Author
Luke was a physician and an artist from Syria. He was highly educated, well-versed in Greco-Roman style. He has the finest Greek writing in the New Testament. He was not an eyewitness to the events but he interviewed eyewitnesses and drew from the oral collections. He was also not very familiar with Palestinian geography and often made geographical errors.
Date
Around 80-90 AD.
Audience
Luke writes to a group of educated Greeks as well as Jews who were products of Paul’s missionary journeys. We know they were mostly Gentile because Luke will quite frequently explain Jewish customs and words. He also adapts some things in the story to appeal to his audience. For instance, Jesus in Luke’s gospel will “recline at table” – a Roman custom not likely observed in first-century Palestine. But Luke’s audience would have identified with the custom and so Luke adapts the stories to incorporate this. Luke also gives us insight into the origins and early life of Jesus, something important to his audience.
Genre
Historiography – does not mean he is obsessed with precise details or chronological order. Rather his interest is in showing the historical veracity and worldwide significance of these events. He does this through short, sharply defined vignettes, forging them into a single narrative – a historical movement.
Apology – to an outsider, the movement is presented as philosophically enlightened, politically harmless, and socially benevolent. But to the insider, the more immediate purpose is to interpret the gospel within the context of an environment composed of both Jews and Gentiles.
Historical Setting
Luke frequently portrays Roman officials responding positively to the apostles. It is often proposed that Luke intended to quell suspicions about the Christian movement. For example, Pilate three times declares Jesus not guilty. We could also understand this as needing to assure the readers in their own self-understanding – that there was nothing subversive in their origins, nothing that should cause them to be in conflict with Roman governance.
Purpose
Here’s the problem as seen by Luke’s audience: how to explain that God’s promises were made to Abraham about Jewish people, but now the Gentiles were being brought in. Was that a failure of God’s promises? If God had failed the Jews, could he not easily fail the Gentiles? Or did God just change his mind about the whole thing? And if that’s the case, what’s to stop him changing his mind again? How far can we trust this seemingly capricious God?!
Luke sets out to show God has not changed the divine plan at all but rather fulfilled it! It is only by divine providence a gospel that had its beginning in Jerusalem, the capital of Judaism, ultimately comes to Rome, the capital of the Gentile world. The readers could thus be assured that their acceptance of Jesus was no aberration but part of God’s plan, a plan ultimately includes the conversion of the whole (Roman) world.
So Luke is out to show everything about Jesus was part of the plan from the start.
Central Theme
God’s end-times salvation predicted by the prophets has arrived through the coming of Jesus the Messiah, the Savior of the world, and this salvation is now going forth to the whole world.
Key Verses
For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. (2:11)
The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost. (19:10)
Literary Motifs, Themes
- Metanoia
- The Great Reversal Christ inaugurated an age in which everything is turned upside down.
- JOY
- Poverty vs Riches
- Role of women
- Universality There are no limits to God’s grace
- Continuity Luke is interested in the continuity of God’s plan. He makes the case that God intended to include the Gentiles from the very start.
- Key Question What must I do…?
- Prayer
- Proper use of material possessions
- Food “Guess who’s coming to dinner?!”
- Parallelism Luke will frequently have two parallel stories; such as the annunciations of John the Baptist and Jesus or the two stories of healing blind men
Outline
- birth stories for John and Jesus, legends about Jesus as a child (Jerusalem Temple is geographical focus) 1:1-2:52
- Preparation of the savior (3:1-4:13)
- Public ministry in Galilee. Teaching and healing demonstrate that the prophesied time of salvation is at hand. 4:14-9:50
- Journey from Galilee to Judea and Jerusalem where Jesus will meet his destiny. Parables and stories. 9:51-19:27
- The “Travel Narrative” takes us from the 13th through the 25th Sunday:
- 13th Sunday would-be followers
- 14th Sunday sending out the 72
- 15th Sunday parable of the Good Samaritan “what must I do?”
- 16th Sunday Mary and Martha
- 17th Sunday teaching on prayer: boldness
- 18th Sunday relationship to material wealth
- 19th Sunday waiting for the End
- 20th Sunday call for decision; cost of discipleship
- 21st Sunday consequences of a wrong decision
- 22nd Sunday necessity of humility
- 23rd Sunday demanding cost of discipleship
- 24th Sunday the God who diligently seeks disciples
- 25th Sunday proper use of wealth
- The “Travel Narrative” takes us from the 13th through the 25th Sunday:
- Jesus in Jerusalem
- conflict and controversy 19:28-21:38
- passion 22:1-23:56
- resurrection and ascension 24:1-53
Structure of Luke as adapted from Reading the New Testament by Pheme Perkins
| Galilee | Journey | Jerusalem | |
| Rejection | Nazareth 4:22-29 | Samaria 9:52-56 | Jerusalem 19:42-48 |
| Sending disciples | “The 12” 9:1-6 | “The 70” 10:1-20 | “The 12” 22:35-38 |
| Relatives and women | True relatives 8:19-21 | Mother blessed 11:27-28 | Women of Jerusalem 23:26 |
| True greatness | Receive a child 9:46-48 | Jesus’ “baptism” 12:50 | One who serves 22:24-27 |
| Herod | His opinion 9:7-9 | Jesus warned about 13:31-35 | Jesus appears before 23:6-16 |