Luke: Following the Example of

the Perfect Man

Introduction
Theme: Let Christ redeem you.

Date: This Gospel was obviously written before the second volume
in Lukes set. We can easily arrive to this conclusion from his
statement in Acts 1:1, the former treatise have I made, O
Theophilus, of all that Jesus began to do and teach.

Since Acts gives a chronicle of Pauls ministry, which ends with his
two-year imprisonment in Rome, it seems logical that Acts was
completed after that period around 60 AD. Luke probably wrote his
Gospel during the imprisonment with Paul using him as source of
information for the account. That would date Lukes Gospel
between 56-58 AD.
About the Author
Of all the writers of Scripture,
Luke was probably the only
Gentile. He is thought to have
been a native of Antioch.

He seemed to be a close
companion with Paul. In
Colossians 4:14 Paul refers to
Luke as the beloved physician.

Judging from Lukes style of

Greek, we can surmise that he
was well educated and was the
most cultured of all the Gospel
writers.
Background

The purpose of Lukes Gospel was to convince the

Greeks to receive Jesus as the Perfect Man.

Though Luke was writing to a specific individual named

Theophilus, he may of intended his account to reach a
broad audience.

It seems that Luke aimed at the Greek mind and,

therefore, had to be comprehensive, logical, and orderly
in his account.
Background

Luke is very interested in presenting

Christ as the perfect man, the Son of
Man.
Luke does not minimize His deity or
redemptive sufferings; rather, he focuses
attention on the complete humanity of
Christ.
Background
Perhaps he was attempting to
combat the Greek philosophy of
Idealism, which teaches that the
things exist only as ideas in the
mind.
It also holds that things in the
material world are actually
manifestations of an independent
realm of unchanging, immaterial
models or forms (Plato- the father
of classical Idealism).
To have a proper understanding
of the person of Jesus Christ, one
must include both natures of his
character. Plato
(427-348 BC)
Background

Luke gives the fullest accounts of the

birth and infancy of Christ.
His genealogy goes back to Adam, the
head of the human race, rather than to
Abraham, the head of the chosen race.
Luke often shows Christ in prayer, a
distinctly human means of fellowship with
God.
Background
Christs compassion for men as
Luke records it seems to cross
all boundaries.
Twenty of the thirty-five
recorded miracles of Christ
appear in this Gospel.
Luke mentions the Greek term
for woman or wife gune
forty-three times, an
uncharacteristic emphasis for
the first-century literature.
Thirteen women are
mentioned that appear
nowhere else in the gospels.
Background

Only Luke tells of Christ,

in His concerns for all
men, sending the seventy
disciples into all Israel.
Three times Christ refers
to Samaritans favorably.
Christs wide concern and
open compassion is
strong focus of this
Gospel.
Background
Our Lords great concern for lost men appears nowhere more clearly than
in Luke 15.
Here Christ gives a trilogy of parables, all presenting the plight of the man
lost in sin and the responsibility of the Christian to recover him.
This chapter reflects the concern voiced by Christ throughout the Gospel.

The Lost Sheep The Lost Coin The Prodigal Son

Background

Lukes record calls

men sinners sixteen
times, in contrast to
fourteen times in all
the other Gospels.
It is the Perfect Man
who will redeem
sinful men from their
sin.
Outline of the Book

I.The Preparation
of the Perfect Man
(chs. 1-2)

Jesus in the Temple at 12 (Luke

2:41-52)
Outline of the Book

II. The Introduction

of the Perfect Man
(chs. 3-4:13)

The Baptism of Jesus (Luke

3:21-22)
Outline of the Book

III. The Ministry of

the Perfect Man
(chs. 4:14-9:50)

Jesus Public Ministry (Luke

4:14-15)
Outline of the Book

IV. The Journey of

the Perfect Man
(chs. 9:51-19:28)

Jesus Journey to Jerusalem (Luke

9:51)
Outline of the Book

V. The Presentation
of the Perfect Man
(chs. 19:29-48)

The Triumphal Entry (Luke 19:29-44)

Outline of the Book

VI. The Rejection

of the Perfect Man
(chs. 20-21:4)

The Pharisee Attacking Jesus Authority

(Luke 20:1-8)
Outline of the Book

VII. The Prophecy

of the Perfect Man
(ch. 21:5-38)

The Parable of the Fig Tree

(Luke 21:29-38)
Outline of the Book

VIII. The Passion

of the Perfect Man
(chs. 22:1-23:56)
Outline of the Book

IX. The Resurrection

of the Perfect Man
(ch. 24:1-53)

Jesus Appearing before His Disciples

(Luke 24:36)