Christians On Campus
Bible Study
The Gospel According to Luke
The Gospel of the Forgiveness of Sins – Proving That Jesus Christ Is the Man-Savior
Text and footnotes taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible
I.Introduction — 1:1-4
Luke 1:1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to draw up a narrative concerning the matters which have been fully accomplished among us, 2 Even as those who from the beginning became eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 It seemed good to me also, having carefully investigated all things from the first, to write them out for you in an orderly fashion, most excellent Theophilus, 4 So that you may fully know the certainty of the things concerning which you were instructed.
Footnotes:
Luke 1:1, note 1 Inasmuch
Or, Since, as is well known,…
Luke 1:1, note 2many
This indicates that there were more than four who wrote an account of the Savior’s earthly life.
Luke 1:1, note 3draw
Or, set in order.
Luke 1:1, note 4matters
Events of John the Baptist’s birth, ministry, and martyrdom, and of Jesus’ birth, life, ministry, teaching, death, resurrection, and ascension for the accomplishing of God’s redemption that sinners may be saved by grace.
Luke 1:2, note 1those
The first group of New Testament believers, composed of those who were with the Savior during His ministry on earth.
Luke 1:2, note 2ministers
Lit., servants; i.e., official servants, apparitors, who attend or serve an officer or authority to carry out his orders. The Greek word is used in 4:20; Matt. 5:25; Mark 14:54; Acts 26:16; and 1Cor. 4:1.
Luke 1:2, note 3word
The word of the gospel, ministered and preached to people (Acts 6:4; 8:4).
Luke 1:2, note 4delivered
This indicates that the writer of this Gospel was not among those disciples who were with the Savior during His earthly life.
Luke 1:3, note 1me
The early church recognized Luke as the author of both this Gospel and the Acts. Luke’s authorship is evident from the style of composition of the two books. Luke was a Gentile (Col. 4:14; cf. Col. 4:11), probably an Asiatic Greek, and a physician (Col. 4:14). Beginning in Troas, he joined Paul in his ministry and accompanied him in his last three ministry journeys (Acts 16:10-17; 20:5—21:18; 27:1—28:15). He was a faithful companion of Paul until Paul’s martyrdom (Philem. 24; 2Tim. 4:11). Hence, his Gospel should represent Paul’s views, as Mark’s represents Peter’s (see note 11, par. 1, in Mark 1).
The Gospels of Luke, Matthew, and Mark are synoptic in regard to the Savior’s humanity (see note 11, par. 2, in Mark 1). Luke’s Gospel reveals God among men in His saving grace given to fallen mankind. Its purpose is to present the Savior as a genuine, normal, and perfect man. It gives a complete genealogy of the man Jesus, from His parents back to Adam, the first generation of mankind, and shows that He is a genuine descendant of man—a son of man (see note 11, pars. 2 and 3, in Matt. 1). Its record of the life of this man impresses us with the completeness and perfection of His humanity. Hence, this Gospel stresses the Lord as the Man-Savior. Based on the moral principles that apply to all men, it presents gospel messages, as in 4:16-21; 7:41-43; 12:14-21; and 13:2-5; gospel parables, as in 10:30-37; 14:16-24; 15:3-32; and 18:9-14; and gospel cases, as in 7:36-50; 13:10-17; 16:19-31; 19:1-10; and 23:39-43. None of these are recorded in the other Gospels. In contrast to Matthew, Luke does not stress the dispensational aspect or the Jewish background. It is the Gospel written to mankind in general, and it announces the good news to all people (2:10). Its characteristic is absolutely not Jewish but Gentile (4:25-28). It is a Gospel to all sinners, both Jewish and Gentile. As such, the sequence of its record is according to morality, not according to historical events. See notes 161, par. 2, in Matt. 8 and 201 in Mark 14.
Luke 1:3, note 2Theophilus
The Greek word means loved by God, or friend of God. Probably a Gentile believer who occupied some official position under the Roman Empire.
Extra Verses:
Gen. 1:26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
Gen. 1:27 And God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Gen. 2:8 And Jehovah God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there He put the man whom He had formed.
Gen. 2:9 And out of the ground Jehovah God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, as well as the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Luke 1:27 To a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
Luke 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus.
Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the holy thing which is born will be called the Son of God.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and theWord was God.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.
2 Cor. 4:4 In whom the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers that the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine on them.
Col. 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation,
Heb. 1:3 Who, being the effulgence of His glory and the impress of His substance and upholding and bearing all things by the word of His power, having made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Phil. 2:7 But emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men;
Heb. 2:16 For assuredly it is not to angels that He gives help, but He gives help to the seed of Abraham.
Heb. 2:17Hence He should have been made like His brothers in all things that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Matt. 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Footnotes:
Matt. 1:1, note 1, paragraph 3 Jesus
Christ, as the wonderful center of the entire Bible, is all-inclusive, having many aspects. The New Testament at its beginning presents four biographies to portray the four main aspects of this all-inclusive Christ. The Gospel of Matthew testifies that He is the King, the Christ of God prophesied in the Old Testament, who brings the kingdom of the heavens to the earth. The Gospel of Mark tells us that He is the Servant of God, laboring for God faithfully. Mark’s account is most simple, for a servant does not warrant a detailed record. The Gospel of Luke presents a full picture of Him as the only proper and normal man who ever lived on this earth; as such a man, He is the Savior of mankind. The Gospel of John unveils Him as the Son of God, the very God Himself, who is life to God’s people. Among the four Gospels, Matthew and Luke have a record of genealogy; Mark and John do not. To testify that Jesus is the King, the Christ of God prophesied in the Old Testament, Matthew needs to show us the antecedents and status of this King, to prove that He is the proper successor to the throne of David. To prove that Jesus is a proper and normal man, Luke needs to show the generations of this man, to attest that He is qualified to be the Savior of mankind. For the record of a servant, Mark does not need to tell us His origin. To unveil that Jesus is the very God, neither does John need to give us His human genealogy; rather, he declares that, as the Word of God, He is the very God in the beginning.
Text and footnotes taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible