071028A

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071028A
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Gospel of Luke

• Sermon Series Objectives
• Increase our knowledge of Jesus
• Orderly, detailed account of His life, teachings,
  attributes.
• Deeper convictions changed lives
• 2 Corinthians 318 But we all beholding as in
  a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being
  transformed into the same image

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Gospel of Luke

• Who Wrote It?
• Author also wrote Acts as a 2-volume work for
  Theophilus (see Acts 11).
• In Acts, the we sections identify him as a
  companion of Paul who was with him during his
  Jerusalem and Roman imprisonments. 
• By process of elimination (the author mentions
  most of Pauls imprisonment companions in the
  third person), the best candidate is Luke the
  physician (Col. 414), the only Gentile author in
  the New Testament.

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Gospel of Luke

• Who Wrote It?
• . . . Luke, the follower of Paul, set down in a
  book the gospel preached by his
  teacher . . .Irenaeus, Against Heresies, III.
  1 (c. 180 AD)

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Gospel of Luke

• When Was It Written?
• Mark 55? Matthew 58?
• Luke 60? John 67? 95?
• Since Acts ends with Paul imprisoned in Rome
  about 62 AD, Acts was probably written then,
  which would make Luke a little earlier.
• Matthew and Luke use more than 90 of Marks
  verses in their writings.

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Comparison of 4 Gospels
John
Luke
Mark
Matthew
Gospel
World
Greek
Roman
Jew
Reader
Son of God
Son of Man
Servant of Lord
King of Israel
Jesus as
Glory
Salvation
Power
Law
Primary Theme
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Gospel of Luke

• Gospel for the Gentiles
• Luke begins dating from Roman Emperor
• Not much emphasis on Jesus as fulfillment of
  Jewish prophecy (unlike Matthew)
• Seldom quotes the OT
• Often gives Hebrew words in Greek equivalent (ex.
  Master instead of Rabbi)

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Gospel of Luke

• Main Divisions
• Preface 11-4
• Birth and childhood of John the Baptist and Jesus
  (15-252)
• Preaching of John the Baptist (31-20)
• Jesus Baptism Temptation (321-413)
• Ministry of Jesus in Galilee (414-950)

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Gospel of Luke

• Main Divisions
• Jesus and His disciples on the way to Jerusalem
  (951-1944)
• Last days in Jerusalem, His Crucifixion and
  Burial (1945 2356)
• Appearances of the resurrected Christ and His
  Ascension (241-53)

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Gospel of Luke

• Why Was It Written?
• Luke says in 11-4 that he wanted to write a
  carefully researched life of Jesus so that
  Theophilus (and no doubt other Gentile seekers)
  could be assured of the historical accuracy of
  what they had been taught.

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Gospel of Luke

• Luke 11-4
• In as much as many have undertaken to compile an
  account of the things accomplished among us,
• just as they were handed down to us by those who
  from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants
  of the word,
• it seemed fitting for me as well, having
  investigated everything carefully from the
  beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive
  order, most excellent Theophilus
• so that you may know the exact truth about the
  things you have been taught.

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Gospel of Luke
Geldenhuys, Commentary on Luke One of the most
phenomenal changes that has taken place in the
field of New Testament Studies in recent years is
that relating to the historical reliability of
Luke as author By eminent critics, Luke was
regarded as a hopeless, unreliable author.
Toward the end of the last century though, and
during the first part of the present century, the
researches of men like Ramsey, Harnak, and
Hawkins brought to light masses of surprising
facts that confirm the historical accuracy of the
statements in Luke, which were formerly condemned
as fictitious.
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Gospel of Luke
After doing research work for many years in the
regions described by Luke, Ramsey stated
unambiguously that Lukes writing is unsurpassed
in respect of its trustworthiness. Summing up,
he wrote, Luke is a historian of the first rank.
Not merely are his statements trustworthy, but he
is possessed of the true historic sense in
short, this author should be ranked along with
the very greatest of historians. These words
are important coming, as they do, not from an
apologist or theologian, but from a recognized
authority in archeology.
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Gospel of Luke

• Is Historical Accuracy Important?
• Gods saving deeds are based in history.(Exodus,
  Resurrection 1 Cor. 1514-19)
• Historical accuracy provides a rational basis for
  belief in Christianity.(Jesus loves me, this I
  know for the Bible tells me so. But why should
  I trust what the Bible says?)

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Gospel of Luke

• Is Historical Accuracy Important?
• It is a striking and well-concealed fact that the
  other so-called scriptures are completely
  lacking in this area.
• dont deal with history at all (EASTERN
  RELIGIONS)
• clearly inaccurate history (Gosp. of Thomas)
• predictions are false or hopelessly vague

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Gospel of Luke

• Primary Themes
• Jesus is the TRUE Savior of ALL humanity.

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Jesus the Savior

• Savior is Lukes distinctive title for Jesus. 
  The Greek words for savior and save and
  salvation occur 8 times in Luke and 9 times in
  Acts compared to NONE for Matthew and Mark.

