The Gospel According To Luke

The gospel by Luke is commonly known as the missionary gospel – the gospel with an evangelistic essence in its account. In Luke, the gospel is extended to the Gentiles and is written in such manner so as to present Jesus as the Savior of the world. The Lord Jesus is shown as the ideal Man, the perfect Savior, the only acceptable consideration for the redemption of imperfect humankind. Throughout the chapters of this gospel, Jesus is affectionately referred to as the “Son of Man”, a title supporting the essence of Luke's gospel.

A key verse in Luke's gospel is 19 : 10 – that the Lord Jesus “has come to seek and to save that which was lost”. In this gospel, Christ's humility is very prominent. His prayer life, for example, is referred to more than in any of the other gospels. He is presented as a strong, yet compassionate character. He befriended the lonely outcasts, extended acceptance and graciousness to society's rejected ones, was not ashamed of the poor, but walked with them, and even publicly received sinners, Samaritans, and Gentiles. It did not matter who these people were – so long as they belong to the “lost” group of people, the heart of the Lord Jesus went out to them. His bountiful kindness towards these groups of people is evident throughout His ministry.

We will now unveil this gospel in the following three main themes :-

the virgin birth of Jesus;

the prayerful lifestyle of Jesus; and

the ministry of the Holy Spirit in His life

The Virgin Birth of Jesus

Notice the considerable length of emphasis given to the account of Mary's virgin birth. However, such account was not intended to celebrate the person of Mary or even suggest that she is any different from other women or any more special in the circle of mankind. Being the mother of Jesus (i.e Mary gave birth to Christ through her physical body) did not put Mary on equal with being the mother of Christ (Christ being interpreted in Greek to mean “savior of the world”). As such, she should be more appropriately seen as a vessel chosen by God through whom He can give physical form to Jesus as God incarnate. Even from Jesus' relationship with Mary, it is apparent that he did not consider her to be any more special than other women. For example, Jesus addressed the Samaritan woman at the well as “Woman”, but He also used the same form of address when he spoke to Mary!(John 2 : 4) – Jesus addressed Mary as “Woman” too. To take this point further, we would later in the Bible, in Acts 1 : 14, see that Mary was among the 120 persons who were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. This very fact that Mary needed to be filled with the Spirit of God is a clear indication that she was like any one of the people around her, with no special substance of divinity within her.

It is clear therefore that Mary's delivery of the Lord Jesus did not (and so we also should not) impute any form of divinity upon her. Like how we would be sober enough not condemn or stone the mother of a blasphemous cult leader, such wisdom should also be applied in our case here so that we do not end up exulting the mother of the Savior of the world.

Following the above, there is therefore no need that any one should present their worship or prayers to Mary first so that the same can be accepted by God. Paul says it plainly in 1 Tim. 2 : 5 that “there is only one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus .....”


Jesus' Life of Prayer

A conscious examination of this Book will lead us to see that Jesus' life on earth was one marked by much prayer. A life lived in prayerful way, however, cannot be fully expressed in words, so with such constraint we are limiting ourselves to the following few pointers which may help us in our appreciation of the Lord's prayerful life.

Appointing the 12 Disciples (Lk. 6 : 12)

We are all familiar with the Lord's twelve disciples who also became His close companions, and later, the world's spiritual leaders by continuing in the Lord's ministry, spreading the blessings of God's grace across the globe and taking the gospel to other nations of the world all the way down the centuries till it reaches us here today. But before Jesus came round to appointing His twelve disciples, we read that He “continued all night in prayer to God”. Consider the level of attention the Lord gave to this area so that the appointment of the Twelve did not come by incidentally. It was a decision made only after the Lord Jesus engaged Himself in an absorbing time of prayer and communication with the Father. Presumably, our Lord Jesus must have sought the Father about the choosing of these people who would walk with Him, do His work and later carry on His ministry.

What a reproach and shame to those of us who have been taking life any less carefully and who went about making hasty and impulsive decisions in our day to day affairs. Have we sought the Lord in determining who would be our ordinary acquaintances and who would enter the more intimate place of our heart to become what we would call bosom pals? Do we truly say that the Lord agrees with our every decision made in the area of appointing leaders into His ministry? Can we say that every step we took have been taken in line with His will, or do we have to admit that we have been careless in these things?

