The Gospel of Luke: An Introduction
Today we embark on a journey. NO airplane needed. And no endless hours in the car. Today we start a journey that begins with angels and ends with ascension. Warren Wiersbe tells us the journey through Luke’s gospel has three parts all focusing on Jesus Christ:
Christ’s Journey from Heaven to Earth – birth, youth, baptism, and temptation
Christ’s Journey to Galilee – Jesus teaches the principles of the Kingdom
Christ’s Journey to Jerusalem – Jesus teaches in parables and works miracles[1]
This three-part journey is book ended by the life of John the Baptist on one end and the Crucifixion and Resurrection on the other.
The key verse of this magnificent book is Luke 19:10 that says, ”…the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost” (NKJV). This one phrase sums up everything that Jesus came to do and everything that Luke seeks to write about.
THE UNIQUENESS OF LUKE’S GOSPEL
Luke’s gospel is incredibly unique to the others (Matthew, Mark, and John). Some have estimated that 30% of Luke’s gospel is entirely unique. Most of this uniqueness lies in the parables that are recorded in Luke. There are fifteen parables in Luke not recorded in other gospels. I won’t mention them all but here are a few:
The lost sheep (15:1-7)
The lost coin (15:8-10)
The lost son (15:11-32)
If you examine these fifteen parables, you will discover a major theme that emerges: the spiritual importance of prayer and generosity. You will also discover that Jesus’s teaching places high demands on His followers to live and act in a way that honors God through praise, worship and giving your all to His purpose for your life.
The book of Luke is also unique in a few other ways. Luke places heavy emphasis on:
Jesus as Savior – the unique Son of God and Son of Man. For Luke, Jesus is the perfect leader for humanity and the ONLY Savior who offers forgiveness to all who will accept Him as the Lord of their life and obey His teaching.
People/Women – Luke puts special emphasis on how Jesus interacts with people and builds relationships. In Luke, Jesus is a “friend of sinners” and cares deeply for them not just as potential converts but as those who bear God’s image.
Jesus was friends with His disciples, with families (Mary, Martha, and Lazarus), outcasts, lepers, Samaritans, tax collectors, women, and children.
Of special note in Luke is Jesus’s friendship with women. Luke records the names of women and how Christ includes them in ministry. He lists some women as being faithful financial supporters of Jesus’s ministry.
“It’s a book with a message for everybody, because Luke’s emphasis is on the universality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His salvation…” Wiersbe
Social Concern – Luke also shows the amazing compassion of Jesus. Jesus is sympathetic to the poor; and heals the sick, diseased, and crippled. He reaches across racial lines and even heals on the Sabbath. In a real sense, Jesus challenges all His followers to check their lives for materialism and love of money. He wants all of us to consider whether we are more focused on what we GET or what we GIVE.
Holy Spirit – no other gospel focuses more on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is the One Who confirms Christ’s ministry and authority. Because Luke also authored the Book of Acts, he continues on to show how the Holy Spirit works in the individual lives of believers for the expansion of God’s Kingdom.
The most unique thing about this gospel is its human author – Luke. Luke is a doctor and a Gentile.
LUKE – THE GENTILE DOCTOR & HISTORIAN
Every human author recorded in the Bible is a Jew – except Luke. Luke then writes from a uniquely distinct perspective. He is writing to people just like him who know little about Jewish customs and traditions. Unlike other gospel writers:
Luke takes the time to explain certain customs.
He places heavy emphasis on the gospel being for EVERYONE (Luke 2:10)
He quotes OT prophecies about “all flesh” (Luke 3:5-6; cf. Isaiah 40)
In his short genealogies Luke goes all the way back to Adam – the father of all humans (not just Jews).
Luke opens up the “Banquet Table of God” to the entire world (Luke 13:29)
He quotes from the OT using those passages that speak to God’s love for the Gentiles (Luke 2:32; 4:25-77)
When Luke records Jesus’s “Great Commission” he is careful to include the preaching of “forgiveness [remission] of sins” (Luke 24:47)
Luke wasn’t just some Gentile doctor who met Jesus. He was also a historian who is concerned with getting all the facts straight. Luke was not one of the original 12 Disciples – he was not an eyewitness to Jesus’s ministry, death, resurrection, or ascension. But he is a Christian who has been impacted by the Gospel and chosen by God to write the two largest books of the New Testament. In a real sense, Luke is like an investigator who is putting together the pieces of someone’s life in order to understand them. Who better to investigate and get to know better than Jesus Christ.
