- LOOKING INTO LUKE
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
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- LESSON ONE -- INTRODUCTION
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- Once
upon a time, in days long ago and places far away, there
lived a man they called Loukas. He loved people, and was
beloved by those who knew him. Choosing the healing arts,
be became a physician. He traveled much, was loyal to his
friends, and with excellent diction he wrote about the
human side of the events concerning which he reported. We
today can wish we had known this man we call
"Luke."
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- Strong tradition says Luke wrote the Third Gospel, which is attributed to him, and also The Acts of the Apostles. Yet even in these documents he tells practically nothing about himself. The only exceptions are found in the oblique references to himself in his dedicatory statements to Theophilus (Luke 1:3 and Acts 1:1), and his use of the pronoun "we" instead of "they" in several episodes in the travels of Paul (See Acts 16:10-17; also Acts 20:5ff).
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- The only other references to Luke in the entire New Testament are (1) in Colossians 4:14, when Paul spoke of him as "Luke, the beloved physician"; (2) in Philemon 24, when Paul referred to him as one of his "fellow-workers"; and (3) when writing what was probably his last letter, his second to Timothy, Paul said poignantly that Luke was the only one who had not deserted him (II Timothy 4:11).
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- But
this man Luke wrote stressing the human side of the
Incarnate Life of Jesus, more so than any of the other
Gospel writers. It is this humanness of The Son of Man
which, alongside His divinity, seems to be the special
contribution of Luke to the verbal portrait we have of
the Incarnate One.
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- Many
there are in this world who will acknowledge the
greatness of Jesus as an human being but who will deny
His divinity. On the other hand, Christians will often
stress the Deity of Jesus but give only scant attention
to His true humanity. A careful study of the Third
Gospel, attributed to Luke, will go far toward helping us
to reach a fully-developed balance between the humanity
and the divinity of Jesus.
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- Even as we know little about Luke, we know even less about the man named Theophilus, to whom Luke addressed both his documents. The name, "Theophilus," means "lover of God," or possibly "God loves" (i.e., one beloved of God.) Luke 1:4 tells that Theophilus had been taught the Gospel by word of mouth, and so presumably had been at least a seeker after divine truth, and perhaps was already a Christian. Now Luke would teach him more details about Jesus. Luke addressed him as "Most Excellent," which was a title of an high-ranking Roman official.
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- When Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, and the chief captain of the Roman garrison proposed to send him to the Roman governor in Caesarea, the chief captain addressed a letter to the governor Felix, beginning as follows: "Claudius Lycias unto the Most Excellent governor Felix." (Acts 23:26.) Note the same title: "Most Excellent." Thus Theophilus likewise may have had a position as governor of some Roman province.
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- It
was often the custom in olden times for a wealthy person
to sponsor and support artists and writers, who then in
turn dedicated their works to their patron. Thus it may
have been that Luke so dedicated his writings to this man
Theophilus his sponsor. Possibly; but we just do not
know.
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- When
did Luke do his writing? Again we just do not know.
However, we can perhaps hazard a guess. We know that when
Luke finished writing the Acts, Paul had been a prisoner
in Rome for two years (Acts 28:30); and the Gospel of
Luke was written before Acts (See Acts 1:1). Perhaps the
Gospel was written while Paul was a prisoner in Caesarea,
when Luke may have done research for events set forth in
the Gospel; or it may have been written during the first
two years of Paul's imprisonment in Rome. Beyond that, we
can only conjecture.
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- The
situation under which Luke wrote the Gospel may well have
been complex. On the surface, it was perhaps to instruct
Theophilus more fully on the events of the earthly career
of Jesus. We have already touched upon that possibility.
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- But
then again, Luke had been long associated with Paul and
had undoubtedly learned much of the thinking of the
Apostle. While in prison Paul had been given the
revelation to write his Epistle to the Ephesians, in
which he taught the new creation of God, the new race of
humanity in Jesus. (Eph. 2:10.) Thus Luke might have
conceived of a "Gospel" which would lay the groundwork
for Jesus becoming the "head" of this new humanity.
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- Thirdly, we must not overlook the work of
the Holy Spirit inspiring Luke to write as he did. The
Gospel of Luke is part of Scripture, and we must not
overlook God's control of the things the Bible-writers
wrote.
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- Thus
we may consider that the purpose of Luke would seem to be
to present in a clear way a special facet of the
character of Jesus. Not only was He the long looked-for
Messiah of the Jewish people (as per Matthew); not only
was He the special "Servant of the Lord" fulfilling the
prophecy of Isaiah (as in Mark); and not only was He the
Word of God: the Son of God, as per John's Gospel; but
Jesus was Man. He was true Man, the perfect Man, the
sinless Man, the very embodiment of all that Man had been
created to be, The Son of Man. This, it would seem, was
Luke's special assignment in writing.
