Luke

by J. C. Ryle, Alister McGrath (Editor), J. I. Packer (Editor), J. I. Packer (Introduction)

Overview

For hundreds of years Christendom has been blessed with Bible commentaries written by great men of God highly respected for their godly walk and their insight into spiritual truth. The Crossway Classic Commentaries present the very best work on individual Bible books, carefully adapted for maximum understanding and usefulness for today's believers.

Luke is an encouraging treatment of the third Gospel—the life of Christ as told by "the beloved physician" under the direction of God's Spirit. The teachings and miracles of our Savior come to life in a powerful way, producing deeper devotion and increased commitment in the hearts of those who follow the Master.

An assuring volume that will strengthen and encourage Christian believers as they seek to better understand what it means to walk with Christ day by day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433516542
Publisher:	Crossway
Publication date:	10/03/1997
Series:	Crossway Classic Commentaries , #14
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	583 KB

About the Author

J. C. Ryle (1816–1900) was a prominent writer, preacher, and Anglican clergyman in nineteenth-century England. He is the author of the classic Expository Thoughts on the Gospels and retired as the bishop of Liverpool.

J. C. Ryle (1816–1900) was a prominent writer, preacher, and Anglican clergyman in nineteenth-century England. He is the author of the classic Expository Thoughts on the Gospels and retired as the bishop of Liverpool.

  Alister McGrath (PhD, University of Oxford) is the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford, president of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics, and senior research fellow at Harris Manchester College in Oxford. He is also a noted author and coeditor of Crossway's Classic Commentaries series. 

J. I. Packer (1926–2020) served as the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College. He authored numerous books, including the classic bestseller Knowing God. Packer also served as general editor for the English Standard Version Bible and as theological editor for the ESV Study Bible.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

St. Luke's general introduction to his Gospel (1:1-4)

St. Luke's Gospel contains many precious things which are not recorded in the other three Gospels. For example, the histories of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the angel's announcement to the Virgin Mary, and, in general terms, the first two chapters of his Gospel. Only St. Luke records the conversions of Zacchaeus and the penitent thief, the walk to Emmaus, and the famous parables of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the rich man and Lazarus, and the lost son. These are parts of Scripture for which every well-instructed Christian feels peculiarly thankful. And for these we are indebted to the Gospel of St. Luke.

The short preface (verses 1-4) is a peculiar feature of St. Luke's Gospel.

1. A sketch of the nature of a Gospel

In the first place, St. Luke gives us a short but valuable sketch of the nature of a Gospel. He calls it an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us (verse 1). It is a narrative of facts about Jesus Christ.

Christianity is a religion built on facts. Let us never lose sight of this. It came before mankind at first in this shape. The first preachers did not go up and down the world proclaiming an elaborate, artificial system of abstruse doctrines and deep principles. They made it their first business to tell people great plain facts. They went about telling a sin-laden world that the Son of God had come down to earth and lived for us and died for us and rose again for us. The Gospel, as it was first proclaimed, was far more simple than many make it now. It was neither more nor less than the history of Christ.

Let us aim at greater simplicity in our own personal religion. Let Christ be the Sun of our system, and let the main desire of our souls be to live the life of faith in him and to daily know him better. This was St. Paul's Christianity (see Philippians 1:21).

2. The true position of the apostles in the early church

In the second place, St. Luke draws a beautiful picture of the true position of the apostles in the early church. He calls them eyewitnesses and servants of the word (verse 2). There is an instructive humility in this expression. There is an utter absence of that man-exalting tone which has so often crept into the church. St. Luke gives the apostles no flattering titles. He affords not the slightest excuse to those who speak of them with idolatrous veneration because of their office and nearness to our Lord.

He describes them as eyewitnesses. They told people what they had seen with their own eyes and heard with their own ears (see 1 John 1:1). He describes them as servants of the word. They were servants of the Word of the Gospel. They were men who counted it their highest privilege to carry about, as messengers, the tidings of God's love to a sinful world and to tell the story of the cross.

Well would it have been for the church and the world if Christian ministers had never laid claim to higher dignity and honor than the apostles claimed for themselves. It is a sad fact that ordained men have constantly exalted themselves and their office to a most unscriptural position. It is no less sad that people have constantly helped this evil by a lazy acquiescence in the demands of priestcraft and by contenting themselves with a mere vicarious religion. There have been faults on both sides. Let us remember this and be on our guard.

3. St. Luke's qualifications for writing a Gospel

In the third place, St. Luke describes his own qualifications for the work of writing a Gospel. He says that he carefully investigated everything from the beginning (verse 3).

