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We have not felt it necessary to set out these parables in detail. The full force of their
bearing upon Luke's purpose can only be felt by those who ponder them prayerfully and
carefully.
Let us set out what we have seen:--
Matthew.
Luke.
The Subject.
King and kingdom, with
the
Jew
Sin and salvation, with the Gentile in
prominent, is the theme.
view, is the theme.
The Genealogies.
Abraham and David.
Adam.
The witness at the Birth.
Herod the King.
Cæsar Augustus. All the world.
Wise men. King of the Jews.
Angels, Saviour, men. Simeon, Gentiles.
The Forerunner.
Casual dating.
Gentile dating.
Repent, for kingdom is at hand.
Repentance for remission of sins.
Short quotation from Isaiah.
Long quotation from Isaiah in order to
include references to "all flesh".
The Lord's opening Ministry.
Repent for the kingdom is at hand.
The emphasis upon the Gentile in the
synagogue at Nazareth.
The Second Coming.
The time of the end.
The reference to the intervening "times of
the Gentiles".
The distinctive Parables peculiar to Luke.
-
The Good Samaritan.
-
The Prodigal Son.
-
The Unjust Steward.
-
The Pharisee and the Publican.
-
The Nobleman.
Here is clear evidence that Matthew's Gospel is intended to show that the covenants
made with Abraham and David are vested in the Lord Jesus Christ in Whom alone they
can be fulfilled. Luke's Gospel, while admitting all that, points out that while Israel were
themselves to be blessed, they were to become the destined channel of blessing to the
nations, which precluded the idea that only Israel mattered, and revealed the larger
purpose of the kingdom of Heaven.
When we remember that Luke, who so emphasized the Gentile aspect, was raised up
to accompany the apostle Paul, can we not praise God that Paul had to his hand a record
of earthly life, the death, the resurrection and the ascension of the Lord, that went back to
Adam, and which would therefore be of great importance in the controversies over the
inclusion of the Gentile that we find in the Acts of the Apostles itself? Of the four
Gospels, Luke's is the one that particularly belongs to saved Gentiles. Have we
possessed our possessions?