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- But
in presenting Jesus as a true human being, we must not
suppose that Luke was setting forth an ideal toward which
each of us should by our own efforts strive. Rather,
Jesus was to be a completely new type of Man, a person
inherently different from all other persons. He was to be
the prototype toward which Christians, regenerated,
re-created by God, are to be conformed. (See third
paragraph above.) Our failure to see this is to miss the
very essense of Luke's delineation of Jesus.
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- Luke
spends much time presenting and setting forth the private
life of Jesus, showing Him as living a life that was
"different." This His opponents: scribes, Pharisees,
rulers, priests; all failed to comprehend. And this can
well be our difficulty, too, unless we perceive that
Jesus is the First Person and the Progenitor of a new
race of mankind.
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- Many
parts of Luke's Gospel are unique to him alone. We must
therefore pay special attention to these original
sections, and to see the special emphasis that Luke would
have us note.
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- Luke's Gospel begins with an extended
section on the preparations for the Birth of Jesus.
Almost one and one-half years before the birth of Jesus
we find an old man and old woman were enabled to give
birth to a boy. This was clearly a supernatural act by
God. Then, some six months later, a Jewish teen-ager,
engaged but not yet married, was informed that she was to
give birth to a child apart from cohabitation with her
fiance. And in the greeting of Elizabeth to Mary, and in
Mary's own Magnificat, we see that the total praise is
given to God. Clearly we have presented to us, not just
ordinary events, but rather the supernatural hand of God
in and through these affairs, preparing the way for His
Messiah.
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- As in the other so-called Synoptic Gospels, we find the early career of Jesus designed to have people identify Who He was. Finally, Peter was enabled to perceive the true identity of Jesus. But from the ninth chapter on, we see Jesus not only openly and repeatedly predicting His own death, but in extended discourses to those who would hear, teaching new standards: standards for those who were to be "created" as members of His own new humanity. This includes long sections found only in the Third Gospel.
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- The
story of the "Good Samaritan," the "Prodigal Son,"
parables on faithfulness in stewardship, repeated
examples of and lessons on prayer: all these and more are
unique to Luke's Gospel. Clearly Luke is presenting Jesus
as teaching subject-matter on a level to be adequately
understood only by those who were to be a part of the new
creation in Himself.
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- Luke's Gospel, then, is neither Jewish
nor yet Gentile in its emphasis. Rather, it is to be
grasped by members of a new kind of mankind, a new race
of people, a new creation by God, a new kind of humanity
in Jesus Himself.
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- Grasp
this emphasis and one will go far in understanding Luke's
special emphasis in his Gospel.
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- The
course of study for which these lessons are being
prepared is to cover a period of twenty weeks. Since
there are twenty-four chapters in Luke, and many of the
chapters are quite long, it will be impossible to have a
complete study. Therefore we must be selective. And this
involves a subjective judgment by the writer of these
notes.
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- We
shall therefore try to note turning-points in the
narrative, passages peculiar to Luke, passages in which
Luke gives a special turn, an extra sidelight, a
different emphasis in setting forth events common to the
Third and other of the Gospels, and finally to events
which further Luke's theme of a Progenitor of and Teacher
of a new mankind.
- On
the other hand, all who read these notes and study about
Luke's recitation are encouraged to read the entire
Gospel text, form their own judgments, and it is hoped
profit from the course. As with all Scripture, profit
comes from one's own careful analysis of all that Luke
was given to say. May this study be of benefit and
blessing to YOU.
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- QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW, STUDY, AND
DISCUSSION
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- (Suggestion: write your answers to these
questions. You may insert a blank page before or after
these questions, thereon to write your answers.)
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- 1.
Review of preceding text: Have you read the Gospel of
Luke through? If you have, what has impressed YOU about
the book?
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- The
following questions are based on Luke 1:5-80:
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- 2.
Since Zechariah the priest had for long time prayed for a
son, why do you suppose he did not believe the message of
the angel Gabriel? Are you surprised when God answers
your prayer?
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- 3.
Although Zechariah was struck dumb for his unbelief, why
did not the angel Gabriel give a similar affliction to
Mary when he announced she would bear a son, the
Messiah?
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- 4.
Notice how the greeting of Mary and Elizabeth (1:39-46)
was a special joint statement of praise to God for His
promises. Have you ever considered how, when you go to
visit a friend, your greeting can be a word of special
praise to God for your visit?
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- 5.
Study vss. 1:46-55 for yourself. When you sense that God
has given you some special blessing, how do you see in it
the opportunity to share your blessing with others? Can
you give examples from your own experience?
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- 6.
Both Elizabeth and Zechariah resisted the advice and
well-meaning pressure ot others in naming their child. Do
you, parents or grandparents, hint names reflective of
God's character and care for us all?
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- 7.
Consider some great event of special blessing in your
Christian life. Can you think back to recall God's
advance preparation for the event? Discuss.
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- ---
Norman L. MacLeod Jr.
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