Luke 1:2
just as they were handed down to us by the initial eyewitnesses and servants of the word.
just as they were handed down
The phrase "just as they were handed down" suggests a tradition of careful transmission. The Greek word "παρέδοσαν" (paredosan) implies a deliberate and faithful passing on of information. This reflects the early Christian community's commitment to preserving the teachings and events of Jesus' life with accuracy. Historically, oral tradition was a primary method of preserving history and teachings in ancient cultures, and this phrase underscores the reliability of the Gospel accounts as they were transmitted from one generation to the next.

to us
The phrase "to us" indicates the recipients of this transmission, which includes both the immediate audience of Luke's Gospel and the broader Christian community. This personalizes the message, emphasizing that the Gospel is not just a historical account but a living tradition meant to inform and transform the lives of believers. It highlights the continuity of faith from the time of Jesus to the present, inviting readers to see themselves as part of this ongoing story.

by the initial eyewitnesses
The term "initial eyewitnesses" refers to those who directly observed the events of Jesus' life and ministry. The Greek word "αὐτόπται" (autoptai) means "eyewitnesses," emphasizing the firsthand nature of their testimony. This is crucial for establishing the credibility of the Gospel accounts, as it assures readers that the narratives are based on direct observation rather than hearsay. In a historical context, eyewitness testimony was highly valued and considered a reliable source of information.

and servants of the word
The phrase "servants of the word" highlights the role of these individuals as both witnesses and active participants in the dissemination of the Gospel. The Greek word "ὑπηρέται" (hypēretai) can be translated as "servants" or "ministers," indicating a sense of duty and dedication to the message of Christ. This underscores the idea that the Gospel is not merely a set of teachings but a divine message that requires faithful stewardship and proclamation. The "word" here refers to the logos, the divine message and truth embodied in Jesus Christ, which these servants were committed to spreading.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Eyewitnesses
These are the individuals who personally saw and experienced the events of Jesus' life and ministry. Their testimonies form the foundation of the Gospel accounts.

2. Servants of the Word
This phrase refers to those who have dedicated themselves to spreading the message of Jesus Christ. It implies a role of stewardship and responsibility in preserving and teaching the Gospel.

3. The Word
In this context, "the Word" refers to the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is a central theme in the Gospel of Luke and the New Testament as a whole.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Eyewitness Testimony
The credibility of the Gospel is rooted in the firsthand accounts of those who witnessed Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. This underscores the reliability of the Scriptures.

Role of Servants of the Word
As modern-day believers, we are called to be "servants of the word," faithfully preserving and sharing the Gospel message with others.

The Continuity of the Gospel Message
The message of Jesus has been "handed down" through generations, highlighting the importance of discipleship and teaching in the Christian faith.

The Authority of Scripture
The Gospel accounts are not mere accounts but authoritative testimonies that demand our attention and response.

Living as Witnesses Today
While we are not eyewitnesses of Jesus' earthly ministry, our lives can testify to His transformative power and truth.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the role of eyewitnesses in Luke 1:2 enhance the credibility of the Gospel accounts?

2. In what ways can we be "servants of the word" in our daily lives, and how does this relate to the Great Commission?

3. How does understanding the continuity of the Gospel message from the time of Jesus to today impact your view of Scripture?

4. What are some practical ways you can ensure that the message of Jesus is faithfully "handed down" to future generations?

5. How can your personal testimony serve as a witness to the truth of the Gospel, even though you are not an eyewitness to Jesus' earthly ministry?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Acts 1:21-22
This passage emphasizes the importance of eyewitnesses in the early church, particularly in choosing a replacement for Judas among the apostles.

John 1:14
This verse highlights the incarnation of "the Word" as Jesus Christ, connecting the concept of "the Word" to the person of Jesus.

