The Message and Context of Luke's Testimony: An Introduction

"Enthroned above all creation towers the exalted, glorified Christ. Descending into the darkest recesses of human agony and sin reaches the warm, caring Jesus. These two are the same person. Luke’s testimony introduces us to this man become God—God the Son. Not that this man is a mere man. No. As Luke emphasizes when presenting this person, he comes into our world already bearing a divine nature, already carrying divine qualities. Thus he arrives at his birth as Savior, as “Christ the Lord” (2:11). But he does not stride through mortality without challenges, both mental and physical. At one moment during his ministry, as he contemplates his future suffering, he declares, “I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened [= distressed] till it be accomplished!” (12:50). Months later, it is apparent that he has resolved his fears and worries when “he went before” the crowd of his disciples, pushing the pace on the long, steep climb from Jericho to Jerusalem, ready to face his foreordained destiny in the capital city."