Theology
i] The gospel of salvation. Luke considers his Gentile readers when he exegetes the gospel in terms of salvation as an experience for the present age. A coming Kingdom is not easily understood by Gentiles. For Luke, Jesus is in the business of proclaiming an important message from God ("preach the gospel"), it is a message of "salvation". "The Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost", 19:10. It is not just a salvation from the "wrath to come", but a life-giving salvation in the present, a coming close to the life-giver himself.
ii] Salvation for all. Luke makes a point of defining "the lost", not as "righteous" Israel, but outcast Israel, the brokenhearted, the sinner...., and not just broken Israel, but also outcast Gentiles.
iii] Justification. Given that Luke partnered Paul in his Gentile missionary work it is understandable that Luke would focus on Paul's "my gospel", ie. a gospel that focused on justification by grace through faith and not of works. Paul serves as the exegete of Jesus' gospel, and therefore Paul's gospel perspective influences Luke's selection and arrangement of the kereguma. Unlike the other gospel writers, Luke does not focus on the cross of Jesus, but rather on the resurrection life of Christ. He lives, therefore we may live also, and this as a gift of grace through faith. He also is most careful in exposing the central function of Law. Luke makes sure that no believer could ever think that their Christian life progresses through faithful obedience. Luke stresses the cross-bearing discipleship of Jesus, not to push us into self-sacrifice, but rather to show us that grace through faith is the only possible path to follow.
iv] Church. Luke shows a keen eye for his missionary church in that he emphasises the task of gospel proclamation in the power of the Spirit of God, and this supported by prayer.
Sources
It is generally accepted that Mark was first to compose his gospel and that Luke and Matthew used it to compose their own, along with another document known as "Q" (now lost), as well as their own source material. Certainly it seems that large slabs of Mark are quoted in Luke's gospel, yet Luke does not quote Mark word for word and this seems to fly in the face of his claim to record the Jesus story accurately. He seems to happily alter Mark's record when it suits his purpose.
We need to understand that the gospel record was firmly entrenched in the oral history of the first century church. The telling and retelling of the stories not only set a common story line, but also bundles of stories and sayings were most likely part of that oral tradition. Luke could quite possibly compose his gospel without any reference to Mark, although he probably knew it well. Given the flexibility of oral tradition (localized variations, its "life situation", ie. preaching) Luke's many charges to Mark's record is quite understandable.
Date
It is beyond doubt that the gospel was written by Luke the "beloved physician" and friend of Paul the apostle, yet the date of writing is open to much dispute. It was most likely written in Rome during Paul's imprisonment in conjunction with the writing of Acts. This would date it in the early 60's and certainly before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD.
Structure
It is possible to divide the gospel up chronologically (Infancy narratives, [1-2], Galilean mission [3:1-9:50], the journey to Jerusalem [9.51:-19:44], the Jerusalem ministry [19:45-24:53]). Lightfoot and others divided the gospel up geographically (Galilee, the journey, Jerusalem).
Probably the most beneficial way is to approach the gospel thematically for it is now clear that most of the episodes in the gospel (miracle stories, conflict stories, sayings, etc) have links to each other and are not just unrelated pieces of tradition. Conzelmann and others have shown that Luke's theological interests have influenced the selection and arrangement of his material. By studying each episode within its context we are better able to understand its theology, ie. the truth the gospel writer wishes to communicate to us. In the end, the writer's truth is God's truth. We must unlock the one to discover the other.
Earle Ellis, in his commentary on Luke published in 1966, was one of the first to thematically divide up the gospel. Although his structure is somewhat stylized it does serve to tie the episodes of the gospel together. As to whether Luke had this structure in mind we can never be sure. Ellis proposes three major sections to the gospel, 1:5-9:50, 9:51-19:44, 19:45-24:53. The first two sections divide into 6 parts, the third into 3 parts, each part consisting of 6 episodes (stories, miracles, etc.).
Analysis
Prologue. 1:1-4
A. The Mission of Messiah. 1:5-9:50
1. Prophecies of the coming kingdom. 1:5-2:40
(Prophecies concerning the coming messiah)
Vision in the temple. 1:5-25
Vision of Mary 1:26-38
Prophecy of Mary. 1:39-56
Prophecy of Zechariah. 1:57-80
Vision of the shepherds. 2:1-20
Prophecy in the temple. 2:21-40
2. Witnesses to the messiah. 2:41-4:30
(Testimonies to the coming messiah)
Witness in the temple. 1:41-52
Witness of John the Baptist. 3:1-20
Witness of Jesus' baptism. 3:21-24
Witness of Jesus' genealogy. 3:23-38
Witness of the temptation. 4:1-13
Witness of Jesus' inaugural ministry. 4:14-30
3. Signs of the messiah. 4:31-6:11
(The signs reveal the authority of Jesus - He does what only God can do)
Sign at Capernaum - Lord over darkness. 4:31-44
Sign of the fish - Lord of mankind. 5:1-11
Sign of the leper - Lord over sickness. 5:12-16
Sign of the paralytic - Lord of the sinner. 5:17-26
Sign of the outcast - Lord of the lost. 5:27-39
Sign of the Sabbath - Lord of the Sabbath. 6:1-11
4. Dawning of the Kingdom by Acts. 6:12-7:50
(In the acts of the messiah we witness the nature of his mission and of the kingdom he inaugurates)
The dawning of the Kingdom of God.
