Encountering the New Testament #7: The Gospel of Luke, a Saviour for All People

This is the seventh article write-up in the new blog series Encountering the New Testament.

Chapter Summary

  1. Luke’s procedure in writing his Gospel included gathering information, checking the evidence, verifying the sources, evaluating critically, and arranging the material in an orderly manner.
  2. All the early evidence indicates that Luke was the author of the Gospel bearing his name.
  3. The dating of Luke must be closely related to the dating of Acts.
  4. Luke organised his Gospel for a theological purpose and arranged the story accordingly, starting with a prologue and then discussing Jesus’ early years, his years in Galilee, his trip to Jerusalem, and his time in Jerusalem.
  5. Luke emphasises the comprehensive nature of God’s dealings with the world, from the beginning of the human race to the resurrection of Jesus.
  6. Jesus is seen as the Saviour of the world in Luke.
  7. Luke gives special emphasis to Jesus’ early life.
  8. Luke demonstrates how Jesus treated women differently than the dominant cultures did.
  9. The Holy Spirit plays a central role in the Gospel of Luke and continues to be emphasised in Acts.

Study Questions

1. How does Luke describe his writing of his Gospel?

Luke wrote an orderly account of Christ especially for Theophilus. The purpose of Luke is to confirm and supplement Theophilus’ knowledge about the historical basis of Christianity and to defend the faith. He wrote to show that faith in Jesus rests on historical facts. Luke wrote his gospel by gathering information, checking evidence, verifying sources, talking to servants. Luke emphasised the critical nature of salvation and had an orderly arrangement of content.

2. Who was Luke?

Luke was a Gentile physician from Antioch who had accompanied Paul on most of his missional travels around the East Mediterranean. He was not one of the original twelve disciples, but was closely associated with Paul. As such, although he wrote both the Gospel and Acts, he did not personally know Jesus. It is believed that he had received source material from Mary, the mother of Jesus.

3. When was the Gospel of Luke written?

The Gospel of Luke was most likely written in Rome and the dating of his Gospel is associated with the timing and dating of the Acts of the Apostles, which is also attributed to his authorship. Since Rome was a relatively peaceful place, as suggested by the nature of the Gospel record, dating the Gospel brings us to the time period before Nero had started persecuting Christians in AD 64. Therefore, scholars think Luke was written in AD 50s, and no later than AD 63. Since there is a lot of cross-over in content from the two Gospels of Mark and Luke, it is believed that Luke had Mark’s Gospel account to refer to as a one of his writing sources.

4. How does Luke emphasise the universal nature of Jesus’ work?

Unlike the other Gospels, Luke’s account provides more in-depth background and context for the historical time period. He traced the birth of Jesus to during the ring of the historical figure of Caesar Augustus. The universal nature of Jesus is emphasised through the complete genealogical trace back to Adam, showing an unbroken lineage.

5. What special place did women play in Jesus’ ministry?

Culturally, Palestine in the first century was not a place where women could play prominent roles in society. Respect for them was restricted to there cultural understanding that their place was in the home, and to provide children. Given this cultural context, the attention and emphasis Jesus gave to them – allowing them in his presence whilst teaching and sharing the Gospel elevated them from their lowly status to one of being a peer and equal to men. Jesus did not just tolerate their presence, he drew special attention to them and celebrated them. Addressing women with respect and dignity upset the Pharisees and cultural norms held by all those around. Even the women knew their place and were initially uncomfortable with the direct interaction Jesus gave them. Finally, Jesus taught using parables, and not only did he use this technique but he also used parables to teach and cast women in a favourable light.

6. How is the Holy Spirit emphasised in Luke’s Gospel?

Luke’s Gospel is consistent in his emphasis of the Holy Spirit’s presence being a part of Jesus’ ministry. Mary’s pregnancy involved the Holy Spirit and even the Holy Spirit filled John the Baptist, mother Elizabeth and father/priest Zechariah. The Holy Spirit and Pentecost is a big feature of Luke’s second writing – the Acts of the Apostles.