Luke writes this most inclusive of all the Gospels to explain, to a church that began as a Jewish movement but is rapidly becoming predominantly Gentile, what God is doing in the world through Jesus to fulfill His plan. He presents Jesus Christ “from the ground up,” in human terms, words and actions, to explain how this man is the incarnation of God on earth, who now rules from God's throne and provides His Spirit to His followers who will bring His message and kingdom by their daily actions to all the peoples of the earth. In Luke, Jesus is constantly reaching out to those on the outside and those on the margins, healing and saving them, so that they become key players in His kingdom plan. Jesus has provided victory over sin, death, evil and the powers of darkness so that anyone may come to Him to receive forgiveness and salvation and participate in His victory.
Jesus brings promise and salvation. Salvation involves sharing in the hope, experiencing the blessing of Jesus’ rule from the side of the Father and sharing in the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the indwelling Spirit. It also looks forward to the glorious completion of what Jesus started by coming to earth. The Spirit empowers us for the mission of proclaiming Jesus and also for living an ethical, God-honoring life. Introduction to Luke
Luke shows how to love God through trust, patience and perseverance and how disciples love their neighbors through compassion and service. More than any other gospel writer, Luke puts working gloves on disciples as he paints a portrait of the call of God. In fact, Luke has more parabolic material from Jesus than any other Gospel. Luke is the Gospel that reveals the heart and mind of Jesus. It is here that we see how God cares for the sinner, the poor and the despised, the ones the text calls “tax collectors and sinners.” Introduction to Luke
Luke begins his Gospel, after a brief introduction explaining how and why he is writing, with the announcements of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. The emphasis in these announcements is that God is decisively acting in history again to fulfill His promises to save His people and bring about His rule on earth. John will act as "Elijah" the promised forerunner of the kingdom who will prepare the nation for the coming of the Messiah. His birth will be miraculous, much like that of Isaac. Jesus' birth will be even more miraculous, a virgin birth. He will fulfill the messianic promises of deliverance from oppressors, but the announcement expands this deliverance to spiritual and cosmic oppressors like sin and death.
The angel’s giving his name and position communicates that his message is to be accepted as coming from the throne room of heaven. Zechariah, righteous as he is, needs to learn that God will fulfill his promises when he sovereignly chooses to act. The God of heaven may even do things out of the ordinary. The major lesson in this announcement for the priest, as well as for Luke’s readers, is that God will do what he promises in his own way. Luke 1:8-23
God chose to use an average young woman and to announce his intentions in quiet obscurity. The fulfillment of God’s promise came to earth in an unadorned package of human innocence, without any pomp, far away from any palace. The promised one entered human life as he still seeks to meet it: at the level of everyday experience with everyday people. Luke 1:24-38
Luke chooses to present Jesus from the “earth up”—that is, showing how, one step at a time, people came to see who Jesus really was. He starts with Jesus as the promised king and teacher who reveals himself as Lord in the context of his ministry. Only slowly do people grasp all of what is promised. Luke 1:29-38
Luke continues with the record of Mary's visit to Elizabeth and the prophetic sayings prompted by the Spirit that result from the visit in chapter 1. He uses these prophecies to set several of the themes for the rest of the Gospel. Elizabeth recognizes that God is blessing His people through Mary's child and that He will be a great source of joy. Mary prophesies that her child will be the one who brings redemption to the nation and to the world and will especially benefit the poor and marginalized. Zechariah prophesies the role of John as the forerunner of the Messiah and the forgiveness and victory over evil He will bring. All recognize that God is acting in a significant way through these two children.
Since God remembers the loyal love promised in covenant to Israel, Theophilus can rest assured that God will remember his promises to this Gentile believer. God’s care for one promise reinforces the other. The basic teaching implied here is very similar to Paul’s argument for the hope of Israel in Romans 9–11. Luke 1.46-56
Zechariah is not retreating from life or looking only to a future reward in heaven. His heart’s desire is to serve [God] without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. This is the expression of an exemplary soul. The meaning of life comes in faithful service to a holy God. By saying our days, Zechariah represents many who share this desire. Salvation enables the child of God to serve God. Luke 1.67-80
Chapter 2 tells the story of Jesus' birth and completes Luke's account of His childhood. Luke emphasizes the humanness of Jesus' and His identification with the average person in His humble rural birth, but also emphasizes His cosmic kingship through the announcement made by the heavenly armies of God to the shepherds. The shepherds represent the correct response to the announcement of the gospel. They go and see it for themselves and then joyfully announce what they have seen wherever to all they meet. The section closes with two visits of Jesus and His parents to the Temple. When Jesus is presented to God for circumcision, two prophets, Simeon and Anna, announce His unique character and mission. He will be the One who completes God's plan for the nation and for all creation. The final story is about the 12 year old Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem after a feast. When his parents find Him, He informs them of His unique mission from and relationship with the Father. Mary represents the proper response to this, and to the shepherds'' report, as, though she does not fully understand, she meditates on what she has heard and seen God doing and what it means.
It is Jesus’ birth that draws an angelic host. Once again, appearances are deceiving. As humble as the setting is, his birth is accompanied by the attention of the heavenly host. The shepherds who are privileged to share in the moment become bearers of a story full of wonder. Jesus’ birth is more than a cosmic event; it is the arrival of divine activity that should provoke joy, reflection and attentiveness. That is why Mary ponders these events and the shepherds return glorifying God. Luke 2.1-21
To see Jesus is to see God’s salvation. They are inseparable. There is joy, even in the face of death, when one has seen the source of life. Simeon’s job as a sentinel for Messiah is done. The Lord can take him home. Simeon pictures a faithful servant who is at home in God’s purpose and plan, even when his time is up. Luke 2:25-35
The infancy material stresses Jesus as Messiah, but this text is one of two hints early in Luke’s Gospel that he is also much more. Luke reveals Jesus’ identity gradually, bringing the reader along in an understanding of who Jesus is. So this first clue comes from Jesus himself. The other major clue comes in the infancy section, where Jesus’ divine origin is tied to the Spirit (1:31–35). Luke 2:46-52
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