Overview: Why Read Luke?
MOST PEOPLE DO not realize that Luke is the longest Gospel—not in chapters, but in verses. In fact, Luke as an author is the largest contributor to the New Testament, if one counts verses (Luke, 2157 verses [Luke + Acts]; Paul, 2032 verses; John, 1416 verses;1 Matthew, 1071 verses; Mark, 678 verses). The Gospel of Luke also is unique in that the story of Jesus has a sequel in the account of Acts. Thus, the work of Jesus and the church are related together through the eyes of the same human author. This means that the introductory concerns of the two volumes overlap; that is, evidence from Acts is also evidence about Luke.
Luke-Acts is about God’s plan. The Gospel explains who Jesus was, what he did, why he came, and how he prepared the disciples for the role they would have in that plan. Basic questions are a part of the Gospel’s story or are set up by the Gospel’s story. A major concern in Acts, for example, is the relationship of Jews to Gentiles. In this context, the Gospel of Luke probes such issues as these: How did an originally Jewish movement become the basis for an offer of salvation to all? Do Gentiles really belong? If Jesus was originally the Messiah for Israel, how was it he met so much opposition that they crucified him? Even more, how could a crucified Messiah become the basis for hope for all humanity? How could an absent, slain figure be the center of God’s hope? In sum, why should anyone respond to Jesus as the center of God’s plan and what is it he calls us to do?
This commentary will show how virtually every unit in Luke’s Gospel challenges us to respond to Jesus. Starting with categories of Jewish hope like Messiah, it reveals who Jesus is. But by allowing Jesus’ ministry to reveal who he is, we come to see that he is more than a messianic figure. Luke reveals this Jesus to us gradually, a progression we tend to miss since we are nearly two thousand years on the other side of these events and are already thoroughly familiar with his message from start to finish.
Why did Jesus come? Luke tells us it was not only to die for our sin, but also to form a people of God who, renewed by his Spirit, are able to serve him in righteousness and holiness all of their days (Luke 1:73–75). He came to declare the initial realization of God’s promise, a promise made “in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44).
What did Jesus do? Luke explains how he revealed that the way to God is through the sinner’s recognition that one must turn to God for help. The author also makes clear that the way of God is through Jesus. To show his power, Jesus preached the kingdom of God and the time of fulfillment (Luke 4:16–30; 11:14–23). He overcame nature, exorcised demons, healed from disease, and raised one from death to show he could overcome every type of enemy that opposes humanity (8:22–56). All the while he prepared his disciples for the journey of salvation by showing them that glory was reached only after suffering (9:21–27).
What does Jesus want people to do? He calls sinners to repent (Luke 5:31–32), disciples to take up their cross daily as they follow him (9:23), and witnesses to take the message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins to all the nations (24:43–49). He promises the Spirit for the task, since many will reject their message. Still, they are called to love their enemies and pray for them (6:27–35).
At the center of every step of activity in God’s plan stands Jesus. He is the one who is to be trusted with revealing God’s way. He is the one who calls disciples. He is the one who sends the Spirit. He is the one who brings God’s forgiveness (Luke 5:12–26; 7:36–50). The gospel is open to all, because Jesus is Lord of all. When Luke states that he wishes to reassure Theophilus (1:4), it is reassurance that Jesus is the source of divine blessing and that Theophilus has every right to embrace him as the bearer of God’s grace and promise.
This Gospel also explains how Jesus came to be rejected by the Jewish leadership. It tells how the message of the gospel came to include all nations in its promise (Acts fills out this theme more completely). This Gospel tells the kind of people Jesus wants his followers to be and what kind of community he wants them to possess. It describes the role of many key women in that community, the ethical call of Jesus, the importance of prayer, the attitude of joy in the midst of rejection by the world, and the importance and prominence of the Spirit. At the center of everything is the activity of a gracious God who keeps his promises, vindicates his people, and accomplishes his word. Believers love this Gospel because it not only gives them Jesus’ teaching, especially in the form of parables, but it also reveals his involvement with people—especially sinners, the poor, and the rejected of society. The God of compassion shows himself fully in this Gospel. The God of the Bible shows himself the God of the world.
