The Gospel According to Luke

The Gospel According to Luke “All flesh will see the salvation of God”

The Gospel According to Luke The Aim of Dr. Luke (Luke 1:1-4) November 4, 2007

Uniqueness of Luke  Longest book of the NT  Exceptionally Artistic – the songs of Elisabeth, Mary, Zacharias, Simeon and the angels

St. Mark’s Monastery in Jerusalem

Uniqueness of Luke  Longest book of the NT  Exceptionally Artistic  30% of its content (15-19 Parables)  Focus on individuals  Focus on women  Focus on the alienated  Focus on prayer  Universal Gospel

The Gospel of Luke Prologue (1:1-4) • Introduction of the Son of Man (1:5-4:13) • Identification of the Son of Man (4:14-9:50) • Instruction from the Son of Man (9:51-19:28) • Sacrifice of the Son of Man (19:29-24:53)

Prologue to Luke’s Gospel • The Author II. His Recipient (v. 3) • His Method (vv. 2-3) • His Aim (v. 4)

I. The Author Luke, the beloved physician (Col. 4:14) How do we know this?  Common authorship with Acts (Acts 1:1-3)  the “we” passages in Acts (16, 20, 21, 27-28)  Tradition – unanimous early support  Medical terminology

I. The Author “Luke, the beloved physician” (Col. 4:14) What do we know of Luke? • Close associate of Paul (2 Tim. 4:10-11) • Wrote 28% of NT • Gentile (Col. 4:11) • Doctor (Col. 4:14) • Historian

II. His Recipient (v. 3) “Theophilus” Question:  Symbolic of all “friends of God”? or  to Theophilus, an actual individual?

His Recipient (v. 3) Answer:  to Theophilus, an actual individual  “most excellent” used three times in Acts in reference to ranking Roman officials (23:26; 24:3; 26:25) Theophilus is probably a high-ranking Gentile official; and either a financial patron to Luke, or someone seeking assurance of what he believes

III. His Method (vv. 2-3) Reception (v. 2) from the apostles (“those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word”)

III. His Method (vv. 2-3) Reception (v. 2) Research (v. 3)  “carefully investigated”  “everything”  “from the beginning”

III. His Method (vv. 2-3) Reception (v. 2) Research (v. 3) Orderly Account (v. 4) Note: Luke’s Gospel is primarily a theological biography. Therefore, occasionally chronology is superseded by thematic or other considerations.

IV. His Aim (v. 4) “that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” “foolish credulity ought not insulate itself under the name of faith” John Calvin

Luke’s Theme: Universal Gospel “and all flesh will see the salvation of God.” (3:6)  Sick and suffering  Women  Poor and oppressed  tax-collectors and sinners  Samaritans and Gentiles 

There's a wideness in God's mercy,Like the wideness of the sea;There's a kindness in His justice,Which is more than liberty. For the love of God is broader Than the measure of man's mind;And the heart of the eternal Is most wonderfully kind. Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863)

Life Lessons • Inspiration This passage refutes a mere dictation theory.  “it seemed good to me”  “carefully investigated”  extraordinary Greek in 1:1-4  “orderly account”  medical terminology This passage has Luke’s literary fingerprints all over it.

The unique personalities of the Biblical writers is evident throughout the Scripture. “If God wished to give His people a series of letters like Paul’s, He prepared a Paul to write them, and the Paul He brought to the task was a Paul who spontaneously would write just such letters.” B. B. Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible.

Inspiration “…no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21) So inspiration is the result of a process where the unique personalities of the human authors are meaningfully involved, yet the Spirit of God sovereignly orchestrates it so that the result is the voice of God.

Life Lessons • We can have certainty about the things in the Scripture.  54 cities  government titles  “politarchs” of Thessalonica  “temple wardens” of Ephesus  “procouncil” of Cyprus  "first man of the island" in Malta  Lysanius tetrarch of Abilene (Luke 3)

Life Lessons • We can have certainty about the things in the Scripture. “Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy, he is possessed of the true historic sense... In short this author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.” Sir William Ramsay, first Professor of Classical Archaeology at Oxford Univ.

“So we have the prophetic word made more certain, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 2:19)

“Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon.” (Jer. 39:3) “1.5 minas of gold, the property of Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch, which he sent via Arad-Banitu the eunuch to [the temple] Esangila: Arad-Banitu has delivered [it] to Esangila. In the presence of …Month XI, day 18, year 10 [of] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.”

Life Lessons • This is the best literature anywhere!  “the best bit of Greek in the New Testament”  unblemished sacrifices  Codex Aureus

Life Lessons • This is the best literature anywhere! Luke the historian will make you certain about its truth. Luke the theologian will show you a universal gospel. Luke the physician will help you care about people. Luke the artist, with brushstrokes of glory, will draw an extraordinary portrait of the Christ who loved us unto death.

Life Lessons 4. Luke was not satisfied with others’ stories of Christ. He made his own. So should you. True Christian faith is not a second-hand thing. It must be personally experienced.

The Gospel According to Luke