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Jesus the Savior

• The angel Gabriel tells Mary to name her son
  Jesus, which means Gods salvation (131). 
  Mary responds by exulting in God my Savior
  (147).
• Zacharias prophesies that He will give His
  people the knowledge of salvation by the
  forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender
  mercy of our God (177-78). 
• The angel announces to the shepherds Today in
  the city of David a Savior has been born to you
  he is Christ the Lord (211). 
• When Simeon holds the baby Jesus, he prays My
  eyes have seen Your salvation (230).

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Jesus the Savior

• Son of Man occurs 25 times. (carries a
  Messianic meaning Daniel 713
• 1910 provides a one-verse summary of Lukes
  entire work
• for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save
  that which was lost.

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Jesus the Savior

• The key question according to Luke is
• Are you willing to humble yourself to admit that
  you need a Savior, or will you in your pride
  reject the Savior who loves you?

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Gospel of Luke

• Primary Themes
• Jesus is the TRUE Savior of ALL humanity.
• Jesus is a radically inclusive Savior.

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A Radically Inclusive Savior

• Luke lived in a world (much like our own) in
  which people of privilege used their power to
  marginalize those who were different from them. 
  Roman society was dominated by wealthy
  Greco-Roman men, and Jewish society was dominated
  by wealthy and religious Jewish men.  Those
  outside the normal power structures the
  racially different, the poor, the women and the
  irreligious were tolerated at best and
  exploited and rejected at worst. 

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A Radically Inclusive Savior

• Against this backdrop of human wickedness, Luke
  arranges his material to highlight Jesus as a
  Savior who reaches out to everyone. Jesus is able
  to save all, but He reaches out especially to
  those who are marginalized by the advantaged. 
• FOR EXAMPLE

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A Radically Inclusive Savior

• 1. Emphasizes Jesus love for ethnic racial
  outcasts (focus on Samaritans the half-breeds
  that most Jews hated).
• Only Luke records the parable of The Good
  Samaritan.
• Only Luke records the story of the Ten Lepers
  the only one who returned to thank Jesus was a
  Samaritan.

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A Radically Inclusive Savior

• 2. Emphasizes Jesus love and respect for women
  in many ways.
• The birth of Jesus is told from the perspectives
  of Elizabeth and Mary, as Luke focuses on their
  heroic faith and their joy and honor in being
  agents of Gods redemptive plan.

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A Radically Inclusive Savior

• 2. Emphasizes Jesus love and respect for women
  in many ways.
• Only Luke tells us that Jesus ministry was
  funded in-part by several well-off women who also
  traveled with him as disciples (81-3).
• Only Luke shows Jesus defending Marys right to
  sit at his feet as a student instead of helping
  Martha with the chores (1038-42).

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A Radically Inclusive Savior

• 3. Emphasizes Jesus love for the poor.
• Only Luke tells us the story of Lazarus and the
  rich man (1619-31).
• Only Luke records Jesus claim in Nazareth that
  he is the Messiah who has come to preach the
  gospel to the poor (418).

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A Radically Inclusive Savior

• 3. Emphasizes Jesus love for the poor.
• Only Luke records the parables that emphasize
  Gods special concern for the sick and poor who
  are unable to help themselves or return favors
  done to them (147-24).

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A Radically Inclusive Savior

• 4. Emphasizes Jesus love and mercy towards
  notorious sinners.
• Only Luke records the parable of The Prodigal Son
  (1511-32), which shows Gods welcome of
  repentant sinners who have violated major
  religious norms (parental disrespect sexual
  immorality swine-herding) while also showing
  that the loyal, good people are often far from
  Gods heart.

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A Radically Inclusive Savior

• 4. Emphasizes Jesus love and mercy towards
  notorious sinners.
• Luke highlights Jesus dealings with the
  tax-collectors he makes them heroes of two of
  his unique stories (189-14 191-10) and
  describes how Jesus went to their parties,
  accepted their dinner invitations, and welcomed
  them as they came out to hear him teach. 

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Conclusion

• Luke shows that no one is a lost cause to Jesus. 
  He welcomes the nobodies of this world just as
  much as the somebodies. No matter how hated or
  rejected or sinful or irreligious we have been,
  Jesus loves us, he is willing to forgive us, and
  he can give us a significant life in his
  service. 

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Conclusion

• If we follow Jesus, he will expose our prejudices
  and lead us toward involvement with people that
  we would never have associated with! people
  from different racial and socio-economic and
  religious and moral backgrounds. 
• Are we willing to share Jesus love and mercy
  with those who are different than us?

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Will You Become A Christian?
Hear the Gospel (Rom. 1017) Believe that Jesus
is the Son of God (Mk. 1616) Repent of Your Sins
(Acts 1730) Confess Jesus as Lord (Rom.
109-10) Be Baptized for Forgiveness of Sins
(Acts 238) Live Faithfully until You Die (Rev.
210)