It would be a mere waste of time to inquire from what source St. Luke obtained the information which he has given us in his Gospel. We have no good reason for supposing that he saw our Lord work miracles or heard him teach. To say that he obtained his information from the Virgin Mary or any of the apostles is mere conjecture and speculation. It is enough for us to know that St. Luke wrote by God's inspiration. Unquestionably he did not neglect the ordinary means of obtaining knowledge. But the Holy Spirit guided him, no less than all other writers of the Bible, in his choice of material. The Holy Spirit supplied him with thoughts, arrangements, sentences, and even words; and the result is that what St. Luke wrote is not to be read "as the word of men" but "the word of God" (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

Let us take care to hold on to this great doctrine of the plenary inspiration of every word of the Bible. Let us never allow that any writer of the Old or New Testament could make even the slightest verbal mistake or error when writing, since he was "carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). Let it be a settled principle with us in reading the Bible that when we cannot understand a passage or reconcile it with some other passage, the fault is not in the Bible but in ourselves. The adoption of this principle will place our feet on a rock. To give it up is to stand on quicksand and to fill our minds with endless uncertainties and doubts.

4. St. Luke's main purpose in writing his Gospel

Finally, St. Luke informs us of one main purpose he had in mind in writing his Gospel. It was that Theophilus may know the certainty of the things which he had been taught (verse 4). There is no encouragement here for those who place confidence in unwritten traditions and the voice of the church. St. Luke knew well the weakness of human memory and the readiness with which a history alters its shape both by additions and alterations when it depends only on word of mouth and report. What therefore does he do? He takes care to write (verse 3).

There is no encouragement here for those who are opposed to the spread of religious knowledge and talk of ignorance as the "mother of devotion." St. Luke does not wish his friend to remain in doubt on any matter of his faith. He tells him that he wants him to know the certainty of the things he had been taught (verse 4).

Let us close the passage with thankfulness for the Bible. Let us bless God daily that we are not left dependent on human traditions and need not be led astray by ministers' mistakes. We have a written volume which is "able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15).

Let us begin St. Luke's Gospel with an earnest desire to know more for ourselves the truth as it is in Jesus and with a hearty determination to do as much as we can to spread the knowledge of that truth throughout the world.

Notes on Luke 1:1-4

Luke. Our information about St. Luke is scanty. What we have no reason to doubt is that he was the companion of St. Paul on his travels and that he was a "doctor" (Colossians 4:14). It is generally agreed that his Gospel was written with a special reference to Gentile converts rather than Jews.

1. Many have undertaken. Who these many were, we do not know. St. Luke's meaning appears to be simply that they wrote without any divine call or inspiration.

2. The word. Some think that this means the Lord Jesus Christ, the "Word" who "was made flesh" (John 1:14). It seems, however, more probable that we are to take it as the written word or the word of the Gospel.

3. Orderly account. We must carefully observe that this expression does not imply that Luke followed the chronological order of the chief events in our Lord's life more than the other evangelists. It rather means that he grouped together and classified in an orderly way the principal facts which he was inspired to record.

Theophilus. We know nothing certain about this person. The prevailing opinion is that he was some Christian Gentile in a high position to whom St. Luke, for reasons unknown to us, was directed to address himself in writing his Gospel. The expression most excellent seems to indicate that he was no common person. It is the same expression which St. Paul used in addressing Felix and Festus (Acts 24:3; 26:25).

Zechariah and Elizabeth, and Zechariah's vision (1:5-12)

The first event recorded in St. Luke's Gospel is the sudden appearance of an angel to a Jewish priest named Zechariah. The angel announces to him that a son is to be born to him by a miraculous interposition and that this son is to be the forerunner of the long-promised Messiah. The Word of God had plainly foretold that when the Messiah came, someone would go before him to prepare his way (Malachi 3:1). The wisdom of God provided that when this forerunner appeared, he would be born in the family of a priest.

It is hard for us to imagine the immense importance of the angel's announcement. To a pious Jew it must have been glad tidings of great joy. It was the first communication from God to Israel since the days of Malachi. It broke the long silence of 400 years. It told the believing Israelites that the prophetic weeks of Daniel were at last fulfilled (Daniel 9:25), that God's choicest promise was at last going to be accomplished, and that "the seed" was about to appear in whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 22:18). We must place ourselves in imagination in Zechariah's position if we are to give these verses their true weight.

1. The character of Zechariah and Elizabeth

Let us note, first, in this passage the high testimony which is given about the character of Zechariah and Elizabeth. We are told that they were both upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly (verse 6).

It matters little whether we interpret such righteousness as that which is imputed to all believers for their justification or that which is wrought inwardly in believers by the work of the Holy Spirit for their sanctification. The two sorts of righteousness are never separated. No one is justified who is not sanctified, and no one is sanctified who is not justified. It is enough for us to know that Zechariah and Elizabeth had grace when grace was very rare and kept all the burdensome observances of the ceremonial law with devout conscientiousness when few Israelites cared for them except in name and form.

The main thing that concerns us all is the example that this holy pair holds up to Christians. Let us all strive to serve God faithfully and live fully up to our light, just as they did. Let us not forget the plain words of Scripture, "He who does what is right is righteous" (1 John 3:7). Happy are those Christian families where both husband and wife are "righteous" and "keep [their] conscience clear before God and man" (Acts 24:16).

