The Gospel was written to prove to non-believers that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Examine this claim regarding the purpose of Lukes Gospel.

Luke’s Gospel clearly was written to show non-believers that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God , Gabriel predicted that Jesus would be the Son of the Most high. Before and throughout Jesus’ ministry he had shown people who he is yet not everyone understood it , since they were not ready to know. Jesus’ divinity as the Son of God was shown when he performed miracles, healed the sick and sacrificed himself for the good of others.

B) The Gospel was unambiguously written to show Jesus’ identity as the Son of God, this was a crucial purpose of the Gospel however , there are far more purposes.  Luke not only focuses on Jesus’ divinity and role but Jesus’ attitude towards certain people and Jesus’ teachings. Luke said that the purpose of him writing the Gospel was ‘to write an orderly account…so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught’. The Gospel is generally regarded as a literary masterpiece among New Testament books. Renan viewed Luke’s Gospel as “the most beautiful book that has ever been written”. Luke seems to have been the only Gentile writer of the New Testament and one of his fundamental purposes was to spread Jesus’ teachings to not only Jews but Gentiles. It is clear from Genesis God had a special relationship with his covenant people (Israel) and he chose them , delivered them and told them how to live. However , it is clear from the Old Testament that God cares for the Gentiles as well as his chosen people , he is seen as the God of the whole earth. At the time of Jesus, Gentiles were avoided and probably hated too like the Romans and other non-Jews. However, Jesus did not do this and actually went and healed and spread the word of God to the Gentiles. Jesus healed the demon possessed man who was a Gentile (also an outcast) and required him to stay in the area to tell everyone what has happened to him. This shows that Jesus wanted Gentiles to know that the door to the Kingdom of God is always open for them and everyone. Luke made it clear in his Gospel that God’s love was universal. Simeon foretold when he held Jesus , that not only would Jesus be ‘ for the glory of your people Israel’ but also ‘a light for revelation to the Gentiles’.
At Jesus’ time , there were many outcasts (including the Gentiles in some areas) , people avoided them because they thought they were impure. According to Luke’s Gospel, Jesus reversed the norm in society, he accepted those who were cast out like tax collectors and lepers. Jesus turned things around saying that all outcasts have a place in God’s Kingdom. Instead of shunning them like regular people would, he approached them and helped them. Jesus even said that these are the people he had come for by claiming “it’s not the healthy that need a doctor but the sick” when he was questioned why he was eating with sinners and tax collectors. Jesus’ attitude to outcasts was one of care , compassion and understanding. This was shown when the blind beggar was not rejected yet healed while the rich ruler was rejected since he would not give his money to the poor. Jesus taught that the poor were blessed and said ‘woe to the rich’. Sick people were often considered sinful and were banished because they could pass on their diseases. While everyone were trying their best to stay away from sick people , Jesus however did not , and also healed sick people. Jesus healed the paralytic man who was lowered through the roof on a mat by his friends.
Luke’s Gospel is also referred to as the Gospel of women since Luke had a  sensitivity towards woman is such that his whole book is marked with a distinctly feminine overtone and his concern for downcast women was particularly evident. Additionally, over half of all references to widows in the five New Testament books appear in Luke’s Gospel. From creation , when Eve was created after Adam out of one of Adam’s ribs , women have been considered inferior to men. Women were considered second class and property of men. Traditionally, women had to stay at home and be a ‘house-wifes’ looking after the children and doing chores while men worked and earned a living. Women were not educated and not treated equally with men. However, Luke’s Gospel showed how Jesus’ attitude towards women was different, he treated them equally and was willing to help them for instance when Jesus healed the widow’s son even though the Widow did not beg him to. This showed Jesus’ compassion for widows and power over death to help those in need. The Gospel shows that during Jesus’ ministry he reached out to the people who were seen as sinners by the society and were cast out, Jesus came to ‘seek and save the lost’. This evidently shows that the purpose of the Gospel was to show that the love of God was for all people and that the doors to the Kingdom of God are open to all kinds of people including women, outcasts and even Gentiles. Other purposes of the Gospel for instace to show the importance of the Holy Spirit which inspired Luke to write the Gospel and the importance of John the Baptist to Jesus’ ministry were clearly shown in Luke’s Gospel. Not only did Luke present Jesus as the Son of God but also the Son of Man, “he presented him as the perfect , ideal man , the true representative for the whole human race” using the term ‘Son of Man’ 26 times.
In conclusion , the Gospel was written to prove non-believers that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is a fundamental purpose of the Gospel however , there are other crucial purposes too. Luke did not write the Gospel with one purpose in mind but more , he presented Jesus as a compassionate Messiah who reversed the norm in society and reached to those in need of help. Luke clearly showed that the love of God was universal , and that no one is excluded from the Kingdom therefore , the other purposes are equally important.