Luke Overview

Today we start our fourth and final gospel, Luke. Luke is actually the third gospel we find in the New Testament, but we saved it for last for a special reason. Luke is the first book in a two book story. The other book is Acts, which follows on the story after Jesus’ resurrection to follow the birth and growth of the early church. So while these are two separate books, it’s worth reading them both together.

While no author is named in either book, tradition tells us that both were written by Luke, a travelling companion to Paul (who we will meet in Acts) and a doctor (Colossians 4:14). Like Matthew, Luke seems to use Mark’s gospel as a reference to build out his gospel. This would place the writing of Luke around 70-90 CE.

Luke gives us the reason for writing his book in the opening verses, “it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,” (Luke 1:3). While Luke is aware that other people have written gospels, and that there are plenty of stories about Jesus being shared by word of mouth, he wanted to give a more complete and ordered history of Jesus’ life.

Luke 1-4 - Introduction

• Luke 1-2 - The birth of Jesus and John the Baptist
• Luke 3-4 - The preparation for Jesus’ ministry (baptism, genealogy, and temptation)

Luke 4-9 - Jesus’ in Galilee

• Luke 4 - Jesus begins his ministry
• Luke 5-6 - Jesus calls his disciple and the ministry grows
• Luke 6-8 - The kingdom of Jesus
• Luke 9 - Jesus with his twelve disciples

Luke 9-19 - Journey to Jerusalem:

• Luke 9-11 - What it means to be a disciple and the conflict with religious leaders
• Luke 12-13 - Warning of the final judgement
• Luke 14-17 - Inheriting the kingdom
• Luke 18-19 - The king and his kingdom

Luke 19-24 - Jesus in Jerusalem

• Luke 19-21 - Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem
• Luke 22-23 - The last supper and Jesus’ death
• Luke 24 - The resurrection

Luke has particular interest in the equipping power of the Holy Spirit. This is most notable in Acts, but we also see the Holy Spirit feature heavily in the first four chapters of Luke as it empowers people to perform the mission God has given them. In Luke, we see a spirit empowered Jesus. In Acts, we’ll see a spirit empowered church.

For Luke, the kingdom of God is all about lifting up those that marginalised and outcasts. It is this mission that Jesus quotes in the synagogue in Luke 4. Bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed.

Finally, more than any other gospel writers Luke is focused on salvation and repentance. This is tied up with this sense of the mission of God. The empowering of the Holy Spirit and the focus on redeeming the poor is part of God’s mission of salvation.

Luke 1

Luke opens his gospel with two stories of miraculous births. The first is to a couple called Zechariah and Elizabeth. These two are well on in years, and Elizabeth has been unable to have children. Zechariah is a priest, and it’s his turn to go into the temple to burn incense. There, an angel comes to him to tell him that he and Elizabeth are going to have a child, and they are to name him John. We already know this child as John the Baptist.

The angel says of John, “and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” (Luke 1:17). This is a reference to the prophecy at the end of Malachi, where God promises to send Elijah the prophet to ‘turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers’ (Malachi 4:5-6). To enable John to carry out his ministry, he will be “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:15).

Zechariah asks for proof that what the angel says is true, and the angel makes him mute until the birth of his son. Before long Elizabeth conceives, and joins the long list of women found in the Old Testament who were barren but gave birth to children who helped fulfil God’s promises to his people (Sarah in Genesis 18, Rebekah in Genesis 25, Rachel in Genesis 30, the mother of Samson in Judges 13, and Hannah in 1 Samuel 1–2).

Meanwhile, to the north is a young woman named Mary, who is betrothed to a man called Joseph. They’re yet to sleep together, but an angel comes to Mary to tell her she would have a child too. His name will be Jesus, and he will be called ‘Son of the Most High’ (Luke 1:32).

He will claim the place of king David, and his kingdom will never end. This child, Jesus, will be the fulfilment of the Old Testament promise of a king that is the son of God who will lead God’s people. Mary asks how this could be, as she hasn’t slept with anyone yet. The angel tells her she will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

It also just so happens that Mary is the cousin of Elizabeth, and so she travels south to tell her cousin the news. When the two meet, little John leaps inside his mother’s womb, and she is filled with the Holy Spirit. This empowers her to see that Mary’s womb carries the future king and hope of the world. Mary then offers a prayer to God, which outlines Jesus’ ministry.

First, she offers praise to God, who sees the humble and blesses them. She declares that he is mighty and holy. He offers mercy and has come in strength to remove the oppressive forces from the positions of power. But those that are poor he will raise up. Those that are hungry, he will make sure are fed, while those that see themselves as rich will be sent away. And all of this God told to Abraham and his descendants.

We see each of these themes in Jesus’ ministry, and just as God spoke these things to Abraham and others, Jesus’ works are a fulfilment of everything prophesied up until now. After staying there a further three months, Mary heads home.

The time comes for Elizabeth to give birth and all her neighbours and relatives visit to see the new child. They ask what Elizabeth and Zechariah will name him, and Elizabeth tells them John. The group are confused. No one in their family is called John. If anything, he should be called Zechariah, after his father. Zechariah then took a tablet and wrote “His name is John”, and was able to speak again.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah prophesies over his newborn son. He declares that God has come to redeem his people and save them through the house of David (this is talking about Jesus). He will rescue them from their enemies and have mercy on them, just as was prophesied by the prophets and promised to Abraham.

God is doing this so his people might serve him in holiness and righteousness. John will be known as a prophet, preparing the way before God, letting people know about God’s salvation and the forgiveness of their sin. There will be a new dawn that brings light to God’s people so that they can walk in peace. 

Note how each person is empowered by the Holy Spirit. John was empowered by the Holy Spirit to do his ministry. Mary was empowered by the Holy Spirit to conceive Jesus. Elizabeth was empowered by the Holy Spirit to see that Mary was carrying the promise of God in her womb, and Zechariah was empowered by the Holy Spirit to prophesy.

Psalm 110

This psalm is attributed to king David and falls into the category of royal psalm. It is focused on a future priest-king appointed by God.

Psalm 110:1 - God speaks

Psalm 110:2-3 - The outworking of what God has said

Psalm 110:4 - God speak

Psalm 110:5-7 - The outworking of what God has said

The psalmist opens with the words of the Lord, inviting what we can assume is the king to sit at his right hand. Then the psalmist paints a picture of what that would look like. In that time, God will go out and defeat the enemies of his people, establishing the king’s reign. His people will be obedient and faithful, offering themselves to God and to the king.

Then the psalmist brings more of the Lord’s words. This king is to be a priest in the order of Melchizedek. We read about Genesis 14:18-24. Normally, the priests were from the tribe of Leviticus, while the king was from the tribe of Judah. Therefore, the king could never be a priest as the people normally understood them.

But in Genesis 14:18-24 we read of Melchizedek, who was a king and a priest, and it’s this example that the chosen king is to emulate. As a priest king, the Lord will be defeat all other kings and any claims they may have. He will defeat the wickedness across the world, bringing all nations under this king’s authority.

Psalm 110:1 holds the record for being the most referenced Old Testament verse in the New Testament. In its original context, it would have been seen as an exultation of the king as one chosen by God. But there would have been an appreciation that no king lives up to this. The psalm is attributed to king David, and so the king being spoken about is a king that David calls my lord. Considering David was considered one of the greatest kings of Israel’s history, there is no other king that could fulfil that role.

Because of this, an expectation is set up for a king who will fulfil this role. A future king who will sit at the right hand of God, defeat wickedness and chaos and bring all the earth under his reign.