We are accustomed to highlighting the diversity of people in our world. Ours is a multicultural and multidimensional world in the way it sees things. The Gospel of Luke explains how God can take those many ethnic backgrounds and dimensions and mold them into a new special community. In Jesus, though we have different roots, we can come to oneness. The more we closely examine first-century people, the more we see that they are just like us. Their problems and attitudes concerning sin, money, anxiety, hope, community, rejection, vengeance, pride, humility, and God’s direction mirror questions we face. Luke gives insight into how Jesus addressed such topics, and he makes clear how we can come to know God.
This latter issue puts the other topics into perspective and explains why we should listen carefully to Luke. The plan of God is often a great theological abstraction until we can see just how we fit into it. Luke’s goal is to make our place in that plan clear. He invites us to see how we can have a relationship with God that is a journey of faith and a tour through life as it was meant to be lived.
The Composition of Luke’s Gospel2
Author
NEITHER LUKE NOR Acts gives the name of its author. We must therefore examine evidence in these books and church tradition to determine authorship. Luke-Acts indicates two key facts about its author. (1) He was not an eyewitness to most of the events described, especially those in the Gospel (Luke 1:1–4). Rather, his sources were previous works that summarized the life of Jesus. (2) The author was a companion of Paul, according to the “we sections” of Acts (Acts 16:10–17; 20: 5–15; 21:1–18; 27:1–28:16). This second fact narrows the possibilities of authorship, though it also is disputed.
Some have argued that the “we sections” are either a literary device or the itinerary notes that the author simply took over without change, not the experiences of the author of Luke-Acts himself.3 Associated with this discussion is the debate over whether the Paul of the New Testament letters that bear his name is really like the Paul of Luke. Some argue the writer of Acts was not a companion of Paul, since there appears to be so much difference in Luke’s portrait of Paul and Paul’s own view of himself.4 If the author did not know Paul, then either he cannot be the person traditionally associated with the book, Luke, or Luke himself was not an associate of Paul.
Fitzmyer has fittingly responded to the claims about the “we sections” as a literary device by noting how arbitrarily they appear in the account. If they really were creative literary devices, why did they appear so sparsely and why are they not located in more texts? The “we sections” are more than mere inserts of notes from someone else, and their haphazard use reflects authenticity. On the matter of Paul, we must reckon with the reality of how one’s self-assessment and an assessment by another person often differ. In addition, the fact that the writer of the “we sections” worked with Paul on some occasions does not mean he was a constant companion of Paul. Furthermore, on the theological portrait of Paul in Luke versus that of Paul himself, the case can be made that the two are compatible.5 None of these considerations, of course, proves the author is Luke. But what it shows is that in Luke-Acts, the evidence points to at least a second-generation Christian who knew and occasionally worked with Paul.
The possibilities arising from the evidence within Luke-Acts does limit the possible candidates, though if one were to construct a possible list of traveling companions to Paul on the basis of his letters, it would be a long one: Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Timothy, Titus, Silas, Epaphras, Luke, and Barnabas. It is significant that despite this plethora of such candidates, early church tradition was unanimous in identifying the author as Luke. By A.D. 200, this identification was a given. Justin Martyr (c. A.D. 160) in Dialogues 103.19 speaks of a memoir of Jesus written by a follower of Paul. The Muratorian Canon, written a decade or two later, names Luke the doctor. Around the same time, Irenaeus ties the Gospel to Luke and notes the “we sections.” Tertullian and Eusebius also tie this book to an author with Pauline connections and note Luke’s role. Given the options available, the tie to Luke is impressive evidence of the memory of the church about the third Gospel’s author.
