Page 16 - New Testament Survey Student Textbook

the early AD 60s; after the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70; and the early second century. But this author and
most scholars lean toward the earliest date for a reason:
Early AD 60s. Even while tracing the ministry of Paul, the book of Acts makes no overt mention of Paul’s
letters, which could mean that Luke wrote before the Pauline corpus was being circulated. In addition,
Luke and Acts include no direct references to important events after AD 64 (e.g., the persecution of
Christians by Nero, the Jewish revolt against Rome, the fall of Jerusalem, the death of Jesus’ brother
James). For the most part, Acts portrays the Roman government as impartial toward Christians (unlike
Nero in AD 64–68 and Domitian in AD 81–96). Another argument in favor of an early 60s date involves
the abrupt ending of Acts, which includes no reference to Paul’s trial in Rome and/or death (AD 64). The
narrative gives the impression that the author had simply recorded all he knew and that Paul was still
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alive at the time of the writing.
Themes

Luke highlights Jesus’ identity and mission as the Suffering Servant prophesied by Isaiah (4:17–19;
compare 3:4–6), emphasizing that the good news of Jesus is for the whole world (4:20–27). Jesus offers
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freedom, healing, and liberty to the world’s hurting and oppressed.
Luke shows the validity of Jesus’ identity by recording his backstory. His
is the only canonical gospel to record the history of John the Baptist and
an event from Jesus’ childhood (1:5–2:52). While Matthew’s Gospel
traces Jesus’ genealogy to Abraham (Matt 1:1–17), Luke follows Jesus’
family tree to Adam (Luke 3:23–38), emphasizing that Jesus is not just
the culmination of Israel’s history but also the world’s. Luke presents
Jesus’ death and resurrection as fulfillments of Old Testament prophecy (22:35–38; 24:25–27, 36–49;
compare Isa 53:10–12). Luke’s Gospel concludes by urging Jesus’ followers to proclaim the message of
forgiveness of sin throughout the world (Luke 24:26–28).
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Luke invites us to follow Jesus and proclaim His message to the world. We no longer have to be like the
lost sheep, lost coin, or lost son (ch. 15); we can have the salvation Jesus offers. God has given us so much
in Jesus, and now we are called to proclaim that message to the world in both word and deed—giving up
whatever He asks of us for the sake of furthering the gospel and empowering others (9:57–62; 10:25–
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37).
Purpose

Luke’s purpose was to announce Jesus as the Son of Man, and Savior of the world. It is in this Gospel
that we see Jesus presented as the climatic turning point in world history, and it sets the stage for Luke’s
second volume—the Acts of the Apostles. In both books, Luke focuses on the mission of Jesus, which
continues and expands with the Church, out from Jerusalem to the world (Luke 24:47). In Jesus,
everyone—Jewish and non-Jewish alike—may come to salvation.

46 Huffman, D. S. (2016). Luke, Gospel of. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W.
Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
47 Barry, J. D. et all
48 Ibid
49 Ibid
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