Get Ready
The Gospel of Luke is really part one of a two-part work on Jesus’s life and ministry and the development of the early Christian church – the book of Acts (we will study them in the order of the canon, which means we will look at John’s Gospel in between).
Author
Although the writer does not identify himself in either book, almost all authorities agree that Luke – the physician who traveled with Paul [Col 4:14] – wrote this Gospel and Acts. Luke was a Gentile and probably Greek. The literary quality of his writing indicates a classical education, appropriate for a physician.
There is less agreement regarding when Luke wrote. Most scholars believe he had access to Mark’s Gospel which puts his writing sometime after 60 CE. He also mentions the destruction of Temple, which Jesus prophesied, which leads some to conclude he wrote after that event (70 CE). However, Acts ends before Jerusalem was destroyed, which points to a date sometime between 60 and 65.
Context
Luke was probably writing in Rome during Paul’s house arrest. He describes the situation in his opening: Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, [Luke 1:1-3].
Even though he addresses the work to Theophilus, Luke has the larger church, especially the Gentile believers, as his audience. Luke is a Gentile describing Jesus’s life and ministry to other Gentiles. He clearly is aware of other written works and probably used several in developing his narrative. He also had access to several of the Apostles as well as others who knew Jesus.
Structure
Luke was an historian as well as a physician. Both his books follow the model of classical historical writing. Luke’s is also the most comprehensive story of Jesus’s life and ministry. After a brief introduction, the book has six sections:
- Jesus’s birth and childhood – this section is fairly brief and quite selective, [1:5-2:52].
- John the Baptist and Jesus’s baptism, [3:1-4:13].
- Jesus’s ministry in Galilee, [4:14-9:50].
- Jesus’s activities and teaching while traveling to Jerusalem,
[9:51-19:10]. - Jesus’s ministry in Jerusalem, [19:11-21:38].
- Jesus’s arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection, [22:1-24:53].
Major Themes
Luke states his purpose in writing this Gospel in his introduction: “So [Theophilus] may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed,” [1:4].
Luke is writing for people who did not know Jesus personally, but who have heard and believed the Good News about Jesus. “Theophilus” may be a real person (probably Roman), or a literary device for the wider audience Luke clearly has in mind.
Whereas Matthew’s Gospel demonstrates that Jesus is the culmination of Jewish history and fulfillment of the law and the prophets, Luke shows that Jesus is the culmination of all history and that Gentiles are as much a part of God’s plan as the Jews are. In Luke Jesus welcomes all people – Samaritans, Gentiles, sinners, poor as well as wealthy – into God’s kingdom. Luke also includes more detail about women and their role in Jesus’s work than the other Gospels.
Luke also anchors Jesus’s ministry and passion in the history of the larger world. He wanted his largely Roman audience to understand that Jesus’s story is relevant to their situation – as it is to ours.
Even though Luke agrees with Paul about preaching the Gospel to the entire world, he writes with his own perspective. This is not “The Gospel of Paul” by another writer.
Get into the Word
1. Who wrote this book? What do we know about the author? What other New Testament figure is he linked with? When did he write this book? What are the two possibilities for a date? What type of sources was the author able to use in writing this book?
2. Where was this book probably written? What was the situation for the author? For the church? To whom is the book addressed (or dedicated)? Who else is in the intended audience?
3. How is this book organized? Why do you suppose Luke structured the book this way? What sets this book apart from the other synoptic Gospels? What aspects of Jesus’s life and ministry does Luke emphasize? Why do you suppose he chose these parts?
4. What does Luke say about his primary purpose in writing this book? Why would this have been important to Luke? To the church? How would you describe the type of people Luke wanted to reach with his Gospel? Do you think he succeeded?
5. What is the difference in Luke’s frame of reference for the story of Jesus’s life and ministry, compared to Matthews perspective? How does Luke demonstrate this point of view in his book? What types of people does Jesus interact with in Luke’s story? What is the role of women in this Gospel?
Bible Trivia
Matthew traced Jesus’s lineage from Abraham to Joseph, Mary’s husband [Matt 1:1-16]; Luke starts with Joseph and takes Jesus’s genealogy all the way back to Adam [3:23-38].
And . . .
Luke says Jesus was born when “Quirinius was governor of Syria,” [2:2], which puts the date between 4 and 6 BCE.
Notes: Synoptic Gospels . . .
In the years after Jesus’s resurrection many people were able to share their experiences with him, including his healings and other miracles and his teachings. As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and the Apostles and others who knew Jesus personally became fewer and less accessible, some believers began compiling written collections of the stories about Jesus.
