An Introduction to the Gospel of Luke By Rev. Jennifer Holz
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he Gospel of Luke was penned by the person Paul knew as, “our dear friend Luke, the doctor.” (Col. 4:14) And he tells us the reason for writing right at the beginning of his book. “[I]t seemed good also for me to write an orderly account…so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” (Luke 1:3,4) As a life-long Presbyterian, I love that Luke thought about writing an “orderly account” for listeners of his time and beyond. Luke is interested in presenting an account of Jesus that is reliable and that strengthens the faith of the believer. But of the three Gospel writers, he seems to be the most deliberate in putting together a literary masterpiece and a work of beauty. Luke is a man of culture and education, and he uses his gifts and skills as a writer in service of communicating the Gospel. Luke pays attention to detail. Perhaps that is why his is the longest Gospel. He also wrote for an educated, Greek audience. As inheritors of the Greek way of thinking, we’ll likely feel right at home with Luke’s writing style. Thematically, he focuses on Jesus as the Son of Man, the Kingdom of God and the Gospel’s impact on the poor and marginalized in society, including women and the religious outcasts. This Gospel is rich in the parables of Jesus as well. Luke also authored Acts, and it is widely believed that Luke and Acts serve as a twovolume work. In Luke, the Gospel travels from Galilee to Jerusalem. In Acts, the good news moves from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
Luke is interested in presenting an account of Jesus that is reliable and that strengthens the faith of the believer.
You’ll notice in the preaching guide that we will start with preaching the first four verses of chapter one, and then we skip to chapter three. We will come back to the first two chapters of Luke for the Season of Advent. The Sundays of Advent will be framed by the songs of Elizabeth, Zechariah, Mary and the angels. These beautiful songs are unique to Luke’s Gospel, and will enrich our journey to the manger together. Growing up in my family, Luke’s orderly account of the birth narrative of Jesus was the most familiar to us. As children, we memorized Luke 2:1-16 and recited it each year on Christmas Eve. During Advent this year, we will follow
Luke’s version of the Christmas story. I’m already excited for how God will speak to us in that time. As we get ready to begin this series, here are some questions you can begin to ponder about your own faith journey: What does it mean to leave everything and follow Jesus? In what ways do I struggle to believe the good news? How does the mission of Jesus become our mission at First Pres? What’s the purpose of the wilderness in the life of faith? What is Sabbath, and how do we honor that in our lives today? If I were to write a song about my experience of Jesus, how would I start?
K K K K K K
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One word of the one god A
Recommended reading
Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? N.T. Wright, Scripture and the Authority of God
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s we move into the fall, we are beginning a new preaching series on the Gospel of Luke: Jesus, Love That Never Ends. Many of you may breathe a sigh of relief, feeling like it is good to get “back to Jesus” after our summer-long journey through 1 and 2 Samuel. But the truth is we never left Jesus as we preached through these Old Testament stories of political intrigue, war, murderous threats and adultery. We saw how Jonathan’s relinquishment of the throne pointed to Jesus’ humility in the incarnation. We saw how David found strength in God alone, just as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane. But our ties to the New Testament were not just in finding similar experiences. What we saw in the story of David was an implicit understanding that the Kingdom of God is coming, and that it will free us from the oppressions and suffering of any human kingdom. That is the Old Testament as Gospel. Likewise, in the Gospel of Matthew, we hear Jesus saying that He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. That is the New Testament as Law. We see, therefore, that one cannot build a wall between the Old and New Testaments. We cannot say that the God of the New Testament is different from the God of the Old Testament. But what are we to do, for example, with the Old Testament record of war and the New Testament statement that peacemakers will be blessed? As people struggle with what to believe in this age of discontent with religion in general, and the Christian church in particular, there is an increasing rejection of the Bible. Some would be content to limit themselves to the red-letter portions of the Bible, thinking that Jesus represents the best of moral and ethical traditions. This is essentially what Thomas Jefferson did with what we call the Jefferson Bible. It is, however, instructive to see the title Jefferson himself gave his work: The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth, being Extracted from the Account of His Life and Doctrines Given by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; Being an Abridgement of the New Testament for the Use of the Indians, Unembarrassed [uncomplicated] with Matters of Fact or Faith beyond the Level of their Comprehensions. (In the 18th and 19th centuries titles were summaries.) It is clear that Jefferson thought
that illiterates corrupted the message of Jesus with all sorts of supernatural claims. In our time, the New Atheists1 agree with Jefferson’s assessment of the Bible, but they go even further. They reject Jesus as a great moral teacher because He received and attached Himself to the Old Testament writings. To them, this put Jesus at odds with anything moral or good because the Old Testament is filled with violence of every sort and its pages drip with blood. Does it matter to us what the New Atheists say? It should, for at least two reasons. First, we need to be able to engage struggling seekers wisely and graciously (1 Peter 3:15). Second, as we think about our responses to the accusations that the God of the Old Testament is a moral monster, we will learn more of the magnificent and powerful unity of the whole of Scripture. If we start with the assumption that if there were a God, that He is compelled to meet our standards of behavior, then the God of the Old Testament is problematic. In fact many reject God because He seems to refuse to do what they think is right and good. Their impulses are noble — we all want a world free of suffering. But to demand that God “make it stop” with a wave of His hand creates a coerced morality. In a stunning way, what they are asking actually affirms what the Old Testament story claims: we cannot be made good by something outside of ourselves, whether it is external Law or external force. We need the law of God written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31, Hebrews 8). We need to be changed from the inside out.
