The Writings of Luke

It has been decades since Jesus resurrected and ascended. With the passing of time, the stories and ideas of Jesus seem to change. People have different ideas as to who Jesus was and what He taught. There is confusion and even conflict among Jesus’ followers. What is needed is a reliable account of Jesus, from beginning to end. What is needed is a thorough investigation and a clear presentation of Jesus so people can truly know who He is and what He did. 

This is what Luke sets out to do. It would take Luke years to write this Gospel. Luke did not know Jesus personally. He had never spoken with Jesus. He had never seen Jesus do miracles. But Luke knew Paul and Luke knew many of the leaders who had known Jesus. So Luke decides it is his work to write the story of Jesus, after fully investigating the life of Jesus from Paul and other church leaders. 

Luke writes for everyone. He does not have just one specific audience because he knows everyone will ask questions of who Jesus is and what Jesus did. He knows there will be controversy and what is needed is clarity. He begins his record of Jesus with Adam to show the fullness of the story of Jesus. Luke, as a doctor, was well educated and wrote this life story of Jesus with a strong writing style to show the intelligence of his reporting and account of Jesus. 

Luke wants the reader to know that this account of Jesus is based on fact. It is not a theory. It is not fiction. It is a biography, well researched and well documented. This Gospel of Luke is the best, most thoroughly documented account of all the life stories of Jesus. Luke even includes episodes of Jesus after he resurrected from the dead. As a doctor, Luke shows the human side of Jesus while also portraying him as God. Luke wants the reader to clearly know Jesus’ connection to them. He writes in detail of the birth of Christ to convey this. He records many stories of Jesus interacting with women, lepers, children and others who would normally be disregarded by religious leaders. Luke wants people to know that this Jesus was not like any other religious leader. 

Being Paul’s associate, Luke had travelled far and wide to many cities and regions. He knew the confusion Christians had about Jesus. He met many different types of Christians and heard the questions they had about this Jewish Messiah most of them had never met. Luke could relate to them. Possibly as Gentile himself, and a doctor, Luke was the right person to write the story of Jesus, showing his humanity even more than his Jewish identity. Luke wondered if one story could eliminate all the controversy and questions about Jesus. Probably not, he concluded. But he would write a story that would cover as much material as possible, from creation to ascension, so that people had a resource they could refer to for understanding Jesus’ life on this earth.