Luke Gospel Essays - Gospel Of Luke, Acts Of The Apostles

Luke Gospel Table Of Contents Introduction 2 Body Of Presentation 3 Author 3 Date 3 Intended Audience 4 Purpose 5 Outline Of Contents 6 Theme Verse 7 Relevance 8 Bibliography 10 Introduction Luke was not a Jew, but a gentile. He was a physician who loved people. The nature of Luke's Gospel is indicated by the role of those from whom he got his materials. They were "ministers of the word" (7,Laymans). The book was written for a man named Theophilus, who was part of the Roman Government. Luke's words touched Theophilus, drawing him closer to Jesus and who he was. The depths of Luke's Gospel are to be plumbed by the response of faith (7,Laymans). This Gospel was written with a point of view in mind, symbolized by the calf, which to Luke meant that Jesus was sacrificed for he world to be save from heir sins. Luke emphasized that Jesus not only wanted the Jews to know the word, but also the gentiles, because he wants everyone to know about salvation and his love for us. Luke was loved by everyone and was thought to be a skilled painter. Luke also wrote the Book of Acts, which is said to be the sequel to the Gospel. Buttrick et al. (1952) says the book of Luke explains what Jesus dealt with, "all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up to heaven." Luke's Gospel is one of the easiest and clearest to read. It is written in the literary form of secular Greek historians, and has a quality of language that reveals author to have been a man of learning. Luke was setting out to preach the Christian message in a form that would capture the attention of the intelligent gentile mind of the first century. Body Of Presentation Authorship The Gospel according to Luke carries no direct statement about who wrote it. However, there are many indications that it was written by the one whose name bears: Luke, the doctor companion of Paul (14, Layman's). Luke accompanied Paul on his journey to spread the word after the ascension of Jesus. According to Buttrick et al. (1962) Luke writes Iraneous. According to the Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible (1962) it is confirmed that Luke was the author of the "we sections", because they are written in first person plural. These sections show that Paul is being accompanied by someone who could possible be Luke. This in itself shows that the same person wrote the Book of Acts, because of the writings and the style in which it was written. Luke was a gentile, for Paul lists him among his gentile friends. We know that Luke was a doctor for Paul calls him the "the beloved physician"(15, Layman's). Several arguments arise about authorship, although it falls short of proof, it is clear that there is nothing in the work that a physician could not have written. Luke fulfills the requirements for being the author of the Gospel. Date The date of the Gospel is not quite clear, but the Interpreters Dictionary (1962) states that it could be somewhere around 80 A.D. The reason behind this date is believed that the book of Acts was written shortly after Paul's imprisonment. There are four factors all scholars take into account when considering the date for Luke's gospel: The date of Mark and Luke's relationship, Date of Acts, Reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in Chapter 21 and The Theological and Ecclesiastical tone of Luke- Acts (Liefeld, 1984). The four factors lead all historians to same period of time, which ranges from A.D. 70 to 80. Fortunately the worth of the Gospel for us in no way rests on this point. Intended Audience Luke intended the Gospel to be the first part of a larger book, for the Book of Acts is clearly a sequel to it. In Acts chapter one verse one he explains that "In the first book " he has dealt with "all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up"(Buttrick1962). Readership of the Gospel must be drawn primarily from the prologue (Luke 1:1-4) and secondarily from the conclusions about the purpose of the Gospel. From a brief survey of theories about Luke's purpose, it would appear that while Luke-Acts had an appeal to the Non-Christian, Luke expected and desired it to be read by Christians, specifically new converts. According to the Expositors Bible there are several characteristics of the Gospel such as