The commentator Darrell Bock in his commentary on Luke's Gospel tells us: "At the centre of every step of activity in God's plan stands Jesus." He adds: "The plan of God is often a great theological abstraction until we can see just how we fit into it. Luke's goal is to make our place in that plan clear. He invites us to see how we can have a relationship with God that is a journey of faith and a tour through life as it was meant to be lived." With this in mind, Dr. Bock lets us know that "virtually every unit in Luke's Gospel challenges us to respond to Jesus."

Professor Bock highlights the fact that it is in Luke's Gospel "the God of compassion shows himself fully." This is captured by the words "The Least, The Lost, And The Left Out" which are used by New Testament professor Joel Green in describing those to whom Christ mainly ministered in Luke's Gospel.

Dr. Leon Morris gives the following themes for Luke's Gospel:

(1) Salvation Jesus stands at the centre of God's redemptive plan. Luke stresses that salvation has become present for all in Christ with a frequent use of the adverbs "now" and "today." In Jesus, the time of salvation has come (4:21).

(2) Eschatology (i.e., end times) Luke does not overlook the time of the end (see 12:35ff; 21:25ff.) but focuses on the joy at the closeness of salvation.

(3) The plan of God As Dr. Bock states: "When one considers Luke alone, it is the person of Jesus and the nature of God's work through him to deliver humanity that takes centre stage." (See 4:21; 24:27, 44.)

4) Individuals Luke thought of God as a personal God concerned with people as individuals as shown in his parables that centre on persons (see 19:2).

(5) The importance of women Luke gives a significant place to women and sees them as the objects of God's love and writes about many of them.

(6) Children The infancy stories of John and Jesus (1:5-2:52) as well as his use of "only son/daughter" (7:18/8:42) highlight Luke's concern for children.

(7) The poor Jesus came to preach the gospel to the poor (4:18). Luke concerns himself with the interests of the poor (see 14:11-13, 21; 16:19ff.).

(8) The disreputable As the "grumbling" Pharisees stated about Jesus: "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them" (15:2, N.R.S.V.).

(9) The passion of Christ Dr. Morris writes: "Supremely is God's purpose worked out in the passion of the Lord. Luke writes from the conviction that God has acted in Christ to bring men to salvation." God's will is done in the passion (see 22:42) which occupies much space at the end of Luke's gospel.

(10) The Holy Spirit One of Luke's great emphases from beginning (1:15) to end (24:49) is the Holy Spirit. God's love is seen in the Spirit who enters and empowers and guides the followers of Jesus (see 12:12).

(11) Prayer Luke focuses on the importance of prayer using Jesus' example (6:12; 11:1) as well as the use of prayer in the parables (18:1-14).

(12) Praise The verb "rejoice" and the noun "joy" are found often in Luke (1;14, 44; 10:21; 15:5-7, 9-10) along with celebration (15:21, 32).

(13) Discipleship For Luke, discipleship (with a clear focus on its cost) is a major theme throughout his gospel (5:11; 9:23; 9:57-62; 14:25-33).

Dr. Bock leaves us with this thought: "Luke is a stimulating oasis for spiritual reflection about who I am and what God wants me to do."