The gospels are not just a succession of stories — they are one story of one Man — the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Yet each of the gospel writers tells the story of Jesus in different ways with different emphases.
As we begin a study of the Gospel of Luke — the story of the Son of Man — we do well to recognize some of the unique aspects of Luke’s account.
Unsurprisingly, salvation is a key emphasis in the book — variations of the word “salvation” are used 25x in the book. And like the other gospels, a significant portion of the book is spent on the passion week (19:28 – 24:53) — the week where salvation through His death and resurrection were accomplished. While all the gospel writers focus on this portion of Jesus’ life, Luke has about six unique details about the death and resurrection of Christ, including the appearances to Clopas and Peter.
Luke also anticipates this salvation by the several foreshadowings of Jesus’ sufferings (2:35; 5:35; 9:22; 13:33). Jesus is clearly moving toward the cross (e.g., 22:19–20) and Luke repeatedly reminds his readers of that looming event.
Perhaps the key verse is one that emphasizes this salvation through the Son of Man — “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (19:10). So one commentator says, “The entire Gospel of Luke pictures Jesus as reaching out to the lost in forgiveness. We see this exemplified in the beautiful story of the sinful woman (7:36–50). In the well-known parables in Luke 15, Jesus, in contrast with the attitude of the Pharisees, identifies himself with the heavenly Father in rejoicing over the return of those who are lost.” [Liefeld]
Luke has the longest birth narrative of the gospel writers, including the only account John the Baptist’s birth (1:5–2:53). Luke’s priority on that also emphasizes the theme of Christ’s humanity as the Son of Man. He is deity, but He also is truly man!
Luke is biographical. He gives attention to people by providing more details than other gospel writers about individuals: Zacharias, the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the repentant tax gatherer, Zaccheus, and the two disciples on the Emmaus road. He even includes the story of children (John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ childhoods).
But Luke is not just biographical, telling the stories of those who were attendant to Christ’s life; he also emphasizes Christ’s humility in his interactions with many different people: the disciples (6:20-23), a sinful woman (7:36-50), Mary Magdalene (8:2) the Samaritans (10:25-37), tax collectors and sinners (15:1ff) Lepers (17:11-19), and the thief on the cross (23:39-43).
Even more, Luke emphasizes the role of women in Christ’s ministry such that some have called it “The Gospel of Womanhood” — he tells the stories of Elizabeth and Mary (chs. 1-2). He also also tells the stories of numerous other women — Anna, Mary and Martha, and more (7:12-15, 37-50; 8:2-3; 10:38-42; 23:27-31). And Luke does that in the context of a culture that had a low regard for women; he does that to emphasize that the Son of Man not only was willing to interact with the lowest of humanity, but He was drawn to them because of their neediness. He came to uphold and help them (with the gospel supremely).
Luke teaches theology through songs and hymns. Luke might be the closest thing we have to a New Testament hymn book as he records at least five hymns (1:46-55; 1:68-79; 2:14; 2:29-32; 19:36-38). And all these songs also remind us that the story of Christ is a story of joy. When the world beats you up, sing the songs of Christ to remind you of your joy in Him. “There can be no doubt that the Christianity Luke knew was a wonderfully joyful affair.” [Carson & Moo]
The Holy Spirit is prominent in Luke. There are at least 16 references to the Holy Spirit in the book (e.g., 1:15, 35; 3:22; 4:1, 18; 10:21). There are more reference to the third member of the Trinity in this book than Matthew and Mark combined.
Luke is a book of prayer. He emphasizes prayer both in the parables (11:5-8; 18:1-8; 18:9-14) and in examples of prayer (9:28-29; 11:1-4; 22:31-32; 22:39-46). And while other gospels also recount prayers and give instruction of prayer, Luke does so uniquely — of the nine prayers of Jesus in this book, seven appear only in Luke.
Luke is also a miraculous book. The gospels contain about 35 specific miracles of Jesus; Luke contains 20 of those miracles, and seven of the miracles are told only by Him (5:1-11; 7:11-17; 11:14; 13:10-17; 14:1-4; 17:11-19; 22:49-51). He uses miracles to illustrate the divine nature and supremacy of the Son of Man.
While the story of Jesus is familiar to us, there are many unique aspects to Luke’s telling. As one theologian has said, “The gospel of Luke is the longest and most comprehensive of the four gospels. It is also the longest book in the New Testament. Its beautiful hymns and the superb stories from the lips of Jesus unique to this gospel, have made it a favorite with countless readers. Its attractive literary features justify the comment of a French rationalistic critic (Ernest Renan) that this gospel is ‘the most beautiful book ever written.’” [Hiebert, Introduction to the New Testament.]
Words of Grace 