We have now covered the entire Gospel of Luke in short daily bursts. In some ways it is not the best way of dealing with the Gospel because the narrative flows along from one event into another. But in other ways it helps those of us who are not familiar with reading biblical narrative and tend to get a little lost in the detail. So we dealt with it as a “Thought for the Day”.
It is, of course, far more than a thought for the day. It is a profound Gospel message, not for the day only but for all of life, indeed for all of eternity. I regret any weaknesses on my part in explaining any portion of the text. I have used two commentaries as my main guide – “Luke” by David Gooding and “Luke” by William Henriksen, as well as occasional references to other sources. I have become so engrossed with the story myself that on occasions I have used their words as my own words, while at other times I used my own summaries. A serious bible student would do well to get these two books, although they are now a little dated and newer more modern resources are available for a study of Luke’s Gospel.
But so what! The main message is there and it is for us all. Luke takes great pains to get his story straight. He wants no myths, lies, exaggerations or wrong impressions to be included in his narratives. He writes for his friend Theophilus, whom we do not know. Who knows if Theophilus was a high placed friend seeking the truth, or a new Christian believer seeking for evidence? The fact is we have a scientifically trained man, Luke, seeking out and checking the facts. At the end of his account he presents us with a glorious Saviour who leaves this world in a miraculous fashion while in the very act of blessing his disciples.
Luke’s account has been preserved for us so that we may believe it. We should embrace the truthfulness of the story of Jesus, the most remarkable person who ever lived. At the time of writing this page, the whole world is in uproar because of the terrible cruelty being perpetuated upon whole populations of people by Muslim extremists who claim to be serving God.
While the Christian Church has not been without its own mistakes in history – never has it behaved with such blind hatred. But the current evil only helps us to contrast the Saviour presented by Luke with other so-called saviours presented by others.
The difference is so stark it is amazing that the whole world does not see it. But so dark is the human mind that even in the light of the centuries of evidence, it still will not believe on Jesus
But we do. Thank God for it. By His Keeping Grace we always will. Let others be deluded if they will, but we have a Saviour who loves us, who loves his enemies, who told us to love our enemies, who offers salvation to all who come to Him, who turns no one away. And he is coming back to fetch us.
To Him be all the praise and Glory.