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Section 001 · Infancy & the Forerunner

Luke’s Preface to Theophilus

Luke opens his Gospel with a formal dedication to Theophilus — an orderly account drawn from those who “from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,” written so the certainty of these things might be known.

Luke 1:1–41 of 5 accountsReading: CCE
Study — reading text with parallel accounts; changes available.
? How to read this edition

The reading is the Covenant Christian Edition — the Joseph Smith Translation reading — carried beside each Gospel and set against the King James baseline. Headers give both numbering systems: the CCE chapter and verse, and the traditional KJV reference.

JST
Green — Joseph Smith Translation. Where the Covenant Christian Edition departs in substance from the King James text and the change is in the JST (confirmed against the parallel-column edition). Modernized English (“has” for “hath,” “you” for “thou”) is not marked.
CCE
Burgundy — Covenant Christian Edition. Where the CCE’s reading departs from the King James but the change is not in the Joseph Smith Translation — the CCE’s own editorial reading (e.g. “this day I have begotten you” at the baptism).
DS
Plum — Testimony of St. John. The TSJ (a separate scripture text) and Denver Snuffer’s later commentary share the plum mark.
◇Single witness. The JST opens the preface with Luke’s own commission — “as I am a messenger of Jesus Christ” — framing the whole Gospel as the testimony of a sent witness.
LukeKJVLuke 1:1–4CCELuke 1:1NT 2

1As I am a messenger of Jesus Christ, and knowing that many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, 3it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto you in order, most excellent Theophilus, 4that you might know the certainty of those things wherein you have been instructed.

Cross-references · other works
Acts 1:1 — the former treatise, O Theophilus↗John 20:31 — these are written that you might believe↗1 John 1:1–2 — which we have seen with our eyes, of the Word of Life↗
Points to Ponder
  • Luke writes as one who has “perfect understanding of all things from the very first,” gathered from those who were eyewitnesses. What weight does an ordered, investigated account add to the witness of the Gospels?
  • The JST opens the preface with “as I am a messenger of Jesus Christ.” How does it change the reading to hear Luke claim a commission, not merely a literary purpose, before he begins?
  • Luke’s stated aim is “that you might know the certainty of those things.” What is the difference between having been instructed in a thing and knowing its certainty?