Luke is the most comprehensive and literary of the gospel accounts. It is in fact the longest book in the New Testament. Luke was not just an accurate historian but a meticulous historian of remarkable ability, incidentally no other Gospel gives such a large place to woman
Author
The author does not identify himself by name, but from the earliest times, Luke has been universally recognized as the author. The Gospel of Luke was written by a well-educated man. His prologue in the first four verses of chapter one is regarded as the most classic piece of Greek writing in the New Testament. It seems certain that Luke was a Gentile, and therefore the only New Testament writer who was not a Jew. Early records suggest that he was born in Antioch in Syria, though at the time of Paul's missionary travels he seems to have lived in Philippi, in the north of present-day Greece. By profession Luke was a doctor (Colossians 4:14), but he also was a skilled historian. He carefully dated the beginning of his story according to well-known events. In his prologue Luke says, “Many have written a narrative of the life and ministry of Christ” (Lk. 1:1) notice, these were written sources. He calls his sources “eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word”.
The Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were written by the same person. Together they form a continuous record of the origins of Christianity, from the birth of its founder to the arrival of its greatest missionary in Rome. Both books were written for a man named Theophilus, who, from the title by which he is addressed, appears to have been a person of some importance, possibly a high-ranking official in the Roman government. Of the four Gospels, Luke is the longest and most orderly. It covers more of the life of Jesus than the other Gospels. Luke gathered and arranged his material with a definite purpose in mind, and with much skill has produced a book that contains more of the well-known stories of Jesus than any other.
Recipients
No one knows for certain when the Gospel of Luke was written. Many have concluded that Luke wrote his Gospel toward the end of Paul’s Caesarea imprisonment, that is about 59 AD. For the two years while Paul was in prison, Luke had opportunity to interview eyewitnesses throughout Palestine.
Luke addresses his book to “most excellent Theophilus” (Lk. 1:3) The inscription “most excellent” was an official title (cf. Acts 23:26, 24:3, 26:25), but beyond that, nothing is known of him. He was no doubt a believer who needed instruction and confirmation. The book was written in a classical style which implies that what follows was meant for circulation. From the content we can see that it was written for Gentiles in general and for Greeks in particular. The genealogy of Christ is traced to Adam, not Abraham. Gentile words are used in place of Jewish terms, for example, “teacher” for “rabbi” lawyer” for “scribe” etc. Jewish customs and geography are explained. Matthew wrote to the Jews. Mark wrote to the Romans; Luke wrote to the Greeks.
Message
The subject of Luke is Jesus Christ as the Son of Man. Luke presents Jesus Christ as the perfect human, the ideal man. Luke does not minimize Jesus‟ deity or His suffering, but he does focus on the humanity of Jesus who was the Son of Man, as well as the Son of God. Luke puts Jesus in the context of history.
The genealogy at the open of the book traces Jesus lineage to Adam (Luke. 3:38). Matthew develops the line back to Abraham and stops, because he was writing to Jews about their Messiah. Luke traces Jesus lineage to Adam, because he is writing to Gentiles about the Son of Man. His lineage emphasizes human descent, not the royal line.
Luke alone records Jesus’ human growth and development (Luke. 2:40, 51, 52). He was subject to his parents we are told in (Luke. 2:52). Throughout the book Jesus is seen as having the feelings, sympathies, and powers of a man. He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit (Luke. 10:21). He wept over the city (Luke.19:41). The message is Jesus is the Son of Man who came to seek the lost, die, be raised, and commission His disciples to preach the forgiveness of sins.
In writing his account, Luke was concerned with more than providing a record of historical details. He selected and presented his material in a way that defended and promoted Christianity. He wanted to show that God in his love had a plan of salvation for a sinful humanity, and that in accordance with that plan Jesus Christ came to be the Saviour. Those who believed in Jesus received the promised salvation, then spread the message of that salvation worldwide. The salvation he brought was for people everywhere, regardless of race.
Just as there was no distinction based on race or religion, so there was no distinction on the basis of social class. Luke illustrates this by showing that often the socially respectable missed out on salvation, but the socially despised received it (Luke 7:29-30; Luke 10:30-37; Luke 18:9-14; Luke 19:1-9). In developing this theme, Luke draws attention to the various kinds of socially disadvantaged people who received God's blessings. Among these were slaves (Luke 7:2-7; Luke 12:37), aliens (Luke 10:30-37; Luke 17:16), the poor (Luke 1:53; Luke 2:7; Luke 7:22) and women (Luke 1:28; Luke 2:36-38; Luke 7:37-48; Luke 13:11-13) widows (Luke 4:25; Luke 7:12-15; Luke 21:1-4).
Structure
There is a sense in which Matthew, Mark, and Luke have the same structure. Each begins with temptation and baptism of Jesus and they record His great Galilean ministry. Of course, they all end in Jerusalem with the crucifixion and resurrection. The literary structure of Luke, like Matthew and Mark, is topical yet it is also geographical. Matthew and Mark devote much material to the Galilean ministry and only a short space for the journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. In contrast, Luke spends ten chapters chronicling that trip, the longest part of his story (Luke. 9:51-19:44).
I. Preface 1:1-4
II. The Preparation for the Son of Man 1:5-4:13
III. The Galilean Ministry of the Son of Man 4:14-9:50
IV. The Journey to Jerusalem of the Son of Man 9:5119:20
V. The Jerusalem Ministry of the Son of Man 19:2121:38
VI. The Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Jesus as the Son of Man 22:1-24:53
Purpose
One purpose of Luke is to confirm and verify the true record of the life of Christ, especially to Gentile believers. Luke wrote that Theophilus and other Gentile believers might know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. In confirming the facts about Jesus, Luke portrays Him as the Son of God who became the Son of Man. Luke wrote to the Greeks. The Greek ideal of perfect manliness differed from that of the Romans. The Romans felt that it was their mission to govern. The Greeks felt it theirs to educate, elevate, and perfect man. The ideal to the Romans was military glory and governmental authority, but for the Greeks it was wisdom and beauty. Luke wanted to confirm the record to strengthen their faith.
Another purpose of Luke is to show that Christianity was not a political subversive sect. The Gospel of Luke is volume one of a two-volume set. Luke wrote volume two (Acts) to defend Christianity from political charges. Perhaps, that is part of what is going on here. He is the only Gospel writer who records all three of Pilate’s acknowledgment of Christ’s innocence. (Luke. 23:4, 14, and 22).
Summary:
Luke presents Jesus as the Son of Man, who came to seek the lost, die, be raised, and commission His disciples to preach the forgiveness of sins, to confirm the record and thus the faith of Gentile believers. The followers of the Son of Man should, like Him, seek to save those who are lost.
(C) J R McCandless (LIFE Publishing)