Luke is one of 4 gospels written mainly to give an account of Jesus' ministry on earth from the time just before he was born to the day he was crucified.
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
This gospel was written by Luke, who was a medical doctor and a companion/disciple of Paul the apostle. The account was therefore most likely a second hand account of events, probably told to him by Paul. Nonetheless, the purpose for Luke writing this book is clear in the first few verses: to give an orderly account of things that have been fulfilled.
Luke's gospel focusses a lot on the fulfilment of prophecies in the old testament. And this is evident right in the opening chapter when Luke describes the birth of John the baptist. The last book of the OT, Malachi written 400 years before the birth of Jesus gave this account: "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."
In Luke, it is written:
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Clearly, John the baptist has been sent to prepare the way for Jesus to come, to prepare the people for Jesus' coming. And this has been prophesied 400 years before the birth of John and Jesus, which has now been come to be fulfilled..
The rest of Luke 1 and 2 records in some detail the birth of two important people, namely John the baptist and Jesus the saviour. In these 2 births, we continue to see how God is working through events to show his mercy and grace.. even through the most unlikely of circumstances.. and how God has always been faithful in his promises, and that He alone, in His own timing, will bring things to happen according to his will.
I don't know about you, but I am often filled with awe when I read the gospels.. I am just amazed at how God can bring things to fulfilment centuries after his prophets had given those prophecies. I am comforted by the fact that this god is really in control, he is real and he is sovereign.. of course, it didn't used to be the case.. I remember the first few studies at "just looking".. I was really skeptical of what was being written in John the gospel. Feelings of incredulity mixed with a bit of bewilderment.. but at the same time, I am also amazed that normal human beings believed in them.. and these people seemed pretty convicted that this is the truth. and that their belief was grounded in rationality and truth.
In Luke, we see one of the most orderly accounts of what happened during Jesus' ministry. And Luke even took the effort to record down specific historical facts that could be verified and proven. And in his writing, we see the works of an educated man.. And he also stated that he had carefully investigated everything from the beginning..
The main focus of the gospels is the preaching of the good news of Jesus Christ, that his coming has indeed brought hope and salvation to a sinful world. If by some chance, you haven't read any of the gospels before, Luke will be a good book to read. and God's word is free, in more than one sense of the word.. cos u can easily read it online at biblegateway.com. I have decided to blog about my Luke bible studies in my next few posts, so u can follow it here if u want to, and hopefully I blog often enough..
Ophthalmo posting at SNEC on Monday!
