How Jesus’s Death Resolves the Plot of 6 Key Themes in Luke

Some describe the Gospels as accounts of Jesus’s death with really long introductions. Statements like this can downplay the bulk of the Gospels’ narratives, as though Jesus’s death were the only point of importance and everything else is just preliminary bonus material.

From another vantage point, however, this statement rightly communicates that nothing within the Gospels can be disconnected or properly understood apart from their climactic event: the death and resurrection of Christ. Everything that precedes leads up to the cross and occurs in its shadow.

But is this the case for the Gospel of Luke?

Although each of the Synoptic Gospels share much in common (hence their name, the Synoptics), they nonetheless each tell their account of Jesus with its own emphases and angle. So when it comes to Luke, how does he understand the cross, and what role does it play in his narrative? What does it have to do with everything that precedes—if anything?

In this article, we will investigate the significance of Jesus’s death in the Gospel of Luke by considering how it completes, or brings to their climax, six of the book’s major themes.

1. The culmination of rejection and opposition

‌Conflict between Jesus and others is a driving force in Luke’s narrative, culminating in Jesus’s death.‌

From the very onset of his public ministry, Jesus faces rejection (Luke 4:22–29), and this continues as the narratives progresses (9:53; 10:13–16; 11:29–32; see also 11:14–23). He likewise prepares his disciples to expect the same (10:10–12; 12:11–12; 21:12–17). In fact, Jesus understands his rejection as a defining feature of his ministry (7:31–35). As the Israelites rejected the prophets of old, so now they reject Jesus (4:24–27; see also 11:46–51; 20:9–18).

‌Why do only some receive him while others reject him? Jesus provides a theological explanation in his parable of the sower (Luke 8:4–15). The various soils represent the crowds’ varying responses to the message about the arrival of God’s kingdom in Jesus. Not all receive him because not all have “ears to hear” (8:8). Even if one should rise from the dead—as Jesus himself will do—they would not be convinced (16:31).

But not only does Jesus meet rejection; he also meets opposition—most notably from the Jewish religious establishment (see Luke 7:30). Early in the Gospel (5:17–6:11), Jesus faces an entourage of challenges from these religious leaders. One after the other, they object that

• Jesus claims to do what only God can, forgive sins (Luke 5:17–26)
• Jesus associates with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:27–32)
• Jesus’s disciples don’t fast (Luke 5:33–39)
• Jesus’s disciples pluck grain on the Sabbath (Luke 6:1–5)
• Jesus heals on the Sabbath (Luke 6:6–11; see also 13:14)

‌Tensions don’t wane from here (see Luke 19:39; 16:14–15). When the Pharisees continue their complaints that Jesus “receives sinners” (15:2 ESV), Jesus responds in parables, portraying them as the self-righteous older brother to the prodigal (15:25–32). Later, Jesus even explicitly casts the Pharisees as his stand-in for the self-justified (18:9–14). Eventually, conditions reach fever pitch as Jesus issues his scathing “woes” against the Pharisees and law experts (11:37–12:1).

Early on, the reader receives indications that opposition to Jesus will ultimately culminate in his death. The religious leaders seek reasons to accuse Jesus (Luke 6:7; 11:53–54) and scheme “with one another what they might do to Jesus” (6:11 ESV). In Luke 19:47–48, their malicious intent is finally made explicit: they “were seeking to destroy him” (cf. 20:19–20; 22:2). Ultimately, the religious leaders’ plans become reality as the “chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him” (24:20; see also 22:52). Jesus’s death serves as the culmination of this opposition.

‌Leading up to his death, the conflict hits its climax when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, the epicenter of Jewish religion. Jesus enters and cleanses the temple, enacting judgment on the religious system it had come to represent (Luke 19:47–48). Then, one by one, like a tag team, the religious leaders take turns attempting to entrap Jesus (20:1–21:4). Notably, each scene in this sequence occurs in the temple (21:37–38), reflecting what was at stake: their desire to maintain the religious status quo as represented in the current temple-system.

Later with his disciples, Jesus foretells God’s impending judgment on the temple: it will soon be destroyed (Luke 21:5–6, 20–24; see also 13:35; 19:41–45). Following up on his sparring with the religious leaders, Jesus told a parable that God would destroy the wicked tenets (religious leaders) of his vineyard (his people) and give it to others (20:9–16). The days of the religious establishment were numbered. God would build a new temple, founded on a rejected cornerstone, i.e., Jesus (20:17–18; citing Ps 118:22; see also Acts 4:11 and 1 Pet 2:7). Contrary to foiling God’s plan, Jesus’s rejection would be his unexpected means to accomplish it.

