The Gospel of Luke | October 21, 2020

Coffee House Theology Podcast

Background of the Gospel of LUKE:

1. Who: Luke, a Gentile Physician who “writes with the compassion and warmth of a family doctor” as he carefully documents the life of Jesus. The “we” portions of Acts (16:1-17; 20:5-21:18, 27:1-28:16) subtly reveal that Luke was a traveling companion of Paul. Luke was with Paul during both of his Roman imprisonments as Paul’s “beloved physician” (Col. 4:14, Philemon 24, 2 Tim. 4:11), evidence of Luke’s loyalty even in the face of personal danger. Luke is the only Gentile contributor to the New Testament. Church tradition tells us that Luke was from Syrian Antioch, remained unmarried, and died at 84 years old.

2. When: Luke wasn’t an eyewitness of the events in his gospel, but he relied on the testimony of eyewitnesses and written sources (1:1-4). It’s highly likely that during Paul’s 2- year imprisonment in Caesarea Philippi that Luke gathered information from eyewitnesses for his gospel, especially from Mary, mother of Jesus. Luke likely wrote during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome, during the late 60s.

3. Whom: Luke’s carefully written gospel was presented to “the most excellent Theophilus” (“friend of God”). The title indicates that he was a man of high social standing and likely was a man of means who paid the cost of publishing Luke/Acts so they would be available throughout the Gentile world.

4. What: Luke’s gospel is the longest book in the New Testament. The combined “2 volume set” of Luke and Acts makes up 28% of the entire New Testament, which makes Luke the most prolific author (2,138 verses to Paul’s 2,033). Luke writes in the most refined Greek in the New Testament. He translates Aramaic terms with Greek words and explains Jewish customs and geography for understanding. Luke’s most striking feature is his strong interest in people impacted by the ministry of Jesus, as he present Jesus as the true Savior of the whole world. Luke relates how the gospel impacts Jews, Samaritans, Gentiles, rich and poor, respected and despised, insiders and outsiders.

5. WHY: Luke clearly states his purpose in his prologue: “That you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (1:4). Luke wanted to create an accurate, chronological, and comprehensive account of the life of Jesus to strengthen the faith of believers and to bring saving faith to unbelievers. A secondary purpose was to demonstrate to the Romans that Christianity was not a political threat. For example, three times Luke records Pilate’s acknowledgement of Christ’s innocence (23:4, 14, 22).