Introduction
• Luke was a nobody who became an important somebody in the New Testament. We know very little about his life before he met the Apostle Paul. Luke wasn’t a disciple, never met Jesus, and was not even Jewish.
• What we do know about Luke’s life, writing, and influence teach us that you don’t have to be part of the in-crowd to have an impact on others.
• I’m Brent and this is episode 19 of the Bible Unplugged. In this episode we explore the life and ministry of Luke, the only non-Jewish author in the New Testament.
Who was Luke
• Luke wrote 2 books in the New Testament: The Gospel of Luke, a meticulously written account of the life and teachings of Jesus, and the book of Acts, which is a continuation of his Gospel that gives us the history of the early church and a detailed account of Paul’s missionary activity. Only the Apostle Paul has more content in the New Testament.
• Paul refers to Luke in the books of Philemon, 2 Timothy, and Colossians.
• In the Colossian reference, Paul calls Luke “the beloved physician.” We know that Paul likely had some physical problems, so Luke may have travelled with him as his personal physician.
• Early church historians believe that Luke’s home base was Antioch, a city in the middle of modern-day Turkey. Antioch is one of the churches included in Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches.
• That’s what we know about Luke’s history, but we have a lot of evidence revealing his personality and abilities in the way he wrote his books in the New Testament.
Luke’s personality
• Luke’s personality and writing style show a man who was well educated, smart, and organized.
• His command of the Greek language is so strong that the introduction to his Gospel is considered by scholars to be a “perfect Greek sentence.”
• We can infer from the way Luke describes healing miracles that he had a deep knowledge of anatomy, illness, and medical treatment.
• In chapter 4 we find the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law. Luke used medical terminology to state that she had a high fever.
• In the book of Acts, chapter 28, Luke gives a medical diagnosis of fever and dysentery to a man whom Paul healed.
• He also had a distaste for using Hebrew and Aramaic words in his writing.
• While Matthew and Mark call the place of Jesus’ crucifixion “Golgotha,” an Aramaic word, Luke calls it “the place that is called The Skull.” This is the direct Greek translation of Golgotha.
• In the other gospels, Jesus is called “rabbi,” but Luke uses the Greek word for teacher or master.
• He often used other Greek equivalents: Christ instead of Messiah, Hades instead of Gehenna, and truly instead of amen.
• This shows a sensitivity to his non-Jewish audience, those who the Jewish culture referred to as Gentiles.
Uniqueness of Luke’s Gospel
• Luke writes about some of the same stories as the other gospels. As I said in a previous episode, Luke uses about 60% of Mark’s material in his gospel.
• Luke and Matthew share some common material that isn’t found in other gospels.
• The sayings of Jesus that start with, “Blessed are…”
• The Lord’s prayer
• Healing the Roman Centurion’s servant
• Teachings against judgmental attitudes
• But Luke shares some unique stories found nowhere else:
• The parables of the Prodigal Son, and the Rich man and Lazarus
• The miracle of raising the widow’s son in Luke chapter 7
• The road to Emmaus story where Jesus meets with some disciples after his resurrection.
Themes in Luke
• Luke shows sensitivity to those who were not part of the Jewish majority
• In Luke 19:10- Jesus says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which is lost.” “The Son of Man” is a term Jesus used for himself.
• While Luke would have been considered in the upper class, he shows sensitivity to those who are poor and left out. In Luke 6 he shares Jesus’ compassion for the lowly,
• Blessed are the poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are those who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you when you are weak, for you will laugh.
• Blessed are you when men shall hate you, exclude you, and mock you. You have a great reward in heaven.
• Another theme is Luke’s use of the phrase “Kingdom of God.” Luke portrays God’s kingdom not only as a future hope, but as a present reality as well
• Luke 17:20-21 Jesus says, “The Kingdom of God doesn’t come with observation. The Kingdom of God is within you now.
• One thing that is unique about Luke is his careful attention to chronology and detail. When theologians create single timelines of Jesus life and ministry in the four gospels, they usually depend on Luke for the historical order of events. That reflects his education level, background, and his detail-oriented personality.
Luke’s greatest contribution
• Luke’s greatest contribution, though, is his likely influence on Paul to take the gospel to non-Jewish people. Being a Gentile himself, Luke was sensitive to the apparent divide between Jewish and non-Jewish followers of Jesus. Luke was close to Paul and likely gave his opinion and thoughts about such things.
• After Paul and Barnabas visited the church in Antioch, Luke’s hometown, a controversy arose with those who said that believers have to be Jewish first and then become Christians.
• The result of the discussion was that believers can be from Jewish or Gentile backgrounds. While Luke does not say specifically in his writings, I’m sure he favored including Gentiles in his discussions with Paul, Barnabas, and the others.
What we learn from this
• Those of us who were never part of the Jewish religion can thank Luke and others like him who emphasized that the good news of Jesus is for all people, not just for a favored class our group.
• God calls all different kinds of people. Luke’s unique background as a physician made him invaluable to Paul, who suffered from physical ailments.
• God used Luke’s personality, education, and background to write about some of the details of Jesus’ life that we may not otherwise have.
What do we do with this
• Take time to think about your unique gifts and abilities. Those are God given gifts intended for sharing the Gospel with others. It’s easy to think that what we do isn’t special. We may think that everyone can do the same things, but you have abilities others need.
• Ask God to show you how you fit in the great puzzle that is the Kingdom of God. Ask for God to show you where and how those gifts can be used.
• Pay attention to the way people act in church. Do regular attenders go out of their way to welcome new people or do they stick with their own groups. Reach out to someone you don’t know when you go to church. They may need your unique abilities to help them experience the love of Jesus.
The conclusion
• Well, the music in the background means I have run out of time for this episode. I’ll be back to talk another day.
• I hope this has been helpful. If so, give this podcast a high rating and share it with others.
• In the next we will take a close look at the Gospel of John. This gospel is different than the first three in some significant ways.
• My prayer for you see that what makes you unique to the world makes you infinitely valuable in God’s sight.
• Have a blessed week
The disclaimers
• Just to let you know
• All opinions are my own. If you agree, keep listening. If you don’t… keep listening, you may learn something
• All Bible quotations come from the World English Bible which is a public domain work
• Our show theme song is “Awesome Call” by Kevin MacLeod and is available under a Creative Commons license
• The content of this podcast is copyrighted 2024 by J. Brent Eaton
• This has been a Power Love and Miracles production
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