Getting Started in the Book of Luke

Luke is a wonderful place to begin a serious study of Scripture. That does not mean Luke is small, simple, or an easy skim. Luke is long. It is carefully arranged. It is deeply rooted in the Old Testament. It is tied to Acts in a way that matters for interpretation. Yet Luke is also deeply pastoral. It was written to strengthen certainty concerning Jesus Christ.

That makes Luke useful for the preacher, the Sunday School teacher, the small group leader, the new believer, and the longtime Christian who has heard many things about Jesus but needs to see him again with clarity and confidence. Luke does not merely give us religious information. He gives us an orderly account of what God has accomplished in Christ so that we may know the certainty of what we have been taught.

That word, certainty, matters. Luke tells Theophilus that he is writing so that he may have certainty concerning the things he has been taught (Luke 1:4). Luke is not writing to entertain curious religious consumers. He is not tossing inspirational confetti into the church lobby. He is giving an orderly, researched, Spirit-inspired account of Jesus Christ for the strengthening of faith and the spread of the gospel.

So, how should we get started in Luke?

Listen to the Salty Believer Unscripted Episode

We recorded a Salty Believer Unscripted episode on getting started in Luke. In that conversation, Josiah and I discussed Luke’s purpose, how Luke fits with Acts, why it is helpful to read the whole book early in the process, and several resources that may help preachers, teachers, and students of the Bible.

Start Where Luke Starts

Luke begins by telling us why he wrote. Others had undertaken to compile narratives about the things fulfilled among them. These things were handed down by eyewitnesses and ministers of the word. Luke carefully investigated everything from the beginning and wrote an orderly account for Theophilus so that Theophilus would know the certainty of what he had been taught (Luke 1:1-4).

This opening gives us several important handles for the whole book.

First, Luke is writing about things that have been accomplished or fulfilled. He is not merely telling us what happened. He is showing us how God’s promises have come to fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The gospel according to Luke is historical, but it is not bare history. It is redemptive history. God is keeping his promises.

Second, Luke is connected to eyewitness testimony. He is not giving legends. He is concerned with truth, order, testimony, and certainty. This is one reason Luke is such a helpful book for Christians who need assurance. He does not call his readers to close their eyes and leap into the mist. He opens their eyes to Christ.

Third, Luke writes to someone who has already been taught. This does not mean Luke is useless for evangelism. Lost people need to see Christ in Luke, and Luke clearly proclaims salvation in Christ. Yet Luke’s stated purpose is especially helpful for Christians and churches. Theophilus has been instructed. Luke writes so that he may be certain.

That is a good word for many in our churches. They have heard about Jesus. They know something of the gospel. They have listened to sermons, attended Bible studies, heard Christmas readings, and perhaps even nodded along through years of church life. But do they have certainty? Do they understand who Jesus is, what he came to do, why he died, why he rose, and why repentance and forgiveness of sins must be proclaimed in his name to all nations (Luke 24:46-47)?

Luke helps us answer those questions. He presses us to know Christ with confidence.

Read Luke With Acts Nearby

One of the most important things to know about Luke is that Luke does not stand alone. Luke and Acts are two books, but they are also two volumes of one work. Acts opens by referring back to the “first book” and says that the first volume dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until his ascension (Acts 1:1-2).

That wording is important. Luke is about what Jesus began to do and teach. Acts is about what Jesus continued to do after his ascension.

This means it is a mistake to think that Luke is about Jesus while Acts is about the Holy Spirit, the apostles, or the church. Acts certainly shows us the work of the Holy Spirit. It certainly shows us the apostles. It certainly shows us the early church. But the main actor in Acts is still the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ. He continues his saving work from the right hand of the Father by the Spirit through his people.

The ascension sits at the seam between Luke and Acts. Luke ends with the ascension. Acts begins with it. That overlap connects the two books and also marks the transition between Jesus’ earthly ministry and his ongoing ministry through his witnesses.

This matters when studying Luke. The Gospel of Luke is not merely a prequel to the really exciting church-growth material in Acts. Luke and Acts together show the saving work of Jesus Christ. In Luke, Jesus accomplishes salvation through his incarnation, sinless life, death, resurrection, and ascension. In Acts, Jesus continues to gather his people as the gospel goes out in the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you preach Luke, keep Acts in your peripheral vision. If you teach Luke, occasionally help your class see where Luke’s themes continue in Acts. If you study Luke devotionally, read Acts when you finish. The two belong together.

Listen for the Melodic Line

A helpful way to study any book of the Bible is to ask, “What is the melodic line?” Every song has a melody that holds the parts together. In a similar way, each biblical book has a main message or controlling theme that gives coherence to the parts.