1 John 1:1-3
These verses echo the theme of eyewitness testimony, underscoring the importance of firsthand accounts in proclaiming the Gospel.
Afraid of Being ConvincedMemoirs of Bishop Gobat.Luke 1:1-4
CertaintiesAlexander Raleigh, D. D.Luke 1:1-4
Certainties Concerning ChristW. Clarkson Luke 1:1-4
Christianity Courts ExaminationJ. Clifford, D. D.Luke 1:1-4
CourtesyJames Foote, M. A.Luke 1:1-4
Dedication of BooksJames Foote, M. A.Luke 1:1-4
Examination ConvincingLuke 1:1-4
Historical Belief in the Divine Truth of ChristianityJ. J. Van Oosterzee, D. D.Luke 1:1-4
Importance of a Firm Religious BeliefDavy.Luke 1:1-4
In OrderProfessor Godet., Prebendary Row.Luke 1:1-4
Infidels Neglect to Examine the BibleStudent's Handbook to Scripture Doctrines.Luke 1:1-4
Introductory ConsiderationJames Foote, M. A.Luke 1:1-4
Luke and TheophilusJ. J. Van Oosterzee, D. D.Luke 1:1-4
Luke IsJ. J. Van Oosterzee, D. D.Luke 1:1-4
Many Workers NeededJoseph Parker, D. D.Luke 1:1-4
Most Excellent TheophilusJ. J. Van Oosterzee, D. D., Starke.Luke 1:1-4
Most Excellent TheophilusJames Foote, M. A.Luke 1:1-4
Most Excellent TheophilusBiblical MuseumLuke 1:1-4
Other Narratives of Christ's LifeJ. B. Thomson, D. D.Luke 1:1-4
Power of Personal TestimonyLuke 1:1-4
Pulpit NotesJoseph Parker, D. D.Luke 1:1-4
Religion a RealityEssex RemembrancerLuke 1:1-4
St. Luke's PrefaceBishop Harvey Goodwin.Luke 1:1-4
St. Luke's PrefaceP. Schaff , D. D.Luke 1:1-4
Testimonies of ExperienceH. W. Beecher.Luke 1:1-4
The Absolute Certainty of the Christian ReligionR.M. Edgar Luke 1:1-4
The Bible Really BelievedBaxendale's IllustrationsLuke 1:1-4
The Bible TestedDr. John Hall.Luke 1:1-4
The Christian Faith is Founded on FactsDean Stanley.Luke 1:1-4
The Highest Aim Which a Christian Anther Can Propose to HIbid.Luke 1:1-4
The Order in Divine ThingsVan Oosterzee.Luke 1:1-4
The Power of TruthDr. Donne.Luke 1:1-4
The Preface the Best Part of the BookJoseph Parker, D. D.Luke 1:1-4
The Preface to the GospelG. D. Boardman.Luke 1:1-4
The Purpose of the GospelF. D. Maurice, M. A.Luke 1:1-4
The Tone of CertaintyE. White.Luke 1:1-4
The Tone of the New Testament on Certainty in ReligionEdward White.Luke 1:1-4
The Witnesses of the Gospel FactsE. White.Luke 1:1-4
TheophilusProfessor Godet.Luke 1:1-4
Triumph of the WordDr. McEwan.Luke 1:1-4
People
Aaron, Abia, Abijah, David, Elias, Elijah, Elisabeth, Gabriel, Herod, Jacob, Jesus, John, Joseph, Mary, Theophilus, Zacharias, Zechariah
Places
Galilee, Jerusalem, Judea, Nazareth
Topics
Attendants, Authority, Beginning, Deliver, Delivered, Devoted, Divine, Eyewitnesses, Eye-witnesses, Handed, Message, Ministers, Officers, Preachers, Servants, Service, Wer
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Luke 1:1-2

     5624   witnesses, to Christ

Luke 1:1-4

     2427   gospel, transmission
     8427   evangelism, kinds of

Luke 1:2-4

     8105   assurance, basis of

Library
July 19 Morning
He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.--LUKE 1:49. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?--Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.--Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy.--Hallowed be thy name. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people. Who is this
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

August 3 Morning
His mercy is on them that fear Him.--LUKE 1:50. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. If ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.--The Lord
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

