The Global Message of Luke for Today
Introduction to Luke
Timeline
Author, Date, and Recipients
Luke was a physician (Colossians 4:14) and a travel companion of the apostle Paul. He wrote this Gospel and its sequel, the book of Acts 1:1. The earliest possible date of Luke–Acts 1:1 is immediately after the events that Luke recorded in Acts 28:1, which would have been c. A.D. 62. Both Luke and Acts 1:1 are addressed to “Theophilus” (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1), about whom nothing more is known. Luke’s broader audience consisted primarily of Gentile Christians like Theophilus who had already “been taught” (Luke 1:4) about Jesus.
Theme
The gospel is for all, Jews and Gentiles alike, since Jesus is the promised one of God as prophesied in the OT and as seen in God’s saving activity in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The Christian traditions Luke’s readers have received are true; by believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, they will receive the promised Holy Spirit whom he gives to all who follow him.
Purpose
Luke probably had several goals in writing: (Luke 1:1) to assure his readers of the truth of what they had been taught; (Luke 2:1) to help them understand how Israel’s rejection of Jesus and the Gentiles’ entrance into the kingdom of God are part of God’s plan; (Luke 3:1) to clarify that Jesus did not teach that his bodily return would come immediately but that there would be a period between his resurrection and his return; and (Luke 4:1) to emphasize that they need not fear any mere earthly power such as Rome.
Key Themes
- God’s sovereign rule over history (Luke 13:33; Luke 22:22, Luke 22:42).
- The arrival and actual presence (though not yet the completion) of the kingdom of God (Luke 11:2; Luke 17:20; Luke 21:34).
- The coming and presence of the Holy Spirit for Jesus and his followers (Luke 1:15, Luke 1:35; Luke 2:25; Luke 3:16, Luke 3:22; Luke 4:1, Luke 4:18; Luke 24:49).
- The great reversal taking place in the world, in which the first are becoming last and the last are becoming first, the proud are being brought low and the humble are being exalted (Luke 1:48; Luke 6:20; Luke 13:30; Luke 14:11).
- Believers are to live a life of prayer and practice good stewardship with their possessions (Luke 6:12; Luke 9:28; Luke 11:1; Luke 12:33; Luke 18:1; Luke 22:40).
- The danger of riches (Luke 6:20; Luke 8:14; Luke 12:13; Luke 16:10, Luke 16:19).
Outline
- The Prologue (Luke 1:1)
- The Infancy Narrative (Luke 1:5)
- Preparation for the Ministry of Jesus (Luke 3:1)
- The Ministry of Jesus in Galilee (Luke 4:16)
- The Journey to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51)
- The Ministry of Jesus in Jerusalem (Luke 19:28)
- The Suffering and Death of Jesus (Luke 22:1)
- The Resurrection of Jesus (Luke 24:1)
The Setting of Luke
The events in the book of Luke 1:1 take place almost entirely within the vicinity of Palestine, an area extending roughly from Caesarea Philippi in the north to Beersheba in the south. During this time it was ruled by the Roman Empire. The opening chapters describe events surrounding Jesus’ birth in Judea, where Herod had been appointed king by the Romans. The closing chapters end with Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension during the rule of Pontius Pilate and the tetrarchs Antipas and Philip.
The Global Message of Luke
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). With these closing words to Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector and a man deeply despised by his fellow Jews, Jesus states the message of Luke to the global church today. Christ did not come for the clean and the religious, the upright and the educated—he came for those who know themselves to be lost. Throughout Luke we see Jesus welcoming outsiders into the blessings of grace, while those who appear to be insiders are shut out.
This is great hope to those around the world today who feel themselves to be outsiders. It is also a reminder to those who are taking the gospel to the nations that it is generally the socially and culturally marginalized who will be most readily drawn to the gospel. Above all, Luke’s Gospel is a call to everyone around the world, whatever our social or moral status, to abandon our futile methods of self-salvation and leave all to follow Christ, the great Friend of sinners (Luke 7:34; Luke 9:57; Luke 18:9).
Luke and Redemptive History
At the beginning of history, two people ate food offered to them by Satan, their eyes were opened, and the whole human race was plunged into sin and death (Genesis 3:6). At the climax of history, two people ate food offered to them by Christ, their eyes were opened, and they saw who Christ was and the new age that was dawning in him (Luke 24:30). This prophecy-fulfilling restoration of God’s people—people who now come from surprising places, cultures, and social spheres—is the role Luke’s Gospel fills in redemptive history.