In Luke, one’s response to Jesus is definitive of whether one will experience God’s blessing or judgment.

Yet, as the culmination of this opposition, Jesus’s death demarcates those who have rejected God’s redemptive purposes. In Luke, one’s response to Jesus is definitive of whether one will experience God’s blessing or judgment (Luke 2:34; 10:16). This same stone that would become the cornerstone of God’s temple (20:17) would simultaneously become a stumbling-block for others (20:18). Many “tripped” over Christ, falling to their destruction:

• From his very opening chapters, Luke presents the infant Jesus as a child “destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel” (Luke 2:34 CSB).
• ‌Later on, Jesus claims the role of Yahweh, issuing a fiery judgment (Luke 12:49–50) that divides believers from unbelievers, stating, “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” (12:51 ESV; see also 12:52–53).
• John the Baptist anticipated the same, calling for a preparatory repentance and warning that “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees” (Luke 3:9 ESV). Those unfruitful trees will be cut down and burned in the fire (3:7–9).

Thus, Jesus interprets his conclusive rejection, i.e., his death, as a decisive cause for judgment (Luke 20:15–18; cf. 11:50–51; 13:34–35; 21:5–24). This judgment receives symbolic representation in the passion narrative itself:

• The three hours of darkness accompanying rejection of God’s messiah (23:44) likely expresses divine displeasure (for example, Amos 8:9).
• Given the role thus far of the temple in Luke’s Gospel, the tearing of its inner veil here (23:45) most likely indicates judgment upon the religious institution it had come to express.

Finally, rather than calling into question his identity, Jesus’s rejection unto death actually confirms and demonstrates his identity. His death coincides with his status as prophet, placing him in a long trajectory of rejected prophets (Luke 13:33; see also 11:47–51; 20:9–15). In his passion account, Luke ironically presents Jesus’s messianic identity through the mocking of others:

• Although treated as a mock king, Luke’s readers know, Jesus really is king (Luke 23:11, 37, 38).
• Although ridiculed for not saving himself, it’s precisely by not saving himself that he saves others (Luke 23:35, 37, 39).

Paradoxically, Jesus’s rejection is the means by which he fulfills his role as messianic king. His messianic identify is cross-driven, not cross-evading. In fact, by spotlighting Jesus’s suffering, Luke casts Jesus in the mold of a messianic, Davidic king (Luke 23:34; cf. Ps 22:18; see also Ps 31:5).

Jesus’s death brings the theme of opposition to its culmination, showcasing Jesus’s identity and casting a clear line between those who reject and receive him.

2. The climax of satanic conflict

Layered on top of Jesus’s conflict with humans, however, is another conflict: a spiritual war with Satan and his minions. Luke depicts his account of Jesus’s death in terms of conflict with and conquering over Satan and demonic forces.

Immediately before Jesus begins his public ministry, Satan appears in the wilderness tempting Jesus for forty days (Luke 4:1–13). After Jesus successfully withstands this temptation, Satan recedes “until an opportune time (καιρός)” (4:13 ESV). Luke 6:16 ominously foreshadows the conclusion, describing Judas Iscariot as the one “who later betrayed him” (NLT).

At the end of his narrative, Luke uses a word with the same root when he describes Judas seeking an “opportunity” (εὐκαιρία) to betray Jesus (Luke 22:6). This is accompanied by a statement that “Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot” (22:3 ESV). The Satan-inspired Judas then plots “with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him [Jesus] to them” (22:4; cf. 22:21–22, 47–48). These connections likely indicate that Luke intends his readers to understand Judas’s betrayal and the subsequent passion account as Satan’s “opportune time” from Luke 4:13. Thus, Satan’s conspiring against Jesus bookends Luke’s narrative.

Other details also cast Jesus’s death and passion narrative in terms of conflict with Satan. First, on the night of his betrayal, Jesus tells Peter that “Satan has demanded to have you all, to sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:31 NET), save that Jesus has prayed for Peter’s faith (22:32). Second, at his betrayal, Jesus describes this time as the hour “when darkness (σκότος) reigns” (Luke 22:53 NIV), using a word often associated with Satan’s influence (see Acts 26:18 where “darkness” [σκότος] is equated with “the power of Satan”; see also Eph 6:12).