By Eunice McGarrahan When the Old Testament records the depraved behavior of humanity and the awful judgments of God, it is like a mirror that shows us what happens when we worship other gods and follow other lords. At the same time, the Old Testament tells us that a rescuer is on the way and that a peaceable kingdom will eventually prevail. Without the Old Testament as the story of God with us, the story of Immanuel — God with us in Jesus Christ — would make no sense. Jesus would just be another martyr and His disciples a rag-tag group trying to push against the prevailing culture. We see God’s desire for us in Genesis 1-2, and we see the effects of our rebellion in Genesis 3. But Genesis 3 immediately gives us hope that all will be set right when God promises a Savior with these words “…I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” My college Old Testament professor constantly reminded us that “the New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.” As we begin our exploration of Luke’s Gospel, pay attention to how joy is expressed with the words of the Old Testament. We will gratefully see how the whole of Scripture is the one Word of the one God.
The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.
Eunice McGarrahan is the Lead Parish Associate at First Pres. Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens
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What do you love about the Gospel of Luke? “The Gospel of Luke is my favorite Gospel (no offense, Matthew, Mark and John). The Gospel of Luke reveals a rich picture of what it means to follow Jesus — the costly, yet beautiful life of discipleship. We also see the power of the Gospel unleashed: prodigals running home, freedom being proclaimed for captives, and those on the margins of society being embraced by Jesus. I love the way the Gospel of Luke draws you into the life of the Kingdom and sends you out to go and do likewise, to participate in the Kingdom of God breaking in all around us.” — Rev. Katie Fowler, Associate Pastor for Missional Strategies “I love the richness of the nativity story in Luke, which we’ll explore later this year during Advent. Luke is the only Gospel that gives us an extended look at Jesus as a helpless, vulnerable baby — and fueling our sense of wonder at how low God was willing to stoop for our sake.” — Rev. Dr. John Goodale, Associate Pastor for Caring Ministries
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“The Gospel of Luke has always challenged me to look deeper into the lives of the people around me. What keeps us from entering and receiving the Kingdom of God? I love that Luke includes so many of the parables of Jesus because parables invite us to look more closely at everything, including our own hearts.” — Rev. Jennifer Holz, Senior Associate Executive Pastor “YES, we are back in the Gospels! Preaching a word from the Lord is always a gift, but preaching out of the Gospels is un-beatable. Luke, in particular, will be a fun Gospel to unpack — written by a Gentile physician, a man of great detail and precision, Luke presents for us a captivating journal of the life of Jesus Christ. I can’t wait to see how Jesus draws all of us into a more intimate relationship with Himself as we explore the Gospel of Luke together.” — Rev. Dan Jessup, Parish Associate
“I think one of the reasons I love the Gospel of Luke is the way it turns everything upside down. In the opening chapters there is good news and there is great joy, but it happens in backwater places to people who, in the eyes of the world, are insignificant. For the poor, the sick and the hungry who have nowhere to go, we see miracles of caring, healing and welcome into the Kingdom of God. The lame jump up and empty fishing boats become overloaded with a catch. And the wealthy and powerful hear the truth about themselves. They may not like it, but even the harsh corrections from Jesus are meant for their good and eventual joy. So as we make our way through Luke, enjoy!” — Rev. Eunice McGarrahan, Lead Parish Associate “Jesus taught many of His lessons through parables, simple stories that communicated truths of the Gospel message. I love the Gospel of Luke because it contains parables that illustrate what life is meant to be like in the Kingdom of God. Reading, studying, praying and preaching through Luke will give us a deeper sense of the kind of life that Jesus calls us to.” — Rev. Amber Odvody, Associate Pastor for Small Communities
“I love that Luke, being a doctor and a historian, gives great attention to details. He is a champion for women and is compassionate toward the dignity of the poor. He includes parables (lost sheep, coin and son, the Good Samaritan and others) that are not found in the other Gospels. And, of course, he brings Jesus’ encounters and events to life. It’s easy to imagine being there. He includes Peter’s great catch of fish, Zaccheus, more about Jesus’ birth, a different order of Jesus’ temptations, Jesus’ inaugural address in the Nazareth, and more, for which I am very grateful.” — Rev. Ty Saltsgiver, Parish Associate “The Gospel of Luke is overflowing with stories that speak to us about being the church as Christ intended. Luke emphasizes the ‘daily-ness’ of our role as Jesus followers and God’s presence in the midst of the journey. I think this Gospel is timely for us at First Pres!” — Rev. Nate Stratman, Assistant Pastor for Family Ministries
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P re a chi n g Serie s Sept. 7 Kick-off Sunday Luke 1:1-4 So That You May Know Sept. 14 Luke 3 Prepare the Way Sept. 21 Luke 4:1-13 The Desert Sept. 28 Luke 4:14-21 The Mission of Jesus Oct. 3 Loving Our World Sunday Luke 5:1-11 Follow Oct. 12 Loving Our City Sunday Luke 5:17-26 Busting through the Roof Oct. 19 Commitment Sunday Luke 5:27-32 Levi Leaves Everything Oct. 26 Reformation Sunday Luke 5:33-39 New Wine Nov. 2 Luke 6:1-10 The Sabbath Nov. 9 Luke 6:27-36 The Extent of Christian Love Nov. 16 Luke 6:43-45 Overflow of the Heart
Dec. 14 Luke 1:67-79 Zechariah’s Song Dec. 21 Luke 2:14 The Angel’s Song Dec. 24 Luke 2:1-20 The Song of Christmas Dec. 28 Luke 2:29-32 Simeon’s Song
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SERVICE
Dec. 7 Communion Sunday Luke 1:46-55 Mary’s Song
a d d re s s
ADVENT: Nov. 30 Luke 1:25 Elizabeth’s Song
REQUESTED
Nov. 23 Luke 6:46-49 Foundations of Sand or Stone