St. Luke

The Gospel according to Luke tells us more about the mother of Jesus than any other book in the New Testament with most of the information contained in the first two chapters. Luke displays an interest in many facets of Jesus’ life and mission, but his overriding message is that of universal salvation. He emphasizes that Christ has come to gather all people and nations into the family of God. His primary thrust is the salvation of Israel as he portrays Jesus as the Savior of God’s Old Covenant people.

He shows us that Jesus came to initiate the restoration of Israel foretold by the Old Testament prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel as he depicts Jesus as the royal Messiah who comes in the line and legacy of King David to reunite the scattered tribes of Israel.

The forgiveness that Jesus extends to Israel also reaches the Gentiles. When presented at the temple Simeon calls Jesus a “light for the revelation to the Gentiles.” John the Baptist uses the words of Isaiah to announce that “all flesh” can now look to Christ for salvation. In His closing message to his Apostles, Jesus tells us that forgiveness must be carried to all nations. Luke carries Jesus’ message of salvation to the lowly. The message for Israel and the nations is also for the outcasts, the poor, and the disreputable among them.

Stained Glass window depicting Saint Luke the Evangelist, in the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold in Mechelen, Belgium.

Luke preserves several powerful statements about God’s concerns for the lowly and the oppressed. Women in particular are showcased throughout Luke, despite their otherwise low social standings. His portrayal of the Virgin Mary is unparalleled in the New Testament for its beauty and sensitivity. Other women play leading roles. Mary’s cousin Elizabeth during her visitation to her, Anna, when Jesus is presented in the Temple, the widow of Nain, the sinful woman at the well, Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha of Bethany, and the woman possessed by seven demons.

Of the Evangelists only Luke tells of Jesus’ parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. Only Luke gives the detailed account of the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to announce to Mary that she will be the mother of God. It is Luke who details the announcement to Zachariah in the temple that John the Baptist will be conceived by his wife Elizabeth, who has been barren.

The story of the Nativity comes solely from the pages of the gospels of Luke and Matthew.

The gospel according to Luke is the first part of a two-volume work that continues with the Acts of the Apostles. This was accomplished through the divinely chosen representatives that Jesus prepared during his public ministry and commissioned after his resurrection as witnesses.

In his Acts, Luke has provided a broad survey of the church’s development from the Resurrection of Jesus to Paul’s first Roman imprisonment, the point at which the book ends. In telling this story, Luke describes the emergence of Christianity from its origins in Judaism to its position as a religion of worldwide status and appeal.