Glorying in the Cross: The Gospel of Saint Luke

Devotional

Day 1: Healing Souls with the Medicine of the Gospel

Saint Luke’s legacy as a physician and evangelist reveals how the gospel heals deeper than physical ailments. His writings diagnose humanity’s spiritual sickness—the failure to worship God—and prescribe Christ’s redemption as the cure. Just as Luke documented Jesus’ compassion for outcasts and sinners, the gospel remains a “wholesome medicine” for souls paralyzed by guilt, shame, or self-reliance. To receive this healing is to acknowledge our need and trust the remedy: grace through faith in Christ’s blood. The cross is not a metaphor but the antidote that rewires our desires and restores our capacity to love. [27:52]

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
(Luke 4:18, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you tried to self-medicate a spiritual wound instead of trusting the gospel’s healing? How might Christ’s grace address a specific “disease” in your soul today?

Day 2: The Gospel as God’s Power to Save, Not Just a Message

The gospel is not a fragile idea but a divine force that shatters sin’s grip. Saint Luke devoted his life to documenting this power: Jesus saving tax collectors, Samaritans, and even crucified thieves. Paul’s declaration that “all have sinned” is not condemnation but an invitation to experience the explosive grace that justifies the unworthy. This power does not wait for human merit—it interrupts, transforms, and propels us toward holiness. To preach the gospel is to wield a dynamism that rewires hearts and histories. [33:09]

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
(Romans 1:16–17, ESV)

Reflection: When have you felt the gospel’s power disrupt your complacency or shame? How could you rely on this same power—not just words—when speaking to someone’s spiritual hunger?

Day 3: Boasting Only in the Cross, Not Our Worthiness

The crucifix above the altar is not decoration but a mirror revealing our true condition: sinners saved by a suffering Savior. Saint Luke’s gospel highlights those who beat their breasts in repentance, like the tax collector who prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” To glory in the cross is to abandon the lie that we can negotiate our worthiness. Every Eucharist, when we confess “Lord, I am not worthy,” we rehearse the humility that frees us to receive healing. [35:26]

“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
(Galatians 6:14, ESV)

Reflection: What subtle pride or self-reliance have you “boasted in” this week? How might physically embodying repentance—like striking your breast—reorient your heart to the cross?

Day 4: Pointing to God by Receiving, Not Achieving

Evangelism begins not with eloquence but with being a healed sinner who still needs daily grace. Saint Luke traveled with Paul not as a hero but as a fellow recipient of mercy, documenting how the gospel transformed communities. The call to “behold the Lamb of God” during Communion reminds us we are conduits, not sources, of light. Our task is to keep gazing at Christ’s sacrifice until our lives naturally redirect others’ gaze to Him. [37:26]

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
(Matthew 5:14–16, ESV)

Reflection: Where has your desire to “look competent” hindered you from authentically pointing to Christ? How does receiving Communion weekly train you to shine as a reflector, not a self-made light?

Day 5: Walking the Path of Redemption with the Broken

Saint Luke’s gospel shows Jesus walking with the marginalized, proving salvation is a journey alongside the wounded. The healed Samaritan leper, the forgiven adulteress, and the Emmaus road disciples reveal that evangelism is not a sales pitch but a shared pilgrimage. Our brokenness, when surrendered, becomes a window for others to see Christ binding wounds and restoring hope. To walk this path is to echo Luke’s mission: documenting grace in the grit of human stories. [37:02]

“But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.”
(Luke 10:33–34, ESV)

Reflection: Whose “wounds” have you avoided because you feel ill-equipped to help? How might simply walking with them—like Luke did with Paul—create space for Christ’s healing to unfold?

Sermon Summary

A good legacy bears witness to what a person really loved. Saint Luke’s life is remembered because his whole concern was the gospel of Jesus Christ. As physician, evangelist, and companion of Saint Paul, he left behind the Gospel that bears his name and the first written history of the church. His praise was in the gospel, and the church’s collect asks that the wholesome medicine of his doctrine might heal the diseases of the soul through the merits of Jesus Christ.

The gospel deserves that praise because it answers the great problem of sin. Saint Paul declares that all have sinned and come short of God’s glory. Sin includes both the harmful things people do and the good things they fail to do: mercy withheld, needs ignored, and worship denied to God. Comparison with someone worse cannot put any sinner right. But Paul does not leave sinners in the dark. God freely justifies through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

The gospel is therefore more than something to be proclaimed. It is the power of God unto salvation, offered both to those who think they deserve it and to those considered undeserving. Jesus forgives sinners, makes them holy, and supplies what is necessary for the journey towards eternal life. His salvation reaches across past, present, and future.

Evangelism begins with learning what deserves glory. The cross stands before the church to train its love, not merely to make the building look nice. Thanksgiving, repentance, and bodily acts of devotion help believers glory in Christ rather than themselves. At the Eucharist, the Lamb of God is held before people who need their souls healed. Those being changed by this mercy become vessels of light. Their witness points away from themselves towards Jesus, whose life they are receiving and cannot manufacture for anyone else.

