A website to help you study the Gospel of Luke,

Exactly who Theophilus was we do not know. From the title `most excellent' which Luke bestows on him... it would appear that he was a person of some eminence. He may have been "a representative member of the intelligent middle-class public at Rome" [F.F.Bruce, The Book of the Acts] interested in Christianity, but not yet a convert. Or he may already have been a believer. - David Gooding, True to the Faith: A Fresh Approach to the Acts of the Apostles(IVP)

Although the Gospel is dedicated to Theophilus, says Howard Marshall, `clearly this is no more than a literary dedication to a friend of the author and the book was intended for a wider audience' (The Illustrated Bible Dictionary). This would include church members in Theophilus' situation, instructed about the gospel but in need of assurance about the truth and reliability of the facts. But they would also be able to use the Gospel as a ready reference source, a teaching manual, and an aid in evangelizing others.

Luke is writing primarily for non-Jews like Theophilus. The dedication at the start is written in a deliberately Graeco-Roman style. He wants to stress that the salvation brought by Jesus is really for everyone. And so he

explains points where a Gentile reader would need more information than a Jew

ignores or shortens teaching which would be especially relevant to Jews (e.g. what he does with Mt 15:1, Mk 7:1, Mt 32:1ff)

translates Hebrew names for clarity (23:33, 6:15)

`deletes all foreign words with the exception of amen; even this word Luke more than once expunges or replaces by Greek words; he uses it, however, six times in sayings which indicate direct instructions for the life of the Christian' - W G Kummel

alters expressions and substitutes words to make things clear to a foreign audience (e.g. `changed' in 9:29)

quotes the Old Testament as little as possible

talks about prophecy only on five occasions; but where he does quote an important prophecy (3:5,6) he (alone) quotes it in full for readers who weren't familiar with it

keeps on talking about the universal range of the gospel

chooses Jesus' statement about the admission of the Gentiles to God's favour as the first piece of Jesus' teaching in the Gospel

chooses Jesus' statement that `repentance and forgiveness of sins are to be preached to all nations' as the last piece of Jesus' teaching in the Gospel

But Luke is not anti-Jewish - unlike the heretic Marcion, who used Luke's Gospel in his teaching, rejecting all the others which seemed too Jewish to him. (Even in Luke he cut out 309 verses he didn't like!) Luke does quote the Old Testament, which Marcion thoroughly rejected. Luke stresses that Jesus is the Son of David, that the commands of the Jewish law are still important; and he doesn't pour scorn on temple worship.

Was Theophilus rich? Luke certainly has much more to say about riches and wealth, and their dangers, than any other Gospel writer. Or maybe he is simply stressing the fact that the poor and underprivileged have as much access to the kingdom of heaven as the rich and successful - and indeed may get there first. The gospel is universal.