The prevalence of satanic conflict throughout the book supports this reading, that the death of Christ functions as the climax of this conflict. Satan opposes the mission of Jesus. Like a bird snatching away seed (Luke 8:5), Satan snatches the message of the word from people’s hearts to keep them from believing and being saved (8:12).

But Jesus also opposes the mission of Satan. Throughout his ministry, Jesus performs many exorcisms (Luke 4:31–37; 6:18; 8:26–39; 9:37–43; 11:14; 13:11–13; 13:32). In addition, as an extension of his authority, Jesus’s disciples conduct exorcisms (9:1; 10:17, 19). According to Jesus, this abatement of the kingdom of darkness indicates the arrival of the kingdom of God: “if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (11:20 ESV). Jesus describes these victims as “bound” by Satan (13:16). Thus, by releasing them, Jesus plunders Satan’s kingdom (11:21–22). When his disciples report having cast out demons (10:17), Jesus proclaims, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (10:18 ESV). This defeat of Satan, evident in these demon-conquering miracles, proleptically anticipate Jesus’s decisive defeat of Satan in his death (cf. Col 1:14–15; Heb 2:14).

3. The pattern of discipleship‌

If Christ’s mission is met with conflict—both from Satan and sinful humans—we ought not to be surprised at the costliness of following Christ. Thus, in Luke, Jesus’s death provides a pattern for those who would follow him. The cross becomes the mold of discipleship.

‌Luke places a unique emphasis on the costliness of following Christ (discipleship) in his narrative. Jesus’s disciples are those who must detach themselves from all other allegiances and preoccupations in order to follow Christ undividedly (Luke 9:57–62; 14:26, 33). They are like those who must be estranged from recently purchased fields, recently purchased oxen, and new wives in order to attend God’s great eschatological banquet (14:16–24). Consequently, those who seek to become his disciples must consider the high cost of doing so (14:28–32).

Given its cost, Jesus teaches that the door that opens to salvation is narrow (Luke 13:22–30; cf. 9:24–25; 17:33). We see this in his teaching on wealth, for instance. He tells a rich ruler to “sell all that you possess and distribute the money to the poor” (18:22 NASB; see 18:18–23). According to Jesus, a camel can enter a needle’s eye more easily than those with wealth can enter the kingdom (18:24–25).

Jesus also expresses this costliness of discipleship in terms of his own death by crucifixion—the severest of images.

Importantly for our purposes though, Jesus also expresses this costliness of discipleship in terms of his own death by crucifixion—the severest of images. In fact, as Jesus says, one who does not conform to this cross-shaped pattern of life cannot be his disciple (Luke 14:27). Directly after foretelling of his own impending crucifixion (9:22), Jesus declares that all who would follow him must follow in Jesus’s footsteps on his path leading to death (9:23–26). A disciple must “take up his cross”; meaning, he must “deny himself” (9:23) and “save his life” by losing it (9:24 ESV; see also 17:33). As concrete examples, Jesus tells his disciples they will be seized, persecuted, delivered over to the rulers, imprisoned, and hated for his sake (21:12, 17). In short, they will be treated like the crucified Jesus.

Before entering his glory—as prefigured in his transfiguration (Luke 9:28–36)—Jesus must first endure the cross, spoken of immediately before (9:21–22; see especially 9:31). Sandwiched smack dab in between these scenes is the call for disciples to endure their own crosses (9:23–27). The implication seems to be that if one wishes to share in Jesus’s glory (see reference to “his glory” and the “kingdom of God” in 9:26–27), they too must first share in his sufferings (9:23–25).

4. The fulfillment of God’s purposes

Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus repeatedly foretells of his death to take place in Jerusalem (Luke 9:22, 44; 12:50; 13:3; 17:25; 18:31–33; 22:15, 20, 22; cf. 24:7). Jesus, in other words, is self-conscious of his fate. His death is no accident. It is not a wrench thrown into his plan. Rather, Jesus understands his death as the very accomplishment of his mission (9:31; 12:50). He states he “must suffer” (9:22 ESV, emphasis added; see also 17:25; cf. 24:7, 26). This word (δεῖ) translated “must” (or “it is necessary,” CSB) is a favorite of Luke’s (forty out of the 101 occurrences in the New Testament belong to him), and one he frequently uses it to describe the plans and purposes of God, which, as such, are certain to be accomplished (e.g., 21:9; 22:22; 22:37; Acts 1:6; 3:21; 17:31; etc.).

Uses of δεῖ in the New Testament. See all uses of δεῖ in Luke–Acts.

