Luke
Jesus, the Savior for All People
Central Teaching
Jesus, the Savior for all people, came to seek and save the lost.
Memory Verses
Setting
Luke, the well-educated Gentile, physician, and co-missionary of the apostle Paul, wrote Luke-Acts as a single book in two volumes. Although not an eyewitness of the life of Jesus, Luke did careful research (1:1–4) and wrote an orderly account of Jesus’s life and ministry for “most excellent Theophilus” (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1). Theophilus was likely a believer with wealth and influence who may have helped finance the copying and distribution of Luke-Acts. Luke seems to be writing primarily for Gentile Christians, emphasizing the comprehensive work of God (e.g., tracing Jesus’s ancestry beyond Abraham to Adam). Since Luke makes use of other sources (possibly Mark or Matthew), this Gospel was probably written in the early to mid-60s.
A stone manger (Luke 2:7)
Message
In Luke-Acts, Luke explains the grand plan of God through Jesus Christ and his church. Luke writes to Theophilus and others like him so that they may know the certainty of the things they have been taught (1:4). In other words, Luke provides a discipleship manual for new believers coming from a pagan background and living in an indifferent or openly hostile culture. Luke wants his readers to know that their faith rests on the facts of history, which are reflected in eyewitness testimony. The Christian faith was not invented by a community far removed from these events. God really did step into history in the person of Jesus and offer salvation to all people.
Luke gives a thorough report of Jesus’s birth and childhood to make sure we know that Jesus is God’s unique Son. Through his mighty miracles and powerful teaching, Jesus brings God’s salvation to the whole world. He is the Savior for all people—Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, men and women, religious and pagan. The central section of Luke features Jesus’s single-minded journey to Jerusalem to die for the sins of the world.
Outline
Interesting Features
- Luke is the Gospel for all people, including social outcasts, Gentiles, Samaritans, women, the poor, the sick, and sinners.
- The birth stories in the Gospel of Luke feature four famous hymns—the Magnificat (1:46–55), the Benedictus (1:68–79), the Gloria in Excelsis (2:14), and the Nunc Dimittis (2:29–32).
- Luke presents more of Jesus’s parables than any other Gospel and contains many of his best-known parables (e.g., good Samaritan, prodigal son).
Inside a typical Galilean home
Connections
In Luke, we learn from Jesus what it means to show compassion to those our society often pushes aside. So often, Jesus reaches out to the underdogs who are being ignored by the powerful. No one is beyond the grace of God! Jesus emphasizes the importance of prayer and joy and gratitude. He also tells us that we can’t live the Christian life in our own strength; we must depend on the power of the Holy Spirit. Like Jesus’s necessary journey to Jerusalem, our path as his followers includes both a willingness to suffer and the hope of glory. Jesus moved toward Jerusalem to suffer for the sins of the world, and he empowers us to move away from Jerusalem with the best news ever—the world has a Savior!