The Sinner in Luke

This study examines the use of the term sinner in Luke-Acts. There is at present no scholarly consensus on the identity of the sinner in the Synoptic Gospels. Although the term is important in the Gospel of Luke, few works target the role of the sinner in it. Even fewer address the curious absence of sinner in Acts. Luke's narrative of Jesus' mission to sinners, together with the comments about Gentiles in the gospel, prepare readers for the mission to Gentiles in Acts. Luke provides a link for readers by demonstrating how a Jewish religious sect made up of fishermen, toll-collectors, and sinners, who claimed to have found the Messiah, became a religion with a wide Gentile following. In his use of the term sinner, Luke suggests that repentant Jewish sinners and repentant Gentile followers of Jesus represent a fulfillment of God's promise of universal salvation.