What we know about Luke suggests that he was not Jewish, though it is possible that he was a Semite, perhaps a Syrian from Antioch rather than a Greek (Col. 4:10–11). His knowledge of the Old Testament and his discussion of God-fearers may suggest he had some previous connection to Judaism and may even have been a God-fearer. The connection of Luke to medicine comes from Colossians 4:14.
Genre
A GOSPEL IS a unique genre in the New Testament. It is the story of both a person and his ministry, though it is different from a biography in that it does not seek to tell us about a life from start to finish. Luke places great stock in the roots of the tradition he works with to present his account. Luke 1:1–4 details how the roots of the Jesus accounts rest in eyewitness testimony. Yet it would be a mistake to say Luke was a scissors-and-paste editor who just put these traditions together. A comparison of this Gospel with the other two Synoptics shows that the author arranged his presentation, sometimes on the basis of themes and sometimes through the influence of additional sources.6 Luke also highlights how Jesus came to be understood as the risen, exalted Lord and how the Jewish rejection of Jesus took place. He outlines Jesus’ teaching in a way the other Gospels do not, since several of the parables are unique to him. Jesus’ concern for discipleship and one’s neighbor, especially the rejected of society, stand out in his account. A gospel is both theology and history. It is written not only to instruct but also to exhort. The combination makes Luke a historian, theologian, and pastor.
Date
MANY DATE THIS book after A.D. 70, usually in the mid-eighties, based on the fact that the texts on the judgment of the nation are so specific about Jerusalem’s destruction (Luke 19:41–44; 21:20–24). But the author’s descriptions of this destruction simply argue that God will judge the nation for covenant unfaithfulness, along the same lines as the judgment Assyria and Babylon brought to the nation of Israel.7 Given that prophetic background, there is no need to posit a writing after the fact.
A more likely date is some time in the sixties. The last event in Acts is dated A.D. 62; since Luke appears to be closely related to Acts, the release of the two volumes would have been fairly close to each other. This date is suggested because Paul’s death is not noted in Acts, and time must be allowed for the other sources, which included either Mark or Matthew, to circulate.
Audience
DISCUSSION ABOUT LUKE’S audience runs the gamut. Is he writing for a Jewish audience, given his full attention to their rejection? Is he writing for Gentiles, given the prominence of that mission in Acts? Is it a combination of the two? Part of the problem in deciding the audience is that the destination of this Gospel is not clearly known. Theophilus, to whom the Gospel is addressed in Luke 1:1–4, seems to be a socially prominent figure, but we do not know where he lived, nor are we certain of his nationality. The recipient has had some exposure to the faith, and the fact that he needs reassurance means he is likely a believer. It also seems clear from the way Luke wrote that he also knew Theophilus would not be his only reader—note the general character of many of the Gospel’s exhortations. To sort out the question of whether the Gospel had a Jewish or Gentile audience in view, we must discuss the purpose of Luke’s two volumes as a whole and how the Gospel fits into this purpose.
Purpose
SCHOLARS HAVE OFFERED numerous suggestions for the purpose of Luke-Acts.8 There are elements of truth in many of these suggestions, but only a few are comprehensive enough to be possible expressions of Luke’s fundamental goals. For example, Conzelmann argues that Luke was attempting to explain why Jesus has not returned yet, but little of this work discusses the Second Coming. The author spends far more time discussing the mission of the new group Jesus formed.
Several have suggested that the work is a “defense brief” of sorts, either for Christianity or for Paul as he was preparing to face his Roman date in court. The major problem with this thesis is that over three-quarters of the two volumes do not relate directly to a defense. What official would wade through some forty chapters before getting to the real point of the story? A variation of this view has Paul being defended before the Christian community. There is little doubt that a major theme of Acts is an explanation of how the gospel went out to Gentiles, with Paul being a representative of that mission. Yet this purpose does not clearly explain the function of the Gospel of Luke.
