The Gospel of Luke
Luke's Prologue: Lk 1,1-4
Luke begins his Gospel with this formal one sentence statement written in his best Greek. He is telling us that he is a well educated man who can write polished Greek, which means he is a reliable commentator and that his story is true.
One reason for the variety in the translations could be that the translators recognise this formality and try to bring it out in their own way. The extreme here would be the Good News Bible with its aim of simple English. The result is a modern letter form beginning "Dear Theophilus". This makes the statement too informal.
I suggested taking a look at the end of chapter 20 of John's Gospel. In Jn 20,30-31, the themes highlighted are those which dominate that Gospel - "believing" and "life". Luke in his statement is telling us in his claims for his work that he is a historian according to the standards of the Greek culture of his time.
Luke's Sentence
Taking an analytical approach to the sentence, the main clause, the core of the sentence, is "I have decided to write" (verse 3). This is introduced by the reason for writing "Since...", that is, the evangelist is saying that others having had their go, now it is his turn to give his viewpoint (verses 1-2). The conclusion which follows is the purpose clause "in order that... (verse 4).
A conclusion from this is that omitting "since" at the beginning already misses the point, and so it has been restored in the second (1986) edition of the NAB.
Luke's intentions
The writing is addressed to the most excellent Theophilius. Who he was we do not know, but the style of address suggests someone of good social standing.
The author of the Gospel is however not named. All four Gospels are anonymous writings and the traditional names for the four evangelists came much later.
The author says he is qualfied to tell his story because he has investigated carefully and accurately. He is basing his account on what he has received from those who "From the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word". It is usually accepted that this refers to the same group, the eyewitnesses (in the Gospel) who became servants of the word (in Acts).
His purpose is to confirm the teachings which Theophilus has already received. This is an "assurance", rather than "truth" as found in a number of translations.
This purpose is probably not to criticise past attempts but rather to retell them from his his own understanding and for the needs of his community, Greeks like Theophilius. He is drawing on narratives which are themselves orderly accounts but in a different way. Even today, a famous person can be the subject of several biographies all of which are valid but all giving a different viewpoint. So too the Gospels give us different views on Jesus which for us all come together as the one Gospel. That "since" at the beginning is not a biblical word but one common among Hellenistic writers, a sign of the education of the writer.
The author's plan is then to provide an orderly account of his own. That does not mean a chronological account as we would expect in a modern biography. The Gospel of Mark may well have been one of the many on whose accounts Luke drew. We have seen that was Mark's Gospel which provides the story line which the evangelist has adapted for his own purposes.
The subject matter will be the events "fulfilled among us". This refers to the fulfillment of the events of the life of Jesus: I prefer "fulfilled" to the alternative word "accomplished". There is the sense of a plan, God's plan, coming to its fulfillment and continuing to do so.
The result of these opening verses is that Luke has stated his authority and his ability to tell a reliable story which must therefore claim or even demand the attention of his readers and demand a response from them.
The scene is now set. We can return to the main page in order to move on into a very different world to the Greek prologue with the opening of the overture.