The Gospel of Luke, probably written sometime in the 60s or 70s AD, is unique in two ways. First, it begins with an explanation of its origin that gives us an insight into at least one way that biblical authors composed their books. Second, it gives us a view of the life and ministry of Jesus through the eyes of a Gentile. If we had only the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, we would be missing important and helpful information about the world’s Redeemer.
Luke is clear that his account of the life and ministry of Jesus did not come by direct divine revelation. He does not say, as do OT writers, “The Lord showed me … ,” “The Lord said to me … ,” or “The Lord came to me, saying …. ” If what he reports in his Gospel was the product of what he saw in visions, he surely would have said so, for such an experience would have given his Gospel authority among early Christians. But if Luke did not have visions of Jesus’ life, how did he get the information that he shares with us, and can we say that his Gospel is inspired?
In the first four verses of his Gospel Luke outlines for us why he wrote it and how he received his information. The verses establish at least five major points. First, he tells us that “many” were compiling narratives on the life of Jesus (v. 1). See “The Synoptic Gospels,” on Mark 1. Today we think only in terms of the four Gospels, Luke included. From his point of reference, there were more than three other gospels being written—there were “many” being composed.
Then he tells us that he got all his information from two sources: “eyewitnesses” and “ministers of the word” (v. 2). Who were some of the “eyewitnesses” that Luke may have talked with? Some likely would include Mary, Jesus’ mother; Jesus’ brothers; individuals whom Jesus had healed; people who had witnessed miracles; those who had heard Jesus teach; and, of course, the apostles.
“Ministers [hypēretai, plural] of the word” were the second source of Luke’s information. A hypēretēs (singular) was a servant or one who supplied a service—or one who ministered. In Act 13:5 Luke calls Mark a hypēretēs for Paul and Barnabas. In the Greek pagan religions a hypēretēs had all of the teachings of his religion memorized and served as an instructor to prepare candidates for indoctrination into the religion. As a hypēretēs, Mark may have memorized the teachings and deeds of Jesus and assisted Paul and Barnabas as an instructor who prepared converts for baptism. Luke worked with Mark as part of Paul’s evangelistic team and may have gotten a lot of his information from Mark. Anyway, Luke tells us that the sources of his information about Jesus came from “eyewitnesses” and “ministers of the word” (Luke 1:2).
Such information was “delivered” (paredōsan) to Luke by oral transmission (v. 2). Paul employs the Greek word translated “delivered” with the word “received” for the oral transmission of information. As he reminded the Corinthians of his ministry among them, he said, “For I delivered [paredōka] to you first of all that which I also received [parelabon]” (1 Cor. 15:3; cf. 11:23). Paul received his information verbally from Jesus in visions and delivered it to the Corinthians by oral instruction. What is interesting is that Luke recognized that the “many” in v. 1 who were also writing about the life of Jesus obtained their information in the same way that he did, from the “eyewitnesses” and the ”ministers of the word,” Luke says, delivered to “us” (v. 2) the report of Jesus’ ministry.
What Luke does in the first four verses of his Gospel is to give us a model of inspiration that does not include dreams and visions. Luke said he had followed all of the details of Jesus’ life carefully from the beginning (v. 3). He had collected volumes of data. When he sat down to write, the Holy Spirit guided his mind in the selection of what to put into his Gospel. This process of inspiration has been called the “research model.” We find the details of the “prophetic model,” which involves dreams and visions, in the opening verses of the book of Revelation.
Having become a Christian, Luke found himself exposed to the Jewish thinking regarding Gentiles, if he was not already aware of it. We see the Jewish social point of view demonstrated in Peter’s remarks to Cornelius and his family and friends: “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation” (Acts 10:28, which, by the way, Luke also recorded). In Galatians, Paul reflects Jewish thinking as he stressed the Jews’ need of a Savior: “We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles” (Gal. 2:15). As you read Luke’s Gospel, it becomes clear that Jesus’ attitude toward and relationship with the despised of Jewish society especially captivated him.
How does Luke as a Gentile show his interest in Jesus? The genealogy of Jesus may reflect the family line of Mary. While Matthew’s genealogy goes back through the line of the kings to Solomon and David but stops with Abraham, Luke’s line follows another son of David (Nathan) and past Abraham to Noah. At Noah all ethnic lines merge, and the ground is leveled. The Jew is no better than the Gentile. From Noah, Luke’s line extends on to Adam, who is called the son of God. So Luke the Gentile sees himself as an equal to a Jew and a descendant of Adam, the son of God. Luke records the experience of the shepherds at the time of Jesus’ birth. People in Jesus’ day looked down upon shepherding as an occupation, along with that of physicians. Luke was a physician (Col. 4:14). Matthew and Mark quote Isaiah’s prophecy of the ministry of John the Baptist (Isa. 40:3-5), but when Luke cites it, he adds Isa. 52:10: “And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God”—even the Gentiles. Luke includes parables and stories not found in Matthew and Mark that deal with despised and marginalized people. Only Luke records the parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) and the parable of the good Samaritan (10:29-37). He is also the only who recounts the story of Jesus’ acceptance of Zacchaeus, the head tax collector (19:1-10), and other stories about women, like the widow’s son at Nain (7:11-17), and the healing of a crippled woman on the Sabbath (13:10-13). Luke, the Gentile physician, shows us how Jesus related to the outcasts of society.