Many scholars believe that Mark’s is the first written Gospel, although a significant group supports the tradition that Matthew wrote first. Scholars also believe that a collection of Jesus’s sayings, called “Q” (“source”) circulated at the same time and that both Matthew and Luke used it along with Mark in preparing their Gospels.
The commonality between Mark and Matthew and Mark and Luke is the basis for the idea that Mark’s is the first written Gospel. More than ninety percent of the information in Mark appears in similar form, although not necessarily in the same order, in Matthew; and more than half the material in Mark is also in Luke. Another indicator of Mark as the source is that whenever Matthew and Luke disagree about the sequence of events in Jesus’s life one of them agrees with the narrative in Mark.
All three Gospels were written before the destruction of the temple in 70, probably between 50 and 65 CE.
57: Jesus’s crucifixion, death and burial –Luke 23:26-56
Get Ready
How do you respond when you see someone in suffering or in a tough situation? Do you look to see if there is anyway you can help? Do you reach for your phone to call 9-1-1, or do you look for a public safety person to help? Do you try to avoid the situation and “cross by on the other side?”
The Word
23 26 As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of
Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. 28 But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
32 Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 [Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”] And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35 And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
46 Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last. 47 When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.” 48 And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. 49 But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
50 Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council, 51 had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. 55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.
On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment. NRSV
Get into the Word
1. As the Roman soldiers take Jesus away what do they do? Who gets involved? What does this person have to do? Why [see Notes]?
2. Who else is involved in this incident? What are they doing? How does Jesus react to this situation? What does he say to the people? Why do you suppose he said these things to them [see Notes]?
3. Where did this “parade” end? Who else is involved at this point? Why are they at the execution? What does Jesus say at this point? How do the soldiers respond to the situation? What do they offer to Jesus? Why would they do this? What is Jesus’s title?
4. What does one of the criminals say to Jesus? How does the other man react? What does he ask of Jesus? How does Jesus respond?
5. What happens at noon? What happens in the temple? Why is this important? How does Jesus die? How does the Roman soldier respond to Jesus’s death?
6. Where is Jesus buried? Who is involved? Why didn’t they finish the process?
Get Personal
How did the Roman know Jesus was innocent? How has God helped you understand Jesus’s righteousness and its importance to you.
Notes . . .
These events are also in: Matthew [27:32-32-66], Mark [15:21-47], and John [19:17-42].
23:36. Simon of Cyrene — the Romans usually made the condemned man carry the cross-beam, but here they draft a bystander. Cyrene was a city in what is now Libya.
23:27. People followed him — Roman executions were very public – to set an example.
Women — in ancient times women often were the only visible mourners.
23:28. Weep for yourselves — Jesus echoes Isaiah 32:9-13. He also quotes Hosea [10:8] in v. 30.
23:32. Two others — multiple executions were not uncommon. Isaiah prophesied Jesus death “with the wicked,” [53:9], and his “tomb with the rich,” [see Note at 23:50, below].
23:34. Father, forgive them — as he is dying to forgive all people, Jesus asks the Father to forgive those who are killing him – and he forgives one of the criminals on the cross next to him [v. 43].
Cast lots — the condemned person’s clothing usually went to the soldiers who executed him – in this case they fulfilled Psalm 22:18.
23:36. Sour wine — actually could help dull the pain the condemned man was experiencing.
23:38. “King of the Jews” — Rome used crucifixion to execute those who tried to
overthrow the empire; the sign on Jesus’s cross marked him as guilty of treason. Ironically, it also was a correct title (but the Jews failed to recognize him).
23:44. Darkness — a common Old Testament prophesy of judgment [for example: Isaiah 13:10, Ezek 30:3, Joel 2:2, Amos 5:18, Zech 14:6].
23:45. Curtain of the temple was torn in two — a curtain separated the innermost chamber (where God made his presence) from the outer “Holy Place.” When Jesus died he re-moved the separation between people and God.
23:46. Breathed his last — Jesus was in control of his own death [compare John 10:17-18].
23:47. Centurion — leader of the squad. A Gentile was one of the first people to recognize Jesus’s righteousness.
23:50. Joseph of Arimathea — was a secret follower of Jesus [check Matt 27:57 and John 19:38]. Normally the Romans left crucified victims on display for several days. By offering his family tomb, Joseph also fulfills Isaiah 53:9 [see Note at 23:32].
23:56. Prepared spices and ointments — the women got ready to embalm Jesus’s body, but they had to stop until the sabbath was over (sundown on Saturday).
Memory Verse
Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death, [Luke 23:15].
Next Lesson
Luke 24: Jesus’s resurrection.
