“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”Read the surrounding chapter
Time, place, and setting
- Time
- First century ministry; proposals for Gospel composition span later decades. 5
- Place
- Judaea, Jerusalem, Galilee and the journey toward Jerusalem. The final scenes return to Jerusalem and its vicinity. 1
- Setting
- Jesus proclaims God’s kingdom within Jewish life under Roman power. His compassion, teaching, suffering and resurrection shape the call to follow him. 1
A Gospel opening within Israel’s hope
Luke begins by addressing Theophilus and explaining the intention to give an orderly account of matters received through witnesses and ministers of the word. The Gospel names neither its writer nor a city of publication. Received tradition associates the account with Luke. 5 Medical vocabulary supports compatibility without independently proving that attribution. 9 Its opening invites confidence through careful narration rather than an imagined biography of the author. The story first takes readers into the Jerusalem temple, where Zacharias serves and an angel announces the birth of John. Elizabeth’s childlessness stands beside the couple’s righteousness. Their waiting belongs within the account of God’s promise and mercy. Luke 1. 1
Prayer and prophetic promise connect this beginning to Israel’s earlier story. 17 Hannah’s prayer and song in 1 Samuel 1 and 2 provide an important companion setting for reading Mary’s praise, although the women’s circumstances remain distinct. Mary magnifies the Lord for mercy, the reversal of proud power and remembrance of Abraham. Simeon later speaks of salvation prepared before all people, a light for Gentiles and Israel’s glory. Anna joins the recognition of redemption while the family fulfils the law’s requirements. Luke 1 and 2 keep salvation within Israel’s hopes as its reach opens toward the nations. The narrative’s scriptural style strengthens those connections. 6 1
The Son and the Spirit’s anointing
John calls his hearers to repentance that bears fruit. Soldiers, publicans and the gathering crowds receive concrete answers about honesty, generosity and contentment. Jesus is baptised while praying, the Holy Ghost descends, and the heavenly voice identifies the beloved Son. The genealogy and wilderness temptations then place his mission within a wider human and scriptural horizon. His sonship precedes the baptism’s anointing for ministry. 16 In Luke 4 he resists temptation through Scripture and returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. His reading at Nazareth announces good news, deliverance, sight and the Lord’s acceptable year. 1
Nazareth’s announcement joins prophetic fulfilment to the people Jesus subsequently encounters. 4 The Greek noun behind deliverance in 4:18 denotes release in this clause. 2 Isaiah 61 speaks to restoration after desolation; Isaiah 58 joins worship to justice and relief from oppression. Jesus identifies fulfilment in the hearing of the synagogue, then names Elijah’s widow and Elisha’s Naaman. His hearers respond with anger. The widening reach of mercy becomes visible in those scriptural examples. 14 Luke proceeds to teaching, deliverance and healing in Capernaum, showing the announcement through actual ministry rather than leaving it as an abstract ideal. 1
People met through forgiveness and care
Jesus calls fishermen, eats with Levi and answers criticism about his table fellowship. A paralysed man receives forgiveness and restoration while friends bring him through a crowded house. In chapter 7, a centurion trusts Jesus’ authority and a grieving mother receives her son. A woman who anoints Jesus’ feet hears forgiveness and peace amid a host’s mistaken judgement. Saving language embraces forgiveness, healing and restored relationships. 7 The encounters retain their particular people, circumstances and responses, making grace more concrete than a general claim that the world has improved. 1
Chapter 8 names women who accompany the ministry and contribute material support. Their practical participation belongs within the Gospel’s account of grateful service. 13 Later, a bent woman is addressed as a daughter of Abraham and released from her long affliction. Jesus’ response places Sabbath mercy within covenant belonging. At the start of the same chapter 13, he rejects the assumption that people killed by violence or a falling tower were worse sinners than others. Repentance is a call for all his hearers. These settings help churches pray for healing while treating people who suffer with dignity and continuing care. 1
Following the road toward Jerusalem
In 9:51 Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem. Along the journey he teaches prayer, hospitality, possessions, neighbour love and the cost of following him. Readers meet people whose decisions disclose the force of those teachings. Gospel genre is recognised through many connected narrative features. 20 Luke’s account gives sustained attention to Jesus’ words and acts, including parables that provoke judgement and then redirect it. The unexpected characters and comparisons sharpen the hearer’s attention. 19 The good Samaritan story ends by turning a question about identifying a neighbour into a call to act as one. Compassion answers the lawyer’s attempt to limit responsibility. 10 1
The lost sheep, lost coin and two sons in chapter 15 answer criticism of Jesus’ welcome. The father’s initiative extends toward both sons. 8 He runs to meet the returning younger son and comes out to plead with the angry elder son. The elder brother’s final response is left open, allowing Jesus’ hearers to consider their own place in the welcome. The father restores relationship and invites shared joy. 3 Chapter 16 then turns toward stewardship, money and the neglect of Lazarus. Precise debt arrangements in the steward’s story remain disputed. 18 Its demand for faithful use of resources belongs beside the rich man’s failure to notice a suffering neighbour. 1
Salvation entering a household
As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, a blind man calls for mercy despite the crowd’s rebuke. Jesus receives him and restores his sight; he follows, glorifying God. In Jericho, Zacchaeus seeks to see Jesus, who announces a visit to his house. The crowd objects that he is a sinner. Jesus’ declaration of salvation answers that public judgement. 12 The account brings generosity, restitution and Abraham’s household language together with the Son of man’s mission to seek and save the lost. It gives grace a social setting without reducing salvation to a payment or a reputation repaired by spectators. Luke 18 and 19. 1
Care for needy people accompanies proclamation throughout this Gospel. 15 Meals, debt, hospitality and almsgiving make relationships visible. Jesus warns against anxious accumulation and teaches his disciples to seek God’s kingdom. The poor widow’s offering follows a warning about scribes who devour widows’ houses, so her act must be read within that troubling contrast. In Jerusalem, Jesus teaches in the temple and disputes attempts to trap him. His speech about paying tribute becomes especially important when an accusation at the trial later misrepresents his teaching. Luke 12, 19 to 21 and 23. 1
The cross, resurrection and continuing witness
The final chapters centre on the Passover meal, the covenant in Jesus’ blood, betrayal, prayer and arrest. Jesus redirects the disciples’ dispute over greatness toward serving. At the arrest he heals the servant injured by a disciple. The trial exposes charges and judgements made by different speakers; Pilate repeatedly declares Jesus innocent. On the cross Jesus forgives, promises paradise to the penitent criminal and commits his spirit to the Father. The risen Jesus then opens Scripture to his followers and commissions repentance and forgiveness in his name, beginning at Jerusalem. Luke 22 to 24. 1
The ascension joins resurrection joy to the promise of continuing witness. 11 Luke ends with worship and blessing; Acts 1 and 2 develop the promised empowerment, including prophetic speech and tongues. A Pentecostal reading can therefore welcome the Spirit’s active gifts while keeping Jesus’ cross, resurrection and mission central. First Corinthians 12 to 14 place gifts within shared service, love and understandable edification, and James 5 joins prayer for the sick to patient communal care. Luke’s final promise gives the church a horizon of witness rather than a private experience detached from neighbours. Its beginning in temple prayer reaches a conclusion in grateful worship and expectation. 1
Sources
Numbered references support the material above. Scripture quotations use the KJV.