Prov. 19 : 2 warns that “he sins who hastens with his feet”, and further adds that “there is more hope for a fool” than for a man who is “hasty in his words” (Prov. 29 : 20). There is no other way; to prosper in our works, we need to first (not later) commit them to the Lord. (Prov. 16 : 3)

Revelation of the Cross (Lk. 19 : 18 – 20)

The disciples came to Jesus while He was praying alone. Jesus then broke from his prayer to ask His disciples who they thought He was. At this point, Peter received a revelation in this connection and was led to confess and proclaim Jesus as “The Christ of God”. Immediately after this, Jesus began to reveal to them the work that must take place on the Cross, explaining how He would have to suffer death and then experience resurrection on the third day.

Until then, Jesus had never spoken to His disciples about the Cross. He had patiently led them to the appreciation of who He is, and what He could do in them, and through them, but no mention was made of the Cross. The revelation of the Cross is however, a significant spiritual demarcation for all believers, because what we think about Jesus will determine our destiny for us. Jesus taught the people that “if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins”(John 8 : 24). Thus, it is vital that His disciples have the correct revelation and conviction of who He is, and this is perhaps also why the Lord had not been hasty in bringing this revelation to them despite the urgency of the matter, but had chosen to wait till this appointed time to unveil the truth to them.

We have seen that Jesus endured all night in prayer before appointing His twelve disciples. Now, we see that He also prayed before He asked them for their personal confession of faith. Could it be that while praying, Jesus had sensed it was time due for His disciples to receive the revelation of the Cross and had there and then prayed the Father for the unveiling of such revelation to them? After all, we have been told that “there is a time and season for every activity under heaven”(Eccl. 3 : 1). It is not enough for us to know when to appropriate or minister that which has been entrusted to us. We can pray also for divine revelation to enter a person's life like how Jesus must have prayed for revelation to come to His disciples' lives, praying even that our people may grow in the knowledge of God (Paul prayed this for the church in Eph. 1 : 15 – 21), and that the gospel of the glory of Christ may shine on the minds that have otherwise been blinded by the god of this age (2 Cor. 4 : 4).

When we respond to the burden placed in our hearts to pray, we play a part in bringing about the things of God.

The Transfiguration (Lk. 9 : 28 – 29)

Jesus was praying on the mountain when He experienced a glorious transfiguration. Verse 32 in the passage records that Peter and the other disciples who were with him were “heavy with sleep” (italics mine), and v. 37 records that it was already the next day when they came down from the mountain. Putting these two verses together, there is a strong suggestion that the transfiguration must have taken place during a time of sleep (i.e. late at night or dawn).

One of the lessons we can draw here is that we do not exclude or overlook odd hours as time slot that can be used to seek God. It may be required of us at times, in order to move into the deeper things of God, to be prepared to seek Him during odd hours and sacrifice some comfort on our part.

The gifts of God come by His grace, but it takes the exercise of spiritual discipline and effort on our part to move into the deeper things of God.

The word “extraordinary” differs from “ordinary” in that there is the additional five letters “e-x-t-r-a”. Similarly what makes a Christian different from just being an ordinary believer is that little “extra” that he or she goes for the Lord. Every “extra” time spent in devotion, the “extra” diligence given to searching the Scriptures, that “extra” consecration exercised in your worship – they all contribute to the making of that “extra-ordinary” disciple. And what other thing that could possibly cause any person want to give that little “extra” but “the love of Christ (that) compels...”! “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Cor. 2 : 9) Paul was no doubt taking his quote off Isa. 64:4 which says “Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him.”(italics mine). Don't we usually find ourselves wanting to spend more time with person whom we are fervently in love with? It is natural, for it is usually through these times spent together that “special moments” and those “unforgettable times” come about! Likewise, if any of us should desire to experience God and the things of God in a deeper and more special than the ordinary presence which members Christian community experience generally, we can do this by spending more time in waiting upon the Lord, which is an expression of our love for Him that moves Him to want to show us and let us experience more of Him.

But don't we all love the Lord, some might protest. Why is it then that there are some who find it easy to wait upon the Lord while others struggle with it like an onerous burden has just been thrown across their shoulders? The point is really not whether we love the Lord or not (no doubt that we all do!), but that whether we reckon ourselves as being in love with Him all! You may find it a chore to have to spend time over dinner with your loved one when you have a project dateline approaching; but when you remind yourself that this is the person whom you love, it somehow gives you more strength to make the date! When the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, it is time to remind ourselves that we are in a love relationship with the Lord, for in reckoning this, it becomes easier for us to respond to Him in the way that His spirit leads us.

