Understanding the Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke from the Perspective of a Journey
Backgrounder on Luke's gospel
The gospel of Luke is often referred to by post-Vatican II bible scholars as a two volume book known as Luke-Acts. The author of the gospel is also the author of the Acts of the Apostles. When reading both books, one can see the missionary works of Jesus continued by the missionary works of His followers. The apostles and St. Paul continue the mission of Jesus in the book of Acts.
The journey perspective in St. Luke's gospel
To understand the richness of Luke's gospel, one can focus on the journey narrative in the presentation of the gospel. Below is an outline of this journey:
- Jesus journeys in his ministry from Galilee to Jerusalem
- Galilean Ministry [Luke 4:14 - Luke 9:50]
- Journey to Jerusalem [Luke 9:51 - Luke 19:27]
- Jerusalem Ministry [Luke 19:28 - Luke 21:38]
- The followers of Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, journeys from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth
- Mission in Jerusalem [Acts 1:1 - Acts 5:42]
- Mission in Judea and Samaria [Acts 6:1 - Acts 12:25]
- Mission to the ends of the earth [Acts 13:1 - Acts 28:31]
The Passion and Death of Jesus [Luke 22:1ff]
The Resurrection [Luke 24:1ff]
The Ascension [Luke 24:50ff]
The Pentecost [Acts 2:1ff]
The key passage of the gospel of Luke for this missionary program
After many post-Vatican II studies on the Scripture, Luke 4:16-30 was discovered as the key passage to understand the missionary program of Jesus in the gospel of Luke. These studies point out that key passage as a "programmatic text". It is a programmatic text, because it outlines the missionary program of Jesus ministry. One passage often highlighted as representative of the programmatic text is:
"The Spirit of the Lord has been given to Me, for He has anointed Me. He has sent Me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord's year of favour. [Luke 4:18-19]
This proclamation made by Jesus at the synagogue of Jerusalem outlines His whole mission. If placed in the context of the missionary program outlined above, it clearly shows in detail what Jesus has done in His missionary journeys in the gospel of Luke.
Emphasis of Luke's gospel in the mission to the poor, the proclamation of blessing, and the Lord's favour
The whole of Jesus' mission in Galilee and Jerusalem was a mission for people in Jewish society who were poor and marginalized. Especially of note are the sick, the blind, and those souls captive to evil spirits. Luke's Jesus is portrayed as a man with compassion for the suffering and who experience distress. This is clearly evidenced in [Luke 6:36] - "Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate."
As Jesus prophetic mission to the poor and the oppressed in Galilee and Jerusalem endeared Him to the people. It is this following of His Father's will that led to His arrest and death on the Cross. But, after three days, He rose again by the power of the Holy Spirit. He appeared to His disciples, ascended into heaven, and then at Pentecost, sent the Holy Spirit to commission all His followers to continue His mission - a mission He began at Galilee and Jerusalem. Before His ascent into heaven, He told His disciples in [Acts 1:8]
"...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth." This is the key verse that outlines the book of the Acts of the Apostles. The followers of Jesus continued the mission of building God's Kingdom: first in Jerusalem, then in Judaea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth.
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