The Gospel of Luke presents Jesus as the savior of all people. It was written by Luke, a historian and companion of Paul, for Theophilus to provide an orderly account of Jesus' life and teachings. Key themes are salvation for all nations, the role of prayer, praise and the Holy Spirit. The gospel follows Jesus' journey from Galilee to Jerusalem and concludes with his resurrection.

1. J E S US I S T H E S A V I O R O F A L L M E N
LUKE

2. THE GOSPEL OF LUKE
• Luke presents Jesus as the perfect
man, the last Adam through whom
God will provide salvation.
• Salvation is the primary theme of the
Gospel of Luke, and salvation is for all
nations beginning with Israel.

3. LUKE THE PERSON
• Luke was not a disciple of Jesus, rather him and the
Apostle Paul were great friends and travel
companions.
• Luke was a historian who gathered detailed
information to write a gospel for a man named
Theophilus (Luke 1:1-4).
• Luke is named only three times in the New
Testament (Col. 4:14, Phile. 24, 2 Tim. 4:11).
• Luke is from Antioch, Syria and history has it that he
did not marry, and he lived until the age of 84.

4. LUKE THE PERSON
• Luke was a doctor. It is interesting to see how God
connected him with Paul who was regularly
persecuted for the gospel. Luke would be there to
assist him for any physical aliments.
• From 2 timothy 4:11, and Phile. 24 you can see that
Luke was with Paul during his Roman imprisonment.
• While in Prison with Paul that Luke wrote the book of
Acts, and it was during Paul imprisonment in
Caesarea Luke wrote his gospel.
• Luke has the most in depth usage of the Greek
language in the NT.

5. WRITING STYLE
• The gospel of Luke starts in the temple in chapter 1
and ends in the temple in chapter 24.
• One of the main focuses in Jesus’ journey towards
Jerusalem to be crucified. (9:51 is the turning point
of the gospel.)
• The gospel ends with the ascension of Christ, and
the book of Acts opens with the ascension of Christ.
• The book of Acts opens in Jerusalem (where he
ends his gospel) and will end in Rome where Luke is
in prison with Paul.

6. AUDIENCE
• The recipient named Theophilus was probably someone within
the high-courts of the Roman Empire who has become a
Christian. His name means lover of God, or loved by God.
• The larger audience was a group of gentiles.
1. Luke uses Greek words in place of Aramaic (“teacher”
replaces “rabbi”)
2. He explains Jewish customs and locations that would be
unnecessary for a Jewish audience.
3. Luke does not stress the fulfillment of the OT prophecy, as
does Matthew.
4. He coordinates the events of the life of Christ with Roman
history points (birth narrative).
5. Romans officials are presented in a fairly sympathetic light,
suggesting a gentile audience (Luke 7).

7. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF LUKE
• Luke bring out the word Salvation in his gospel
writing stressing, Salvation is for all people & nations
Jesus, the son of God became man to fulfill God’s
salvation promise!
• Key Verse: Luke 19:10, For the Son on Man has
come to seek and to save that which was lost.
• Jesus comes from heaven and returns to heaven in
the Gospel narrative.

8. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES
• Travel narrative: The 2 volumes of Luke and Acts
shows how Jesus affected a lot of people
throughout his ministry.
1. Jerusalem (Luke 1:5)
2. Jerusalem in a “Roman Empire” 3:1
3. Galilee (3:2-9:50)
4. Turning point towards Jerusalem 9:51
5. Jesus ascension to heaven (Luke 24:50-53)
6. Remember the opening of Acts mirrors the closing
of Luke.

9. PRAYER, PRAISE, AND REJOICING
• The gospel opens with an emphasis on prayer.
Worshippers are praying while Zechariah burns
incense in the temple (1:10).
• Johns birth is an answer to Zechariahs prayer (1:13).
• The prophetess Anna is worshipping, fasting, and
praying continuously in the temple (3:37).
• Luke records 7 instances of Jesus prayer that are not
recorded in any other gospel. They occur at
strategic times. Luke alone records that Jesus spent
the entire night in prayer before choosing his
disciples.

