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

God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (11:20; cf. 10:18).
Satan enters Judas and instigates him to betray Jesus to the chief priest and temple officials
(22:3-4). In the same way, Jesus struggles against opposition to God’ design when he is in
prayer to God in the Mount of Olives. “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me;
nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.” (22:42). On the Mount of Olives, Jesus said to
the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who came to arrest him, that their
activity is an extension of the power of darkness (22:53; cf. Acts 26:18). “When I was with
you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the
power of darkness.” (22:53). Satan enters Ananias and prompts him to lie to the Holy Spirit
and betray the fledgling church (Acts 5:3). Satan exploits a magician to cause him to try and
buy the power of the Holy Spirit for his own private purpose (Acts 8:9-24), to try to dissuade
those interested in the word of the Lord from believing it (Acts 13:6-12), and to put obstacles
before those who proclaim the way of salvation (Acts 16:18). 152
Luke therefore clearly
shows that there is opposition to God’s plan at work.
2-3-3. The Certainty of God’s Plan
This theme is naturally connected with the foregoing theme in that God’s purpose triumphs
over evil forces and the plots of opponents. Luke strives to convey that God’s design will be
accomplished by any means. The initial disbelief of Zacharias (1:20), war and revolution
(21:9), even the death of God’s Son (9:22; 17:25; 18:31-33) cannot derail and ruin the plan of
God. Luke basically views Jesus’ death as the fulfillment of God’s redemptive purpose which
is grounded in Scripture. “Then he said to them, ‘These are my words which I spoke to you,
while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the
prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the
scriptures,” (24:45-46).
Of course, the theme of promise and fulfillment in Luke-Acts can convey the certainty of
God’s plan, as well its continuation. Apart from the theme of promise and fulfillment, I will
also focus on the activity of God in Jesus and his followers as the certainty of God’s aim. In
Acts, the certainty of God’s design is plainly shown in the activity of God in Jesus. In Peter’s
speech at Pentecost and in the portico called Solomon’s portico, God has made Jesus both
Lord and Messiah (2:36), as well as glorified him (3:13). In addition, according to Peter and
152. Brian Rapske, “Opposition to the Plan of God and Persecution,” in ed., I.H. Marshall and D. Peterson,
Witness to the Gospel: The Theology of Acts (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998), 235-256.
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