The new Israel - Choosing the twelve. 6:12-16
Promises and principles of the coming kingdom. 6:17-49
Entering the kingdom by faith alone - a Gentile's faith. 7:1-10
An escape from death - the kingdom's promise. 7:11-17
Christ's kingdom surpasses the old - Jesus and the Baptist. 7:18-35
Kingdom entered by faith - a churchman and a prostitute. 7:36-50
5. Dawning of the Kingdom by Word. 8:1-56
Sowing the seed. 8:1-18
Jesus' true family. 8:19-21
Nature stilled. 8:22-25
Dark powers stilled - a demoniac healed. 8:26-39
A woman's hemorrhage healed. 8:43-48
Raising an elder's daughter. 8:40-42, 49-56
6. The nature of the Kingdom. 9:1-50
Mission of the twelve. 9:1-9
Feeding the 5000. 9:10-17
Meaning of Peter's confession. 9:18-27
Transfiguration. 9:28-36
Healing an epileptic boy. 9:37-45
Meaning of greatness in the kingdom of God. 9:46-50
B. The Teachings of Messiah
1. The meaning and acceptance of the kingdom message. 9:51-10:42
Rejection in Samaria. 9:51-56
Demands of discipleship. 9:57-62
Mission of the seventy. 10:1-20
Who receives the kingdom? 10:21-24
Who inherits eternal life? 10:25-37
Importance of hearing the word of God. 10:38-42
2. The Kingdom and power. 11:1-12:34
Meaning of prayer. 11:1-13
Exorcism - a sign of the new age. 11:14-28
The sign of John - the sign of preaching. 11:29-36
Bad news for churchmen. 11:37-54
Information for evangelists. 12:1-12
Goals in life - to have or to live. 12:13-34
3. The Kingdom and judgment. 12:35-13:21
A word to servants about the absent Lord. 12:35-40
A warning to unfaithful churchmen. 12:41-48
Signs of the age - division. 12:49-53
Signs of the age - coming judgment. 12:54-59
Demands of the kingdom - repent or perish. 13:1-9
Inevitable victory of the kingdom. 13:10-21
4. Who enters the kingdom? 13:22-16:13
Rejected seekers - the narrow door. 13:22-30
Forsaken city. 13:31-35
A churchman's dinner party - excluded guests. 14:1-24
Half-hearted discipleship - saltless salt. 14:25-35
Repentant sinners - the source of God's joy. 15:1-32
Faithfulness - parable of the shrewd manager. 16:1-13
5. The coming Kingdom. 16:14-18:14
All things are reversed - the rich man and Lazarus. 16:14-31
A word to disciples. 17:1-10
Ten lepers healed, only one understands grace. 17:11-19
A caution to those who wait. 17:20-37
Justice - the judge and the widow. 18:1-8
Righteousness given - the pharisee and the tax collector. 18:9-14
6. Discipleship and the rejected king. 19:45-24:53
Such is the kingdom - little children. 18:15-17
Leaving all - the rich ruler. 18:18-34
Faith of a blind man. 18:35-43
A rich man converted - he give much (Zacchaeus). 19:1-10
The story of a rejected king - the ten minas. 19:11-27
The king rejected - Jesus enters Jerusalem. 19:28-44
C. Culmination of Messiah's Mission
1. The Messiah and the Temple. 19:45-24:53
Cleansing the temple - a story about its meaning. 19:45-21:38
Render to Caesar. 20:19-26
The dead are raised - Sadducees on resurrection. 20:27-40
David's greater son. 20:41-44
The churchmen and the widow. 20:45-21:4
Signs of the new age and the end times. 21:5-38
2. The meaning of Messiah's death. 22:1-23:25
The plot to kill Jesus. 22:1-6
The Last Supper - consecration to death. 22:7-38
Prayer on the Mount of Olives. 22:39-46
Jesus arrested - betrayal. 22:47-53
Peter denies Jesus. 22:54-62
The plot to kill Jesus. 22:63-23:25
3. The Glorification of the Messiah. 23:26-24:53
The way of the cross. 23:26-31
The crucifixion. 23:32-49
The burial. 23:50-56
The empty tomb - Angels message. 24:1-12
The Emmaus appearance - a message. 24:13-32
Appearances in Jerusalem - the commission. 24:33-53
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