- The Holy Bible, King James VersionKing James translators · 1611
Luke 1 to 24; Genesis 12 and 17; Exodus 3, 12 and 13; Leviticus 19 and 25; Deuteronomy 6 and 8; 1 Samuel 1 and 2; 2 Samuel 7; 1 Kings 17; 2 Kings 5; 2 Chronicles 28; Isaiah 40, 49, 53, 58 and 61; Jeremiah 7 and 31; Psalms 31, 91, 110 and 118; Daniel 7; Malachi 3 and 4; Jonah 3; Acts 1, 2, 7, 10, 13, 20 and 28; 1 Corinthians 12 to 14; James 5; Colossians 4; 2 Timothy 4; Philemon 1; Greek Luke 4:16 to 21
View the source - A Greek English Lexicon of the New TestamentJoseph Henry Thayer
Entry 859, historical introduction and both numbered senses; Luke 4:18
View the source - The Gospel according to St Luke, Cambridge Bible for Schools and CollegesFrederic William Farrar · 1891
Luke 15:11 to 32
View the source - Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, LukeHeinrich August Wilhelm Meyer
Luke 4:16 to 21
View the source - Luke and Acts, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary Volume 12Allison A. Trites and William J. Larkin · 2007
Luke introduction, printed pages 3 to 9 and 24, publisher preview PDF 18 to 25
View the source - The Gospel According to Luke: All Flesh Shall See God’s SalvationGreg Carey · 2012
Pages 3 to 8, publisher supplied selection
View the source - Salvation in Luke ActsMark Allan Powell · 1992
Complete prose, pages 5 to 10
View the source - The Parable of the Prodigal Father: An Interpretative Key to the Third Gospel (Luke 15:11 to 32)Trevor J. Burke · 2013
Pages 217 to 218 and 234 to 238, introduction and Reading the Parable
View the source - Luke the Physician: Some Notes on the Internal EvidenceLuuk van de Weghe · 2025
Pages 31 to 33 and 43, medical vocabulary and concluding argument
View the source - The Good Samaritan and the Hope for Kingdom Restoration (Luke 10:25 to 37)John A. Davies · 2025
Pages 154 to 155 and 170 to 173, opening, Christological and ethical readings, conclusion
View the source - The Ascension in Luke ActsJohn F. Maile · 1986
Pages 29 to 31 and 57 to 59, opening and concluding argument
View the source - The Enthymeme in Luke 19:9 and the Salvation of ZacchaeusFrank Z. Kovacs · 2022
Pages 120 to 121 and 139 to 143, rhetorical form and summary
View the source - A Dialogic Reading of Luke 8:1 to 3Mphumezi Hombana and Jurgoi Saleh Jnr · 2025
Contextual Considerations through Divine Grace Reciprocated in Gratitude
View the source - Jesus and the Marginalized: Attaching Pastoral Meaning to Luke 4:14 to 30Jeannette Steyn and Aneel Yousaf · 2010
Sections 4 and 5, Context and Exegesis and Historical Background
View the source - Provision for the Poor and the Mission of the Church: Ancient Appeals and Contemporary ViabilityChristopher M. Hays · 2012
First mission section and Authority of Jesus; Love and Conclusion
View the source - Jesus and the Spirit in Lucan PerspectiveMax Turner · 1981
Pages 4, 34 to 38 and 41 to 42, originating notice and Spirit argument
View the source - The Motif of Worship, Prayer, and Prophecy in Luke 1:5 to 25 as a Bridge between the Old Testament and the Gospel of LukeDaniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh · 2024
Pages 7 to 13, literary analysis and exegesis
View the source - And How Much Do You Owe? Take Your Bill, Sit Down Quickly, and Write (Luke 16:5 to 6)Luca Marulli · 2012
Pages 200 to 202 and 213 to 216, debt arrangements and concluding interpretation
View the source - Incongruity in the Gospel ParablesDavid Seccombe · 2011
Pages 165 to 172, parable incongruities and conclusion
View the source - What Are the Gospels? A Comparison with Graeco Roman BiographyRichard A. Burridge · 2018
Introduction I.4 to I.8, publisher preview PDF 20 to 24
View the source