With this purpose in view, from Luke 9:51 onward, Jesus “set out resolutely” (NET), or “set his face” (ESV), “to go to Jerusalem” (see also 9:53). As Jesus journeys to Jerusalem, at the beginning of each scene Luke is careful to trace the geographical progression:

• “As he drew near to Jericho” (Luke 18:35 ESV; Jericho is just to the northeast of Jerusalem)
• “He entered Jericho and was passing through” (Luke 19:1 ESV)
• ‌“He was near to Jerusalem” (Luke 19:11 ESV)
• “He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem” (Luke 19:28 ESV)
• “He drew near and saw the city” (Luke 19:41 ESV)

With each mention of Jesus’s advancement toward the city, Luke intends his readers to recall what Jerusalem means: Jesus’s death. Jesus is in control. With each step, he expresses his resoluteness to go.

‌The first reason Jesus’s death is “necessary” (δεῖ) is that it’s the Father’s plan. Luke portrays Jesus as an obedient servant of God, fulfilling his Father’s will (Luke 22:42). Jesus trusts the Father unto death, uttering the words of the psalmist, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit” (23:46 CSB; cf. Ps 31:5). Jesus death is “necessary” to fulfill the commission given Jesus by his Father.

Relatedly then, Jesus’s death was also “necessary” in order to fulfill Scripture (Luke 18:31–33; 22:37; 24:25–27, 44–47), wherein the Father made known these purposes. Interestingly, although Jesus frequently tells of fulfilling Scripture regarding the death of the “Son of Man” (9:22, 44; 18:31–33; 22:22, 48; 24:7; cf. 19:10), nowhere in the Old Testament does one find any reference to this. Jesus, it seems, redefines or develops this “Son of Man” category to include death. Further, with no specific Old Testament passage in view, he seemingly interprets his death as the realization, not of any one specific text, but of the Old Testament’s hopes considered more broadly and in their entirety (see 24:25–27, 44–47).

Luke’s Gospel gives frequent attention to the purposes of God as foretold by Scripture. Jesus’s death, at the end of this narrative, brings resolution to these expectations.

5. Jesus’s identification as Isaiah’s suffering servant

By why exactly does the divine purpose include Jesus’s sufferings? For that we turn to our next Lukan theme: Jesus’s identification as Isaiah’s suffering servant.

Some claim that Luke’s Gospel has no theology of atonement. For instance, New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman, claims, “The author of Luke–Acts, unlike other writers of the New Testament, does not have a doctrine of the atonement—that Jesus’ death brought about a restored relationship with God.” In these final two sections of this article, I will argue to the contrary.

First, we see that Luke present Jesus as Isaiah’s suffering servant figure. Throughout his Gospel, and particularly in his passion account, Luke inserts a number of allusions and references to Isaiah 52:13–53:12:

• Jesus’s mistreatment that he predicts in Luke 18:32–33 resembles that of the servant in Isaiah 50:6.
• Before his arrest, Jesus quotes Isaiah 53:12 (“And he was numbered with the transgressors,” Luke 22:37 ESV), identifying himself as Isaiah’s suffering servant and presenting his mission in its terms.

In Luke’s passion account, Jesus resembles the servant:

• Jesus remains silent during his examination (Luke 23:9; cf. Isa 53:7).
• Luke repeatedly stresses Jesus’s servant-like innocence (Isa 53:9). Pilate and Herod find no fault in Jesus (Luke 23:4, 13–16, 20, 22). One of the criminals crucified with him declares, “this man has done nothing wrong” (23:41 ESV).
• Crucified with these two criminals (Luke 23:32–33), Jesus is “numbered with the transgressors” (Isa 53:12).
• The soldiers cast lots for his garments (Luke 23:34; cf. Isa 53:12).
• Luke alter’s Mark’s version of the centurion’s cry—“Surely this was a righteous man” (Luke 23:47 NIV; cf. Mark 15:49—bringing it into conformity with Isaiah 53:11: “the righteous one, my servant” (ESV; cf. Acts 3:14; 7:52). Jesus is the “righteous one” of whom Isaiah spoke.

Furthermore, Jesus’s burial (Luke 23:50–56; cf. Isa 53:9) and vindication in resurrection (Luke 24:1–7; cf. Isa 53:10) comport with the servant’s.

