Luke: The Certainty of Christ, An Intro (Luke 1:1-4) - 11/20/22

INTRO

• Why did Luke write the letter?

• What does this Gospel letter teach us?

  • Jesus is the Son of Man

  • Jesus in His humanity

  • The historical certainty of the life of Jesus

• The emphasis of Jesus’ ancestry, birth and early life before moving through His earthly ministry.

• Luke was a gentile and Paul referred to him as the beloved physician (Col. 4:10-14)

• Luke was not an eyewitness to the life of Christ but was a co-laborer with Paul. (2 Tim. 4:11)

• We/Us passages – Acts 16:1-17; Acts 20:5-21:18; Acts 27:1-28:18

• Wrote Luke and Acts around A.D. 60 as a two-volume work to Theophilus.

• Key Themes

  • Salvation (Luke 1:69, Luke 1:77, Luke 2:30, Luke 19:9-10)Salvation for all people – Gentiles. Outcasts. Women.Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22, Luke 12:12)Discipleship (Luke 6:40, Luke 9:23-27, Luke 14:25-33,

  • Prayer (The emphasis on Jesus and prayer)

Luke is laying the foundation and credibility of his letter to Theophilus and the world. We get a picture of the impact Jesus Christ had on those first believers and the early church.

They followed Christ closely.

• They personally knew Christ

• The things accomplished

• From the beginning

• Eyewitnesses

• Ministers of the Word

  • Servants of the word

They wrote the words of Christ carefully.

• It was very important for them to get it right.

• It was real… the truth

• Narrative of the things

• Followed closely

• Written and orderly account

  • Did research

  • Spoke with people

They understood the life of Christ should be lived with certainty.

• You may have certainty

  • To know fully, to come to know, to gain or receive full knowledge of, become fully acquainted with.

  • He had heard, but Luke wants HIM TO KNOW

    • KNOW CHRIST

    • KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE FOR CHRIST

  • Not wavering

  • The assurance to keep going

  • Trust in His Lordship (Great Shepherd – Psalm 23:1-6)

    • His care for us

    • His provision for us

    • His leadership for us