Tuesday, December 4, 2018 - The Gospel
of Luke
Introduction, Pt. 2,
The Unique Emphasis of the Gospel of Luke
Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard
In Matthew, we see
groupings of significant events, in Mark we see the snapshots of significant
events, but in Luke we see more details of these events by the
physician/historian. Jesus’ perfect human nature as the Son of Man, yet also
Son of God, is brought out by the following:
1. His physical
birth with His genealogy traced all the way back to Adam, Acts 3:38, (Matthew goes back only to Abraham).
2. His mental
development is stressed in Acts 2:40-52.
3. His moral and
spiritual perfection is also stressed as evidenced at His baptism by the voice
of the Father from heaven and by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Luke 3:22.
Both the humanity
and compassion of Jesus Christ are stressed in Luke’s Gospel over and over
again. Luke gives the most complete account of Christ’s ancestry, birth, and
development. Jesus is portrayed as the ideal Son of Man who identified with the
sorrow and plight of sinful man, in order to carry it and offer us the
priceless gift of salvation. Jesus alone fulfills the ideal of human
perfection. Therefore, in Jesus we have One who is perfect manhood, physically,
mentally, and spiritually.
As we have noted, this Gospel is a carefully researched and
documented writing. In it we see:
1. The author displays an unusual interest in medical
matters, Luke 4:38; 7:15; 8:55; 14:2;
18:15; 22:50.
Luke 4:38, “Then He
got up and left the synagogue, and
entered Simon's home. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high
fever, and they asked Him to help her.”
2. Much attention is given to recounting of the events
surrounding the birth of Christ that only Luke records. For example, the
annunciation to Zacharias and Mary, the songs of Elizabeth and Mary, the birth
and childhood of John the Baptist, the birth of Jesus, the visit of the
shepherds, the circumcision, presentation in the Temple, details of Christ's
childhood, and the inner thoughts of Mary.
3. Luke shows an uncommon interest in individuals, as
seen in his accounts of Zaccheus, Luke
19:1-10, and the penitent thief, Luke
23:39-43, and in the parables of the prodigal son, Luke 15:11-32, and the penitent tax-gatherer, Luke 18:9-14. It is Luke who gives us the story of the good
Samaritan, Luke 10:29-37, and the
one thankful ex-leper, Luke 17:11-19.
4. Luke shows a
rhythm that alternates between crowds and individuals. Often after a scene of
Christ in a crowd, Luke focuses on Christ alone, or on Christ with one
individual or the disciples. For example, Judas betrays Christ, Luke 22:1-6; Christ celebrates the Last
Supper, Luke 22:7-38; they retreat
to the Mount of Olives, where Christ prays alone, Luke 22:39-46; when he returns to his disciples, he is arrested, Luke 22:47-52; the scene reverts to the
courtyard where Peter becomes the focus as he betrays the Lord and weeps
bitterly, Luke 22:54-62.
5. In this gospel, there is a special emphasis on prayer,
Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 28-29;
10:21; 11:1; 22:39-46; 23:34, 46.
Luke 6:12, “It was at
this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole
night in prayer to God.”
6.
Another distinctive feature of this gospel is the prominent place given to
women, Luke 1; 2; 7:11-13; 8:1-3;
10:38-42; 21:1-4; 23:27-31, 49.
7. Luke also
shows interest in poverty and wealth, Luke
1:52-53; 4:16-22; 6:20, 24-25; 12:13-21; 14:12-13; 16:19-31. Luke’s Gospel
surpasses the others in the attention it accords to the fringe figures of
society, including the outcasts, the poor, the sinners, and women. Luke
repeatedly shows Jesus as the friend of sinners and outcasts, Luke 5:29-32; 14:12-24; 15:1-2.
8. The book
preserves four beautiful hymns:
a. The Magnificat of Mary, Luke 1:46-55.
b. The Benedictus of Zacharias, Luke 1:67-79.
c. The Gloria in Excelsis of the angels, Luke 2:14.
d. The Nunc Dimittis of Simeon, Luke 2:29-32.
9. There are
about 200 verses, mostly teaching material, which Luke and Matthew have in
common. There are also many verses that Mark and Luke have in common, yet about
half of Luke’s material is exclusively his own.
10. Luke
includes more events of Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem than do the other
Gospels. This special section, often called “the travelogue,” Luke 9:51-19:27, contains many parables
not otherwise recorded.
This is a
gospel of the compassionate Son of Man offering salvation to the whole world, Luke 19:10. Luke presents The Christ in
a pastoral, theological, and historical manner.
The Recipient of this Gospel, as well as the book of Acts:
Both Luke and
Acts are dedicated to Theophilus, Θεόφιλος which means “lover of God, friend of
God, or God-beloved,” and may be the name of an actual person or a figurative
representation of any Christian. Some believe that Theophilus is a discreet
pseudonym to protect a highly placed Christian. Some speculate that it
identifies Theophilus with Titus Flavius Clemens, cousin of the Emperor
Domitian. His wife Domitilla was a Christian and he himself was to fall from
the emperor’s favor and be executed on the charge of “atheism.” The Romans used
the term “atheists” to describe Christians because they refused to worship
idols.
The title “most
excellent” vs. 3, could indicate a
Roman of high rank, Acts 23:26; 24:3;
26:25, before whom the truth of Christianity is to be defended, as Paul
uses the same title in addressing Felix, Acts
23:26; 24:3, and Festus, Acts 26:25.
But the term “most excellent” was not limited to Roman officials, and there is
really no way of knowing the identity of Luke’s named reader.
Yet, we do
see that Theophilus was an informed person in regard to Christianity, i.e., “you have been taught” vs. 4, a
statement probably referring to his prior Christian instruction, cf. Acts 18:25, referring to Apollos.
This prologue can be interpreted to mean that Theophilus was either not yet a
Christian, hence Luke’s purpose would be evangelistic, or that he was a new
Christian who needed to be strengthened in the faith, hence Luke would have a
didactic purpose. In either case, Luke wrote to provide the necessary
information for anyone, including Theophilus to come to know and understand who
Jesus was and what He did, so as to come to a saving faith in Him.
Still others
like the ISBE propose another alternative. “Theophilus
may have been the presbyter who took part in sending the letter from the
Corinthians to Paul, given in the "Acta Pauli" (compare Hennecke,
Neutestamentliche Apokryphen, 378). There is also a magistrate Theophilus
mentioned in the “Acts of James,” as being converted by James on his way to
India (compare Budge, The Contendings of the Apostles, II, 299), but these and
other identifications, together with other attempts to trace out the further
history of the original Theophilus, are without sufficient evidence for their
establishment,” (ISBE).
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