10. CONTINUE
• Jesus taught the disciples about prayer both
directly (11:1-4) and through parables (11:5-13).
• Jesus exhorted the disciples to pray (22:40, 46).
Songs
1. The Magnificat of Mary 1:46-56
2. The Benedictus of Zacharias 1:67-80
3. Gloria in Excelsis of angels 2:14
4. Nunc Dimittis of Simeon 2:29-32

11. HOLY SPIRIT
• The Holy Spirit is a major theme in the book of Luke and
Acts.
• The Spirit as a central figure of redemption moves from
the position of being promised (Luke 3:15–18) to being a
testifier-enabler for Jesus (Luke 3:21; 4:16–18).
• The full promise finally comes later when the Spirit falls on
all believers (Acts 2:1–13). Luke explains the event as the
sign that the new era has come (Acts 2:14–21; Joel 2:28–
32).
• More important than the number of occurrences of the
Holy Spirit, is the role in which the Holy Spirit plays in the
life of Jesus and his disciples (1:15, 41, 67, 4:1, 14, 18,
10:21, etc.).

12. PROLOGUE 1:1-4
• Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a
narrative of the things that have been
accomplished among us, just as those who from the
beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the
word have delivered them to us, 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, that you may have certainty
concerning the things you have been taught.

13. THE FIRST FOUR CHAPTERS
• In the first four chapters you can see the unique
literary writing style of Luke as he alternates
between John the Baptist and Jesus.
Birth
announcement
of John (1:5-25)
Birth and
Childhood of
John
(1:57-80)
Beginning the
Public Ministry
of John
(3:1-20)
Birth
announcement
of Jesus
(1:26-56)
Birth and
Childhood of
Jesus
(2:1-52)
Beginning the
public ministry of
Jesus
(3:21-4:13)

14. ANOTHER WRITING FORMAT
Miracles
4:31-44
Disciples
5:1-11
Miracles
5:12-26
Disciples
5:27-39
Miracles
6:1-11
Disciples
6:12-16

15. STRUCTURE AND ARGUMENT
I. Luke’s preface and the introduction of John and
Jesus (1:1-2:52).
II. Preparation for ministry: anointed by God (3:1-
4:13).
III. Galilean ministry: revelation of Jesus (4:14-9:50).
IV. Jerusalem journey: Jewish rejection and the new
way (9:51-19:44).
V. Jerusalem: the Innocent One slain and raised
(19:45-24:53).

16. LUKE’S PREFACE AND THE INTRODUCTION
OF JOHN AND JESUS (1:1–2:52)
• Everything in Luke 1–2 points to the superiority of Jesus.
• Mary’s hymn (Luke 1:46–56) praises the faithfulness of
God to his promise and his blessing of those who are
humble before him, setting up a major Lucan theme.
• Jesus’ birth takes place in humble circumstances, but all
the figures surrounding his birth are pious and responsive
to the hope of God
• Jesus’ own self-awareness concludes the introductory
overture of the Gospel (Luke 2:41–52). Here the young
boy declares that he must be about the work of his
Father in the temple.

17. PREPARATION FOR MINISTRY: ANOINTED BY
GOD (3:1–4:13)
• John and Jesus remain side by side in the
next section on Jesus’ ministry. John is the
“one who goes before” (Isa. 40:3–5; Luke
3:1–6), while Jesus is the “one who comes”
(Luke 3:15–17).

18. GALILEAN MINISTRY: REVELATION OF
JESUS (4:14–9:50)
• Jesus’ teaching and miracles dominate the third
section of Luke’s Gospel. Major teaching blocks
include his synagogue declaration of the fulfillment
of God’s promise (Luke 4:16–30) and the Sermon on
the Plain (Luke 6:17–49).
• The unit pictures the growth of faith that comes to
those whom Jesus gathers around himself. Their
discovery is the vehicle that Luke uses to answer the
question of Jesus’ identity.

19. JERUSALEM JOURNEY: JEWISH REJECTION
AND THE NEW WAY (9:51–19:44)
• As much as 49 percent of the fourth section
contains material unique to Luke. There is a high
concentration of teaching and parable. In fact,
seventeen parables are in this unit, fifteen of which
are unique to Luke
• The journey starts with the disciples learning the
basics of discipleship: mission, commitment, love for
God, love for one’s neighbor, devotion to Jesus and
his teaching, and prayer (Luke 9:51–11:13).

20. JERUSALEM: THE INNOCENT ONE SLAIN AND
RAISED (19:45–24:53)
• In his concluding section, Luke explains
how Jesus died, why apparent defeat
became victory, and how God
revealed who Jesus was.
• In addition, the task of disciples in light
of God’s acts becomes clear. Luke
mixes fresh material with that found in
the other Gospels.