the role of the lukan parables in terms of the purpose of luke's gospel

for Christian living. 73 With consistent portraits Luke show what it means to be a Christian
disciple in his two volumes. That is to say, Jesus and his way of life are proffered as models
which a would-be Christian disciple should imitate. Luke’s major purpose furnishes his
readers with a tract on Christian discipleship stemming from Jesus’ life, work, and teaching,
and especially personified and exemplified in the early church, in particular, in Peter, Stephen
and Paul’s conformity to the way of Jesus. It is ultimately Jesus’ servanthood that is the
pattern for Christian discipleship. 74
1-13. A multifaceted reading of the purpose of Luke
Not satisfied with speaking of a single purpose, R.H. Stein speaks of the various purposes of
Luke-Acts. He uses four broad categories relating to the Lukan purpose: (1) To help convince
his readers of the truthfulness of what they had been taught, (2) To clarify the Christian selfunderstanding
of his readers, (3) To clarify Jesus’ teaching concerning the end times, and (4)
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To assure his readers that Rome was not a threat to them. In relation to (1), he claims that
from the prologue, one main purpose of Luke is to assure his readers of the truthfulness of
what they had been instructed about Jesus’ life and teachings. Luke tries to show this
truthfulness in five dimensions: Luke’s credentials as a historian who investigates everything
carefully from the beginning in order to write an orderly account (1:3), eyewitness traditions
that this teaching came from those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning (1:2), the
proof from prophecy that the things that came into being in Jesus and the church were the
fulfillment of prophecy (1:1), the proof from miracles that attest to the truth that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God (esp. Acts 2:22), the proof from the growth of the church, in the sense
that God was witnessing to its truth by letting the church grow. With relevance to (2), Luke
seeks to settle two related problems: “The first is the rejection of Christ and Christian
preaching by the majority of Israel, the second is how Gentile believers related to the
promises God made to Israel.” 76
The church has continuity with the religion of Abraham,
Moses, and the prophets. At the same time, the Gentiles in the church link by faith to faithful
Israel, by living in the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the
Prophets which were realized in Jesus’ coming as Messiah. On the other hand, most of Israel,
in their unbelief, reject and crucify Jesus as God’s Son. In connection with (3), according to
73. Ibid., 231-71.
74. Ibid., 275-84.
75. Stein, Luke, 35-44.
76. Ibid., 40.
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