Or, An Introduction to the Book of Luke
Scripture: Luke 19:10
Date: January 25, 2026
Speaker: Sean Higgins
Jesus said that “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” There’s a lot in that one sentence. What’s the significance of the title, “Son of Man”? If He “came,” where was He before? Any emphasis on the two verbs, as in, why “seek and save” rather than just “save”? And what does it mean to be “lost”? Who are the “lost”?
Luke wrote to answer all these questions and more.
Let’s consider some background things the original audience who read what we call “Luke” would have understood, some things we can put together.
Nowhere in these 24 chapters does the author name himself. Even in the more formal preface (1:1-4) there’s no “from,” which is unlike what we read in the epistles. But the author of this book also wrote the book of Acts, and in Acts there are some “we” sections where the author is traveling with Paul (for example, Acts 16:10-17). Based on who is and isn’t named, and based on a comment Paul included to the Colossians, Luke is the obvious candidate. No one in the first few centuries questioned it, and by around AD 175 (in Papyrus 75) this book had the designation: “εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Λουκᾶν” (Gospel according to Luke).
In that comment in Colossians (4:14), Paul calls Luke “the beloved physician” and includes him in a group of Gentiles. That would make Luke the only non-Jewish author of a New Testament book. That also makes a Gentile the author of more inspired words in the New Testament (taking Luke-Acts combined) than even all of Paul’s letters added together (2,138 verses; Paul wrote 2,033, per Wilkinson and Boa in Talk Thru the Bible).
This also means that Luke was a second-generation disciple. He did not travel with Jesus, he was not one of the Twelve, he so did not meet the qualifications to be an apostle (Acts 1:21-22). He was close with Paul, he traveled with Paul, and so he certainly crossed paths in church circles with many eye-witnesses. In some ways this is an advantage to us. Luke had to work at his research. He says that he “investigated everything carefully” (1:3 NASB). And though he started with some reference materials, he thought there were still more things that could be said.
As the longest of the four gospels, Luke shares some of the same stories with Matthew and Mark. Luke also has a lot of Luke-only material, including the parable of the Good Samaritan, the parable of the Prodigal Son, the interaction with Zacchaeus, and more. For that matter, Luke spends almost 10 chapters (9:51-19:27) on the last half-year as Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified, and Mark covered that same period of ministry in only 20 verses.
It’s near the end of the long, standout section that Luke records Jesus saying, “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
Luke also provides more about Jesus’ background, His birth and boyhood and baptism, than any other gospel writer. For sake of a big picture outline of the book:
The book of Acts is Volume 2 of the same work, which sets Luke apart from the other gospel writers.
I’ve found the following not just interesting, but profitable, for my own thinking as a disciple and also as a pastor beginning this study/series that will probably take a couple years for us to work through together.
We don’t think of Acts in the genre of “gospel.” We don’t think of reading/preaching Acts for evangelism, for getting people saved. It’s a history of the early church. What we call “The Gospel of Luke” is the same writer using the same style, but about the time period immediately before the church. Luke is a history of Jesus’ life and teaching and miracles and death and resurrection. I’d argue that Luke himself thought of it more for edification than evangelism.
Luke addresses this narrative to Theophilus with the stated purpose “that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (1:4). Theophilus was already a believer. Theophilus already had been taught, at least some. What Luke investigated and curated and communicated was a framework for one who was already found. Jesus came to seek the lost, Luke wrote so that all who were FOUND would be FIRM in their faith concerning the facts of about what Jesus did and fulfilled.
What did Luke want us to get from following his orderly account about the Son of Man?
Luke 19:10 is arguably the key verse of Luke. It comes in response to Zacchaeus believing in Jesus. Jesus says it about why He was there, and He didn’t just mean Jericho.
Christians don’t use the language of “the lost” maybe as much as we used to. It’s fine, there are as many or more appropriate labels for unbelievers as there are for believers, all with a helpful nuance. But “lost” does a lot of work in Luke, especially in chapter 15 (maybe the key chapter), with the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. It’s a relational separation, with the implication that self-rescue is out of the question.
Those who know they are lost are discouraged, maybe even in despair. Those who don’t know they are lost are in bigger danger. Jesus did not wait for us to cry out to Him, He pursued. He came to find, to bring us to His Father. And that means, we who believe in Jesus are The Found.
After His resurrection Jesus appeared among His disciples and reminded them of what He had taught them about His purpose. They had learned that Jesus was the one who came to fulfill whatever the Law, Prophets, and Writings had said (Luke 24:44).
Another summary of Luke’s account, from Jesus Himself, would be,
“Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:46-47 ESV)
The lost are sinners, and when Christ finds us, He grants us repentance. He turns us from our sin to Himself. He died and rose again for sake of forgiveness. That means we are The Forgiven.
Dig and Dung comes from Luke 13:6-9. Luke is the only one to record this parable of the barren fig tree. In context, it comes immediately after Jesus exhorts a group to repent. More specifically in context, it’s a wonder that Israel had not shown the fruit of repentance.
It is a story of expectation, a story of opportunity, a story of intentional effort, a story of fruit. We are, by faith in Jesus, The Fruitful.
Right after the conversation with Zacchaeus, Jesus tells the parable of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:11-27). In one way it is about being fruitful, but the emphasis is on faithfulness. We’re servants of the King. He’s given us resources and the responsibility to “engage in business until I come” (19:13). That first servant worked his one mina into ten, and Jesus said:
“Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.” (Luke 19:17 ESV)
Jesus told this parable because His audience “supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately” (19:11), but Jesus explained that He was going to leave and return, and when He did, He would see what His servants “had gained by doing business” (19:15). There will be rewards. We want to be found among The Faithful.
This gets us back to Luke’s stated purpose in writing. He expended all the effort he did so that his readers “may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (1:4).
You believe, can you explain why you believe? You were found by Jesus, and good, praise the Lord. And, are you living confidently, that is, with-faith-edly? You know, do you know with certainty? There’s a roof over your head, are your load bearing walls in good condition?
We are not following myths, we’re not depending on guesses. There were eye-witnesses, there are orderly accounts. They reveal that Jesus is the Son of Man, the one who fulfills the prophets, the Lord of life, risen from the dead. We have Luke’s account so that we too can be The Firm.
The book of Luke is for those who were formerly lost, guilty, barren, afraid, and unstable. And also, that means it is for those who are currently ready to repent unto forgiveness.
Luke is written for our certainty. It is a framework for our faith, a foundation for our fruitful and faithful living as disciples of Jesus. We’ll pray for the Spirit to give us understanding that the found would be faithful.
Jesus told His disciples that they would know the truth, and the truth would set them free. This truth also makes believers firm. Christian, love the truth, it is your foundation. Hear the truth, and obey it, and you will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:24–25 ESV)