Pastor Mathew's Sermon Notes

The Gospel of Luke
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Author: Luke.

Possible Date Written: Between A.D. 58 and 70

Approximate Years Covered in Book: About 38 years (5 B.C. ~ A.D. 33)

The Book’s Title: Author’s name, Luke

It is Written to: Theophilus directly; Greeks indirectly; Gentiles in general

A Brief Background:
Although the Gospel of Luke does not have as many chapters as the Gospel of Matthew (24 vs. 28), it is still the longest and the most thorough of the four Gospels. Luke was a doctor (physician) and a Gentile. He wrote two of the books in the New Testament: Luke and Acts. A familiarity with one is vital for a deeper understanding of the other. The pair is sometimes referred to as “Luke-Acts”, and should be seen as one story in two books and not as two different books with two separate stories. Luke was also a traveling companion with Paul in Acts and met firsthand with many who were alive and with Jesus during His ministry. It is unclear as to whether Luke actually interacted with the main character of his Gospel (Jesus). Luke strives to present a clear view of Jesus’ humanity and does so more than any of the other Gospels. Upon careful investigation, we see that this book is written to one person specifically, but is meant to edify all who hear it or read it after it is shared by this individual; Theophilus, most likely Luke’s Roman patron.

Basic Content:
It’s frequently called, “The Most Beautiful Book Ever Written.” Luke opens his book by sharing a story about the family of Jesus’ second cousin (John the Baptist). He then shifts the focus to the parents of Jesus, followed by their journey to Bethlehem, and then the birth narrative of Jesus Himself. A unique story of Jesus’ boyhood follows and then there is a gap of about 18 years that is not recorded. After the “Gap,” Luke starts back up again with Jesus’ public ministry. In looking at this ministry, Jesus is revealed. Jesus’ parables and teachings portray Him as one with perfect compassion and forgiveness. Yet Jesus embodies a revolutionary, and Luke tries to make it clear that while many believe Jesus’ sometimes radical teachings, there are still many others who challenge and oppose His assertions. This dichotomy reminds us of Jesus’ statements where He tells His disciples to count the cost of following Him. While people flock to Him, others publicly denounce Him and plot ways for Him to die. This tension is brought to a head when Jesus is crucified; which ensued shortly after His betrayal, mock trial, illegal sentencing, and public scorn. Yet we can rejoice that Jesus resurrected from the dead! The first part of this two part story concludes with Jesus making a number of appearances to various followers on a variety of occasions, a promise of the Holy Spirit, and then Jesus’ ascension into Heaven.

Key Words: “Salvation”; “Savior”; “Jesus”; “Son of Man”; “Forgiveness of Sins”.
Luke’s major theme is Salvation. The noun salvation is found seven times, and only in Luke. Matthew and Mark also do not call God and Jesus “savior”, yet it appears in Luke. As God made flesh (God incarnate), “Jesus” is often referred to as the “Son of Man.” Luke also often uses the phrase “forgiveness of sins” to drive home the point of salvation (where as Matthew and Mark only use the phrase once a piece).

Key Verses: Luke 1:1–4; 4:18–19 (Isaiah 61: 1–2); 19:10; 24:36, 45–49

Themes:
Jesus came to seek out and save sinners. Jesus had a ministry of inclusion, not a ministry of exclusion: He came for the men, and the women; The free, and the slave; The social butterflies, and the social outcasts; The adults, and the children; The Jews, and the Gentiles; The wealthy, and the destitute (and through inference, we can assume the middle class as well). Peace is a prominent position that Luke endeavors to pursue, more so than the other Gospel writers. Luke also stresses that Jesus’ humanity allows Him to truly understand our faults, weaknesses, temptations, trials, victories, and desires.

