Before proceeding to examine the many stories, parables, and happenings in the life of our Lord Jesus recorded by Luke, it is only fair to ask: why did he think the gospel story needed to be re-told? Had he something new to add to what had already been declared by many previous storytellers? The answer to these questions is that Luke was not retelling, or adding, to the gospel, but simply writing to "set forth in order" (1:1) the facts of Jesus' life in a methodical, systematic form. There is little recorded in Scripture or secular history which sheds light on Luke the doctor, but the little we do know reveals much about his character and suitability to be the writer of the beautiful account of the life of the Lord Jesus that bears his name. How blessed we are that God in His infinite wisdom chose Luke to record the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that not only Gentiles of the first century would "know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed" (1:4) but that everyone, from that time until now, would have a valuable "declaration of those things which are most surely believed amongst us" (1:1).