Key Takeaways

1. The Gospel Remains Necessary Every Day. The gospel is not something believers can accept once and then afford to forget. Its place in the liturgy keeps Christ’s saving work before people who still need forgiveness and healing. Remembering it daily guards against treating salvation as an old fact rather than the power on which Christian life depends. [29:17]
2. Comparison Cannot Cure The Soul’s Disease. Sin includes good left undone as well as harm actively committed. A person may avoid another person’s worst failures and still withhold mercy, neglect a neighbour, and fail to give God the worship he is due. Honest repentance stops measuring guilt against someone else and acknowledges the need for Christ’s redemption. [30:35]
3. Salvation Reaches Across The Whole Life. The gospel brings forgiveness, but its power does not stop at declaring sins forgiven. Christ also makes sinners holy and gives what is necessary for their journey towards eternal life. Salvation puts past, present, and future in their proper relation to God, leaving no part of life outside the need for his grace. [33:29]
4. The Cross Trains Love And Witness. People grow to love what they hold before their eyes, which gives the crucifix a purpose beyond decoration. Repentance, thanksgiving, and physical acts of devotion help turn attention away from self and towards Christ’s mercy. Evangelism grows from that changed love, as broken people receiving healing point others towards the same Saviour. [35:03]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[23:23] - Saint Luke’s Life and Legacy
[25:57] - Medicine for Bodies and Souls
[28:07] - Praise Rooted in the Gospel
[29:45] - Sin and the Failure to Worship
[31:29] - Redemption Through Jesus Christ
[33:09] - The Gospel as Saving Power
[34:03] - Evangelism Begins with Glorying in Christ
[35:42] - Eucharistic Thanksgiving and Repentance
[36:35] - Changed Lives as Vessels of Light
[46:10] - Prayers and Holy Communion

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 3:23-24
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” [30:09]

Romans 1:16
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” [32:43]

Galatians 6:14
“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” [34:38]

Observation questions

In connection with Romans 3:23–24, what examples of sin include not only harm done but also good left undone? [30:35]
How does Romans 3:23–24 move from the problem shared by all people to the remedy God provides? What place does human achievement have in that remedy? [31:48]
In connection with Romans 1:16, what three aspects of salvation describe Christ’s care for a person’s past, present, and future? [33:40]
What purpose does the crucifix above the altar serve, and how does that connect with Paul’s focus on the cross in Galatians 6:14? [35:09]

Interpretation questions

Why does comparing oneself with someone who seems worse fail to address the problem Paul describes in Romans 3:23–24? How might that comparison keep a person from honest repentance? [31:10]
How does understanding the gospel as God’s saving power, rather than merely information to accept, change a believer’s approach to recurring sin and the need for daily grace? [33:00]
Romans 1:16 presents salvation as available to everyone who believes. How does this challenge a Christian who quietly regards certain neighbours as less deserving of God’s mercy? [32:46]
How can thanksgiving, repentance, and bodily acts of devotion help someone glory in Christ’s cross rather than personal goodness? What distinguishes heartfelt devotion from simply going through the motions? [36:08]

Application questions

The gospel remains necessary every day. When are you most likely to treat Christ’s saving work as an old fact rather than your present source of hope? What simple practice might help you remember your need for his grace this week? [29:13]
Sin includes mercy withheld as well as harm done. Is there a need you have noticed recently—food, practical help, companionship, or a kind word—that you could respond to this week? [30:45]
When you become aware of a fault, are you tempted to excuse it by comparing yourself with someone else? What might it look like to bring that fault honestly to Christ and rest in his mercy instead? [31:10]
Christ forgives sins, makes his people holy, and sustains their journey towards eternal life. Which do you most need to trust him for right now: forgiveness for the past, help to change in the present, or hope for the future? What would trusting him look like in that situation? [33:40]
What regularly holds your attention and shapes what you love? How might you make room this week to contemplate Christ’s cross through prayer, thanksgiving, or a physical act of devotion that helps you attend to him? [35:03]
At the Eucharist, Christ’s mercy meets people who need healing. How could you prepare to receive Communion with more honest repentance and grateful expectation, rather than simply following a familiar routine? [35:47]
Christian witness points towards Jesus rather than presenting a picture of personal perfection. Is there someone with whom you could share honestly how Christ is helping you, without pretending that your struggles are over? [36:38]

Sermon Clips

34s

#GloryInTheCross

“We give glory to the things that we love, and we grow to love the things that we hold before our eyes. You know, this crucifix that sits here above the altar is not there just to make the church look nice, although I do think it does do that. The cross is there so that we can learn to love what and who we are supposed to love and what we are supposed to glory in.”

39s

#PowerOfTheGospel

“The gospel is a message to be proclaimed. We can be sure of that. But it is first described by the apostle as a power. And not just any kind of power, but the power of God that leads to salvation. This gospel is what Saint Luke praised, what he gloried in. His whole reason for living was because of this simple fact. Jesus saves sinners through grace, through faith in his redemption.”

41s

#RememberTheGospel

“The gospel is not something so easy that we can afford to forget about it or to let it lose its importance. I remember what it was like growing up and hearing the preacher talk about the gospel again at church and wondering why he had to talk about it so much. I mean, didn't we already accept it? Isn't that why we're here? Or at least that's what I had thought at the time, not realizing that the gospel, that is something that I have to remember every single day. All of us must do that.”

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St. John's Anglican Church Greensboro, NC This sermon · AI assistant

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