Luke followed Paul and assisted him on missionary / church planting endeavors. He interviewed those who had been with Jesus. He talked to those who walked with Jesus. His investigation and travels were funded by a Roman man named Theophilus who is also a Gentile Christian desiring to know the basics of Christianity.
Look at how Luke opens his book to help this Gentile Christian know what it means to be on mission with God.
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught (Luke 1:1-4) .
I love how Max Lucado describes Luke and these first four verse….
“Luke and Theophilus share two loves: a love Christ and a love for the facts. They didn’t want legends, they wanted truth. And so, Dr. Luke begins to sort the truth and reports the facts to Theophilus. The result is part letter and part research paper. It is part letter because it was written for a friend. What a bond must have existed between these two that Like would labor so! It is part research paper, because Luke had studied everything carefully from the beginning and he wanted Theophilus to benefit from his study. Can’t you envision Luke in the home of Mary? “Tell me again what happened at Bethlehem.” Can’t you see him peppering Matthew with questions, “Let me see if I got this parable right.” Or on long walks with Peter, “When you denied him the third time, did Jesus know?” With the skill of a surgeon, Luke probes for truth. Why? So, his friend could know that he had been taught was true. Did Luke have any idea that millions of us would benefit from his study? I doubt it. All he did was share the truth with a friend. Can you imagine what would happen if we all did the same?”[2]
I can imagine Luke going from person to person asking questions, gathering information, and being led by the Holy Spirit. He wanted to know everything he could about the One he called LORD. He wanted Theophilus to grow in his faith. Luke would impact every person reading this blog and many more by being a seeker of truth. No doubt God’s is the inspired author of the Gospel of Luke – every interview and every word must have been saturated by the leading of God’s hand.
Others, according to Luke, have undertaken to draw up an account of the things Jesus did among them while on earth. We do not have those accounts because they did not bear the marks of God’s inspiration. Luke wanted his fellow Gentiles to know Jesus but more importantly to put their faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. God wanted the gospel to be clear to the Gentiles – to you and to me.
I believe that if people will seek the truth about God that God will reveal Himself to them. Some of you may have heard of a man by the name of Lee Strobel. Lee was a seeker of truth, a journalist, but had given up on anything that pointed to God. But through a series of events, he began to investigate the claims about Jesus being God – about what it means to be a Christian – about what it means to believe in God. His journey is amazing…as he explored these claims Lee found himself moving closer and closer to Jesus until one day He surrendered his life to Him.
Jesus is real! His claims are true. He has a mission for each of His followers. For Lee, the mission is to author books that articulate the Christian faith to skeptics. For you, the mission might look different. No matter the context of the mission, Luke’s gospel shows us that Christ has bid us to join Him in transforming the world.
CONCLUSION
Luke wrote that his reason for writing was so Theophilus, “…may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:4). That is my hope for you and for me as we take this journey together into the life and ministry of the One we call Savior. My second hope is that you and I will learn of Jesus and begin walking as He walked.
“Christianity doesn’t say, ‘Close your eyes and believe,’ but rather, ‘Check it out for yourself” (John 1:46; 21:24; Acts 17:11-12) I am inviting you to join me on a journey toward a deeper and richer faith. A journey toward truth. A journey toward a faith that reaches out. A faith that shows compassion. A faith that lives generously and serves others.
Will you join me? Join me in studying the book of Luke. More importantly, join me in preaching the gospel to every creature. We must be God’s people on God’s mission. He has given us the Holy Spirit to empower us for His work. None of us can say, we have no power. All believers are endued with power from above to complete the mission here below.
______________________________
[1] Nelson, Thomas. NKJV, Wiersbe Study Bible: Be Transformed by the Power of God’s Word. United States: Thomas Nelson, 2019. 1448.
[2] Nelson, Thomas., Lucado, Max. NCV, The Devotional Bible: Experiencing The Heart of Jesus. United States: Thomas Nelson, 2004. 1227.