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

doctrinal correctness. 73
In any event, it seems safe to say that Luke desires that Theophilus,
and those like him who have questions, are certain of the teaching or the instruction that has
been taught or they have heard.
The word , as we have seen above, can mean “matter” that refers to the events of
salvation (Luke 1:20; Acts 8:21; 15:6), and “instruction” (Luke 4:32; 6:47; 10:39). Since both
“events” and “teaching” can fit the context, the difference is negligible. That is to say, the
events’ significance in particular as fulfillments may be included in the teaching.
Luke states his literary, historical, and theological dimensions of the project in his
prologue. The purpose of Luke’s preface is to reassure Theophilus and those like him who
have been taught or have heard about Jesus and the gospel. In this, Luke’s work stands
alongside other church materials that have recounted the eyewitness, apostolic testimony
about Jesus. While Luke reflects a positive attitude toward his predecessors, as well as
approving and admiring the role of the eyewitnesses and servants of the word as mediators,
he seeks to go one better with historically reliable information presented in a stylistically
correct form. Accordingly, he is not merely careful and thorough in his investigation, but he
also takes up Hellenistic theory and practice so as to achieve this goal. The Lukan readers
will come to know exactly what the historical events mean through Luke’s endeavour that
integrates historical “events” () into salvation-historical “events fulfilled”
() among us. Luke’s aim of certainty will be consistently unfolded in
God’s plan of salvation which in the Gospel begins with the story of John the Baptist and
Jesus’ birth, and in Acts runs through the extension of the church into Rome.
2-2. The Audience of Luke
In order to search for the purpose of Luke, it is imperative that we examine the audience of
Luke, since the identity of his target audience will shed further light on the reasons why Luke
wrote his Gospel. One of the nagging issues in the modern study of the Gospels is the
discussion around the audience of the Gospel. Since a book edited by Richard Bauckham,
The Gospels for all Christians: Rethinking the Gospel Audiences, 75
was published, numerous
73. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke, 9; Bock, Luke, 64-65; Dahl, “The purpose of Luke-Acts,” 93; P.S.
Minear, “Dear Theo: The Kerygmatic Intention and Claim of the Book of Acts,” Int 27 (1973), 133-150, here
133-34.
74. Bock, “Understanding Luke’s Task: Carefully Building on Precedent (Luke 1:1-4),” 200.
75. Richard Bauckham, The Gospels for All Christians: Rethinking the Gospel Audience (Grand Rapids, MI:
278
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