The Beneficiaries of Salvation in Luke

My wife is beginning a small group study series on Luke, and this motivated me to get reeducated on the reasons why Luke is such a great Gospel. There are many things that could be discussed, but this post will be limited to Luke's ideas of who Christ's salvation is most directed towards. Who, according to Luke, are the primary objects of the Lord's salvation? In a word, 'outcasts'. Luke's Jesus blesses and welcomes the needy rather than those that society would expect He would call. Luke gives us a Jesus that ushers in a complete reversal of expectations in both his words and deeds. In Luke, God is not just sovereign and in control, but He is a God of great compassion and is ushering in a Kingdom of compassion for the marginalized…

1) Tax collectors and sinners (3:12, 5:27-31, 7:29-34, 15:1, 18:10-14, 19:1-10). Christ's sympathy toward the despised tax collectors, and their positive response to Christ, is emphasized more in Luke than anywhere else.

2) Women. Women hold a place of great prominence in Luke (1:5-7, 1:13, 1:24-62, 2:5-7, 2:16-19, 2:22-24, 2:27, 2:33-52, 4:25-26, 4:38-39, 7:11-17, 7:36-50, 8:1-3, 8:19-21, 8:40-56, 10:38-42, 11:27-28, 12:53, 13:10-17, 13:34, 15:8-10, 18:1-8, 20:27-38, 21:1-3, 23:27-31, 23:49, 23:55-56, 24:1-11). Luke emphasizes that women traveled with Christ and supported his ministry financially (8:1-3). This is unprecedented in Jewish society and is simply a radical statement about the inclusive nature of Christ's ministry. In Luke, women are repeatedly held up as models of piety and devotion (1:38, 1:42-45, 2:36-38, 21:1-3). In the Luke 7 account of the immoral woman, Jesus praises the woman and her act of piety while condemning the supposedly pious Simon the Pharisee.

3) The poor. Luke's emphasis on the poor is enormous (1:52-53, 3:10-14, 4:18, 6:20-23, 11:41, 12:13-34, 14:12-14, 14:21, 16:19-31). BTW, Luke continues this theme in Acts. Luke's version of the Beatitudes in Luke 6 emphasizes physical hunger and poverty rather than the spiritualized poverty stressed in Matthew 5. In addition to blessing the poor in the Beatitudes, Luke emphasizes a rather strong contrast between the proud foolishness of the rich versus the need of the poor. The uniquely Lukan parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 is particularly memorable, but this contrast is evident throughout this Gospel (1:52-53, 3:10-14, 11:41, 12:13-34, 18:18-25). Luke's point in stressing this contrast is very clear – the rich rely on themselves and don't think they need God, while the poor are exalted because they understand their need for deliverance from sin.

Those who appreciate their plight and the compassion of Christ find salvation. Those who trust in themselves or their riches/societal status have no use for Luke's Jesus, and are excluded from the salvation he brings. There is little doubt that Luke's message endures and is urgently relevant in today's culture.