Luke’s Gospel

by Pasor Timothy Fortune

A lawyer, wanting to prove to a judge and jury the facts about his client, works diligently to compile information that would, without a doubt, conclusively state those facts. With all the rumors and hearsay circulating about Jesus, Luke, like a lawyer, compiles proper information gathered from eyewitnesses to give the facts concerning Jesus Christ. These facts, regarding the life of Jesus which Luke has carefully evaluated, are stated in an orderly account in Luke’s gospel. Most of Luke’s stories fall in chronological sequence. The purpose in the Gospel of Luke is to assure that faith in Jesus rests on historical facts that stand up under the most severe scrutiny (Elwell 101). The Gospel of Luke is the longest book in the New Testament and is the first of Luke’s two letters, with the Book of Acts being the second.

The Gospel of Luke has two time periods in which historians suggest the book was written; A.D. 59-63, and the 70’s or 80’s (Zondervan 1564). The place of writing, according to scholars, could have been in one of four cities: Greece, Caesarea, Alexandria, and Rome (Elwell 100). Unlike the other three Gospels, Luke’s Gospel is specifically addressed to Theophilus, who apparently was a Roman official or someone of high position and wealth (Zondervan 1564). However, with the Gospel of Luke in the Bible one can see that it was meant for more than just one person. One could conclude that the Gospel according to Luke was also intended for the early church. Luke’s writing about the life and ministry of Jesus has inspired melodies and been the source of many artists’ works, including Van Eyck, Van der Weyden, Rossetti, Plockhorst, Rubens, and Rembrandt (Holmen 1058).

Something that is fascinating in Luke’s record of Jesus’ life is the information Luke shares concerning Christ’s regard for women. Looking at the detail Luke gives us surrounding the birth of Jesus it is easy to see Mary and Elizabeth are the main characters in chapters one and two. The information surrounding the birth of our Lord Jesus that Luke gives us is the clearest and most detailed of any of the Gospels. We note in chapter two verses thirty-six through thirty-eight information regarding Anna the prophetess who is not mentioned in any of the other Gospels. Other stories regarding women given to us by Luke are: Jesus raising from the dead the widow’s son in Nain (Lk 7.11-18) and the parable of the persistent widow (Lk 18.1-8). All of the other Gospels record how Jesus welcomed women among His followers, but Luke places particular emphasis on this matter (Elwell 103).

In the Gospel of Luke we see three major parts regarding the life of Jesus. Following the temptation of Christ in chapter four starting with verse fourteen through chapter nine verse fifty, we find the activities that occurred within and surrounding Galilee. Starting in verse fifty-one of chapter nine we see the second section in Luke’s writing; he records the deeds of Jesus ministry that took place in Judea and Perea. Of the twenty-eight parables that Luke records, twenty-one are found within this second section (Zondervan 1565). The last of the major sections of Luke’s Gospel is focused on the final week of the life of Jesus (Lk 19.28 – 24.53). Taking a closer, more detailed look at the outline of the writing of Luke we can see eight subtopics. These subtopics include: preface (1.1-4), birth of John the Baptist and Jesus (1.5 -2.52), preparation of Jesus for His Public Ministry (3.1 - 4.13), Jesus’ ministry in Galilee (4.14 – 9.9), Jesus’ withdrawal to regions around Galilee (9.10-50), Jesus’ Ministry in Judea (9.51 – 13.21), Jesus’ Ministry in and around Perea (13.22 – 19.27), and Jesus’ last days (19.28 – 24.53) (Zondervan 1565-1566).

The Gospel of Luke, although written from a historical view, clearly shows the fulfillment of Jesus as the Messiah. Redemption of humanity regardless of social, political, and financial status is only found through Jesus Christ. Redemption by Christ is the message we find in the Book of Luke. Although Luke is considered to be one of the Synoptic Gospels this does not mean that Luke’s view of events is identical to that of Matthew or Mark. Yes, Luke gives us some of the same stories as Matthew and Mark, which is not to mean the stories compete, but rather, complete one another, yet we also find some 500 verses exclusive to Luke’s Gospel (Holman 1058).

Of the stories that Luke records, none speaks louder to me than that of the ten lepers in chapter seventeen verses eleven through nineteen. We, as Christians, ask God for many things; showing our belief in God as our Father. Yet too often, many of us never stop and take the time to give thanks, showing our appreciation to our Heavenly Father for answering those prayers. Sure, we may give Him thanks for answering major prayers like the healing of a disease or sparing a loved ones life. However, do we stop and give God thanks for the miracles He does in our lives every single day? We woke up this morning with food to eat, water to drink, and family who love us; did we convey our appreciation for these blessings? Expressing gratitude unto God is something I strive to do consistently throughout every day. The principle of communicating gratefulness unto Jesus, as seen by the one leper, is a character trait in my Christian walk that I desire to illuminate from my life. May we all learn from Luke’s Gospel the appreciation Christ had for others and the appreciation we should each have for Him.

Timothy Fortune