Luke’s melodic line is not difficult to hear if we slow down and listen. Luke is showing us that God is bringing salvation through Jesus Christ to all who repent and believe. That melody continues in Acts as the risen and ascended Jesus continues to work out God’s saving plan by the Spirit through the witness of his people.

Several notes keep ringing throughout Luke.

The first note is salvation. Zechariah sings of a horn of salvation (Luke 1:69). Simeon holds the infant Jesus and says that his eyes have seen God’s salvation (Luke 2:30). Luke quotes Isaiah to say that all flesh will see the salvation of God (Luke 3:6). Jesus declares that the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). At the end of the Gospel, Jesus says repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations (Luke 24:47).

The second note is belief. Luke repeatedly shows the difference between receiving Christ by faith and rejecting him in unbelief. The gospel is not presented as an interesting religious option for those who enjoy ancient literature and storytelling. It demands a response. Salvation comes to those who repent and believe.

The third note is reversal. Luke repeatedly brings attention to those the proud and powerful tend to overlook or despise. Women, the poor, the sick, tax collectors, sinners, Samaritans, and Gentiles appear in striking ways. The religiously confident are often exposed. The lowly are lifted up. The outsider is brought near. The insider who trusts in himself is shown to be far from God.

This is not sentimental social commentary. It is the kingdom of God. Mary sings that God brings down the mighty and exalts those of humble estate (Luke 1:52). Jesus announces good news to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and freedom for the oppressed (Luke 4:18-19). The tax collector goes home justified rather than the Pharisee who trusted in himself (Luke 18:9-14). Zacchaeus receives Jesus with joy, and Jesus says salvation has come to his house (Luke 19:1-10).

Luke keeps pressing this question: Who sees Jesus rightly? Often, it is not the person we expected.

See the Gospel in Luke

Luke does not merely define the gospel in abstract terms. He shows it. He gives us the story of Jesus Christ.

In Luke, we see the Son of God come in the flesh. We see the promised Son of David. We see the sinless Savior. We see his compassion, his authority, his teaching, his miracles, his suffering, his death, his burial, his resurrection, and his ascension. Luke shows us the good news that Jesus came to save sinners.

There are micro and macro views of the gospel in Luke.

The micro view is the saving work of Christ in his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus lives the obedient life we have not lived. He dies for sinners. He rises bodily from the dead. He commissions his witnesses to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name.

The macro view is the great story of God’s redemptive plan from promise to fulfillment. Luke shows that Jesus is not God’s emergency adjustment after Israel’s story took a rough turn. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Scriptures. He is the one promised in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luke 24:44).

This is one reason Luke is so helpful for preaching and teaching. Luke helps us proclaim the gospel as both personal and cosmic, both historical and theological, both promised and fulfilled. He shows us the salvation of individual sinners, and he shows us the unfolding plan of God for the nations.

Do Not Miss the Old Testament

Luke’s Gospel is full of Old Testament echoes, allusions, themes, and fulfillments. Matthew often makes these connections explicit with fulfillment formulas. Luke often expects the reader to hear the echoes.

The opening chapters of Luke are soaked in Old Testament language. The songs of Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon do not sound like Hallmark greeting cards. They sound like people whose minds and hopes have been formed by the Scriptures. They speak in the categories of covenant, promise, mercy, kingdom, redemption, and salvation.

Luke 4 is also critical. Jesus reads from Isaiah in the synagogue and announces that the Scripture is fulfilled in their hearing (Luke 4:16-21). That scene sets a trajectory for the whole Gospel. Jesus is the Spirit-anointed one who brings the good news promised by Isaiah.

Then Luke 24 makes the interpretive principle unmistakable. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus explains from Moses and all the Prophets the things concerning himself (Luke 24:27). Later, he tells the disciples that everything written about him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled (Luke 24:44-47).

Therefore, to study Luke well, keep asking how Luke is showing fulfillment. Where is he echoing the Old Testament? What promises are coming into view? How does Jesus fulfill Israel’s hope? How does Luke present Jesus as Son of God, Son of David, Savior, King, and Lord?

A study of Luke that ignores the Old Testament will flatten the book. It may still find moral lessons and touching stories, but it will miss the depth of what Luke is doing. The Old Testament is not optional background material. It is the soil from which Luke’s Gospel grows.

Pay Careful Attention to the Parables

Luke contains some of the most familiar parables in the Bible. That familiarity is both a gift and a danger.

The parables of the Good Samaritan, the rich fool, the prodigal son, the Pharisee and the tax collector, the persistent widow, and the rich man and Lazarus are well known. They are also frequently mishandled. Familiar texts are easy to assume rather than study. That is how we end up preaching the opposite of what Jesus is saying.

