‘Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, even as they delivered them to us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,'
These first four verses are presented in classical Greek, in contrast with what follows in Chapter s 1 & 2. We note here that ‘many' are said to have put in writing certain facts about Jesus Christ and His life and teaching. Thus Luke had a number of writings from which to draw, and concerning which he could consult Paul and the twelve. These may well have included Mark's manuscript of his own Gospel, or a draft of it, which he may well have lent to Luke as containing the testimony of Peter. But Mark's Gospel could never be sufficient for a historian like Luke. It did not contain sufficient of Jesus' teaching. He clearly then had sources, or a source, for the teaching of Jesus. But we can be sure that he checked their accuracy with the living voices themselves. On top of this he travelled to places like Caesarea and Jerusalem, at one stage remaining in Caesarea for two years, where he would meet a good number of people who had been present at many of the events described. Given that Luke spent so much time with Paul and would certainly have been in contact with Peter, and definitely was with Mark, it would have been incredible if a careful historian like he was had not checked with them the reliability of the material. It is clear that he was not fully satisfied with what had already been produced. He would not therefore just accept what they said. He was a genuine historian and wanted to do the life of Jesus justice.
His words in themselves emphasise the importance of his subject. He speaks of ‘the things fulfilled among us'. What Jesus was and what He had done was seen as something ‘fulfilled'. It was a fulfilment of the Old Testament Scriptures, and His was a life, seen not as tragically cut short in death, but as a life which had achieved its full potential. It was a fulfilled life. Speaking of Jesus he could hardly have meant anything less. The perfect participle emphasises that they have been fulfilled and are still being so.
And he then stresses that the information contained in his Gospel comes from ‘eyewitnesses and ministers of the word'. While in another this might have indicated that they were simply its original source, Luke's circumstances and travels make quite clear that he would actually have met these eyewitnesses. He could not have failed to do so. And having done so, had that not been what he was signifying here, he would have added a further comment. The fact that he did not do that stresses that these eyewitnesses were ones whom he had talked with himself.
The use of ‘the word' here does not go quite as far as John 1:1-18 in personifying the Logos (the Word), but in Luke's writings ‘the word' is something powerful and effective that goes forth and changes men's lives, and the prime thing about it is that it concerns Jesus. Indeed one of the main themes of Acts is the going forth of ‘the word' (e.g. Luke 4:4; Luke 4:29; Luke 6:4; Luke 6:7; etc), and there it means the word about Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And here he closely connects that word with the life of Jesus as witnessed by eyewitnesses. The word is the word concerning Him which goes forth and produces life (Isaiah 55:11). In the parable of the sower it is the word which is sowed so as to result in the establishment of the Kingly Rule of God (Luke 8:11). In Luke 11:28 Jesus can say, ‘blessed are those who hear the word of God --', compare also Luke 5:1 where the people press to hear ‘the word of God'. It is called ‘the word of God' because its source was in God. This is why Paul could say that ‘the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God'. And it is that word of power that Luke wants to present. Compare Luke 4:32; Luke 4:36 where it is both Jesus' word of authority in teaching and His word of authority in casting out evil spirits.
‘Ministers of the word.' In Acts it is the Apostles and their close associates who are the ministers of the word (Acts 6:4). As this introduction introduces both books Luke may well be intending us to see by this description Apostolic men who had been with Jesus. Papias had said, ‘For I did not assume that whatever comes from books is as helpful to me as what comes from a living and lasting voice.” There is really no reason for Luke not to have thought the same, and he had the advantage of meeting at least some of the Apostles face to face.