Luke 1:2

In saying that the Apostles were eyewitnesses of the substantial and living Word, the Evangelist agrees with John, who says, that "the Word was made flesh, and tabernacled in us, and His glory was seen, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father." For the Word became capable of being seen by reason of the flesh, which is visible and tangible and solid: whereas in Himself He is invisible. And John again in his Epistle says, "That which was from the beginning, That which we have heard, That which we have seen with our eyes, and our hands have handled around the Word of Life, and the Life became manifest." Hearest thou not that he speaks of the Life as capable of being handled? This he does that thou mayest understand that the Son became man, and was visible in respect of the flesh, but invisible as regards His divinity.

They "who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word" did not hand on to us that he was one Son and another, as I said, but one and the same, God and man at the same time, the only-begotten and the firstborn. This came about in order that he might have the first title as God and the second as man, when he "was born among many brothers," having assumed our likeness. [He had not] joined another man to himself—as it seemed good to some persons to think—but [he] really and truly [became] man and [did] not relinquish being what he was, being God by nature and impassible. For this reason he voluntarily suffered in his own flesh. He has not given the body of someone else for us. Rather, the only-begotten Word of God himself offered himself, after he became man, as an immaculate victim to God the Father.

(non occ.) In what he says of the Apostles having been eyewitnesses of the word, he agrees with John, who says, The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory. For the Word by means of the flesh was made visible.

(Comm. in Act. Apost. Hom. i.) The Evangelist was so far from being content with his single testimony, that he refers the whole to the Apostles, seeking from them a confirmation of his words; and therefore he adds, as they handed them down to us, who were themselves from the beginning eyewitnesses. (sup.) He says, were eyewitnesses, because this is our chief ground for believing in a thing, that we derive it from those who were actually eyewitnesses.

From this it is evident that Luke was a disciple not from the beginning, but from a later time. For others were disciples of the Word from the very beginning, for example Peter and the sons of Zebedee (Matt. 4:18–22). It was they who transmitted …

By these words it is plainly implied, that Luke was not a disciple from the beginning, but became one in course of time; others were disciples from the beginning, as Peter, and the sons of Zebedee.

Second, with respect to the promotive, which indeed was the testimony of the Apostles: and he indicates this when he says: Even as they delivered them to us who from the beginning were themselves eyewitnesses, namely the Apostles: whence First John one: "That which we …

And that Luke the Evangelist prefixes a prologue to his Gospel, which none of the other Evangelists did, this was on account of the special person to whom he writes, since all the others write generally without regard to a special cause; and there are …

(Photius, comment. in Luc.) The whole Preface of this Evangelist contains two things; first, the condition of those who wrote Gospels before him, (Matthew and Mark for example;) secondly, the reason why he also himself proposed to write one. Having said, "attempted," a word which may be applied both to those who presumptuously engage upon a subject, and those who reverently handle it, he determines the doubtful expression by two additions; first, by the words, Of things which have been fully accomplished among us; and secondly, As they handed them down to us, who were eyewitnesses from the beginning. The word handed down seems to show, that the eye-witnesses themselves had a commission to transmit the truth. For as they handed it down, so it became others also receiving it in due order, in their turn to publish it. But from the not depositing in writing what had been delivered, several difficulties through lapse of time sprang up. Rightly then did those who had received the tradition from the first eye-witnesses of the Word, establish it in writing for the whole world; thereby repelling falsehood, destroying forgetfulness, and making up from tradition itself a perfect whole.

Nevertheless both Matthew and John were obliged in many things that they wrote to consult those who had had means of knowing the infancy, childhood, and genealogy of our Lord, and of seeing the things which he did.

They published as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered to them. By this sentence, not only Luke and Mark, who did not see the Lord present in the flesh and therefore had to learn by hearing what they …

21 ), so that they not only heard and saw all that which was sufficient to confirm their faith, but, if there had been any thing to shock it, they had opportunity to discover it. (4.) The written gospel, which we have to this day, exactly agrees with the gospel which was preached in the first days of the church.

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), as our translation intimates, he would have used the same word. [1.] He had diligently searched into these things, had followed after them (so the word is), as the Old-Testament prophets are said to have enquired and searched diligently, 1 Pet. i.

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Even as they delivered them unto us,....

Note, (1.) The apostles were ministers of the word of Christ, who is the Word (so some understand it), or of the doctrine of Christ; they, having received it themselves, ministered it to others, 1 John i. They had not a gospel to make as masters, but a gospel to preach as ministers.

Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eye-witnesses - Probably this alludes to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, which it is likely were written before St. Luke wrote his, and on the models of which he professes to write his own; and απ’ αρχης, from the beginning, must mean, from the time that Christ first began to proclaim the glad tidings of the kingdom; and αυτοπται, eye-witnesses, must necessarily signify, those who had been with him from the beginning, and consequently had the best opportunities of knowing the truth of every fact.

The Gospel of Luke, which we now begin, contains many precious things which are not recorded in the other three Gospels. Such, for instance, are the histories of Zachariah and Elizabeth, the angel's announcement to Mary — and, to speak generally, the whole contents of the first two chapters. Such, again, are the narratives of the conversion of Zaccheus and of the penitent thief — the walk to Emmaus, and the famous parables of the Pharisee and Tax-collector, the rich man and Lazarus, and the Prodigal Son. These are portions of Scripture for which every well-instructed Christian feels peculiarly thankful.

The Gospel of Luke, which we now begin, contains many precious things which are not recorded in the other three Gospels. Such, for instance, are the histories of Zachariah and Elizabeth, the angel's announcement to Mary — and, to speak generally, the whole contents of the first two chapters. Such, again, are the narratives of the conversion of Zaccheus and of the penitent thief — the walk to Emmaus, and the famous parables of the Pharisee and Tax-collector, the rich man and Lazarus, and the Prodigal Son. These are portions of Scripture for which every well-instructed Christian feels peculiarly thankful. And for these, we are indebted to the Gospel of Luke. The short preface which we have now read is a peculiar feature of Luke's Gospel. But we shall find, on examination, that it is full of most useful instruction. In the first place, Luke gives us a short, but valuable, sketch of the nature of a Gospel. He calls it, "A declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us." It is a narrative of facts about Jesus Christ. Christianity is a religion built upon facts. Let us never lose sight of this. It came unto mankind at first, in this shape. The first preachers did not go up and down the world, proclaiming an elaborate, artificial system of abstruse doctrines and deep philosophic principles. They made it their first business to tell men great plain facts . They went about telling a sin-laden world, that the Son of God had come down to earth, and lived for us, and died for us, and has risen again. The Gospel, at its first publication, was far more simple than many make it now. It was neither more nor less, than the history of Christ. Let us aim at greater simplicity in our own personal religion.

As they delivered them - As they narrated them. As they gave an account of them. From the beginning - From the commencement of these things - that is, from the birth of John, or perhaps from the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. Eye-witnesses - Who had seen those things themselves, and who were therefore proper witnesses. Ministers of the word - The term “word” here means the “gospel.” Luke never uses it, as John does, to denote the second Person of the Trinity. These eye-witnesses and ministers refer, doubtless, to the seventy disciples, to the apostles, and perhaps to other preachers who had gone forth to proclaim the same things.