September 9 Morning
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.--LUKE 1:53. Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods and have need of nothing: and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.--When
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

March 24 Morning
Abraham believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.--GEN. 15:6. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him: but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

True Greatness
He shall be great in the sight of the Lord.'--LUKE i. 15. So spake the angel who foretold the birth of John the Baptist. 'In the sight of the Lord'--then men are not on a dead level in His eyes. Though He is so high and we are so low, the country beneath Him that He looks down upon is not flattened to Him, as it is to us from an elevation, but there are greater and smaller men in His sight, too. No epithet is more misused and misapplied than that of 'a great man.' It is flung about indiscriminately
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

The Magnificat
'And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48. For He hath regarded the low estate of His hand-maiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name, 50. And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. 51. He hath shewed strength with His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52. He hath put down
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

Elijah Come Again
'There was, in the days of Herod the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren; and they both were now well stricken in years. 8. And it came to pass, that, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

Zacharias's Hymn
'And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 68. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, 69. And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David; 70. As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began; 71. That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72. To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

The Dayspring from on High
'The day-spring from on high hath visited us, 79. To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.'--LUKE i. 78, 79. As the dawn is ushered in by the notes of birds, so the rising of the Sun of Righteousness was heralded by song, Mary and Zacharias brought their praises and welcome to the unborn Christ, the angels hovered with heavenly music over His cradle, and Simeon took the child in his arms and blessed it. The human members of this
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

Fourteenth Day. The Holy one of God.
Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.'--Luke i. 35. 'We have believed and know that Thou art the Holy One of God.'--John vi. 69. 'The holy one of the Lord'--only once (Ps. cvi. 16) the expression is found in the Old Testament. It is spoken of Aaron, in whom holiness, as far as it could then be revealed, had found its most complete embodiment. The title waited for its fulfilment in Him who alone, in His own person, could perfectly show forth
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

The Angel's Greeting
THE ANGEL'S GREETING St Luke i. 28.--"Hail, thou that art highly favoured among women, the Lord is with thee." Here there are three things to understand: the first, the modesty of the angel; the second, that he thought himself unworthy to accost the Mother of God; the third, that he not only addressed her, but the great multitude of souls who long after God. I affirm that had the Virgin not first borne God spiritually He would never have been born from her in bodily fashion. A certain woman said
Johannes Eckhart—Meister Eckhart's Sermons

Jesus Born the Son of God.
(Christmas Sermon.) "Glory to God in" the Highest, on earth peace; goodwill towards men. Amen." TEXT: LUKE i. 31, 32. "Behold, . . . thou shalt bring forth a Son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High." THESE were the words of promise spoken by the angel to Mary, that Ho whom she should bear should be called the Son of the Highest; and as this promise is after wards brought into direct connection with the statement that the power of the Highest
Friedrich Schleiermacher—Selected Sermons of Schleiermacher

The Key-Note of a Choice Sonnet
But now, having introduced to you her magnificat, we will dwell upon these words, "My soul doth magnify the Lord," and I do earnestly hope that many of us can adopt the language without being guilty of falsehood: we can as truly say as Mary did, "My soul doth magnify the Lord." If there are any of you present to-night who cannot say it, get to your chambers, fall upon your knees, and cry to the Lord to help you to do so; for as long as a man cannot magnify God he is not fit for heaven, where the
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 26: 1880

"The Tender Mercy of Our God"
"His heart is made of tenderness, His bowels melt with love." The main point of this morning's sermon will be to bring out into prominence those few words, "the tender mercy of our God." To me they gleam with kindly light: I see in them a soft radiance, as of those matchless pearls whereof the gates of heaven are made. There is an exceeding melody to my ear as well as to my heart in that word "tender." "Mercy" is music, and "tender mercy" is the most exquisite form of it, especially to a broken heart.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 32: 1886

