Introduction to the Gospel according to Luke
Before we begin our series on the Gospel according to Luke, let us have a look at what this gospel focuses on and what makes it unique compared to the other three gospels. The Gospel of Luke was probably the last to be written, between 59AD and 70AD. It is thought to have been written by Luke, a Greek, a physician and a companion of the Apostle Paul. Though personal information about his life is non-existent and like the other synoptics, the author does not clearly identify himself within the text. One of the few times Luke is mentioned is by Paul, in Colossians 4:14, it says “Our dear friend Luke, the doctor and Demas send greetings,” indicating that Luke was travelling with him at this time.
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Even though it is written in more of a Greek style, its subject matter covers the concerns of Christians, rather than the Greco-Roman world. Luke uses an extensive prologue to introduce his gospel, which is not seen in the other gospels. Luke 1:3-4 says “with this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” This formal introduction is not only Greek in nature, setting out the subject, purpose, method and audience, but is addressed to “Theophilus,” a name that means “Lover of God” or “friend of God.” This could be an individual, as it was a name given to men of authority or it could have simply been addressing every Christian. Here he writes to inform Theophilus of his intention, which is to lead the reader through an account of events, this was not to justify the Christian belief, but to encourage the faith of those who did believe. What makes Luke so interesting is that it is the only gospel to have a sequel, which is the book of Acts. It is believed that Luke and Acts were written as a two-part volume, with the style of writing and length being similar. Acts even begins by Luke addressing Theophilus, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” (Acts
The Gospel of Luke was also written around eighty CE, written somewhere outside of Palestine (Tatum, 1999, p.34). The author may have been Luke the Gentile Christian, writing to another Gentile, Theophilus. Like Matthew, Luke is strongly believed to be written after Mark, with references from him, “Q” and “L” if following the Two (Four)-Document Hypothesis. The authors of Luke and Matthew are believed to be written during the same time without the knowledge of knowing. As mentioned before, Luke is about fifty percent longer than Mark is, making it important source since it contains more information about the historic life of Jesus. There is also a second part to Luke which is the book Acts, but is separate in Bible. Both include the beginnings
The two Gospels that I 've decided to compare are Luke and John. Luke is considered a Synoptic Gospel and presents the human side of Jesus. Luke takes us through the longer version of his birth and his childhood and focuses on the humanity of Jesus. There was a debate in this story whether or not Jesus was human and raised many question to potential followers. Many said that Jesus was just a spirit but by reading Luke, there was great detail of his humanity. Luke directed this book directly to Gentiles and focused more on the teachings and miracles that Jesus created rather than the law. Stated in the text, Luke’s Gospel also depicts more clearly the way in which the proclamation of the kingdom of God and the accompanying mighty works of Jesus brought the benefits of salvation to marginalized people. Luke also highlights the concern of Jesus for the materially poor, and the duty of his followers to be free from love of possession and to give generously to those in need. John was considered a different story in the Bible and in the Gospel. It was the last story of the Gospels and does not repeat any of the other stories from Matthew, Mark, or Luke. John had the opportunity to see the gospel and its affect it had and based that off the
Luke was a medical doctor, a missionary, and evangelist, a historian, a researcher, and the writer of the third Gospel. The book of Luke was written in a formal literacy introduction noting his purpose in writing, his methodology, and the attempts others had made in such writing. Luke is the author of the book and it was written in AD 60 in Caesarea. According to Hindson and Elmer Luke’s purpose is to give “an orderly sequence” of the events about Christ’s birth, life, and sacrificial death followed by his resurrection and ascension back to heaven. The occasion calling for Luke to write his Gospel was that Theophilus, and other new believers like him, needed a clear account of the life and ministry of Jesus as an aid to confirm his faith
Luke begins his Gospel, which was written in Greek, with a dedication to Theophilus, “It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write and orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus…”(Luke
60-70. The author of Acts (Luke) leaves off with Paul in Rome waiting to make his appeal to Caesar. Meaning it was written before Paul?s death around AD 68. However, the events near the end of Acts happened around A.D. 64. If Acts is the sequel of Luke, (Acts 1:1-3) then it is only logical that Luke was written prior to Acts. This logic places the writing of Luke around A.D. 58-63. This time table working in reverse ?Markan Priority,? places all three Synoptic Gospels very close in time frame: Mark around A.D. 52-56; Matthew A.D. 57-60; and Luke A.D. 58-62. These dates however, are widely debated and are based on my own research. Some sources and commentaries date Luke much later. This debate focuses on the gospel according to Mark. It is unclear whether Mark was written before the death of Peter or after. Peter died around AD 64, if it was written after his death then that pushes all the gospels back several years from what I have concluded here, (assuming Mark was indeed written first, and used as a source for Luke). Both the Holman Christian Study Bible and the Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible agree with my time frame for Luke. These sources along with my own research and the use of ?Markan Priority? lead me to understand this (A.D. 58-63) as the most likely period for the
In this article Harold Attridge examines Luke’s background, the scriptures Luke wrote, Jesus’s values, the context and purpose of Luke’s gospel and the treatment of Christians at the time of Luke’s writings. The article expresses that Luke’s Gospel was written before the destruction of Jerusalem and at a time when Christians were being persecuted for practicing their faith so consequently the purpose of his Gospel was to show an ethical example and imply that Christians could be good citizens. This source is relevant to the topic as it suggests the purpose of Luke's Gospel and the treatment of Christians before the fall of Jerusalem. A limitation of the website is that it has not been recently published, it’s publish date is April 1998 so it may not be up to date with the latest, accurate information. Nonetheless, this source is very beneficial and appropriate to the task as it provides facts and research on the chosen sacred text. This source will not be the cornerstone of my research but will add a good understanding to the purpose of the sacred text.