For example, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is told to those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt (Luke 18:9). If we preach that parable in a way that leads hearers to say, “Thank God I am not like that Pharisee,” we have managed to become the Pharisee while warning others about Pharisees. The irony is visible from space.

Likewise, the parable of the Good Samaritan is prompted by a lawyer who sought to justify himself (Luke 10:29). If we preach it merely as “Good Christians are like the Good Samaritan, so go be good,” we may be feeding the very self-justifying instinct Jesus exposes.

Parables are not sentimental religious illustrations. They are provocative narratives that demand a response. They often reveal the heart. They turn the question back on the hearer. They expose self-righteousness, unbelief, pride, greed, and false security. They also display mercy, grace, repentance, joy, and the surprising ways of the kingdom.

When studying or teaching a parable in Luke, ask several questions.

Who is Jesus speaking to? What prompted the parable? What question, objection, event, or attitude stands behind it? Where does the parable sit in Luke’s larger argument? What response is Jesus demanding? How does the parable reveal the kingdom, expose sin, or point us to the mercy of God in Christ?

Those questions will not solve every difficulty, but they will save us from turning Jesus’ parables into little morality lessons.

Notice Luke’s Structure

There is some debate about the precise structure of Luke, but a simple four-part structure is helpful.

1. Luke 1:1-4:13, the prologue and preparation.
Luke gives his purpose, presents the births of John and Jesus, establishes Jesus’ identity, and moves through Jesus’ baptism, genealogy, and temptation. This section demonstrates the credibility of Jesus’ identity and mission.

2. Luke 4:14-9:50, Jesus’ ministry in Galilee.
Jesus teaches, heals, casts out demons, calls disciples, forgives sins, and displays his authority. This section shows us Jesus’ ministry and gives something like his public “resume.” It also shows salvation and summons people to respond.

3. Luke 9:51-19:10, Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem.
This is a long and important section. Luke 9:51 says Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. The tension builds as Jesus teaches about discipleship, the kingdom, repentance, money, prayer, humility, and the cost of following him. Much of what is unique to Luke is found here.

4. Luke 19:11-24:53, Jesus in Jerusalem, his death, resurrection, and ascension.
The Gospel moves toward the accomplishment of salvation. Jesus enters Jerusalem, confronts the religious leaders, institutes the Supper, suffers, dies, rises, opens the Scriptures, commissions his witnesses, blesses them, and ascends.

This structure helps preachers and teachers avoid treating Luke as a loose collection of Jesus stories. Luke is going somewhere. The journey to Jerusalem matters. The cross and resurrection are not merely the ending. They are the destination toward which the whole Gospel moves.

Read Large Sections Before You Study Small Sections

Luke is a big book. If a church preaches through it in a year, the preacher will likely need to cover large sections. Even in a longer series, there will be more in the text than any sermon or lesson can handle. The preacher studies a five-gallon bucket worth of material and then carries a thimble into the pulpit. That is the reality of preaching.

This means personal reading matters. If your pastor is preaching through Luke, read ahead. Read the passage before Sunday. Read the larger section around it. Read what comes before and after. You will hear the sermon better. You will notice connections. You will see what the preacher emphasizes and what he does not have time to address.

It is especially helpful to read the whole Gospel of Luke in large chunks early in your study. If possible, read the entire book in one sitting. Most readers can do this in a few hours. If that is not realistic, read it over several days in large sections. The point is to feel the movement of the whole book before slowing down over individual passages.

This is particularly important because our chapter divisions, verse numbers, and section headings were added later. They are useful tools, but they are not inspired. Luke did not write a series of detached sermonettes with publisher-approved headings. He wrote an orderly narrative. Reading large sections helps us see his arrangement, repetition, movement, and emphasis.

For example, Luke often places accounts together so they interpret one another. In Luke 8, Jesus’ authority is displayed over creation, demons, sickness, and death. Then he sends out the Twelve. Seeing those accounts together helps us understand Jesus' authority and the mission of his disciples. Likewise, the parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost sons in Luke 15 belong together. If we isolate one from the others, we may miss the joy of heaven over the repentance of the lost and the exposure of the grumbling heart.

A slow study is good. A close study is good. But a close study without the whole-book view can become nearsighted. Luke deserves better than squinting at one pebble while missing the road to Jerusalem.

Suggestions for Preachers and Teachers

If you are preaching or teaching through Luke, begin with the whole book. Read it several times before building your schedule. Then read Acts. If time allows, read Luke and Acts back to back. Look for repeated words, themes, settings, conflicts, and turning points.

