Sermonette: June 24, 2024

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

This week we continue our survey of the first four books of the New Testament, the Gospels. Having covered Matthew and Mark, we move onto Luke. Luke is the longest and most comprehensive of the Gospels. It is possible Luke was a Jew but most likely he was a Gentile. This would make him the only Gentile author in our New Testament. He was a physician. He traveled with the apostle Paul for much of his journeys and Paul referred to Luke as “the beloved physician." Luke has also been regarded as a noted historian. His writings are ranked right up there with the great historians of the time. Scholars report that Luke's writings have the greatest Greek vocabulary of any book in the New Testament.

This Gospel is actually a letter penned to a man named Theophilus. Little is known of Theophilus. He was most likely a Gentile, either originally a Roman or had possibly moved to Rome. It is possible he was a Greek but changed his name when he embraced Christianity. We will never know. He is only mentioned twice in the bible, here at the beginning of Luke and in the beginning of the book of Acts, also written by Luke. Theophilus could have been a man of importance or high rank, as Luke addresses him as “Most Excellent.” Evidently he has asked Luke to provide more information or an accounting of Christianity in general, or of the person Jesus in particular. It is also possible that he had been hearing conflicting stories of what really happened, and has asked for Luke's assistance in finding out the truth. Luke tells Theophilus that he is writing “an orderly account for you ... that you may know the truth ...” We find no long genealogies here as they would not have been of any interest to Theo. Luke, obviously a learned man, has done a lot of research telling of his interviewing eyewitnesses and ministers that would have had first-hand knowledge of the events surrounding Jesus. Luke reviews and studies all these things and then writes his conclusions based on his research. This book, Luke's Gospel, is the end result.

Luke's focus is on Jesus, the human being. He writes of Jesus' life on earth as that of a perfect, sinless man. He writes of the events in Jesus' life that he thought was important. Luke starts with events leading up to the birth of John the Baptist. He then details the account of the birth of Jesus and ends with Jesus' Ascension. Today, for Christmas sermons and children's Sunday School programs, it is Luke's version of the Nativity that is most often used for the readings. What little we know of Jesus' youth, such as Mary's visit to Elizabeth, his presentation at the temple and his childhood visit to Jerusalem is found only in Luke's Gospel.

Throughout the rest of Luke's Gospel, we see that Luke chooses the tell about the actions of a man who cares about others. Parables found only in Luke include the Two Debtors, the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. These show that Jesus was concerned about how we treat each other as human beings. Other stories such as his encounter with Zaccheus and visits with Mary and Martha show his human side as well. Luke uses everyday events such as meals and hospitality to show Jesus' humanity. Women receive prominent mention. Luke also includes Jesus' care and concern for the poor.

However, Luke also shows the divinity of Jesus. In his Christmas story he uses the phrase "Today ... a Savior is born.” Luke's Gospel is also the only one that tells of the Ascension. Even though it is a long book, it is certainly worth the time spent reading it. You can't do it in one sitting but I highly recommend including it in your reading plan.