A couple of weeks ago as I was reading the Gospel of Luke,
I felt impressed by the Lord to go through this wonderful Gospel on our Pastor
Chats after we finished the Book of Joshua. It could also be that our grandson
Luke has been on our hearts and minds over these past several weeks with his
surgeries. He actually is named Michael Luke. And we still can’t thank you
enough for your prayers for him through that difficult and challenging time. He
appears to be doing well and recovering quickly with everything working
properly.
The Gospel of Luke is a very interesting book. It is
probable that Luke was a Gentile, making him the only non-Jewish author in
Scripture. The early church unanimously attributed the third Gospel to Luke,
and all the ancient manuscripts we have of the Gospel bear his name. Early
Church fathers like Irenaeus, Ignatius, Clement, and Tertullian affirmed Luke’s
authorship, considering his account of the life of Christ authoritative and inspired
Scripture. We have no reason to doubt the traditional attribution of the book
to Luke, and Luke is properly acknowledged as the author of the Gospel bearing
his name.
Dr. Luke is named only three times in the New Testament: in
Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; and Philemon 24. He wrote Acts (compare Luke
1:1-4 with Acts 1:1) and traveled with Paul (note the "we" sections
in Acts 16:10-17; 20:4-15; 21:1-18, and 27:1-28:16). Paul called Luke, “the beloved
physician” (Colossians 4:14). One well-known commentator believes that it is possible
that Luke was the man in the dream that Paul had of a “man of Macedonia” asking
for Paul and Silas to come there and help them (Acts 16:9-10).
Luke wrote a book that is filled with good news for
everybody. 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's 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). No
wonder he began his book with detailed accounts of the births of two important
babies! No wonder he emphasized Christ's sympathy for hurting people! He wrote
with the mind of a careful historian and with the heart of a loving physician.
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's 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."
The life and message of Christ were so important that many
books had already been written about Him, but not everything in them could be
trusted. Luke wrote his Gospel so that his readers might have an accurate and
orderly narrative of the life, ministry, and message of Jesus Christ. Luke had
carefully researched his material, interviewed eyewitnesses, and listened to
those who had ministered the Word.
Most important, Luke had the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The phrase “from the very first” comes from the Greek word, “anothen”,
and can be translated "from above," as it is in John 3:31 and 19:11.
It speaks of the inspiration of the Spirit of God on the message that Luke
wrote.
I’m looking forward to our journey with you through this
wonderful Gospel.
God bless!
