A Unique Gospel

Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
–Luke 2:52

Imagine that Dr. Luke is submitting his Gospel for publication. The publisher might say, “We have Matthew, Mark, and John. Why do we need another account of the life of Jesus Christ?”

Here’s what makes Luke’s Gospel unique: Matthew wrote to the Jews to say that Jesus fulfills all the Messianic promises in the Old Testament. Mark’s Gospel reads more like a newspaper than a book. John’s Gospel is built around seven miracles to show that Jesus was the Son of God. But Luke’s Gospel is the most detailed. It contains information about Jesus’s life, teachings, and ministry that none of the other Gospels include.

There are three unique themes in the Gospel of Luke. First of all, Luke focused on the humanity of Jesus. Matthew emphasized the Messiahship of Jesus. Mark emphasized the servanthood of Jesus. John emphasized the deity of Jesus. But Luke emphasized the humanity of Jesus, showing that Jesus was fully God but also fully man. For example, Luke gave us the most detailed account of Jesus’s birth. And it’s only in Luke’s Gospel that we find the stories of Jesus’s dedication in the temple and of twelve-year-old Jesus amazing the teachers in the temple.

A second theme in Luke’s Gospel is the program of God. As you read Luke’s account of Jesus’s life, you realize nothing happened by coincidence. Jesus’s death wasn’t some horrible accident or tragedy; it was part of God’s plan. Remember that Luke was a Gentile, and his Gospel was written to the Gentiles. The Gentiles naturally wondered, If Jesus really was the long-awaited Messiah, then why didn’t His own people accept Him? Luke showed that Israel’s rejection of Jesus was part of God’s plan to bring about salvation for the Gentiles.

A third theme in Luke’s Gospel is the perseverance of Christians. Luke’s Gospel is not about how to be saved; it is about how to live after we are saved. Over and over again in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus explained that a true disciple is not somebody who intellectually believes the right things about Him; it is someone who follows Him and imitates His life.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Reigniting Your Passion for Christ” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2016.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.