Outline:
     (1) The births two cousins, John (the Baptist) and Jesus, 1:1–2:25
     (2) The ministry of John the Baptist, 3:1–3:20
     (3) The preparations of and for Jesus’ ministry, 3:21–4:13
     (4) Jesus’ teaching and healing ministry, in Galilee, 4:14–9:50
     (5) Jesus’ Journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, 9:51–19:27
     (6) The suffering and crucifixion of the Son of Man in Jerusalem, 19:28–23:49
     (7) Jesus’ burial, resurrection, and ascension, 23:50–24:53

NOTES

Fill In The Blanks
The book of Luke is one of the four Gospels of the New Testament, written by a Gentile physician, who traveled with __Paul__ after Jesus ascended to heaven. This is the beginning of a two-part work that includes his other book, Acts. One reason Luke wrote this Gospel was to show the Greek people that Jesus was the Perfect Man, and could not only be idealized, but commiserated with. The Greeks had a wider culture than the Romans and Jews. They had a love for beauty, rhetoric (language), philosophy, and the perfection of the body as a whole. They were known for intrinsic details as well as elaborate arts. This is the Gospel for the sinner. It can be seen as the portal to view Jesus’ compassionate love through His transformation of Himself into a human, for the purpose of saving humans. This is slightly ironic, in that Luke portrays Jesus as having no direct contact with Gentiles until he was arrested and tried. It is frequently referred to as “__the Great Omission__,” for Matthew, Mark, and John show Jesus interacting with Gentiles.

Luke stresses his reasons for writing the Gospel in __Luke 1:1–4__. Luke has a twofold purpose in writing this Gospel. He writes to teach others the history of Jesus, and to show the truth of what Jesus did and said. Luke’s declaration that he is striving for __an orderly account__ denotes he is impressing upon his text a structure and form. But Luke’s primary goal is to point out the truth, so that we will know it. His word for truth in Greek is not a normal use of the word for truth commonly used in the Bible. He uses the word that is defined as “__assurance or certainty__,” not “accurate or factual.” He notes others have done similar things (he has access to other written sources); He also notes that he is contact with eye-witnesses (primary and secondary sources); But why write down what others have already done, unless you feel that you have something to add or that you are writing for clarification? Therefore the ‘doctor turned historian’ is about to embark on a difficult journey for the quest of revealing history and the __truth__. This Gospel can only be successfully completed if he is open and honest with the Holy Spirit.

__God Incarnate__ = __God manifested in flesh__ = __God with a human body__

Although He is among __humans__, Jesus is in sharp contrast to them. He is one, but He isn’t…

__Peace__ means bringing people together.

__Salvation__ is a key position. Jesus is a __savior__ suited for all.

Luke __13:31-35__ offers an insight as to the turning point of the book.

Jesus’ Life and ministry in Galilee

Jesus’ Life and ministry from Galilee to Jerusalem

The main thrust of this phase of the story, (Part I of Luke-Acts), is Jesus __going towards Jerusalem__. When looking at Luke in conjunction with Acts we see:

__Jesus__ => __Jerusalem__ (the “=>”sign stands for “goes to”)

__Jesus__ => __God__

__God__ => __World__

Applications for us, today:

Luke is big on __inclusion__, not __exclusion__! The body of Christ suffers when people are not allowed to be a part of it. Unfortunately, we often feel that some people should not be able to come to our church, or at least they should go to “another church.”
Outside of Luke (and Matthew) there are few explicit references to the topic of Jesus’ __virgin birth__. This theme demonstrates Luke’s “Supernatural understanding of Christianity,” (note how this experience is quite different from the many of the “__sex scenes__” that are typical of the polytheistic god stories in the Greco-Roman traditions. This puts Jesus in contrast with the “heroes” who are descendants of “the gods.” Jesus is portrayed as __fully__ human, who shares our experiences; namely that of life, yet He is the __divine gift__ to all people, bringing US to GOD. Perhaps we can see human life as it is meant to be seen as well as God’s generosity through His giving of Himself to us.
Luke shows Jesus as __pro-women__. He also places an importance on Christian responsibilities to the poor, for the sick, the outcasts, and others who were considered to be on the __“fringe”__ of society. This was, and still is, crucial in our current society and our state of mind. Are we embracing those who need it, or just those who appeal to us? We are challenged to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. If we are able, we should watch out for poorer Christians and their homelands and make sure that they are not “disempowered by the actions of rich countries and wealthier Christians.”

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