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Dr. Blomberg says, “Luke clearly seems to have been a Gentile.” What significance do you see in this? How might this have affected how Luke’s gospel was written and how it was received at the time it was written?
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6 Replies
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By Luke being a Gentile and writing to Gentiles, he was able to focus less on the traditions of the Jewish lifestyle and more on how the Good News is available to all. After all, the theme: to seek and save did not include a qualifier. I’m certain Gentiles gravitated to Luke’s Gospel more so than one of the Gospels which relied heavily on Jewish customs.
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By being a Gentile, Luke would present a Gospel that would be less influenced by Jewish background, thought and culture than the other Gospel writers. Also by being a Gentile, Luke could relate the story of Christ in a way that would appeal to the Greco-Roman intellectual mindset.
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If Luke was a Gentile then he would understand the struggles and beliefs specific to Gentiles. Therefore, Luke’s gospel would reflect this.
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I think it is so important that this perspective was included for the sake of outsiders both in biblical times and now. Today, just as representation in media and cultural conversations are important, it is important that more diverse voices share in the authorship of scripture. This likely gave an access point to the gospel for those uncertain if they were welcome in a Judeo-centric movement. For Luke, I can see this being his moment to welcome in and reassure non-jews like himself. It is a signal flair to the Gentile world which said, “You are welcome. These are the facts and you can trust me because I am like you.” I see this as significant for today, as well. We see the early church, then, as a movement of unprecedented welcome, after which we ought to model the church of today.
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It is tremendously significant that Luke was a Gentile. Through his own life experience, he would know what other Gentiles’ experiences would have looked like at this time, particularly when it comes to feeling like the outcast, the poor, or the “less than.” This is more than likely why he chooses to focus on some stories that other gospel writers did not such as the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin and the parables of the rich fool and rich man and Lazarus. Demonstrating that Jesus had this love for the underdogs of the world would be something that moves the hearts of the Gentiles tremendously as they would see him as a loving Savior for ALL. Also, Luke loves to share stories (according to Blomberg, he writes about Jesus teaching parables twice as much in his book than the others) and he is also the first Christian historian. Having an accurate historical layout would also be appealing to the Gentiles.
