LUKE

The theme that stands out in the Gospel according to Luke is: Jesus is the divine Savior. In the beginning, everything focuses on this surprising truth. Even before his birth, the angel sent by God commands Mary to give the child the name of Jesus (which means the Lord saves, 1:31). To the shepherds the angel gave "the news of great joy" (2:10) that in the city of David the Savior was born, who is Christ the Lord (2:11). And in the first public announcement the Lord made of his mission, he unequivocally stated that he was the divine Savior about whom the sacred writings of the Old Testament referred to (4: 17-21).

From that moment, we observe how the Lord Jesus reveals himself as the divine Redeemer who came to save the lost. He saves from the power of the evil spirits (4: 33-36), severe illnesses (4: 38-40), leprosy (5:12, 13) and even the power and consequences of sin (5: 26). Furthermore, Luke presents us as the Almighty Savior who has divine power and authority to raise the dead (7: 12-17). Being one with the Father, he also has power over nature and can save his disciples from a violent storm (8: 22-25), and deliver the crowd from famine (9: 11-17).

After he had revealed himself as the Almighty Savior and the apostles had confessed him as the Christ (9: 18-20), Jesus begins to show his followers that for him to be their divine Savior, he must first Suffer and die (9:22).

The words spoken by the Lord Jesus in 19:10, "For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost," crystallize the wonderful message of the gospel according to Luke.

Luke demonstrates to us that the Lord Jesus came as the Savior in a universal sense - for the peoples of all times and in all conditions, for the Jews (1:13, 2:10), for the Samaritans (9: 51-56 ) For the pagans (2:23, 3: 6, 38), for publicans, for sinners and despised (7: 37-50) as well as for respectable people (7:36), for the poor (1: 53) and also for the rich (19: 2; 23:50).

At the same time, our Lord seriously warned everyone that although he came to save and not to destroy, all who refused to be saved by him would bring upon themselves sufferings (19:27, 41:44).

The Gospel according to Luke proclaims the good news of the Lord Jesus, who not only claimed to be the divine Savior, but also revealed Himself as the Almighty Redeemer and Only Begotten Son of God. Through his resurrection and ascension (24: 50-53), he finally demonstrated the truth of his affirmations and the authenticity of his self-revelation as the Savior of the world, sent, approved, and equipped by God (4: 17-21; ).

Author:

Undoubtedly, the tradition that claims to be Luke, the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14), the author of this gospel, is correct. As a companion of Paul (Philemon 24, II Timothy 4:11, Colossians 4: 10-14, Acts 1: 1; 20: 5 - 21:17; 27: 2 - 28:16), Luke had many personal contacts with apostles And other witnesses in the history of the gospel. All this, coupled with his Greek cultural background, his intellectual pretension and his intimate relationship with men like Mark (who also wrote a gospel), enabled him to write a gospel, creditworthy, broad and beautiful. Probably wrote it between the sixties and seventies of our era. Shortly thereafter, he wrote the Acts of the Apostles.

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J. Norval Geldenhuys

Master in Theology