The Faces of Jesus: Luke

The gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke are called synoptic, which is a Greek word meaning “view together”. That is, if you laid these three gospels side by side the reader would find many similarities. In reading these gospels, one gets a better understanding of who Jesus was and what he did. 

Different Culture - Different Message

It is interesting to note that the writers of the gospels did not limit their message to one culture, rather they wrote to various audiences. Luke was a Greek who wrote to the gentiles and tried to reach out to believers who were not familiar with Aramaic. Luke was not one of the twelve disciples and he probably did not know Jesus. He was dependent on the accounts and reports of Jesus’ ministry from other people. Luke did not limit himself to writing one book ending with the resurrection. He went on to write the accounts of the early Christians in a book known as the Acts of the Apostles. 

Luke's Gospel Part 2

The Acts of the Apostles picks up exactly where the Gospel of Luke ends. The style of this gospel is composed in a very neat and orderly way. There are some stories found in Luke that are not found in the other gospels, such as the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. Luke’s gospel is the basis for many of stories that are found in children’s bibles. The Annunciation and the Twelve-year Old Jesus in the Temple are only in Luke. He then goes on to focus his writing primarily on Jesus’ public ministry. 

Take the Message Home

Jesus is the saviour for all people and salvation is the key theme whose source is through God’s mercy. It is a gift and a joyous surprise and it includes everyone.