Was Luke’s writing addressed to a Roman official, or to a more general ‘friend’?
Who is Theophilus?
This Sunday, May 16, we celebrate the Ascension. The first reading is from the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles and starts, “In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up” (Acts 1:1-2).
This is not the first time Theophilus appears in Scripture. The Gospel according to Luke begins in much the same way: “I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus. …” (Lk 1:3-4).
It is generally accepted that the author of this Gospel and of Acts is the same person. Also, the author of this third Gospel was generally believed to be writing to a non-Jewish audience, probably Greeks. So for him to use the Greek name “Theophilus” (Theophilos in Greek) is not surprising.
“Theophilus” can be translated to mean “friend of God,” but it can also mean “loved by God” or “loving God.” Some scholars, though not most today, have speculated that Luke addressed both his works to a generic “Theophilus” or any “friend of God.” This was thought to be so because Luke’s Gospel and Acts both speak to a wide audience and tell of the spread of the faith among early believers around the Mediterranean — who came to know and love God through the Good News. Like them, we today are all called to be “friends of God.”
Jesus himself said this: “I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father” (Jn 15:15).
In the Scriptures, there were many people who were friends of God. There was David, whom God called “a man after his own heart” (1 Sam 13: 14). There was Moses, to whom God spoke “face to face, as one man speaks to another” (Ex 33:11). And Abraham was known as God’s friend by early Christians (Ja 2:23).
Carondelet Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, a well known theology professor, describes “friends of God” as “holy people endeavoring to live their lives praising God, loving each other and struggling for justice and peace.” This certainly sounds like the community described in Acts of the Apostles, as well as the way of life to which we are all called.
However, while Acts and Luke’s Gospel are certainly addressed to all of us as followers of Christ, most Scripture scholars now believe that Luke’s Theophilus was a real person. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that, in the time of Luke (late first century A.D.), Theophilos (Theophilus) was “both a common name and an honorary title among the learned (academic) Romans and Jews of the era.”
Additionally, Luke’s Gospel addresses Theophilus as “most excellent.” This term of address was a formal Roman title and referred to someone who held imperial power. It is the title Paul used to address Felix, the Roman governor of Judea (Acts 24:3), and, in some translations, to address Festus (Acts 26:25), who was governor after Felix.
There are some other traditions about Theophilus’ identity — ranging from a relative of the emperor to a Jewish priest. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that there is some stronger evidence that he may have been the High Priest in Jerusalem just after Jesus’ day, and was the son of Annas and brother-in-law of Caiaphus. Since Luke’s Gospel places emphasis on the role of the Temple — from its opening story of Zechariah in the Temple to the tearing of the Temple veil that hid the Holy of Holies at the moment of Jesus’ death — so a tie with the High Priest could certainly fit.
However, who Theophilus actually was in secular history is not as important as who he is in Christian history: a person, like us, whom Luke wanted to tell about Jesus “so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received” (Lk 1:3-4).
Sources: America Magazine (June 17, 2000); The Catholic Encyclopedia; Smith Bible Dictionary; the Holman Bible Dictionary; Easton’s Bible Dictionary; Jerome Biblical Commentary.