Luke Brief

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Oct 30, 2023

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Fruitland Baptist Bible College “Luke Brief” A Project Submitted to Professor Jack Givens In Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements of New Testament 201 BY: Matthew Honsaker

Writers Identity “The Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts clearly were written by the same individual (cf. 1:1-4; Acts 1:1). Although he never identified himself by name, it is clear from his use of “we” in many sections of Acts that he was a close companion of the apostle Paul (Acts 16:10- 17;20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1-28:16). Luke is the only person, among the colleagues Paul mentions in his own epistles (Col.4:14; 2 Tim.4:11; Philem.24), who fits the profile of the author of these books. That accords perfectly with the earliest tradition of the church which unanimously attributed this gospel to Luke.” 1 “Tradition for Lukan authorship is very strong, dating back to the early church. Early lists and descriptions of NT books dating from between A.D. 160 and 190 agree that Luke, the physician, and companion of Paul, wrote the Gospel of Luke. Many of the early church fathers from as early as A.D. 185 readily accepted Luke as the author of the Third Gospel”. 2 Writers Background/Vocation There is an extremely complicated debate occurring on whether or not Luke was Jewish or Gentile. It looks like tradition holds to Luke being a Gentile, although Edwards says it should be reconsidered. 3 Luke had the credentials of being a historian. He dug deeply when investigating everything to give an orderly account of the Gospel he wrote. Luke talks about and emphasizes the care with which he had investigated and researched his work. 4 We know that Luke was a traveling companion of Paul’s. Paul actually called him “loved” (Col. 4:14) Paul and 1 John MacArthur, Matthew , The MacArthur study Bible, 2 nd Edition (Nashville, TN; 1997), 1368. 2 Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Revised and Expanded (2015), s.v. “Luke, Gospel of”. 3 James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Luke , The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 2015), 10. 4 Robert H. Stein, Luke , The New American Commentary (Nashville TN: Broadman, 1992), 36.

Luke seemed to have stayed close by each other. Apparently, Luke stayed close by with Paul, during Paul’s second Roman imprisonment. Before being martyred Paul wrote in (2 Timothy 4:11), “only Luke is with me”. Early church fathers identified Luke as being from Antioch. Paul tells us that Luke was a physician (Col. 4:14), and Luke was an evangelist, although the circumstances of Luke’s conversion are not revealed to us. 5 Luke’s Intended Audience ‘The Gospel of Luke was written for Theophilus (“lover of God”), probably a Roman official who had trusted Christ and now needed to be established in the faith. It is also possible that Theophilus was a seeker after truth who was being taught the Christian message, because the word translated instructed in Luke 1:4 gives us our English word catechumen , “someone who is being taught the basics of Christianity.” 6 Although Luke most certainly was writing this for Theophilus, we can be almost certain that Luke’s intended audience was on a much broader scale than just this one man. Clearly Luke wanted to provide us with an orderly account of the events of Jesus’ life through eyewitness testimony, indicating Luke himself was not an eyewitness. 7 Luke’s Primary Message Concerning Christ There is a running theme throughout the Gospel of Luke, which shows Jesus Christ’s absolute compassion upon Gentiles, Samaritans, women, sinners of all kinds, and the outcasts of Israel. Luke also did not ignore the salvation of others, who may have been of a more respectable background. From the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry to Jesus’ final words on 5 Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Revised and Expanded (2015), s.v. “Luke”. 6 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 170). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. 7 John MacArthur, Matthew , The MacArthur study Bible, 2 nd Edition (Nashville, TN; 1997), 1368, 1369.

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the cross, this theme of Christ’s ministry to the outcast of society can be seen. We are shown throughout this Gospel how Jesus Christ, our great Physician, ministered to those who knew how desperately they needed Christ. 8 “His key message is, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). He presents Jesus Christ as the compassionate Son of man, who came to live among sinners, love them, help them, and die for them. In this Gospel you meet individuals as well as crowds, women, and children as well as men, poor people as well as rich people, and sinners along with saints. It is a book with a message for everybody , because Luke’s emphasis is on the universality of Jesus Christ and His salvation: “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10). 9 Key Words Used in Luke’s Gospel Luke referred to the Holy Spirit approximately seventeen times in his Gospel in comparison to only six times in Mark, and twelve times in Matthew. We see such references, referring to the Spirit, in this Gospel as “Power” or “Promise.” Luke’s emphasis on the Holy Spirit is obvious as well in Acts. Key points also in the Gospel of Luke are: The Sovereign Rule of God over History, The Kingdom of God, Jesus is Prophet, Christ/ Messiah, Son of God/ Son, Lord, Son of Man, Servant, King of the Jews, Son of David, Holy and/or Righteous One, Author of Life, Leader, Savior, and Judge. 10 Life Ministry and Death of Luke 8 John MacArthur, Matthew , The MacArthur study Bible, 2 nd Edition (Nashville, TN; 1997), 1369. 9 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 170). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. 10 Robert H. Stein, Luke , The New American Commentary (Nashville TN: Broadman, 1992), 45,46,47,48,49.

“An early source supplied a fitting epitaph: “He served the Lord without distraction, having neither wife nor children, and at the age of 84 he fell asleep in Boeotia, full of the Holy Spirit”. 11 Bibliography 1. John MacArthur, The MacArthur study Bible, 2 nd Edition (Nashville, TN; 1997) 2. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Revised and Expanded. Edited by Chad Brand. Nashville, TN: B and H, 2015. 3. Edwards, James R. The Gospel According to Luke . The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 2015. 4. Stein, Robert H. Luke . The New American Commentary. Nashville TN: Broadman, 1992. 5. Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary . Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. 11 Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Revised and Expanded (2015), s.v. “Luke”.