Theme - Luke was not an apostle and his Gospel was written from information gathered from reliable sources and recorded under the direction of the Holy Spirit. During Paul's two years of imprisonment at Caesarea, Luke gathered much information from some of the original apostles, from many Jerusalem Christians, and from Christ's mother and brothers.

As a result of Paul's missionary labours and through the witnessing of dispersed Christians from Jerusalem, many Greeks had been converted to Christianity, and many more were interested in the Gospel of Christ. It was to meet this demand that Luke wrote his Gospel. In its literary qualities, it is superior to all the other Gospels; it is the Gospel with a world outlook and represents Christ as "A light to lighten the Gentiles." Luke's cosmopolitanism is seen in his frequent mention of the publicans, the sinners, and the rich; yet, he did not fail to mention the more respectable in his many references to the poor. Luke emphasizes the humanity of Christ, perfect and ideal as sought by the Greeks, but divine in origin, character, and perfection. Luke alone quotes the universality of the mission of Christ from Isaiah; he alone traces the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Adam.

Outline - Presenting Jesus Christ as the world's Redeemer, Luke's Gospel may be outlined as follows: I. Introduction (1:1-4) II. Annunciation to Zacharias and Birth of the Redeemer's Forerunner (1:5-80) III. Birth and Childhood of the Redeemer (2) IV. External and Internal Preparations of the Redeemer (3:1-4:13) V. The Redeemer's Early Ministry in Galilee (4:14-7:50) VI. The Redeemer's Later Ministry in Galilee (8:1-9:6) VII. The Redeemer's Withdrawal into Gentile Regions (9:7-50) VIII. The Redeemer's Later Judean and Perean Ministry (9:51-19:28) IX. The Redeemer's Closing Ministry in Jerusalem (19:29-21:38) X. The Redeemer's Betrayal, Trial, and Death (22-23) XI. The Redeemer's Resurrection, Appearances, and Ascension (24)