As we start our sermon series in Luke, you might feel a mix of anticipation, curiosity, or excitement. Perhaps you’ve read through the Gospels before, have a good handle on the overarching story, and are excited to dig deeper. Or maybe this is your first time reading Luke and you’re not quite sure what to expect.
Either way, before you start reading, this introduction to the Gospel of Luke will help you know who Luke was, who the book was written for, what to watch for, and what to ask as you go along will set you off on the right foot for your reading journey.
The Man Behind the Gospel
Luke is a bit of an outlier among the Gospel writers. He wasn’t one of the twelve disciples. He didn’t grow up in the synagogue or spend years steeped in the rituals of Jewish religious life. Luke was a physician and a Gentile, most likely from Antioch. By his own admission, he came to this story as an investigator, not an eyewitness.
What he did have was access. As a close companion of the apostle Paul, Luke traveled the ancient world, met people who had actually interacted with Jesus, and asked a lot of questions. By the time he sat down to write his Gospel, he had interviewed eyewitnesses, gathered accounts, and cross-referenced testimonies in a way that would impress a modern journalist.
“It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” (Luke 1:3-4)
“Certainty.” That’s what Luke is after—not myth, not legend, not a compelling story loosely based on real events. He wants us, his readers, to plant our feet on solid ground. That alone should change the way we read his account.
Luke wasn’t writing in isolation either. He acknowledges that others had already compiled accounts of Jesus’s life (1:1), and he’s carefully building on that foundation for a specific audience.
Written for People Like Us
Luke addresses his Gospel to Theophilus, who was likely a Gentile official new to the faith or still exploring it. He might also have been the person funding Luke’s research. The name Theophilus means “lover of God” or “friend of God.” So, if you love God or want to begin to love him, this letter is already addressed to you.
Luke wrote sometime between 60 and 80 AD in a world not unlike our own. The Roman Empire had made travel efficient and communication possible across a vast stretch of the ancient world. Greek was the common language, so a message could spread quickly across a great distance. Cities were crowded, religions were competing for loyalty, and ordinary people were sorting through a lot of noise to figure out what was actually true. That’s something we can relate to.
For that society, Luke writes about a Messiah who came not just for one nation but, as we learn in chapter 2, for all people.
Because he’s writing for Gentile readers, Luke does something the other Gospel writers don’t often do: he explains. He traces Jesus’s genealogy all the way back to Adam, not just to Abraham as Matthew does. He wants his readers to understand that this story began at the very beginning of humanity, and it belongs to all of us.
What to Watch For
The poor and the overlooked. The first people to hear the news of Jesus’s birth weren’t kings or priests; they were shepherds. In Luke, the people the world tends to skip over are consistently the ones Jesus goes out of his way to find. Luke gives us the stories of the prodigal son, the lost sheep, and the good Samaritan. Luke’s Jesus relentlessly seeks the least, the last, and the lost.
Women. Luke names and honors women in ways that were countercultural for his time. We get Mary’s perspective on the birth of Jesus—her song, fear, and wondering. We meet widows, sinners, and women whom religious society had largely written off. Luke sees them and so does Jesus.
Prayer. Jesus prays constantly in this Gospel: at his baptism, before choosing the Twelve, before the transfiguration, and in Gethsemane. Luke wants us to see not just what Jesus did but how he lived. And what do we see? He lived on his knees.
A journey with purpose. From chapter 9 onward, Jesus walks toward Jerusalem with purpose, knowing exactly what awaits him there. Every healing, parable, and conversation along the road is happening in the shadow of the cross. God’s plan is unfolding.
Questions to Ask
As you read, ask yourself these questions, and let the book do what Luke intended—produce certainty in the hearts of those willing to look closely.
- What does Jesus pay attention to that I tend to ignore?
- What does this passage tell me about who God is not just what he does?
- What would it have felt like to be in this story?
Luke wrote his Gospel so that ordinary people—Gentiles, outsiders, newcomers, skeptics, the anxious, and the weary—could encounter Jesus and walk away with certainty. So, let’s dig in together and let this Gospel do its work.
Watch or listen to the Gospel of Luke sermon series.