The Lord's Prayer (Lk. 11 : 1)

Jesus had been praying, and when He ceased, His disciples approached Him and said “Lord, teach us to pray ....”

What could have caused the disciples to want to learn the manner of prayer? They were usually around when the Lord Jesus retreated to the Father in prayer. It could be that the disciples have seen for themselves how beautiful a communion with the Father that their Lord seemed to be engaging in, and through their walk with the Lord they must also have personally witnessed for themselves how the power of God had so often been manifested in His life and ministry through His prayers, and these things just made them want to share in the same experiences.

We sometimes try so hard to even succeed in persuading a fellow brother or sister to make attendance at prayer meetings. Here is One who made no special attempt to get people to pray, but yet have them coming to Him and asking Him to teach them how to pray! Jesus has shown us that a prayerful lifestyle is contagious. When one is locked in a private communion with God, this beautiful and rare (sadly though) relationship simply makes people sit up and take a second look, stirring in them the desire to want to know God in that same degree of intimacy. When we lead a lifestyle of prayer, people around us observe and see the fruit of prayer in our life and this will stir their desire to experience a lifestyle of prayer as well.

Garden of Gethsemane (Lk. 22 : 44)

It was the Passover; Jesus knew in His spirit that the time had come for Him to face the Cross. He was “in agony ...” as He prayed in the garden. In a time of struggle just moments before the test (i.e. His arrest), Jesus “prayed more earnestly”, and when the time for the testing finally matured in v.53, we see the Lord Jesus conduct Himself in the perfect and undisturbed peace of God.

You receive a high call from God, but at the same time you are afraid of facing the challenges that come with it. You feel that you might not be able to withstand the tension ahead. In fact, you are afraid that you might even give in to the pressure when it all becomes unbearable! Beloved, a prayerful walk with God prepares us for the road ahead. It is our source of obtaining strength in times of testing and persecution. Invest in prayer, for today's prayer is ammunition for tomorrow's battle, and fuel for the next day's journey.

Praying after an Eventful Evening (Mk. 1 : 32-35)

It was “evening, when the sun had set” and the “whole city was gathered together at the door”, waiting for Jesus to minister to the sick and demon-possessed. The Lord then began ministering to the multitude and healed many that night. It then followed in v. 35 that having “risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.”

There are two things we can learn from our Lord in this account :

1.Pray after a successful time of ministry. Jesus had just had a fruitful evening of ministry – He healed many people of their disease and cast out the demons in the midst of the demon-possessed, the equivalent of present day's successful revival service, so to speak. We would think that such mighty move of God, such great manifestation of his power would warrant a celebration surely, but that was not the case, at least not so with Jesus. Instead of calling a great gathering of His disciples to celebrate the success of their ministry, the Bible recorded that Jesus humbled Himself before God in prayer!

By going to God in prayer after a successful ministry or accomplishment, we not only render thanksgiving that is rightfully due unto Him, but also that by so doing, we are acknowledging God's sovereignty in our ministry, knowing that apart from Him, we can do nothing. This shields us from false pride and keeps us in sober humility, so that we may not come to see the success in our ministry as a result of our own efforts, but that of God.

Another lesson to be learnt here is : do not let a busy schedule hinder/take time away from your prayer life. Jesus must have had one of His busiest evenings ever; yet even after an eventful day, we find Him waking up early the next morning (“a long while before daylight....”) to pray! What a refreshing example for us to model after! Instead of “taking a break” like how some people today are prone to, Jesus entered into spiritual rest by communion with the Father. Make it a point therefore, that we follow in the Lord's devotion to His Father here and watch that we do not compromise on our prayer/devotion time even though we may be busy with work or ministry. Jesus was wholly devoted to serving God, but that did not keep Him from wholeheartedly loving God.

Jesus' Teaching on Prayer

We have seen how the Lord Jesus lived a life of prayer, explored the several occasions on which He prayed, and have from here, got an idea of when the Lord retreated in prayer. Now, we move on to review the Lord's teaching on how we ought to pray i.e. with what attitude, and in what manner we should go about our prayers.

Persistence in Prayer (Lk. 11 : 5 – 10)

Jesus taught that man should persevere in our prayers and not give up. Knowing exactly what you ask in prayer, keep that in focus, and press on in seeking, the asking, and the knocking. Jesus gave an illustration of such perseverance in Lk. 11 : 5 – 10.