The Gospel according to Luke exhibits several differences from the other Synoptic Gospels. Unlike Matthew and Mark who record Jesus saying: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Luke states "Father, into your hands, I commend my Spirit."
This is found by comparing Acts 1:1 with Luke 1:3-4. Acts 1:1: "In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen." Luke 1: 3-4: " (3) Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, (4) so that you may know the certainty of things you have been taught." Because Luke's first book was written to Theophilus as was Acts, Luke must be the author of both.
The Gospel of Luke focuses on the conception and the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus. It also provides the histories of Elizabeth and Zachariah. It also describes Angel Gabriel’s announcement to Zachariah and the Virgin Mary.
Many people do not know that loving your enemy is the heart of the gospel. Although loving and praying for your enemy may seem impossible at times, it is written in the gospel of Matthew that loving your enemy is loving God. In Matthew 5:43, Jesus teaches about loving your enemy, praying for your enemy, and shows examples of loving your enemy.
I chose to read The Gospel of Luke for my project. It is said that The Gospel of Luke was written somewhere between 80 CE - 90 CE. The Gospel of Luke was written for Theophilus, who was called “Friend of God”. But The Gospel was also written for a wider audience, including converts and potential converts.
Luke and Acts tells the story of what Jesus did and taught during his ministry, first in his earthly life and then as the exalted Christ and Lord through his disciples. This essay will outline the various titles Luke used to portray or described Jesus in his two-volume narrative, in doing this we hope to get a better understanding and a complete picture of who Jesus was. Luke in his two volume work described Jesus in numerous ways and I am only going to be discussing four which referred to him as Christ, Lord, Prophet and Savior. The main Christological themes that appear in Luke-Acts highlighted and emphasised on the concept of the “Lord 's Christ”, meaning the coming ruler of God 's people, who will serve as their Savior and performing prophetic work [2 pg. 123-143]. Moreover, Jesus’s role was not assumed on his own initiative, but rather it was the work of God. Thus we can say that God’s work and plans were at the center of the Book of Acts and Luke’s gospel [1 pg 22].
The Gospel According to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament in the Bible, and is a Gospel narrative. The narratives provided by the Gospels in the New Testament are here to provide us with descriptions of the life, death, and resurrection of our savior Jesus Christ, as well as to share His teachings. Like any other narrative, it is important to understand the historical and literary contexts surrounding the Gospel of Matthew, as well as the importance and significance of Matthew itself. As a Gospel, Matthew is here to present us with the narrative of Jesus Christ as our Messiah, as promised in the Old Testament Prophesy. While it is important to evaluate the extensive context surrounding the narrative of Matthew, the meaning behind the narrative can be found through relating it to the various events that are described in the other Gospels. By comparing the Gospels, it is easy to evaluate the underlying meaning and significance, within the context of the Gospels. Because the Gospels were written as narratives to provide us with information on the life and death of Jesus Christ, and all that happened in between, it is important to compare the different accounts described in the Gospels whenever possible. In doing so, it is possible to examine the Gospels within the appropriate context. With 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), it is important to compare them with one another in order to further evaluate the importance of Jesus Christ, as he is the
In the Bible, the four Gospels push different ideologies, views, lessons and different stories that center around the central figure of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke main themes center on Universalism, social justice, compassion for outcasts, the role of woman and the Holy Spirit.(Hauer and Young) These parables are able to connect to the context of when Luke was able bring these stories together in 85 CE. The Gospel was most likely written in Greek speaking area located in the Roman empire.(Coogan et al.) This time of stability allowed for the proliferation of Christianity and Gospels such as Luke. The passages that will be discussed will mainly focus on compassion for outcast seen in Luke 16:19–31 and warning against greed in Luke 12:13-34. Luke 13:6-9 focuses on a fig tree talks of the opportunities people and if they use them properly. Finally, the last parable is 7:11-17, which focuses on holy spirit and the possibilities for miracles and the importance of life. These parables in Luke are able to give a social justice commentary that can make a person feel compassionate for the poor and the reckoning they would receive in the afterlife if they didn’t follow Jesus’s teachings. As, well the story is able to push across a message that will everlasting importance to people. This has led to the Gospels of Luke becoming one of the main 4 Gospels and one of the most highly regarded of the Gospels. (Hauer and Young)
The theme of the gospel of Luke talks about the journey of the life of Jesus, Christ. His death, burial, and resurrection. Moreover, his ministry, teachings and parables. As a historian, and physician, Luke was not only eloquent in his writing about Jesus; he also took interest in his early life. The Gospel of Luke also depict Jesus as compassionate, caring, and loving. Likewise, Luke not only put Jesus at the heart of the Jewish world during the first century, but also at the heart of the Roman world, where with the Christian gospel exploded.