The word “gospel” means “good news” and in that sense, all the four gospels contain a joyful message. But there is one gospel that focuses on joy – we might almost say it is filled with joy – and that gospel is Luke. Joy may not be as noticeable as some of Luke’s other themes, but it is a very real emphasis of his gospel, nonetheless. Luke begins and ends his account of the life of Jesus by focusing on joy, and between these two “bookends” he mentions joy more than any other gospel – in fact, more than any other book of the New Testament.
At the beginning of his gospel, Luke (alone) records two events in which great joy is evident. Luke gives us a “prequel” to his account by recording the birth story of John the Baptist – whose parents are told “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth” (Luke 1:14). Luke notes that while still in Elizabeth’s womb, John “leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44) at the sound of Mary’s voice, and that even her neighbors and relatives shared her joy (Luke 1:58).
In the same way, in Luke’s account of the nativity of Christ, joy is equally evident when the angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds with the words: “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10). That “good news” was, of course, the beginning of the “gospel” – a message of potentially unparalleled joy for everyone (“for all the people”) that through Jesus Christ those who were lost and doomed could now be saved.
Once we enter the body of Luke’s gospel, we find multiple references to joy. Luke records Jesus’ admonition that we find joy even in times of persecution (Luke 6:23), that those like the seed that fell on rocky ground only temporarily receive the word with joy (Luke 8:13), that the seventy–two Jesus sent out returned with joy (Luke 10:17), and that Jesus himself was full of joy through the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21).
But it is the joy of the lost being found that underlies much of what the Evangelist writes. Joy is at the heart of the three parables he records regarding the shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep (Luke 15:3–7), the woman who searches for a lost coin (Luke 15:8–10), and the father who daily looked for the return of his lost son (Luke 15:11–32). Each of these parables ends with a joyful celebration: the shepherd invites everyone to rejoice with him, as does the woman when she finds her coin, and the father whose son had been lost has finally returned.
But while Matthew records, for example, some of the parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12–14), Luke alone includes Jesus’ words “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety–nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7). In the same way, all four gospels record the miracles of Jesus, and the resurrected Jesus appearing to the disciples, but only Luke records the joy of the people at Jesus’ works (Luke 19:37), and only Luke (Luke 24:41) and John (John 20:20) record the disciples’ great joy at seeing their resurrected Lord.
When we look for it, we find joy throughout the third gospel. Given what we have seen of this continued focus, it is perhaps not surprising that Luke’s account ends in exactly that way – with the words “Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy ...” (Luke 24:52).
If we want to read a gospel account that highlights the joy that Jesus and his disciples had, or we would simply like to read the Bible’s most joy–filled book, we need look no further than Luke.
*Extracted from our free e-book Lessons from Luke: Understanding More of the Third Gospel. Download a free copy here.
At the beginning of his gospel, Luke (alone) records two events in which great joy is evident. Luke gives us a “prequel” to his account by recording the birth story of John the Baptist – whose parents are told “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth” (Luke 1:14). Luke notes that while still in Elizabeth’s womb, John “leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44) at the sound of Mary’s voice, and that even her neighbors and relatives shared her joy (Luke 1:58).
In the same way, in Luke’s account of the nativity of Christ, joy is equally evident when the angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds with the words: “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10). That “good news” was, of course, the beginning of the “gospel” – a message of potentially unparalleled joy for everyone (“for all the people”) that through Jesus Christ those who were lost and doomed could now be saved.
Once we enter the body of Luke’s gospel, we find multiple references to joy. Luke records Jesus’ admonition that we find joy even in times of persecution (Luke 6:23), that those like the seed that fell on rocky ground only temporarily receive the word with joy (Luke 8:13), that the seventy–two Jesus sent out returned with joy (Luke 10:17), and that Jesus himself was full of joy through the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21).
But it is the joy of the lost being found that underlies much of what the Evangelist writes. Joy is at the heart of the three parables he records regarding the shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep (Luke 15:3–7), the woman who searches for a lost coin (Luke 15:8–10), and the father who daily looked for the return of his lost son (Luke 15:11–32). Each of these parables ends with a joyful celebration: the shepherd invites everyone to rejoice with him, as does the woman when she finds her coin, and the father whose son had been lost has finally returned.
But while Matthew records, for example, some of the parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12–14), Luke alone includes Jesus’ words “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety–nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7). In the same way, all four gospels record the miracles of Jesus, and the resurrected Jesus appearing to the disciples, but only Luke records the joy of the people at Jesus’ works (Luke 19:37), and only Luke (Luke 24:41) and John (John 20:20) record the disciples’ great joy at seeing their resurrected Lord.
When we look for it, we find joy throughout the third gospel. Given what we have seen of this continued focus, it is perhaps not surprising that Luke’s account ends in exactly that way – with the words “Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy ...” (Luke 24:52).
If we want to read a gospel account that highlights the joy that Jesus and his disciples had, or we would simply like to read the Bible’s most joy–filled book, we need look no further than Luke.
*Extracted from our free e-book Lessons from Luke: Understanding More of the Third Gospel. Download a free copy here.
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