September 1, 2024
Luke 1:1-5
“Luke: An Overview”
As we kick-off our new series on Luke, my mind drifts back a few years ago when we did our study of the gospel of John. We spent over two years in that series. Who knows how much time we’ll spend in Luke. All I know is, however much it adds up to, it will be worth the journey. And on the way, we’ll be well prepared for Advent as we’ll be looking at Luke’s birth narrative sometime by the end of this month or into early October. If you’re a fan of A Charlie Brown Christmas, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Luke is one of four New Testament gospels. The other three are Matthew, Mark, and the aforementioned John. Three are grouped together. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are synoptic gospels. That means they are “seen together.” The flow, stories, events, and chronology share similarities. Of course, there are differences unique to each synoptic gospel. As we’ll see down the road, there’s a grouping of three parables that are only found in Luke. Fascinating stuff.
Here's something you might want to write down:
ALL FOUR GOSPELS TELL THE GREAT STORY OF SALVATION.
In other words, the gospels contain the story of God’s plan to save sinners from eternal hell through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. That is the primary purpose. That is the greatest story ever told. That’s why they’re called gospels. Gospel in Old English means “Good News.” The original Greek is euangelion, which means “Good Announcement.”
The major difference for us is that Luke’s gospel is different. For a variety of reasons.
Firstly, Luke was a physician. We’ll explore that in a bit.
Secondly, Luke was the only Gentile to write any part of the New Testament.
Thirdly, Luke wrote two books in the New Testament. When first written, they were parts one and two of a single work. Let’s listen to both introductions:
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.”
Luke 1:1-4
“In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’”
Acts 1:1-4
When you add up these two volumes from Luke, they come to fifty-two chapters. Luke is also the longest gospel. Altogether, Luke was responsible for approximately one-third of the New Testament. Paul was author of another one-third. Amazing that while Paul didn’t write a gospel, he still wrote as much as Luke. If I’m doing my math right, together they wrote two-thirds of the New Testament.
Prolific and profound.
Here’s something to ponder. Luke’s writing goes from John the Baptist to Paul sailing to Rome to face his eventual martyrdom. It is quite a saga. Luke accomplishes this through his travels with key players, listening to their accounts, and faithfully recording their remembrances. Again, prolific and profound.
Here’s one thing Luke doesn’t do. He doesn’t tell us one thing about himself. Not one bit of biographical detail. What does that tell you? Humility. Not wanting to get in the way of the greatest story ever told. Not needing recognition or notoriety. Quite different from our narcissistically dominated culture.
There’s not much to know about Luke.
He was a physician, however it was practiced back then. He was adept in the healing arts. Which explains the attention he paid to illnesses and healing miracles. We also know nothing of his family or extended family.
Here’s what we do know.
Luke was a close friend of Paul. Colossians 4:10-14 reports:
“Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions - if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.”
The obvious point here is the direct reference to Luke as a physician. We’ll see in a bit how helpful that was to Paul. Also, note Paul refers to the first men he identifies as men of the circumcision. They were Jewish. Next were the Gentile followers of Jesus Christ, of whom Luke is one.
Next there’s Philemon 1:24:
“Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to
you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.”
Followed by 2 Timothy 4:9-18:
“Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
You can hear some melancholy there, but for the most part there’s resiliency and hope. It’s especially helpful for Paul to have Luke with him because of the physical toll his trials have taken on him. There were also added hardships and beatings.
Here’s something else you might want to write down. This speaks to the high-reliability of Luke’s gospel:
LUKE WAS A WELL-EDUCATED, OBSERVANT, AND CAREFUL WRITER.
And as we’ve already noted, he is content to be humbly hidden behind this masterwork. And we wouldn’t expect anything less. A masterwork for his Master Savior. Amen?
One last thought to leave with us until next week.
Listen again to verse one:
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the
things that have been accomplished among us…”
Pay attention to what Luke does say and what he doesn’t say.
He says he is compiling a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us.
He doesn’t say he is compiling a biography of the life of Jesus.
I’m sure you’d agree that’s a huge difference. While some, as Luke indirectly notes, attempted a sort of biography of Jesus, that’s neither his point nor his purpose. Make no mistake. There’s nothing in Luke which indicates his primary goal is a story about Jesus. Exhibiting literary, scientific, and historical brilliance, Luke’s primary purpose is telling the story of what God accomplished among us through Jesus. That’s the point. Luke emphasizes what God has done through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Here's the last thing you might want to write down:
LUKE TELLS THE STORY OF WHAT GOD ACCOMPLISHES IN THE
LIVES OF SINNERS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.
That’s what Luke says in verse one. The word Luke uses to say it, accomplishes, is an intensive compound Greek word. It indicates something that has been fully, completely, and perfectly fulfilled.
Because of that fact, we can say together:
SOLI DEO GLORIA…
To the Glory of God Alone
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