Who

Luke (protégé to the Apostle Paul) to the Gentile Believer Theophilus in the early Church era

Where & When

The Gospel of Luke was most likely written during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome around AD 64 or AD 65. This is surmised because Luke is Part 1 of a two-part series about Jesus Christ. The second part is the book of Acts, in which Luke depicts the work of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit in the early church and ends at Paul’s imprisonment in Rome. Arguably, both books were composed around the same time in Rome as Christians awaited Paul’s release. Furthermore, the recipient, Theophilus, is given the title “most excellent Theophilus”, indicating that he may have had rank among the government nobles in Rome. Therefore, Rome is further substantiated as the writing location. Arguably, Luke composed his gospel under the auspices of Paul while he was still alive.

Why

As Luke himself indicates, he wrote the gospel to add stability of faith to a Gentile Christian nobleman concerning the accuracy of the oral tradition of Jesus Christ during the early church age (Luke 1:1–4). The gospel pays special attention to the subject of the necessity of God’s plan to include Gentiles in the future Kingdom. More than any other gospel, Luke uses precise terminology and more attention to detail in his account, lending credence to the multiple witnesses that he probably interviewed to attest to the accuracy of the gospel message.

How

Be paying attention to these important terms that occur in this book:

  • Titles of Jesus (e.g., Son of God, Son of Man, Son of David, the Messiah)
  • Salvation (or Saving, Redemption)
  • Holy Spirit (or Spirit)
  • Kingdom (or King, Dominion, Rule, Reign)
  • “It is necessary that …” (or “It must be that …”)

Literary Outline

Luke uses a phrase that acts as a motif in this gospel and in his second part of Acts, “It is necessary that …” or “It must be that ….” This phrase is almost exclusively implemented to convey the necessary plan of God to transpire in Jesus’ life or the early church. The phrase “it is necessary that …” or “it must be that …” frames each section listed below, and the watershed examples are provided in parentheses.

  • Luke 1:1 – 2:52 The Necessity of the Messiah’s Identity (Luke 2:49)
  • Luke 3:1 – 9:17 The Necessity of the Messiah’s Kingdom Offer (Luke 4:43)
  • Luke 9:18 – 13:35 The Necessity of the Messiah’s Suffering Foretold (Luke 9:22; 13:33)
  • Luke 14:1 – 21:38 The Necessity of Gentiles in the Messiah’s Kingdom (Luke 15:32; 17:25; 19:5; 21:9)
  • Luke 22:1 – 24:53 The Necessity of the Messiah’s Suffering Fulfilled (Luke 22:7, 37; 24:7, 26, 44)