MY RELATIONSHIP TO THE GOSPEL OF LUKE dates back to my days as a doctoral student in Aberdeen, Scotland. Whether I have lived on the edge of the Scottish highlands, in the plains of Texas, or beside the Schwabian mountains in Southwest Germany, this Gospel has been on my heart and mind. The present work represents over fifteen years of study and is my third commentary on this Gospel.
Someone may ask, “Why write a third commentary on the same book?” This is a good question, and I continually asked myself that same question while writing this work. The answer, in the end, is simple: In this commentary I get to apply the Gospel and concentrate on its message for today. Let me explain.
My two-volume commentary published by Baker Book House is a full technical, exegetical discussion of Luke. If someone wishes to know the ins and outs of the many scholarly views about Luke, that is where to go. I had the space there to consider how Luke is like and unlike his fellow Evangelists in his presentation of Jesus, as well as the many historical issues and cultural background questions that impact the understanding of this Gospel. There also I traced which features of that message spoke to our era. This work was designed for scholars, pastors, seminarians, and others who wanted to get into the details of the Greek text and the immense discussion that surrounds it.
My commentary for InterVarsity Press went the next step. There I was asked to build on the earlier work and explain the text, but also to present a more homiletical feel and make clear how Luke relates to the present. In that book I tried to concentrate on application as well as exegesis. This was a work for pastors and laypeople that still sought to trace and explain the message but present it with relevance for today.
The present work is different still. I have been asked to cover the textual message with adequate thoroughness, but more briefly than I did for Baker and with a different focus than for InterVarsity. Half the total commentary discusses not only application for today, but also how one gets there from the message of the past. I have tried to meet that equal division of labor as much as I could. I have given attention to the rationale for application, just as most commentaries explain and defend each step in their interpretation. It was a fresh challenge I accepted as a natural final step to take with this Gospel.
Any pastor or seminarian knows how the full process of interpretation taxes a whole range of skills and raises a set of distinct questions, whether one is interpreting, preaching, or simply applying the text. The present volume assumes much work in the previous two commentaries and attempts to complete the cycle. It could not have been written without the research that went into the earlier studies, but it also is by no means a mere re-presentation of them. I leave my readers to judge its success. My hope and prayer is that the study of this Gospel will lead to a closer walk with God and a better understanding of the one who fulfills God’s promises.
My thanks go to Zondervan Publishing House and to Stan Gundry, Jack Kuhatschek, Verlyn Verbrugge, and Terry Muck for their kind invitation to share in their series, especially to Jack and Terry for their helpful comments on the initial draft of the commentary. Their labor has made the task enjoyable, and their counsel has been full of wisdom. I also profited greatly from suggestions made by Marianne Meye Thompson and Klyne Snodgrass. They helped me say things more precisely and spurred my thinking in several application areas. Ken MacGillivray gave a careful proofreading of a draft of this commentary.
I dedicate this volume to my family, who always asked if I would ever get finished writing on Luke! I am especially grateful to my children, Elisa, Lara, and Stephen, who gave of their time so their father could work—yes, I can play a little more basketball now. To my brother, John, and my two sisters, Darcy and Joady, I offer appreciation for enduring life with a hyperactive brother. To my in-laws, Joe and Ann Painter, I express gratitude for allowing me the joy of sharing life with their wonderful daughter, Sally, and being patient as I grew up and took on the responsibility of helping to raise some of their precious grandchildren. And finally I dedicate this work to the memory of my deceased parents, whom God saw fit to take early in my life, but who left me a legacy of love that helped me appreciate what God’s love could be like.
—Darrell L. Bock
October 31, 1994