LUKE - Overview

BOOK ORIGIN

• Luke, the third book in the New Testament canon, was written by Luke, a physician and companion of Paul on some of his journeys

• The early church unanimously attributed the third Gospel to Luke, and all the ancient manuscripts we have of the Gospel bear his name

• Early church fathers like Irenaeus, Ignatius, Clement, and Tertullian affirmed Luke’s authorship, considering his account of the life of Christ authoritative and inspired Scripture  <G72>

• Luke was the only Gentile author of the New Testament around 80-90 AD

BOOK OUTLINE

• The outline of contents of Luke is divided in six parts:

1. Introduction (ch 1:1-1:4)
2. Birth and Childhood (ch 1:5-2)
3. Preparation for Ministry (ch 3-4:13)
4. Galilean Ministry (ch 4:14-9:50)
5. Teaching and Travels (ch 9:51-19:44)
6. The Final Week (ch 19:45-24)  <R1795>

BOOK COMMENTS

• Unlike the other apostles, Luke is a Gentile doctor and companion of Paul who is looking at all this with a more scientific-investigative factual lens  <D40>

• As Acts is obviously a sequel to Luke, the same author likely wrote both books

• The combined work divides the history of first-century Christianity into three stages, with the gospel making up the first two of these – the life of Jesus the messiah (Christ) from his birth to the beginning of his mission in the meeting with John the Baptist, followed by his ministry with events such as the Sermon on the Plain and its Beatitudes, and his death and resurrection  <W2201>

• Luke wrote an eye-witness account of Christ in the books of Luke and Acts, where he carefully investigated Jesus’ birth, childhood, baptism, miracles, ministry, passion, resurrection, and ascension

Luke 1:1-4 NIV

[1] Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, [2] just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. [3] 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, [4] so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

• By providing factual detail, Luke wanted to make sure his audience was certain of what they heard; we can be sure our faith is rooted in reality, not myths or legends

• Luke’s account is sympathetic of the people Jesus met and ministered to; more women, children and poor than other gospels

• We learn of Jesus, not only as an historic figure but admirable Savior who came to ‘seek and save what was lost’

• We also learn of Jesus’ prayer life and ministry of the Holy Spirit  <R1795>

• Matthew's genealogy leads to Joseph, while Luke's genealogy leads to Mary

• Often referred to as the ‘Gospel of mercy’ the book portrays Jesus as showing compassion toward the marginalized, poor, and outcast

• In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is presented as the Savior of all people, not exclusively the Jews, suggesting that the author is a Gentile

• It is probable that Luke was a Gentile, making him the only non-Jewish author in Scripture

• His purpose for writing the book of Luke was both theological and apologetic, aiming to reinforce Theophilus’ faith (Luke 1:4)

• The Gospel of Luke distinguishes itself by providing many historical and chronological details

• Notably, Luke also includes much information on the women who followed Jesus, mentioning them about 45 times

• A large section of Luke contains material unique to that book, including 14 parables not found in the other Gospels  <G72>