they read it. We need a more clear knowledge ofChrist, as a living Person, a living Priest, a living Physician, a livingFriend, a living Advocate at the right hand of God, and a living Savior soonabout to come again. Most of Christians know little of Christianity but itsskeleton of doctrines. I desire never to forget these two things. If I can doanything to make Christ and the Bible more honorable in these latter days, Ishall be truly thankful and content.

LUKE'S INTRODUCTION

Forasmuchas many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters whichhave been fulfilled among us, even as they delivered them unto us, who from thebeginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to mealso, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, towrite unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus; that thou mightest know thecertainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed.

The Gospel of Luke, which we nowbegin, contains many precious things which are not recorded in the other threeGospels. Such, for instance, are the histories of Zachariah and Elizabeth, theangel's announcement to the Virgin Mary--and, to speak generally, the wholecontents of the first two chapters. Such, again, are the narratives of theconversion of Zaccheus and of the penitent thief--the walk to Emmaus, and thefamous parables of the Pharisee and Tax-collector, the rich man and Lazarus,and the Prodigal Son. These are portions of Scripture for which everywell-instructed Christian feels peculiarly thankful. And for these we areindebted to the Gospel of Luke.

The short preface which we have now read is a peculiar feature of Luke'sGospel. But we shall find, on examination, that it is full of most usefulinstruction.

In the first place, Luke gives us a short, but valuable, sketch of the natureof a Gospel. He calls it, "a declaration of those things which are mostsurely believed among us." It is a narrative of facts about JesusChrist.

Christianity is a religion built upon facts. Let us never lose sight of this.It came before mankind at first in this shape. The first preachers did not goup and down the world, proclaiming an elaborate, artificial system of abstrusedoctrines and deep principles. They made it their first business to tell mengreat plain facts. They went about telling a sin-laden world, that the Son ofGod had come down to earth, and lived for us, and died for us, and risen again.The Gospel, at its first publication, was far more simple than many make itnow. It was neither more nor less than the history of Christ.

Let us aim at greater simplicity in our own personal religion. Let Christ andHis Person be the sun of our system, and let the main desire of our souls be tolive the life of faith in Him, and daily know Him better. This was Paul'sChristianity. "To me to live is Christ." (Philipp. 1:21.)

In the second place, Luke draws a beautiful picture of the true position of theapostles in the early church. He calls them, "eye-witnesses and servantsof the word."

There is an instructive humility in this expression. There is an utter absenceof that man-exalting tone which has so often crept into the Church. Luke givesthe apostles no flattering titles. He affords not the slightest excuse to thosewho speak of them with idolatrous veneration, because of their office andnearness to our Lord.

He describes them as "eye-witnesses." They told men what they hadseen with their own eyes, and heard with their own ears. (1 John 1:1.) Hedescribes them as "servants of the word." They were servants of theword of the Gospel. They were men who counted it their highest privilege tocarry about, as messengers, the tidings of God's love to a sinful world, and totell the story of the cross.

Well would it have been for the Church and the world, if Christian ministershad never laid claim to higher dignity and honor than the apostles claimed forthemselves. It is a mournful fact, that ordained men have constantly exaltedthemselves and their office to a most unscriptural position. It is a no lessmournful fact, that people have constantly helped forward the evil, by a lazyacceptance of the demands of priest-craft, and by contenting themselves with amere vicarious religion. There have been faults on both sides. Let us rememberthis, and be on our guard.

In the third place, Luke describes his own qualifications for the work ofwriting a Gospel. He says that he "had perfect understanding of all thingsfrom the very first."

It would be mere waste of time to inquire from what source Luke obtained theinformation which he has given us in his Gospel. We have no good reason forsupposing that he saw our Lord work miracles, or heard Him teach. To say thathe obtained his information from the Virgin Mary, or any of the apostles, ismere conjecture and speculation. Enough for us to know that Luke wrote by inspirationof God. Unquestionably he did not neglect the ordinary means of gettingknowledge. But the Holy Spirit guided him, no less than all other writers ofthe Bible, in his choice of matter. The Holy Spirit supplied him with thoughts,arrangement, sentences, and even words. And the result is, that what Luke wroteis not to be read as the "word of man," but the "word ofGod." (1 Thess. 2:13.)

Let us carefully hold fast the great doctrine of the plenary inspiration ofevery word of the Bible. Let us never allow that any writer of the Old or NewTestament could make even the slightest verbal mistake or error, when, writingas he was "moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:21.) Let it be asettled principle with us in reading the Bible, that when we cannot understanda passage, or reconcile it with some other passage, the fault is not in theBook, but in ourselves. The adoption of this principle will place our feet upona rock. To give it up is to stand upon a quicksand, and to fill our minds withendless uncertainties and doubts.

Finally, Luke informs us of one main object he had in view in writing hisGospel. It was that Theophilus "might know the certainty of those thingswherein he had been instructed."

There is no encouragement here for those who place confidence in unwrittentraditions, and the voice of the church. Luke knew well the weakness of man'smemory, and the readiness with which a history alters its shape both byadditions and alterations, when it depends only on word of mouth and report.What therefore does he do? He takes care to "write."