The Week in Review

Study of the Synoptic Gospels - Luke Survey

Written by Minister Jewel D. Williams (12/07)

Observations: Luke’s purpose for writing is to present the evidence of Jesus and he does that with his detail and themes throughout the writing of his Gospel. Luke’s Gospel focuses on history as the place where God’s salvation story was effected and on Jesus as God’s savior. Luke shows God’s love for mankind started with Adam and continued to all people; men and women, Jew and Gentile.

Author and intent: The most reliable information comes from the New Testament itself. Luke was well educated and believed to be a doctor and close friend of Paul (Co. 4:14). It is said that Luke’s intention was to make his Gospel more accurate than other versions of the Jesus story that had been compiled prior to his. Luke 1:1-4 states his main purpose, which was to write an orderly and accurate account so that others could know the truth.

Structural: There were some interesting patterns that I found within the Gospel of Luke. The first interesting structural pattern was the usage of the phrase “And it came to pass.”

This phrase was used 35 times (1:8, 1:23, 1:41, 1:59, 2:1, 2:15, 2:16, 2:46, 5:1, 5:12, 5:27, 6:1, 6:6, 6:12, 7:11, 8:1, 8:22, 8:40, 9:28, 9:33, 9:37, 9:51, 9:57, 10:38, 11:1, 11:14, 11:27, 14:1, 17:11, 17:14, 18:35, 19:29, 20:1, 24:4, 24:51). This phrase is used as a transitional phrase when the movement or action transitions from one event to another. This statement is an active statement in that what follows did happen.

There is also a Chiastic Structure (ABCBA pattern) regarding John and Jesus’ birth (see chart 1 below). It might be a stretch here, but I see the reference to Herod as a “C” between the events of John and Jesus (in chart 2, however it is not included in this post).

Contrasting is shown in Luke’s Gospel. One example is the speech by Mary (1:46-53).


Low Esteem----------------------------Blessed of All Nations (1:48)
Put Down-------------------------------Mighty Exalt the Low (52)
Fill Hungry with Good----------------Rich Made Empty (53)


There are also several mentions of the Holy Ghost’s work before the infilling mentioned in Acts. This is not something I am familiar with seeing in the other Gospels (1:15, 1:67, 2:25, 3:22, 4:1, 4:14 and 5:1). We see the working of the Holy Spirit as the one that empowers the individual to give prophecy, to be led, to hear God’s words, infill, empower for service. There is a climatic turning when we read of the entrance of Satan. The first when Satan enters Judas, (22:3) and the second when Jesus tells Peter what Satan wants to do to believers (22:31).

Chapter Titles:

I. Introduction – Salvation reliability (Chapter 1:1-4)

II. Preparation for Jesus’ Ministry (Chapter 1:5-4:13)
a. The Two Births (1:5-1:56)
b. The Two Sons (1:57-2:52)
c. John’s Ministry – Preparing the Way (3:1-20)
d. Jesus’ Ministry – The Way (3:21-4:13)


III. Jesus’ Gospel Message (4:14-9:50)
a. Message of Good News (4:14-5:16)
b. Conflict Over the Message (5:17-6:11)
c. Message for the Poor (6:12-8:3)
d. Revelation in the Message (8:4-21)
e. Jesus’ Identity Through the Message (8:22-9:50)

IV. Discipleship (9:51-19:27)
a. The Final Journey Begins (9:51-13:27)
b. The Journey Continues (13:22-17:10)
c. The Journey Ends (17:11-19:27)


V. Death and Resurrection (19:28-24:53)
a. Entrance into Jerusalem (19:28-48)
b. The Controversy (20:1-21:4)
c. End Time (21:5-38)
d. The Passover (22:1-38)
e. The Arrest and Trial (22:39-23:25)
f. The Crucifixion and Burial (23:26-56a)
g. The Resurrection – The Fulfillment (23:56b-24:53)

Thematic Study (Noting Proportion/Sensing Atmosphere):
The Themes in the book of Luke are God’s universal work, Jesus as Savior of the world, Event’s of Jesus’ early life, the place of women in Jesus’ ministry and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Luke traces the ancestry of Jesus to show an emphasis of the universal nature of God’s dealing with the world. Luke focuses on Jesus as savior from the first announcement by the angel (2:11) to his last appearance on earth (24:46-47). When Jesus began his ministry, he opened the scroll and read of his fulfillment of the prophet’s words, thus announcing who he was. Luke also took an interest in the early life of Jesus. Matthew mentions the birth of Jesus, but Luke goes into more detail about his birth, and some of his early life. The other theme that is important to Luke is his emphasizes on women. All the Gospels mention women but Luke goes to greater extents in mentioning women in his Gospel (2:36-38, 7:11-17, 7:36-50, 10:38-42, 13:10-17, 21:1-4 and in the parables 13:20-21, 15:8-10, 18:1-8).

Literary Type & Genre: Luke adopted the geographical style of the Gospel of Mark as the basic pattern for his own Gospel (Nickle, 137). It is said that Luke wrote fine Greek. His polished style of writing was characteristic of the authors of Greek classical period, such as Homer and Sophocles. In his writing style, he was able to adopt a scriptural tone when it suited his purposes. “In effect he was consciously casting his composition into ‘Bible language’”(139).

Who or what is this about? – This Gospel is about Jesus. Luke tells his story of Jesus to help address the faith needs of his community. Matthew tells his story using the fulfillment of prophecy, while Luke uses a similar style with his “And it came to pass” theme. When reading Luke’s Gospel, this theme changes the direction of movement from one event to another while also bringing the reader to the understanding that this is a telling of something that has happened (has been fulfilled). The Gospel of Luke repeatedly discloses the true identity of Jesus to clear away all doubts about who he is.


Why is this so important? – Why is this book written in this way? It is said that Luke’s Gospel was written in this apologetic style to answer the concerns of his community and time. It is suggested that the writing occurred at a time when Roman authorities had begun to differentiate between Judaism and Christianity (159). Luke therefore was writing to clear up any misunderstanding or misinterpretations about Jesus.

What are the implications and assumptions one can take from this book? – One can assume Luke’s mission in presenting the Gospel was to defend the truth about Jesus. He wrote his Gospel to prove Jesus’ promised coming, his promised mission and his promised fulfillment of his ministry. It was important also to Luke that his readers knew Jesus was the savior for not only the Jewish people, but for all people.


What is the setting and why is that important? – The most likely places of this writing of the Gospel were Greece, Caesarea, Alexandria and Rome. There are some that state the true location cannot be discovered. However, wherever he wrote it, it was intended for Christians who may have had a pagan background.

How does this now speak to me? – The Gospel of Luke shows a detailed telling of the life of Jesus. This shows me that nothing was an accident in the unfolding of the life of Jesus. Even the smallest of details were part of God’s plan. The telling for example of John the Baptist’s life is in line with Jesus’ life. This then speaks to me that even the smallest events in my life should be looked at from the mindset that this is part of God’s plan for my life. He was involved in my very beginnings and he wants to be involved in the end. He was in the beginning of Jesus’ life and he was there throughout his earthly ministry. It says to me that God wants that for us as well. He wants to be a part of our entire walk, from beginning to end.