Still others have argued that Luke wants to combat Gnosticism, a major Greek philosophical movement that emerged in full force well after the time of Jesus. This approach seeks a Hellenistic setting for the Gospel. Other than the problem of late date for the emergence of this movement, only portions of the resurrection account, where Jesus is portrayed as having a bodily resurrection, offer clear challenges to that philosophical approach.
Several scholars have argued a broad purpose of evangelism or a presentation of the theme of salvation. Salvation is certainly a major concern, but that theme can be expressed so broadly that it can serve as the purpose for a number of New Testament books. Efforts to specify the theme of evangelism put us a little closer to the center of Luke’s effort. For example, Luke spends much time explaining how Jesus’ rejection by the Jewish leadership is within God’s plan. In addition, he probes how the nation of the covenant promise has been so negative toward her Messiah. This means that a theodicy in defense of God’s faithfulness may well be an important part of the volumes, including a careful presentation of the nature of God’s plan. When one considers Acts, it is also clear that the emerging significance of the Gentile mission and the justification for how it took place, including the fact that Gentiles did not have to become Jews to be Christians, is another major theme.
When one considers Luke alone, it is the person of Jesus and the nature of God’s work through him to deliver humanity that takes center stage. Theophilus is probably a believer, who as a Gentile, a non-Jewish Semite, or a God-fearer may well be wondering what he is doing in an originally Jewish movement that has faced so much rejection from the Jews. Does he really belong, and is salvation really found in that movement? Is this what God is about? Luke reassures Theophilus that Jesus does stand at the center of God’s redemptive plan by explaining how that rejection took place. He explains that the community Jesus formed must be prepared to walk a similar path.
Luke’s work also was intended to benefit any Jewish Christians who might have lingering questions about Gentile involvement and the path this was taking. Jesus’ suffering and rejection was not a surprise; they were designed by God. The reaction to the new community is also not a surprise. The road to vindication assumes the sort of suffering Jesus experienced. In the meantime, the disciples must witness to this redemption and respond to their rejection in love. That is why so many of the parables and so much of Jesus’ teaching deals with accepting or rejecting Jesus, with the nation’s role in that decision, and with the call to persevere and live in an ethically honorable manner as a representative of Jesus. Luke is a profoundly practical Gospel. His message is not only to be embraced; it is to be reflected in how we relate to others. Luke is also known as the writer who tells us much about the Holy Spirit, but this emphasis is less dominant in Luke than in Acts. Nonetheless, Jesus’ ministry not only fits within God’s plan, it is empowered by God’s enabling Spirit (Luke 4:16–18). The church’s ministry has a similar dynamic (Luke 24:43–49; Acts 1:8).
The Structure of Luke’s Gospel
MY OUTLINE OF Luke’s Gospel divides it into five basic sections. Elsewhere I have given a detailed defense for these major divisions.9 Since this commentary focuses on application and teaching, I will combine some subdivisions previously made as the units of tradition in the Gospel, in order to create larger preaching units. I have opted to combine as few texts as possible, so that Luke’s basic structure and order of themes still remains evident. In this section of this introduction, I will survey the book and suggest where these themes might lead in terms of application.
The infancy material (1:1–2:52) is not just infancy material; it extends into Jesus’ preteen years. Nonetheless, it shows the presence of divine activity from the start. Luke indicates how Jesus is superior to his forerunner, John the Baptist. He also reveals how God has revisited his people in the activities associated with the forerunner and the one who is to follow him (1:68–79). Two other crucial themes dominate: (1) God has a plan that he is executing through Jesus, and (2) God keeps his promises; thus, believers must continue to trust his word. Both Zechariah and Mary teach us about trust in God’s promise. Those who do trust experience his grace and can rest in the service they give to their God.
