Christ in Luke -- The Son of Man

The third book of the Gospel is name for its author, Luke.  Luke was a well-educated man and was a doctor.  He was not one of the original disciples of Christ, but was an early convert to Christianity and an associate of Paul and Peter.  He is the only Gentile author in the New Testament.  He wrote the book of Luke and later also wrote the book of Acts.  Both of these books were completed after Paul’s arrest in Rome around 62 A.D. but before his trial and the Roman persecution of the Christians in the mid 60s.  There is no mention of the martyrdom of Paul or Peter in either of Luke’s books, so we can assume both Luke and Acts were completed before those events occurred.

Luke addresses both his books to someone named Theophilus.  No one knows for sure who Theophilus was, but there are many, many theories.  The name Theophilus is a Greek word that means “loved by God” or “friend of God.”  This has led some to believe that it was just a generic term for any Christian.  We will never know for sure, this side of Heaven, so I will not speculate.  However, because of the content of both of Luke’s books, I believe we can safely apply the name to ourselves, because we are, indeed, loved by God.

Besides being the only book written by a Gentile, Luke is unique in other ways.  The only New Testament record of Jesus speaking as a child is recorded in Luke 2:49.  Several parables are uniquely found in Luke:

• The Good Samaritan (10:25-37)
• The Rich Fool (12:13-21)
• The Guest Who Chooses a Place of Honor (14:7-14)
• The Prodigal Son (15:11-32)
• Lazarus and the Rich Man (16:19-31)
• The Persistent Widow (18:1-9)
• The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (18:9-14)

And Luke is the only gospel writer to include the appearance of Jesus on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection. (24:13-35).

Luke places a strong emphasis on prayer.  The word for prayer and the phrase, “I pray,” occur 43 times in his two books.  He shows us that Jesus gave us examples of prayer:

• During His baptism (3:21)
• Before choosing His 12 disciples (6:12)
• Before He asked Peter who He is (9:18)
• Before His transfiguration (9:28)
• Before He taught His disciples to pray, giving them the Lord’s Prayer (11:1)
• Before His arrest in the garden (22:41) – the only mention of His praying that is not unique to Luke

The theme that we see throughout the book of Luke is that of Jesus, The Son of Man.  Where Matthew emphasizes the royalty of Jesus by tracing His genealogy to David, Luke emphasizes His relationship to all men by tracing His genealogy to Adam, the son of God (3:23-38). The title, Son of Man, is used twenty-four times in the book of Luke.  It speaks of His relationship with ALL humanity and His compassion for ALL people.

The first reference in Luke to a universal salvation opportunity through Jesus Christ is in Luke 2:25-32, when the Baby Jesus was 40 days old:

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:  “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

Because Jesus is the Son of Man, He is able to be our Kindred Redeemer.  As we read in the book of Ruth, a kindred redeemer was a close relative who was legally entitled to buy back something a relative had sold into debt.  (If you have time, go back and read my study of Ruth, March 15, 2014, for an in depth look at the law of the kindred redeemer.)  As a result of Adam’s sin, he sold himself into the slavery of sin.  He forfeited his relationship with God, and he brought sin into a sinless world that had been created perfect by God.  All of creation suffered the penalty of Adam’s sin, and all of Adam’s descendants inherited his sin nature and his sin debt – all his descendants EXCEPT Jesus.  Jesus had the ability to sin, as we see that He was tempted by Satan (Luke 4:1-14), but He did not sin.  Therefore, it is by His perfect, sinless life that He was able to pay our sin debt!  A slave could not buy another slave out of slavery, only a free, Kindred Redeemer could do that.  In the same way, a sinner cannot pay the sacrifice for sin, only a sinless Man could do that.  And because Jesus was the Son of Man, not just the Son of David, He is able to be the Kindred Redeemer for ALL mankind, not just the Jews.

  

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:10)

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! (Romans 5:17)

The message of salvation to ALL people is emphasized again by Luke at the very end of his book.  After Jesus was resurrected from the grave, after He appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaus, He appeared again to His disciples just before He ascended to Heaven.  It was then that He made it clear that He had come to all mankind.

He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47, emphasis added)

My prayer for you and for me this week is in obedience to what Jesus told His disciples to pray in Luke 22:40 and also adapted from the prayer of Jesus, recorded in Luke 22:42b:

Dear Heavenly Father,
I pray that (I) will not fall into temptation.  (But when I am tempted, help me to remember) not my will, but yours be done.  (Help each one of us to spread your Good News, the news of The Son of Man, Our Kindred Redeemer to all nations.)

All Scripture is from the New International Version.