Here was a man who had a friend who dropped by at his place in the night hour. There wasn't any bread in the house to welcome his unexpected visitor, so the host set out to his friend's place to ask for some bread. This man found his way to his friend's house, but was met with rejection, but hardly surprising since it was the night watch and his family was already in bed – an inconvenient time to do charity. But this man would not give up pressing his friend for bread; and the Bible interesting recorded that though even on account of their friendship this friend would not rise to give him bread, yet because of his persistence, he would eventually give in to his request.

This is a teaching on the effect of persevering prayer. It has the power to influence the decision of one who was initially cold enough to reject a request for favor even when it was made on account of friendship. This being the case, what more greater promise lies in store for the believer who, not wavering in faith, but persevering in prayer, presents his petitions to God! “For everyone who asks, receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened.” God meant more than just to humor us when He made this promise to His people. It pleases Him to bestow good gifts upon us, to give us everything that we need to live a victorious life, but He wants us to practice the kingdom principle of persistence in prayer, and fervency in faith. One should not beg and plead incessantly with only half-believing and still expect to receive what he asked for in prayer. We need to simply put God in remembrance of His word (Is. 43 : 26) and pray believing that God would answer our prayers according to His promise to us.
Another reason for practicing persevering prayer is when we are faced with the element of Satanic opposition. Satan can hinder or delay the answers or results sought after in our prayers like how he interfered with that of Daniel's (Dan 10 : 12 – 13). In such circumstances, our perseverance in prayers will strengthen the ministry of angels who work together with us in heavenly realm (Dan.9 : 21)

Constant Prayer (Lk. 18 : 1 – 8)

In this passage, the widow cries out to the judge to address her grievance against her adversary, but the Lord Jesus drew a parallel here and began to talk about the people of God who suffered persecution while they were in the world. These people cry out to God for deliverance just like how the widow cried out to the judge. We enjoy great liberty of worship in our nation, but in other countries of the world, there is not the same religious freedom that we experience here. We have brothers and sisters around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in the Lord Jesus. However, God forewarns that this liberty should not be taken for granted that it will remain with us forever. The book of Revelation talks about the days of the end times when intense pressure is going to be loosed over the earth, regardless of our place of habitation. And in those days, God says that the cries of His people would ascend up to the heavens till they reach His ears. And this is just what He expects to hear from us! That in times of persecution and distress, we should cry out to Him day and night, not just once, or twice, or thrice for that matter, but constantly crying out to Him till we see deliverance come.

Jesus encouraged His disciples, saying that if even an unjust judge who “do not fear God nor regard men” would address the widow's grievance, how much more would the Lord avenge His own children and deliver His own elect at the sound of their cries to Him. Therefore, with this hope in us, we ought always to make constant prayers and not lose heart even in the face of unfavorable circumstances. This is especially important since this parable closed with the Lord saying “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on earth?” It is a sombre hint that many would actually lose heart and fall away instead of constantly making prayers and hoping in these prayers for deliverance. Let us watch then that we guard our faith and hope diligently and not fall away in despair when there actually is a way out for us.

Humility in Prayer (Lk. 18 : 9 – 14)

This parable speaks of a people who are of a proud spirit – those who would pride themselves even as they come before God in prayer. These are those who outwardly fulfill the usual motions of prayer, but who are really not communing with God at all. They are merely giving an account of their achievements, be it secular or spiritual ones, boasting in their moral and religious practices before God thinking that the Father would take delight in hearing the accomplishments of His children! The pronoun “I” appears in these people's prayers over and over again, reflecting the self-centredness in their hearts. A closer examination of these people would reveal them to people who are really only concerned about themselves and nothing else. They are full and self-sufficient; so long as they are at peace with themselves, nothing else matters. The fear of God never occurs to them.

The tax collector however displays a different attitude. Such a one comes before God recognizing his true state of self – that of utter unworthiness. Not that he unhealthily buries himself in self-condemnation and damnation, but that he recognizes himself as one who is not worthy to ask anything of God, as opposed to seeing himself as just one sinner amongst the company of many others. Such is the kind of spirit of humility and repentance that is acceptable in God's sight, for God exalts the humble, but humbles those who exalts themselves. He resists the proud but give grace to the humble (James 4 : 6)

Be Watchful in Praying (Lk. 21 : 25 – 36)

Jesus warned the people of the great tribulation that will come upon the earth in the last days, following which He also urged that we should “Watch therefore, and pray always that (we) may be counted worthy to escape all these things....”. As we pray, we need also to watch our for the timing of God and be constantly aware of what's going on around us both in the spiritual and natural realm. Being watchful in prayer will keep us in the know of the timing of God's moves and this will in turn help us to escape from the difficult times that have been predicted to come.