The second unit of the Gospel (3:1–4:13) shows John’s call to prepare a people for Jesus and Jesus’ qualifications to be the Promised One. John’s ministry reveals the nature of repentance in preparation for Jesus’ ministry. Repentance involves turning to God by recognizing our sins and serving others. But John’s main goal is to point to the One who follows. Jesus’ gift will not be a representative rite, but a bestowal of the Spirit, who purges between those who are God’s and those who are not. The Messiah will be known as the one who brings God’s Spirit.
The Galilean ministry section (4:14–9:50) highlights the activity and power of Jesus. Here declaration of the fulfillment of God’s promise, teaching, and miraculous work combine to ask the question, “Who is Jesus?” The answer comes in Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Anointed One of God. Whether Jesus’ power is exerted over nature, demons, disease, or death, he is the Promised Messiah. As such, the disciples must understand that he has also been called to suffer. They must likewise understand that there is no glory without suffering. One cannot follow Jesus without realizing that the way to glory comes through rejection. As disciples themselves participate in the world, which will reject them, they are called to love their enemies and pray for them and to serve others.
This section also explains how Jewish opposition to Jesus arises. His claims and his actions, which point to the great authority he possesses, offend many Jews theologically. For example, Jesus claims to be able to forgive sin, an act they view as blasphemous. Their reactions to Jesus’ claims and to his willingness to associate with sinners explain why some challenge him. After all, one who claims to forgive sins can do so only with divine authority. Jesus’ opponents can tolerate his prophetic actions and his claim to be the Promised Ruler of God who delivers his people, but when he claims prerogatives over spiritual judgment, that is going too far. Yet this is precisely this question Luke wishes to place on the table. Everything Jesus does is designed to highlight this unique point.
The Jerusalem journey section (9:51–19:44) is the major unit in the gospel that treats discipleship. It has two major concerns. (1) Jesus needs to train the disciples for life after he has departed. This concern becomes evident when one sees the amount of unique teaching, especially the parabolic teaching, that Luke uses in this section. (2) Luke also explains how opposition to Jesus heightens, resulting in the Jewish leadership’s call for his death. In this context, Jesus also calls his disciples to persevere and remain faithful to him. He shows that Israel as a nation is facing judgment for missing the time of God’s visitation. To miss God’s presence is a dangerous thing.
The final section (19:45–24:53) details Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem—his destined march to trial, his death, and his resurrection. A series of controversies in Jerusalem indicates just how different Jesus is from the official leadership. The discourse about the end times compares the coming destruction of the temple with return of the Son of Man. In his death, God’s plan reveals how Jesus has suffered as an innocent person, just as he predicted earlier in his ministry—God’s word is coming to fulfillment. Jesus’ resurrection catches the disciples by surprise. It means that the mission of Jesus’ followers will continue. The next stage in God’s plan is to proclaim the realization of God’s promise in the Messiah, which will be the task of faithful disciples—something the Gospel hopes to create.
Luke wrote his Gospel to reassure Theophilus of the truth of the things in which he has been instructed (1:1–4). He can be confident that Jesus is the Promised One of God, who brings forgiveness of sins and represents the inauguration of the completion of God’s plan. He can also be sure that the suffering the disciples currently experience in the world is no surprise to God, since they are marching in the footsteps of the Savior. Jesus himself resides at God’s side, sharing in divine authority; he is the source of all the benefits of salvation God graciously bestows on his children. Theophilus can know that the Spirit will be a source of comfort to him in the midst of his daily walk. He can look forward expectantly to the return of Jesus, when God moves decisively to vindicate his people. God will keep his promises. As Luke 7:28 teaches, the one who is the least in God’s kingdom is greater than the greatest prophet of the old era. In effect, Luke says to Theophilus and to all of us, “Be reassured. If you know Jesus, you are right where you should be.” In an age such as ours where people struggle for identity and worth, what better message can there be than to know that you know God and share in his promise. The treasure of Luke’s Gospel comes in the nuggets of reassurance he has left to the church.