Pay attention to Luke’s stated purpose. Ask how each passage strengthens certainty concerning Jesus. This does not mean every sermon should sound the same. It means every sermon should serve Luke’s purpose rather than wandering off into whatever topic the preacher found interesting on Tuesday.

Keep Jesus at the center. Luke shows Jesus. He does not merely tell us doctrines about Jesus, though those doctrines are certainly present. The narrative form matters. Let the movement, tension, dialogue, surprise, and fulfillment of the text do real work in the sermon or lesson. Explain as you go, but do not drain the story of its force.

Preach the gospel from Luke as Luke gives it. Show Christ’s person and work. Show repentance and forgiveness. Show faith. Show the kingdom. Show fulfillment. Show the outsider brought near and the self-righteous exposed. Show the cross and resurrection as the necessary accomplishment of salvation.

Be careful with parables. Do not rush to the application before understanding why Jesus told the parable in that context. The parable’s sharp edge should remain sharp. Sanding it down into vague niceness helps no one.

Use larger units when needed. There is no virtue in taking fifteen years to preach Luke simply because every paragraph could become a sermon. Every paragraph could become a sermon. That does not mean every paragraph should become one. Sometimes a larger section reveals connections that a smaller section hides.

Also, be honest with your people. Tell them you will not be able to cover everything in each sermon. Encourage them to read the book for themselves. Give them a reading plan. Recommend a few resources. Invite them into the study rather than making them passive spectators.

Suggestions for Personal Study

If you are studying Luke personally, begin by reading the whole book. Then read it again more slowly.

As you read, keep a simple notebook. Write down repeated themes. Watch for words and ideas connected to salvation, faith, repentance, forgiveness, joy, the kingdom, the Spirit, the poor, the proud, the outsider, the table, and Jerusalem. Notice how often meals appear. Notice how often Jesus is questioned. Notice how often people respond with amazement, fear, joy, anger, faith, or unbelief.

Ask these questions as you read:

1. What does this passage show me about who Jesus is?

2. What does this passage show me about why Jesus came?

3. How does this passage connect to what came before and what comes after?

4. How does this passage show fulfillment of the Old Testament?

5. What response does this passage demand?

6. How does this passage strengthen certainty concerning Christ?

7. How does this passage prepare for the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness of sins in Luke 24?

Do not turn every reading into a technical project. Sometimes you simply need to read, pray, and behold Christ. But do not be allergic to study either. Love the Lord with your mind. The mind is not the enemy of devotion. Laziness is.

Helpful Resources

A few resources may help depending on your purpose and level of study.

For devotional or lay-level study, the Christ-Centered Exposition volume on Luke is a helpful place to begin. It is accessible, readable, and intentionally focused on Christ.

For sermon structure and study planning, the St. Helen’s Bishopsgate study guides on Luke can be helpful, especially for thinking through larger units and teaching divisions.

For theological themes across Luke and Acts, Darrell Bock’s A Theology of Luke and Acts is useful. It is more demanding, but it helps readers trace major themes like redemption, kingdom, reversal, and the mission to the nations.

For more technical work in the Greek text, the Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament volume on Luke may serve preachers and teachers who are working closely with the original language.

For a recent whole-Bible theological treatment of Luke and Acts, Nancy Guthrie’s Saved is also worth considering. Her attention to the saving work of God in Luke and Acts is especially helpful.

Use resources as servants, not masters. The text of Scripture is the authority. Commentaries and guides help us see what is there. They must never become a substitute for looking carefully.

Luke Gives Us Certainty in Christ

Luke is not merely a Christmas Gospel, though it gives us some of the richest material for celebrating the birth of Christ. It is not merely a Gospel for historians, though it is deeply concerned with eyewitness testimony and orderly presentation. It is not merely a Gospel for preachers, though preachers will find more than enough to keep them busy.

Luke is a Gospel for those who need certainty in Christ.

It shows us the Savior promised in the Scriptures. It shows us the Son of David whose kingdom will have no end. It shows us the Son of Man who came to seek and save the lost. It shows us the compassionate Lord who welcomes sinners and exposes the proud. It shows us the crucified and risen Christ who opens the Scriptures and sends his witnesses to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations.

So get started in Luke. Read it in large chunks. Study it carefully. Teach it faithfully. Preach it with Christ at the center. And if you are simply reading it devotionally, read it with prayerful expectation.

Luke wrote so that we may have certainty. That certainty is not found in ourselves, our religious performance, our moral improvement, or our ability to identify with the respectable character in every parable. It is found in Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners and the King whose kingdom will have no end.

That is a good place to start.