KATA LOUKAN

Introducing the Gospel of Luke

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KATA LOUKAN Introducing the Gospel of Luke   Among the gospels, Luke is unique because he alone continues past the resurrection and ascension of Jesus and tells how God's plan was worked out in the preaching of the gospel and the establishment of the church in the world. Luke's introduction or prologue in Luke 1:1-4 seems to be an introduction to the entire two-volume work of Luke-Acts. The purpose of the two-volume work is to give Theolphilus, one who has been taught about Jesus and Christianity, a deep certainty about the things he was taught. It is to help him see clearly how God was behind it all and has been working in it all, from the birth of Jesus through the establishment of his church in the entire world (24:44-47). Luke-Acts shows Theophilus and all who are like him that being a Christian means being right in the center of the eternal purpose of God. Salvation is a major theme in Luke's gospel. Jesus stated it in Luke 19:10 where he said, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." Salvation carries with it the idea of rescue or deliverance. Jesus is the deliverer, the rescuer, who saves us from an evil plight. When Mary greets Elizabeth she rejoices in "God my Savior," (1:47) and Zecharias praises God who "raised up a horn of salvation in the house of David," (1:69). Zecharias sings of his child who will prepare the way for God and bring the "knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins," (1:77). When the angels announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, they say, "to you this day in the city of David is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord," (2:10). When Simeon holds the Christ child in his arms at the temple, he cries out, "My eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before all peoples," (2:30). As John the Baptizer is introduced as a proclaimer of Jesus, the text says that "all flesh shall see the salvation of God," (3:6). When Jesus forgives the sinful woman at the Pharisee's house, he says, "your faith has saved you," (7:50). In the parable of the soils, as Jesus explains the seed that fell beside the road, he says, "then the devil comes and takes the word away from the heart so that they might not believe and be saved," (8:12). He uses the same terminology for the hemophiliac woman in 8:48 who was "rescued" by her faith from her disease. In reference to Jairus' daughter who had died, Jesus said, "Do not be afraid, only believe and she shall be saved," (8:50). To the leper who was healed, Jesus said, "Get up and go, your faith has saved you." (17:19). To the blind beggar who cried out for mercy, Jesus said, "Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you," (18:42). When Jesus went to the home of Zacchaeus and the little tax collector turned to God in repentance, Jesus said, "Today, salvation has come to this house…for the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost," (19:9-10). In some of these passages about healing, the English translations say, "your faith has healed you." The word in the Greek text, however, is swzw, the word translated "saved" throughout Luke. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus is the rescuer, the deliverer, and the savior. He rescues people from blindness, leprosy, disease, and demons that plague them. Most of all, he rescues people from sin and its eternal consequences. Jesus is the Savior who brings salvation! Closely connected to this them is the focus on the "lost" and "sinners" in Luke's gospel. There is much said about those who are outcast and ill thought of in Luke. God cares for these people and wants to save them. When Jesus calls Levi, the tax collector, he goes into his house for a feast. There he eats with many tax collectors and sinners and says to his critics, "they that are healthy have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, and I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance," (5:31-32). The story of the sinful woman in the Pharisee's house illustrates Jesus love for the down and out (Luke 7:36-48). The story of the great banquet in chapter 14 demonstrates God's concern for the outcasts of society and his willingness to bestow his grace on them. The stories of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son in Luke 15 demonstrate God's love for the lost and his desire that they be saved. Zacchaeus the tax collector is another case in point of how Jesus came to "seek and to save that which was lost," (19:1-10). Perhaps the thief on the cross is the most poignant illustration of how God can redeem the vilest of sinners (23:39-42). This theme of the salvation of the lost is carried through in the evangelistic outreach of the church in the book of Acts. Some of these themes come together in the last chapter of Acts when Jesus meets the disciples on the road to Emmaus and on the mount of ascension. The two on the road had hoped that Jesus would redeem Israel, but their idea of redemption was limited to oppression by their enemies. As the risen Lord explains his ultimate purpose, he speaks of his own redemptive death, his resurrection, and the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (24:44-47). Though Jesus is the Savior in every respect, the primary focus of this concept in Luke-Acts is the fact that he saves from the guilt and power of sin. In Jesus people find forgiveness and freedom from sin. They find acceptance with God in Jesus and they find the blessings of God in Jesus. It is in this respect, primarily, that Luke presents Jesus as our Savior. Another theme that is connected with Jesus' love for the lost and the downcast is the idea that Jesus has come to bless the Gentiles as well as Israel. This theme also carries through into the book of Acts.