Luke: Part 1
Jesus For All
Moving onto our next gospel, we will now be looking at the amazing recording of Christ from Luke. Now what sets Luke apart from the other gospels and makes its storyline unique? The answer to this is the audience that Luke wrote this gospel for. Before, we’ve seen Matthew writing to a Jewish audience to convince them that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies. Also, we saw that Mark wrote his book with the purpose of convincing the non-believer by focusing on the miracles Christ performed. But Luke writes his gospel in a with almost the opposite point of Matthew. Luke’s overall goal is to show that Christ is Lord and Savior not just for the Jews, but for everyone willing to repent and believe. In fact, look at how Luke starts his letter. Luke 1:3-4 says “it seemed fitting to me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in an orderly sequence, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.” Luke’s goal here is to reveal the ‘exact truth’ about what Jesus is truly saying, and not just what people are assuming He’s saying. As Bible Study Tools so accurately states, “Luke wanted to show that the place of the Gentile Christian in God's kingdom is based on the teaching of Jesus. He wanted to commend the preaching of the gospel to the whole world.” Luke’s gospel is meant to bring everyone to the heart of the gospel, and not just a particular people group. As we go through this book, I think you will see through these 24 chapters, that Jesus invites all to repent and believe in the gospel and not just certain people groups. With this in mind, let’s see what Jesus has to teach us through the first 12 chapters.
Not Just Jews
To start, Luke’s gospel opens up by talking about the birth of John The Baptist and then goes into the prophecy of Jesus and His birth. Then in chapter two, we see an angel speaking to shepherds about the coming Christ and look at what God’s messengers report. Luke 2:10-11 states “And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Notice that line in the middle of this message. This angel is bringing the good news of great joy for ‘all the people’. This is not just good news for the Jews or OT families that have now passed, this is good news for everyone. Because Jesus isn’t coming to just save specific races, He came to rescue all who will repent and believe in Him. In the following chapters, we see Jesus presented at the temple, the preaching of John The Baptist, and even the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Throughout all of this, we see Jesus fulfilling His perfect ministry and accomplishing exactly what God had sent Him to the earth to accomplish. When looking at Luke’s goal of reaching all with the gospel, however, there may be no better story in all of Luke’s gospel than what takes place in chapter 5. In Chapter 5, Jesus reaches out to a tax collector named Levi and tells him to follow Him as one of His new disciples.
It is right here where we see an amazing conversation take place. Luke 5:30-32 says “The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.” If this doesn’t get the message across, I don’t know what does. Think to yourself for a second, is it just the Jews who are sinners? Of course not! And this is exactly Jesus’ point. He didn’t come to just save those who are Jewish, or of a certain race, or who have followed a certain set of laws, He came to save those who have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. And that describes everyone. The best part of this story is that the ones who need Christ the most are arguably the ones who are criticizing Him for eating with other sinners! And Jesus shows us plainly that He’s not just willing to save them too, but that this is why He ultimately came. Jesus didn’t come to save those who are perfect, those people aren’t in need of saving. He came to save sinners. Praise God for that!
The Great Divide
As we conclude, however, I do want to make a distinction about what we have covered so far. While Jesus doesn’t just save one particular race or gender, not everyone will believe and follow Him. So while the gospel does indeed unite followers of Christ, it also divides us from those who refuse to repent and believe in this gospel. This is what Jesus is sure to tell us at the end of chapter 12. Luke 12:51-53 tells us “Do you think that I came to provide peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. “They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” Jesus is clear throughout all of Luke’s gospel that while on one hand He certainly came to save sinners of all types who will repent, He also came to divide those from sinners who refuse to repent. This includes close friends and even the most beloved family members. Why does Jesus share this? To show us just how big of a tragedy it is to refuse the saving grace of God. Make no mistake about it friends, the only way to avoid eternal damnation is by the free gift of salvation that God offers us by grace through faith in Christ. And for those that deny this free gift, they will be divided from the family of God. I hope and pray that as you read this gospel of Luke, you will come to the conclusion that the division Jesus brought with Him was not the division between Jews and Gentiles, but rather those who will repent and believe and those who won’t. May God lead us to this repentance and faith that He has made available through Christ!
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] BibleStudyTools Staff. (n.d.-a). Book of Luke. Bible Study Tools. https://www.biblestudytools.com/luke/
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