Contemporary Significance
MUCH OF THE ATTENTION in this study of Luke will move from the first-century setting of Luke to modern application of its message. Luke suits such a goal. The author’s combination of action and teaching shows us a great deal about God, his plan, and the character of Jesus. To ponder this topic is of great significance, since the better we know God and the Savior, the better we can understand our calling and his purposes in our lives. Furthermore, we will be in a better position to deepen our walk of faith, since we will appreciate the character of God and his expectations of us.
Jesus’ teachings about sin and forgiveness impact both our understanding of our humanity and our worth and role in creation. Luke notes that God’s people do not always escape pain and are not always accepted in this life. How does one live in a world where walking with God may mean facing misunderstanding, if not outright hostility, from others? Yet the discipleship to which Jesus calls us as his followers also receives the provision of enablement through God’s Spirit, who empowers us to walk in a way that is pleasing to him. Through him, we can fulfill all that God asks us to be.
In terms of its worldview, its theology, and its practical presentation of principles, this Gospel explains how we can serve God better. That is why the author examines such topics as money, anxiety, persecution, the manner in which races or genders relate to each other, prayer, joy, and praise. Such topics are just as vital today as they were when Luke wrote.
Luke also analyzes various types of people, such as those who reject God’s way, those who hesitate to respond, and those who respond with varying degrees of sensitivity. The characters in this Gospel tell us much about how people respond to Jesus, as well as what values and priorities can prevent people from responding to him. These topics are rich in their potential for reflection about application.
This does not mean that application of Luke is always a straight-line journey from the past to the present. The situation of the church today is different from when Luke wrote. In his day, the church was “the new guy” on the religious block. It was a young and growing movement, seeking to establish itself. Now the church has its own history and tradition, and the movement is internationalized today in a way that could only have been a dream when Luke wrote. The inclusion of Gentiles, a fact so controversial in the early days, is now a given, while the role of Israel in the promise of God, a question central to the earlier discussion, is hardly even thought about today. Luke spends much time on this question; he points out how God is committed to giving everyone access to his promise. The church has also come to span all classes in a way that was impossible for a distinctly minority movement. At the same time, the church today has become institutionalized, to the point where the possibility of exercising power (and of abusing it) exists in ways the earliest community never faced. The call to service is often harder to exercise when power is so readily available. All these factors make application more complex.
Furthermore, some cultures, rightly or wrongly, think of themselves as Judeo-Christian in roots. This impacts how people understand Christianity, for many see themselves as born into a Christian culture or as knowing what Christianity is from the culture. Such a perspective colors how believers perceive the faith today. This possibility also impacts application.
On the other hand, we should also consider greater religious pluralism today, given the “global village” that communication makes possible. For many, the issue of a single message from God is problematic, not because one must choose between the true and the false (as most people used to believe), but because to many the only thing that matters is the sincere pursuit of God. The exclusive claims of Jesus as the unique Son of God and Savior and of God’s revelation as located in Christ alone fly in the face of a worldview that sees all attempts to reach God as legitimate. Jesus challenges this cultural expectation.
What these various factors mean is that Luke is a stimulating oasis for spiritual reflection about who I am and what God wants me to do. When one adds to that the natural scriptural emphasis of belonging to a community of people who have experienced God’s grace, who live in a world that does not easily embrace the things of God, and who share a unity in the community he formed to minister to that world, the issues of healthy relationships with God, with one another, and with those who are not a part of the community also come to the fore. Believers are called to live a life that looks to God, because he has poured his grace out on those who have received forgiveness and life in Jesus. Luke tells the story of how Jesus revealed that grace, died to provide it, rose to bestow it, and will return to establish its presence over all the creation. The church must show what such grace looks like in ministry, in relationships, and most of all, in a close walk with God. That new way of knowing God is the light of the gospel and the call of the church. That is what Luke’s story is about. That is why reading and reflecting on this story changes lives and one’s view of the definition of a life lived before God.