A Harp of Ten Strings
IT IS VERY CLEAR that Mary was not beginning a new thing; for she speaks in the present tense, and in a tense which seems to have been for a long time present: "My soul doth magnify the Lord." Ever since she had received the wonderful tidings of the choice which God had made of her for her high position, she had begun to magnify the Lord; and when once a soul has a deep sense of God's mercy, and begins magnifying him, there is no end to it. This grows by what it feeds upon: the more you magnify God,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

The Judgment Upon Zacharias
UNBELIEF is everywhere a great sin, and a grievous mistake. Unbelief has proved the ruin of those countless multitudes who, having heard the gospel, rejected it, died in their sins, have been consigned to the place of torment, and await the fiercer judgment of the last day. I might ask the question concerning this innumerable host, "Who slew all these?" The answer would be, "Unbelief." And when unbelief comes into the Christian's heart, as it does at times--for the truest believer has his times of
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

Of Fervent Love and Vehement Desire of Receiving Christ
The Voice of the Disciple With the deepest devotion and fervent love, with all affection and fervour of heart, I long to receive Thee, O Lord, even as many Saints and devout persons have desired Thee in communicating, who were altogether well pleasing to Thee by their sanctity of life, and dwelt in all ardent devotion. O my God, Eternal Love, my whole Good, Happiness without measure, I long to receive Thee with the most vehement desire and becoming reverence which any Saint ever had or could have.
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Prayer and Consecration
"Eudamidas, a citizen of Corinth, died in poverty; but having two wealthy friends, Arctæus and Carixenus, left the following testament: In virtue of my last will, I bequeath to Arctæus my mother and to Carixenus my daughter to be taken home to their houses and supported for the remainder of their lives. This testament occasioned much mirth and laughter. The two legatees were pleased and affectionately executed the will. If heathens trusted each other, why should not I cherish a far greater
Edward M. Bounds—The Essentials of Prayer

Luke's Preface and Dedication.
^C Luke I. 1-4. [1] ^c 1 Forasmuch as many [of whom we know nothing and have even no tradition] have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled [completed, or accomplished according to the divine will] among us, 2 even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses [the apostles were necessarily such and there were some few others--Acts i. 21-23] and ministers of the word [the apostles were ministers, and not ecclesiastical
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus.
(at Nazareth, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke I. 26-38. ^c 26 Now in the sixth month [this is the passage from which we learn that John was six months older than Jesus] the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth [Luke alone tells us where Mary lived before the birth of Jesus. That Nazareth was an unimportant town is shown by the fact that it is mentioned nowhere in the Old Testament, nor in the Talmud, nor in Josephus, who mentions two hundred four towns and cities of Galilee. The
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Mary, Future Mother of Jesus, visits Elisabeth, Future Mother of John the Baptist.
(in the Hill Country of Judæa, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke I. 39-56. ^c 39 And Mary arose in these days [within a week or two after the angel appeared to her] and went into the hill country [the district of Judah lying south of Jerusalem, of which the city of Hebron was the center] with haste [she fled to those whom God had inspired, so that they could understand her condition and know her innocence--to those who were as Joseph needed to be inspired, that he might understand--Matt. i. 18-25], into a city
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Annunciation to Zacharias of the Birth of John the Baptist.
(at Jerusalem. Probably b.c. 6.) ^C Luke I. 5-25. ^c 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa [a Jewish proselyte, an Idumæan or Edomite by birth, founder of the Herodian family, king of Judæa from b.c. 40 to a.d. 4, made such by the Roman Senate on the recommendation of Mark Antony and Octavius Cæsar], a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course [David divided the priests into twenty-four bodies or courses, each course serving in rotation one week in the temple
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Birth and Early Life of John the Baptist.
(Hill Country of Judæa, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke I. 57-80. ^c 57 Now Elisabeth's time was fulfilled that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. 58 And her neighbors and her kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her [mercy in granting a child; great mercy in granting so illustrious a child] ; and they rejoiced with her. 59 And it came to pass on the eighth day [See Gen. xvii. 12; Lev. xii. 3; Phil. iii. 5. Male children were named at their circumcision, probably
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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