In Lk. 19 : 41 – 44, Jesus uttered a lamentation over the nation of Jerusalem, grieving that they had missed their golden opportunity to make peace with God by not receiving Him as their Messiah. By the time Jesus cried over Jerusalem, the time for them to respond to God's extension of peace was already past its due – it was too late for Jerusalem even if they wanted to respond then. Previously, they would not see, but now, they could no longer see. And all because Jerusalem had failed to discern the opportune time of her visitation. She had missed out on God's timing for her spiritual restoration.

We must learn from Jerusalem's sorry and cultivate a spirit of watchfulness in our prayers, that we might be like the children of Issachar who having the understanding of the times, knew exactly what “Israel” out to do (1 Chron. 12 : 32).

Further, keeping vigilance in our lives also help to guard us against the evil one who is always looking for “an opportune time” to strike (Lk. 4 : 13). All the devil needs is for us to slip in being watchful, and he will lose no time in launching his attacks on us.

Commit Yourself to Prayer

Our Lord Jesus lived a life of prayer, and He taught a life of prayer while he walked on this earth as the Son of God and Son of Man. In Lk. 5 : 16 it was recorded that “He Himself withdrew into the wilderness and prayed”, and that He had on occasions spent long nights in prayer (Lk. 6 : 12).

Throughout His ministry, there is no doubt that the Lord must have had pressing calls to service and must also have come across several opportunities to demonstrate the anointing and power of God. But at a time when everyone sought His company and counsel, at a time when His popularity among the people was at its peak, (after feeding the five thousand – Matt. 14 : 13 – 23), Jesus quietly turned from the crowds and retired to a time of solitude prayer. Herein lies the key to victorious living which some have missed – we tend to respond so eagerly to the demand for ministry that we neglect the call for fellowship with God, not realizing that it is from the latter that they would receive the strength and enablement to do the former. Almost every failure and miss in the spiritual life and Christian walk of a believer can be attributed to defective or insufficient prayer in that area. Unless we pray right, we do not have the directions to live right or serve right.

We all agree that prayer is of essence in a believer's life, but what do we really believe in about prayer? What are our thoughts in this subject of prayer? Do we really believe that prayer is a source of power? Do we say without doubt that prayer indeed moves the Hand that moves the world? Every word that is said of prayer in the Bible, do we really hold on to that word with all faith and belief? Do we reckon that a life lived without prayer is one vain rebellion against God? We mutter “Yes, yes ....” as we cruise along these questions; indeed, we dare not say “No” to a single one of them! But yet, are we living our lives in that fashion? If not, then whatever our thoughts on prayer, no matter how noble or how high, will be to God a mere thing of vanity, of not much value indeed.

Jesus & the Holy Spirit

All throughout the gospel, there is extensive demonstration of the Holy Spirit's ministry in Jesus' life, the first recorded instance being the time of His baptism when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him (Lk. 3 : 22). From this point on, we begin to see the Holy Spirit's role in bringing God's plan to fulfillment in Jesus' life.

Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit (Lk. 4 : 1), and after overcoming the devil in the temptations, He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit (Lk. 4 : 14). Jesus also recognized and acknowledged the Holy Spirit's work in His life as He said of Himself to be the fulfillment of the words spoken in Isa. 61 : 1 – 2 (Lk. 4 : 18 – 21).

When He cast out demons in the power of the Holy Spirit, He referred to the Spirit as “the finger of God”, acknowledging yet again the marks of the Spirit in His ministry (Lk. 11 : 20).

Very clearly, the Lord Jesus did not lead a life independent of the Holy Spirit, but was at all times in intimate relationship with the Spirit. Now, the same measure of the Holy Spirit's power that was once upon our Lord and which has been promised to us, has now been made available to us (Lk. 24 : 49). Jesus, who was physically taken up to heaven, is now present in our midst in the form of the Holy Spirit, to dwell in us, comforting us, strengthening us, empowering us and giving us all that we need to live a victorious life the way He did on earth.

Therefore, “if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5 : 25). This means that we live a life that is wholly dependent on the Holy Spirit.

We end here in the subject of the Holy Spirit's ministry since we will explore it further in our next issue which will be a focus on the book of Acts (we will do the gospel of John after Acts).