Placed against the backdrop of the whole Bible, Luke’s Gospel shows us that the one for whom God’s people had been waiting so long had finally come. In him, all the hopes and promises of the Old Testament were coming to decisive fulfillment. He was the true Son of God (Luke 4:41; Luke 22:70) who, unlike Adam, God’s first son (Luke 3:38), walked faithfully with God. He was the true Israel, who unlike Israel before him passed the test in the wilderness (Luke 4:1). After generations of sin, failure, and finally exile, One had come who would bear the punishment for his people and fulfill the ancient promises. The people would be restored to God. This was the One about whom the entire Old Testament spoke (Luke 24:27, Luke 24:44).
This restoration is for all people in all places around the world. After his resurrection, Jesus tells his disciples that they are his witnesses and that “repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:47). This global mandate to preach the gospel to all nations will be empowered and begun when the disciples are “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). This happens when the Holy Spirit is poured out in Acts 2:1 and the gospel begins to flood out to diverse people groups (Acts 2:5). The promise given to Abraham that he would be a blessing to all the families of the earth is finally coming true (Genesis 12:1).
Universal Themes in Luke
God’s heart for the poor and needy. An important event in Luke’s Gospel takes place right at the start of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus reads the following statement from Isaiah and identifies himself as this statement’s fulfillment: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18; quoting Isaiah 61:1). Throughout Luke we then see the social and cultural reversals that take place as insiders are unconcerned about who Jesus is and what he is doing while outsiders are drawn to and understand Jesus. Time and again, long-held assumptions about Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, educated and ignorant, moral and immoral, are inverted. Luke drives home God’s great love for those who are marginalized (e.g., Luke 1:48, Luke 1:52; Luke 6:20; Luke 13:30; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:9).
The Holy Spirit. The Spirit is emphasized more in Luke 1:1 than in any other Gospel, and this emphasis is then picked up and expanded in Acts 1:1 (also written by Luke). Around the world today the Spirit is alive and active in places not traditionally associated with Christianity. Indeed, the Holy Spirit does not favor the educated, culturally sophisticated, or historically Christian regions of the world. The Spirit does not need our human cleverness or ingenuity. Rather, the Spirit is drawn to all whose hearts are open to God and his grace (Luke 11:13).
The danger of money. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus pronounces severe woes on those who love money, yet he blesses those who are poor and therefore recognize their need (Luke 6:20; Luke 8:14; Luke 12:13; Luke 16:10, Luke 16:19; Luke 18:22). Amid the ongoing gap between the upper and lower classes around the globe, as well as a frequently unstable world economy, Christians must pay special heed to Jesus’ teaching on money. Believers with many possessions must constantly examine their hearts to see where their hope and security lies. Above all they must remember the gracious wealth of grace that has been given to them through Christ’s self-giving (2 Corinthians 8:9), and respond in joyful gratitude and love.
The Global Message of Luke for Today
The marketplace of ideas is increasingly global, and cross-fertilization of cultures has never taken place so easily. Yet it has never been easier to feel small and insignificant amid the blur of modern activity, today’s media with its big personalities, and the continuing population growth in some parts of the world. Such feelings of insignificance are acutely painful because we are made in God’s image and are hungry to experience the glory we were originally destined for (Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 43:6; Romans 1:23; Romans 2:7; Romans 3:23).
Luke’s Gospel confronts us, however, with the pervasive reminder that it is precisely to such felt insignificance, such smallness, that God is drawn. He has a great heart for the marginalized. As Mary prayed, “he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty” (Luke 1:52). Throughout Luke, Jesus befriends the Samaritans, the poor, the outcasts, the tax collectors, those on the social or cultural periphery.
This is who God is. In Christ, the Friend of sinners, God is attracted to those who feel themselves least attractive. The grace of the gospel qualifies those who feel themselves most unqualified.
As we, his people, receive this grace, we work earnestly to eradicate sickness, destitution, and earthly discomfort. The mercy we have received vertically should extend itself out horizontally in tangible acts of sacrificial love to our neighbors. Above all, however, we must heed Jesus’ parting words, and speak repentance and forgiveness to all nations (Luke 24:47)—thus offering not only earthly comfort but eternal comfort, with Christ himself, in the new earth.