Luke Chapter 1, Verse 1
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1: επειδηπερ πολλοι επεχειρησαν αναταξασθαι διηγησιν περι των πεπληροφορημενων εν ημιν πραγματων
1: Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a
declaration of those things which are most surely believed
among us,
1: Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a
narration of the things that have been accomplished among us,
Forasmuch as many. It has been doubted who are referred to here
by the word many. It seems clear that it could not be the other
evangelists, for the gospel by John was not yet written, and the word
many denotes clearly more than two. Besides, it is said that they
undertook to record what the eye- witnesses had delivered to them, so
that the writers did not pretend to be eye-witnesses themselves. It is
clear, therefore, that other writings are meant than the gospels which
we now have, but what they were is a matter of conjecture. What are now
known as spurious gospels were written long after Luke wrote his. It is
probable that Luke refers to fragments of history, or to narratives of
detached sayings, acts, or parables of Jesus, which had been made and
circulated among the disciples and others. His doctrines were original,
bold, pure, and authoritative. His miracles had been extraordinary,
clear, and awful. His life and death had been peculiar; and it is not
improbable -- indeed it is highly probable -- that such broken accounts
and narratives of detached facts would be preserved. That this is what
Luke means appears farther from Lk 1:3 where he professes to
give a regular, full, and systematic account from the very beginning --
"having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first."
The records of the others -- the "many" -- were broken and incomplete. His were to be regular and full.
Taken in hand. Undertaken, attempted.
To set forth in order. To compose a narrative. It does not refer to the order or arrangement, but means simply to give a narrative. The word rendered here in order is different from that in the third verse, which has reference to order, or to a full and fair arrangement of the principal facts, &c., in the history of Jesus.
A declaration. A narrative -- an account of.
Which are most surely believed among us. Among Christians -- among all the Christians then living.