2. The heavy trial which God laid on Zechariah and Elizabeth

Let us notice, second, in this passage the heavy trial which God was pleased to lay on Zechariah and Elizabeth. We are told that they had no children (verse 7). The full impact of these words can hardly be understood by a Christian today. To a Jew in those days they would communicate the idea of a very weighty affliction. To be childless was one of the bitterest of sorrows (1 Samuel 1:10).

The grace of God exempts no one from trouble. Let us count trial no strange thing. If afflictions drive us nearer to Christ, the Bible, and prayer, they are positive blessings. We may not think so now. But we will think so when we wake up in another world.

3. How God announced the birth of John the Baptist

Let us note, for another thing, in this passage the means by which God announced the coming birth of John the Baptist. We are told that an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah (verse 11).

The ministry of angels is undoubtedly a deep subject. Nowhere in the Bible do we find such frequent mention of them as in the period of our Lord's earthly ministry. This teaches the church that the Messiah was no angel but the Lord of angels, as well as of men and women. Angels announced his coming. Angels proclaimed his birth. Angels rejoiced at his appearing. And in doing this they made it clear that he who came to die for sinners was not one of themselves but one far above them, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

One thing, above everything else, we must not forget about angels — they take a deep interest in the work of Christ and the salvation which Christ has provided. They sang high praise when the Son of God came down to make peace by his own blood between God and men and women. They rejoice when sinners repent and sons are born again to our Father in heaven. They delight to minister to those who will be heirs of salvation. Let us strive to be like them while we are on this earth — to have their minds and share their joys. This is the way to be in tune for heaven. It is written of those who enter there that "they will be like the angels" (Mark 12:25).

4. The effect the angel's appearance had on Zechariah

Let us note, lastly, in this passage the effect which the appearance of an angel produced on the mind of Zechariah. We are told that he was startled and was gripped with fear (verse 12).

The experience of this righteous man here tallies exactly with other saints under similar circumstances. Moses at the burning bush, the women at the tomb, and John on the island of Patmos — they all showed fear like Zechariah. Like him, when they saw visions of things belonging to another world, they trembled and were afraid.

How are we to account for this fear? There is only one answer to that question. This fear arises out of our inner sense of weakness, guilt, and corruption. The vision of an inhabitant of heaven reminds us forcibly of our own imperfection and of our natural unworthiness to stand before God. If angels are so great and terrible, what must the Lord of angels be like?

Let us bless God that we have a mighty Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Believing on him, we may draw near to God with boldness and look forward to the day of judgment without fear. When the mighty angels will go and collect God's elect, the elect will have no reason to be afraid. To them the angels are fellow servants and friends (Revelation 22:9).

Let us tremble when we think of the terror of the wicked at the last day. If even the righteous are troubled by a sudden vision of friendly spirits, how will the ungodly act when the angels come to collect them like tares to be burned? The fears of the saints are groundless and endure for just a short while. The fears of the lost, when once aroused, will prove well-founded and will endure forever.

Notes on Luke 1:5-12

5. The priestly division of Abijah. There were twenty-four divisions of the sons of Aaron, among whom the temple service was divided. Abijah was the eighth at the original institution (1 Chronicles 24:10).

A descendant of Aaron. "Yet Elizabeth was cousin to Mary, who was from the tribe of Judah. This indicates the marriage of some predecessor into the other tribe. The priests were allowed to marry into any of the tribes of Israel" (Watson).

1. All the assembled worshipers were praying outside. "When the priest came into the holy place to offer incense, notice was given to all, by the sound of a little bell, that the time of prayers was now" (Lightfoot).

2. An angel of the Lord appeared. "The presence of angels is no novelty, but their apparition. They are always with us, but rarely seen, that we may awfully respect their message when they are seen" (Bishop Hall).

The angel announces John the Baptist's birth and describes his ministry (1:13-17)

We have, in these verses, the words of the angel who appeared to Zechariah. They are words full of deep spiritual instruction.

1. Long delay does not mean prayers are rejected

We learn here, first, that prayers are not necessarily rejected because the answer is long delayed. Zechariah, no doubt, had often prayed for the blessing of children, and to all appearances he had prayed in vain. At his advanced age he had probably stopped mentioning the subject before God long ago and had given up all hope of being a father. Yet the very first words of the angel show clearly that Zechariah's prayers of long ago had not been forgotten: "Your prayer has been heard" (verse 13).

2. No children bring true joy like those who have God's grace

Second, we learn that no children bring true joy like those who have God's grace. It was to a father of a child about to be filled with the Holy Spirit that was said, "He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth" (verse 14).

Grace is the principal portion that we should desire for our children. Whatever else we seek for our children, let us first seek that they have a place in the covenant and a name in the book of life.

3. The nature of true greatness

We learn, thirdly, the nature of true greatness. The angel describes it when he tells Zechariah that his son "will be great in the sight of the Lord" (verse 15).

(Continues…)

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