
Who was
he? If he was the Sadducean high priest Theophilus ben
Ananus, brother-in-law of the high priest Caiaphas,
co-conspirator in the Crucifixion, this would explain some
of Luke’s emphases on the temple rites and his
emphasis on bodily resurrection, which the Sadducees denied.
Theophilus — “Most Excellent” as St. Paul
uses it — was a form of address to Roman officials:
St. Paul addresses Festus that way, as does a certain
Tertullus speaking to Felix (Acts 26:25; 24:2). This
“Most Excellent” Friend of God could have been
Titus Flavius Sabinus II, an older brother of the future
Emperor Vespasian and a relative of Pomponia Graecina, wife
of the general, Aulus Plautius, conqueror of Britain and its
first governor. She evidently converted to Christianity and
used her political connections to assist Paul in prison when
Luke was with
him.
Or, Luke may have just been using Theophilus to stand for anyone who wants “an orderly account” from this man who had “followed all things closely for some time past” (Luke 1:3). This meticulous history makes clear that these events happened, woven in and out of the daily drama of existence and changing the world. Luke had the singular advantage of having the Mother of God as his most important research assistant, along with Peter who was one with Luke in sticking to the facts. “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).
I write
this as I drink tea from a mug inscribed with Blessed John
Henry Newman’s words from his Development of
Christian Doctrine: “To be deep in history is to
cease to be a Protestant.” That applies to everyone
who wants to be shown the true sources and progress of the
Church. Whoever Theophilus is, or in whatever generation he
lives, Luke uses history to show him the Lord of History.
High quality audio recordings of Fr. Rutler's
Sunday homilies, which often elaborate upon the themes discussed in
these columns, are available here.
There is no charge to access the audio recordings.
There is no charge to access the audio recordings.
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