Read Luke 1:1-5
"Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught"
Luke 1:3-4
Welcome to our Pilgrimage Bible study journey through the Gospel of Luke. The author of this gospel was not in fact one of the 12 apostles but a ‘disciple’ of the famous apostle St Paul. This explains why his gospel was given so much authority in the early Church. Luke wrote as a real historian with great accuracy some 50 years after Jesus' Death and Resurrection. His aim was to share the Gospel and its implications for the Christian’s life. As you would expect from a doctor he did his research very meticulously. As he himself says, he wrote that we may know the ‘certainty of the things you have been taught’. In other words, the reason we read and pray the Gospel is so that we will grow in love, faith hope, trust and obedience. This will be very good spiritual preparation for our trip to the Holy land.
Luke addresses his work to Theophilus which in Greek means 'beloved by God'. In other words, this gospel is addressed to all of us personally because we are all God’s beloved, His Number One. And our pilgrimage is God's invitation to discover this truth more deeply.
As you read the Gospel of Luke, ask the Lord to increase your faith in His immense love for you and to help you be challenged and transformed by His Word.
Lord, help me open my heart to listen to Your Word in the knowledge that it is addressed to me. Lord, as I search for the truth help me see that the Scripture speaks not only about You but also about me and to me. As I prepare for the pilgrimage, deepen my faith and open my heart in a new way.