The Gospel of Luke
Themes In Luke
With the resurrection of Jesus, the commissioning of the apostles and the Lord’s ascension, the Gospel of Luke is concluded. Luke took up the “rest of the story” in Acts and continued to explain to Theophilus (and us!) what happened when the gospel of Christ moved from Jerusalem, to Judea, Samaria and the farthest reaches of the world (Acts 1:8). Before we leave this Gospel, let’s notice some themes that are very important to Luke. We should not focus merely on the differences between Luke and the other Gospels, but it is correct to note the special emphases given in this Gospel that is written to Gentile readers.
The Birth of John and Jesus
In the early chapters of Luke we hear information about the unique birth of John even before we hear about the miraculous conception of Jesus. Within the pages of the Old Testament we encounter several stories of barren women who are given power by God to have children. Their sons become great heroes of deliverance and salvation. Barren Sarai finally gives birth to Isaac; Rachel, after great protests, delivers Joseph (who saves the entire family/nation!). Later, Elkanah and his barren wife produce a warrior whose strength is proverbial still: Samson. The pious Hannah is finally empowered to conceive and her son, Samuel, is a prodigy of deliverance for Israel. And in this vein we hear the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth who, in their old age, become the parents of John. All attention would be focused on him, awaiting the display of God’s power in his life.
In addition, in the early chapters of Luke, we hear that Elizabeth and Mary are actually relatives. It is in this Gospel that we read of shepherds being informed of Jesus’ birth and their pilgrimage to see the baby. We read only in Luke of Jesus’ presentation in the Temple and the adoration of Simeon and Anna. It is in Luke that we have the only information in the New Testament about Jesus’ early years. His appearance in the Temple at the age of 12 is our only glimpse of Him between His birth and the beginning of His ministry.
As Luke began the story of Jesus, he focused on the preaching of John. Consequently, we have more information about John and his message here than in any other place in the New Testament. Immediately after Jesus’ baptism by John, we read the genealogy of the Lord and this completes all the preliminaries to the actual gospel message.
Luke’s notice of “disreputable elements”
In this Gospel, Luke does not shy away from including people that normally would be cordially ignored by “important people.” He notes the influence of the poor and records many special teachings of Jesus about the poor and the rich. There are unique parables in Luke and one of them speaks of an eternal change in the status of a rich man and the wretchedly poor Lazarus. Luke is very interested in including the influence and involvement of women in the ministry of Jesus. He even names for us some of the more prominent women in Luke 8:1-3 and it is instructive to see how these women cooperate in one over-arching mission even though they come from very widely different backgrounds: formerly demon-possessed working alongside a wife of privilege and an ordinary village dweller. Jesus commended the sacrifice made by a destitute widow (21:1-4).
Gentiles are singled out for attention in this Gospel, which might not be surprising since it was especially written to a Roman, Theophilus. However, nowhere in this Gospel do we hear the
disdain of Jews for their Gentile occupiers, nor do we hear of Gentile contempt for the ultra-exclusive Jews. We hear of a centurion who comes to Jesus to gain healing for a valued servant and the Jews urged Jesus to grant his request and they commended the man highly (7:1-4). Jesus healed ten lepers, but the one who returned to thank Him was a “foreigner,” a Samaritan (17:11-19). At the foot of the cross, the centurion acknowledged that Jesus was righteous (23:47).
Jesus seemed scandalously comfortable in associating with tax collectors (7:29-30), even naming one to His circle of apostles (5:27-28) and going to the home of a chief tax collector and eating with him (19:1-10). He allowed Himself to be approached and even touched by a notoriously sinful woman (7:36-38). His birth was noted and marveled at by shepherds—who were widely despised as habitual thieves and immoral characters—and shepherds figured in His parables, just as if they had something to contribute! People often remarked on His ease of movement among “sinners,” a label that Simon Peter applied to himself (5:8).
Luke’s interest in the Holy Spirit
From the first chapter of this Gospel, Luke mentions the activity of the Holy Spirit in the redemption of Israel. He pointed out the prediction and promise made by the angel to Elizabeth concerning the influence of the Holy Spirit in John. He certainly mentioned the Holy Spirit’s role in the conception of Jesus. Luke also noted the influence of the Holy Spirit in Elizabeth, John’s mother (1:41) and also in Zechariah, John’s father (1:67)!
Once the infant Jesus is delivered and presented in the Temple, it is the Holy Spirit that compelled Simeon to take the baby in his arms and identify Him as the salvation of God. The dwelling of the Holy Spirit with Jesus is mentioned widely, from John’s declaration about Him (3:16) to the visible descent upon Him at His baptism (3:22) to the temptation in the wilderness (4:1) and His return to Galilee after successfully overcoming the devil’s attempts (4:14). It is understood that Jesus’ power to heal and work various miracles is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be given by God to those who wished (11:13), especially to His apostles to empower them to answer authorities (12:12). When Jesus was at the point of ascending to the Father, He promised “power” from above; clearly a prediction of the special empowering of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles in Acts 1. For Luke, the Holy Spirit is ever-present in the life and ministry of Jesus and, later, His church.
Luke on Prayer
One of the pervasive themes in this Gospel is the practice of prayer. Jesus is presented to us as being in prayer often. It has been said that seven of the prayers of Jesus recorded by Luke are found only in this Gospel. Luke represents Jesus in prayer before every major event of His ministry. Before choosing the 12, He spent the night in prayer. Before He questioned His apostles about His identity, He was in prayer (9:18). Before the transfiguration, He was in prayer (9:28). And, of course, before His betrayal and crucifixion, He was in earnest prayer (22:39-46).
Jesus taught about prayer directly (11:1-13) and in parables (18:1-14). Prayer furnished the backdrop to some of His most memorable stories. Luke presents the Savior as a man of prayer and a teacher who demanded prayer of His disciples.
Each of the Gospel writers has a special emphasis as he tells the story of Jesus. Each of the writers has the same aim, however: to create faith in Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God and Savior of mankind. It’s not enough for us to know the Gospel of Luke; we have to know the gospel of Christ. And knowing Him, we must love Him and follow Him to eternal life