In short, Isaiah 52:13–53:12 functions as a template for Jesus’s mission. As such, one might argue that Luke intends Isaiah 52:12–53:12’s themes of atonement to come embedded in his portrait of Jesus’s death. The servant’s work is atoning (Isa 52:15), substitutionary (Isa 53:4–6, 8, 11–12), propitiating (Isa 53:4–5, 8, 10), sacrificial (Isa 53:10), justifying (Isa 53:11), and intercessory (Isa 53:12).

Luke’s Gospel casts Jesus in the role of Isaiah’s suffering servant with his death as its primary enactment.

6. Jesus’s interpretation of his death

‌Finally, Jesus himself explains the meaning of his death. As readers of Luke eventually encounter his death, Jesus gives them the terms by which to understand it.

At his transfiguration, Jesus converses with Moses and Elijah about “his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31 ESV). This word “departure” can refer to death (as in, one’s departure from this life; e.g., 2 Pet 1:15). However, it can also mean “exodus” (as in, when God caused the Hebrews to depart from Egypt). Given this scene’s numerous possible allusions to the Exodus, the latter seems likely:

1. The presence of Moses (Luke 9:30, 33), the central figure of the Exodus.
2. The event occurs on a mountain (Luke 9:28) alongside thick cloud (Luke 9:34; cf. Exod 24:9–18; 34:4–5; 19:1–25).
3. Luke 9:35’s allusion to Deuteronomy 18:15 (“listen to him”).
4. Peter’s mention of tents (Luke 9:33; cf. the same word for “tabernacle”; e.g., Exod 25:9).
5. Peter, John, and James see the glory of Jesus, as Moses saw the glory of God (cf. Exod 33:18–34:9).

Furthermore, Luke describes this “exodus” as something Jesus “was about to bring to fulfillment” (Luke 9:31 NIV). This language of “fulfillment” seems to suggest more than a mere reference to death as “departure.” More likely it aligns with the prophetic anticipation God’s future redemption, a “new exodus” (e.g., Jer 16:14–15; 23:7–8; Isa 43:1–7, 14–21).

Thus, Jesus casts his impending death as an act of divine redemption, that which will “accomplish” (Luke 9:31 ESV) the “new exodus.”

Likewise, at the Last Supper, Jesus reinterprets the Passover meal (Luke 22:15), which commemorated the original exodus, as a commemoration of his own death, the second exodus (22:19). He designates the meal’s bread and wine as his body and blood (22:19–20), a metonym for his death. As Jesus gives his disciples this bread and wine, he thus declares their participation in the benefits of his death, which these elements symbolize. As Jesus makes explicit (see “for you” stated two times in 22:19–20), he understands his impending death as substitutionary or on behalf of others.

As the old exodus led to the making of the Old Covenant (Exod 19:1–6), so too this new exodus accompanies a New Covenant. As the Old Covenant was sealed by blood (Exod 24:1–8), so too Jesus’s blood ratifies a New Covenant (Luke 22:20). This covenant is characterized by the complete forgiveness of sins and the internalization of God’s law (Jer 31:31–34). Although this new exodus is already achieved in his death, what it accomplished will only be fully realized in the future (“I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God”; Luke 22:16 ESV; cf. 22:18).

As readers of Luke eventually encounter his death, Jesus gives them the terms by which to understand it.

Finally, when Jesus prays at the Mount of Olives, he describes his death as a “cup” from which he is not to be spared. This, of course, is well-known imagery from the prophets (Isa 51:17, 22; Jer 25:15, 17, 28; 49:12; Lam 4:21; Ezek 23:31–33; Hab 2:16; Zech 12:2). In these passages, the cup is filled to the brim with God’s wrath, and those who drink it become drunk on his judgment. Thus, Jesus understands his death as penal, absorbing the wrath of God upon sin. Jesus’s agony at its prospect (Luke 22:43–44) gives us a window into its severity.

Conclusion

Jesus’s death is deeply integrated into Luke’s overall narrative, serving as the climax to its themes of rejection, spiritual warfare, and discipleship. Far from being a mere ending, Jesus’s death fulfills prophetic purposes, brings judgment upon those who reject him, and achieves salvation to those who follow him. Through this multifaceted lens, Luke presents Jesus’s death as central to one’s understanding of his identity and mission.

Explore the Gospel of Luke with these resources

Related articles

• The Parables of Jesus: Revealing the Secrets of God’s Kingdom
• Who Was Luke in the Bible?
• Can We Trust the Bible? The Resurrection Says Yes
• Women in Luke’s Gospel: Christianity’s Elevation & Concern for Women