While my wife and I were dating, we wrote many love letters to each other. This was before smartphones, texting, and social media, so we used ancient tools such as ball-point pens, notebook paper, and Hallmark cards. We still have these letters, and we occasionally entertain our kids with a (censored) reading of some of these letters. (Our kids love it!) Usually, these letters include at least some amount of relaying mundane events from the day. If this is all we wrote about, though, the letters would be quite boring. In our letters we often begin pontificating on other topics, such as all the ways I admire her, how captivating she is, all the deep feelings I have for her, etc. In these letters, when we veer away from the basic facts, we are able to get to the heart of what the writer is feeling and thinking — the message the writer is trying to convey.
The biblical writers do the same thing. They do tell us about a sequence of events that happens. However, they also include interesting details that seek to convey a message that is deeper than the mere events themselves.
Luke’s Unique Emphasis on the Trinity
Scholars commonly refer to Matthew, Mark, and Luke as the Synoptic Gospels. The term “synoptic” refers to the idea that each of the Gospels is telling the same (“syn”) view (“optic”) of the life of Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels generally tell many of the same stories about Jesus — sometimes verbatim, and sometimes with slight differences.
Though much of the content of the Synoptic Gospels is the same, each of the Synoptic Gospels begins and ends in a unique way. Mark, for example, begins by immediately telling of John’s anticipation of Jesus’ ministry. When Matthew and Luke begin their gospel accounts, they include key details to emphasize elements of Jesus’ identity that are important to their telling of the gospel story. Matthew begins with a genealogy to demonstrate that Jesus is a legal descendant of David, and he includes numerous O.T. texts showing how Jesus fulfils the O.T. expectations for the Messiah.
Luke begins with the angelic announcements to Zechariah and Mary and continues with the account of Jesus’ birth. The first two chapters of Luke are jam-packed with O.T. quotations and allusions of how John and Jesus fulfill O.T. Messianic expectations. Each Gospel author constructs the introduction and conclusion of his Gospel in order to make specific points.
One unique element of Luke’s introduction and conclusion is his focus on the Trinity. Luke repeatedly speaks of the joint ministry of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together. Though Matthew and Mark, of course, support the doctrine of the Trinity, they simply don’t emphasize the work of the three persons of the Godhead to the extent Luke does. In this article, we will look at Luke’s key statements summarizing the work of the Trinity. Luke includes three key statements in chapters 1–2 and then one key statement in the final chapter of his Gospel.
The Announcement to Zechariah
In three different places in the birth narratives of Luke 1 and 2, Luke emphasizes the Trinity together. The first is the announcement of John’s birth. The angel says of John:
“He will be great before the Lord, … and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah … to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” (Luke 1:15-17)
Luke tells his readers something that Matthew and Mark do not mention: John “will be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:15). As a Spirit-filled messenger, his role is to “turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.” The angel’s reference to “the Lord their God” would almost certainly refer to God the Father. At this point in Israel’s history, the Israelites are thinking primarily in terms of one God, who would be identical to the Father.
However, the angel also says that John “will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah” (1:16). The “him” is likely a reference to Jesus. The ministry of John was specifically to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus (Luke 3:3–6). John’s preaching the message of the kingdom and the baptism of repentance would “make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (1:17). Through his Spirit-filled ministry, John’s preaching would turn people’s hearts to the Father and make the hearts of the Israelites receptive to the ministry of the Son.
The Announcement to Mary
Luke’s next Trinitarian statement is in the angel’s announcement to Mary. After Gabriel informs Mary of her pregnancy, Mary asks, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34). Gabriel, the one who “stands in the presence of God” (Luke 1:19), responds with a God-focused, Trinitarian answer: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy — the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). In order to accomplish the miracle of the virgin birth, the Trinity would work in Mary’s body. The Holy Spirit would come upon her, and the power of the Most High would overshadow her. The “Most High” is certainly a reference to God the Father. The work of the Father and Spirit together would impregnate Mary — and the Son of God would be in her womb.
The Revelation to Simeon
Luke’s third Trinitarian statement comes in his introduction of Simeon after the birth of Jesus. Simeon “was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him” (Luke 2:25). Luke then informs his readers that the Holy Spirit had given a revelation to Simeon. Before Simeon died, he would see “The Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). The reference to “the Lord’s Christ” makes a clear distinction between “the Lord” and “Christ” — clearly referring to Father and Son. The idea is that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah) sent by the Lord (the Father). Simeon then proceeds to come “in the Spirit into the temple” (Luke 2:27) to take the Son in his arms and give praise to the Father (Luke 2:28) for allowing Simeon to see the Lord’s salvation (Luke 2:29–32).
The Promise of the Father
After the first three references to the Trinity, Luke proceeds with his Synoptic account in Luke 3–23 — an account that is quite similar to those of Matthew and Mark. In Luke 24, though, Luke provides his readers an account of events that is unique to Luke’s gospel. After Jesus appears to the men on the road to Emmaus, He meets with His disciples again. Before His ascension, He tells them, “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). At first glance, the reader might not be sure what Jesus is referring to when He refers to the Father’s promise. The context of the statement gives us a bit of a clue when Jesus says to stay in the city until they are “clothed with power from on high.” The promise of the Father is the Holy Spirit, who will empower the disciples on their mission to the world as the church expands. The Book of Acts (part 2 of Luke’s writings) confirms that the giving of the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4-5; 2:33). The promise of the Father is that Jesus the Son will send the Spirit upon His disciples.
Conclusion
Luke does not merely tell us a sequence of events about Jesus’ birth. Luke adds unique details to demonstrate how the Trinity orchestrates the events in the birth of Jesus and the birth of the church. The Trinity makes possible the incarnation of the Son of God as well as the inauguration of Christ’s church. The Trinity empowers John in his ministry to prepare the way of the Lord — and the Trinity empowers the disciples with the baptism of the Spirit to spread the gospel to expand God’s kingdom through the church. If the Trinity is so clearly responsible for orchestrating the key events in the incarnation, we can be certain that the Father is still working in His church through the power of the Spirit in spreading the glory of the cross of Christ to all the nations.
—Jonathan Cheek and his family attend Christ Fellowship Northgate in Greenville. He holds master’s and doctor’s degrees in theology from Bob Jones University. He and his wife, Renee, have been married 19 years and have two daughters.
