Gospel in Art - I have decided to write an ordered account for you, Theophilus

Annas and Caiaphas, by James Tissot (1836-1902), © Brooklyn Museum, New York

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 23rd Jan 2022 - Luke 1:1-4,4:14-21

Seeing that many others have undertaken to draw up accounts of the events that have taken place among us, exactly as these were handed down to us by those who from the outset were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, I in my turn, after carefully going over the whole story from the beginning, have decided to write an ordered account for you, Theophilus, so that your Excellency may learn how well founded the teaching is that you have received.

Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee; and his reputation spread throughout the countryside. He taught in their synagogues and everyone praised him.

He came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me.

He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord's year of favour.

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, 'This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.'

Reflection on the Painting

Today's reading is the start of the Gospel of Luke. He is the only one who writes a Prologue (verses 1-4) that outlines what he wants to write about. He addresses the same Theophilus at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. So who is Theophilus? The early Church Father Origen (circa 185-254 AD) was the first to suggest that 'Theophilus' was not a particular individual. As Theo (God) - Philus (Lover), simply means 'Lover of God', Origen said that Theophilus simply may stand for all Christians. It was a way for Luke to address all believers. We could almost read it as nowadays addressing a letter as 'Dear Christians'.

Whilst this is a possible theory, other scholars think that Theophilus was an actual individual. If Luke wanted to address believers generally, then he probably would have addressed them clearly as 'Dear Followers of Christ', rather than use an individual's name. So it has been suggested that Theophilus could be the Sadducean high priest 'Theophilus Ben Ananus', brother-in-law of the high priest Caiaphas, co-conspirator in the Crucifixion. If he is the one whom Luke is addressing, it could explain why Luke emphasises in his Gospel the bodily resurrection of Jesus, which the Sadducees denied. Again, we cannot be exactly sure though who Theophilus was.

Our watercolour by James Tissot shows Caiaphas (on the right) and Annas. Both men feature prominently in the events leading up to Jesus' death. Annas had been high priest from 6 to 15 AD. The Roman officials had removed him from office, yet he still held a lot of power behind the scenes. For example when Jesus was arrested, he was brought to Annas first (see John 18:13). Annas then sent Jesus away to Caiaphas, the ruling High Priest at the time of Jesus ministry (18-36 AD). Theophilus mentioned in our Gospel reading today may well have been related to them.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/1062
Christian Art - www.christian.art