Gospel Of Luke Essay
THE GOSPEL OF LUKE
I. Background Issues
Introduction
This report will be focused on the Gospel of Luke, however Luke authored both the Gospel bearing his name and the Book of Acts, which is said to be the sequel to the Gospel. Through his authorship of both books Luke’s contribution to the New Testament equals out to 27 percent of it.1 Both books were written for and sponsored by a man named “Theophilus” (Luke 1:3). Luke, a physician and an educated man, used his knowledge to write in an assortment of classical Greek genera and styles, making his Gospel “the most literary of the Gospels.”2 It is written in the literary form of secular Greek historians. It is arranged in an orderly account from Jesus’ birth and life, to his death …show more content…
The beginning of the gospel is characterized as a literary prologue, commonly found among the best Greek literature of the first century. Several parallel of similar prologues exist in the Jewish and Hellenistic literature of that day.11 Luke then gives the most detailed description of the childhood of Jesus found in the canonical gospels (1:5–2:52). He presents Jesus’ infancy in a series of doublets—a motif that, we will see, is thoroughly Lucan throughout both Luke and Acts. Often these first two chapters are isolated from the rest of the Gospel. Conzelmann proposes a threefold scheme of salvation history consisting of “the Period of Israel, the Period of Jesus, and the Period of the …show more content…
Rather than focusing on Jesus’ authority, however, this cycle emphasized the breadth of the gospel’s net to include sinners (14:15-24). This sets the stage for the final group of instructions. The journey to Jerusalem concludes with instructions in discipleship in the light of Jesus’ impending death (14:25–19:27). Here especially we see miscellaneous dominical sayings, covering such diverse topics as the cost of discipleship (14:25-35), the value Jesus placed on sinners (15:1-32), a proper attitude toward money (16:1-15), a proper attitude toward the presence and coming of the kingdom (17:20-37), the necessity of reliance on God (18:15–19:10), and the like. Though Luke’s arrangement may be difficult to discern, his purpose is not. He wanted to give Theophilus (and his secondary audience, later Gentile readers) both examples of the wisdom of Jesus and reasons for seeing that Jewish hostility toward him was unfounded. Finally, Luke concludes his Gospel with Jesus’ ministry and passion in Jerusalem (19:28–24:53). The fifth major section reveals Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and subsequent heated debates with the religious leaders (19:28–21:38), followed by his death and resurrection (22:1–24:53). Once again, Luke contrasts Jesus’ positive ministry with the rising opposition to him. He makes his so-called triumphal into Jerusalem (19:28-44) only to lament over the
I. Background Issues
Introduction
This report will be focused on the Gospel of Luke, however Luke authored both the Gospel bearing his name and the Book of Acts, which is said to be the sequel to the Gospel. Through his authorship of both books Luke’s contribution to the New Testament equals out to 27 percent of it.1 Both books were written for and sponsored by a man named “Theophilus” (Luke 1:3). Luke, a physician and an educated man, used his knowledge to write in an assortment of classical Greek genera and styles, making his Gospel “the most literary of the Gospels.”2 It is written in the literary form of secular Greek historians. It is arranged in an orderly account from Jesus’ birth and life, to his death …show more content…
The beginning of the gospel is characterized as a literary prologue, commonly found among the best Greek literature of the first century. Several parallel of similar prologues exist in the Jewish and Hellenistic literature of that day.11 Luke then gives the most detailed description of the childhood of Jesus found in the canonical gospels (1:5–2:52). He presents Jesus’ infancy in a series of doublets—a motif that, we will see, is thoroughly Lucan throughout both Luke and Acts. Often these first two chapters are isolated from the rest of the Gospel. Conzelmann proposes a threefold scheme of salvation history consisting of “the Period of Israel, the Period of Jesus, and the Period of the …show more content…
Rather than focusing on Jesus’ authority, however, this cycle emphasized the breadth of the gospel’s net to include sinners (14:15-24). This sets the stage for the final group of instructions. The journey to Jerusalem concludes with instructions in discipleship in the light of Jesus’ impending death (14:25–19:27). Here especially we see miscellaneous dominical sayings, covering such diverse topics as the cost of discipleship (14:25-35), the value Jesus placed on sinners (15:1-32), a proper attitude toward money (16:1-15), a proper attitude toward the presence and coming of the kingdom (17:20-37), the necessity of reliance on God (18:15–19:10), and the like. Though Luke’s arrangement may be difficult to discern, his purpose is not. He wanted to give Theophilus (and his secondary audience, later Gentile readers) both examples of the wisdom of Jesus and reasons for seeing that Jewish hostility toward him was unfounded. Finally, Luke concludes his Gospel with Jesus’ ministry and passion in Jerusalem (19:28–24:53). The fifth major section reveals Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and subsequent heated debates with the religious leaders (19:28–21:38), followed by his death and resurrection (22:1–24:53). Once again, Luke contrasts Jesus’ positive ministry with the rising opposition to him. He makes his so-called triumphal into Jerusalem (19:28-44) only to lament over the