Background to Luke's Gospel

1. The Call of the Disciples, The Sinful Woman, Martha & Mary, The Widow of Nain, The Parable of the Good Samaritan, The Parable of the Persistent Neighbour, The Parable of the Lost Son, The Parable of the Rich Man & Lazarus, The Parable of the Pharisee & the Tax Collector
2. More than 1/3 of Luke's Gospel is L material

Nota:

• Written first 

1. Almost all of Mark's Gospel is in Luke, just with more detail
2. Mark used Peter as one of his main sources

1. German word for "source"
2. Writings and oral traditions of Jesus' sayings and preachings which circulated around the Early Church

1. May have been Greek

   Nota:

   • The Greek he wrote in is more advanced than that of Mathew or Mark

Nota:

• "beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14) "fellow worker" of Paul (Philemon 24) "with Paul" whilst he was awaiting trial (2 Timothy 4:11)

1. From the end of the 2nd Century

1. Continues the story, starting with Jesus' ascension to Heaven
2. "In my former book"

1. Greek for "lover of God"
2. May be for an individual or larger audience
3. "Most Excellent"

1. He will be annointed by the spirit of the Lord

   Nota:

   • Refers to the Baptism important theme in Luke Messiah = annointed one
2. He will preach good news to the poor
3. He will proclaim release to captives
4. He will give sight to the blind
5. He will free those who are oppressed
6. He will proclaim the year of the Lord
   1. The Old Testament teaches that every 49 years, in Israel, there would be a Jubilee year in which 4 things would happen
      1. Slaves would be freed
      2. Debts would be wiped out
      3. Property would return to its original owner
      4. The land would become very fertile
      5. People lived in hope of these things happening

1. Jesus was certain that this prophecy related to him. He thought it was his role to fulfil this prophecy
   1. "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing"
   2. He had been baptised and felt that he was definetly being called by God after his period in the desert
2. It was normal for the Synagogue leaders to invite people to read, it was Jesus' interpretation and the people's reaction that was odd
3. At this point in Jesus' life he was still working alone

1. It was prophesied in the Old Testament that the Messiah would be rejected
2. The crowd questioned whether this was "Joseph's son and not someone special
3. They demanded that Jesus perform a miracle as he had in Capernaum, Jesus was building a reputation and the crowd knew this
4. Eventually the crowd got so angry they tried to throw Jesus down a cliff. The text says that Jesus "walked through the crowd", this is a mysterious comment but indicative of Jesus' power.

1. Both prophets had experienced rejection from the Israelites
2. Told people what God expected of them
3. Both performed miracles with Gentiles
4. Early sign that Jesus had not just come for the Jews

Nota:

• Isiah 53