What is CCEA AS 1 Gospel of Luke?

AS 1 is one of the Textual Studies units of the CCEA AS-Level Religious Studies course, one of eight AS units across four areas of study. Its full title is An Introduction to the Gospel of Luke. It studies the background, purpose and main themes of Luke's Gospel, the identity of Jesus, his teaching on discipleship and the poor, his parables and miracles, and his account of the passion and resurrection.

What are the main themes of Luke's Gospel?

Luke has several distinctive themes, introduced in the infancy narratives. They include joy and praise, the Holy Spirit, prayer, the reversal of fortunes that lifts up the poor and lowly, a striking concern for the poor, tax collectors, sinners and outcasts, the prominence of women, forgiveness, and salvation offered to all peoples, not only the Jews. Luke's Gospel is also volume one of a two-part work, Luke to Acts.

Why is the Nazareth sermon important in Luke?

The Nazareth manifesto in Luke 4:16 to 30 is programmatic for the whole Gospel. Jesus reads from Isaiah and announces good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind and release for the oppressed, declaring the scripture fulfilled. He then warns that God's favour reaches beyond Israel, and is rejected. The sermon sets out the agenda that the rest of the Gospel enacts and foreshadows the rejection that leads to the cross.

How is AS 1 assessed?

AS 1 is assessed by a written examination on the Gospel of Luke. Questions test two assessment objectives: AO1, knowledge and understanding, which asks students to explain the text, its themes and key passages accurately; and AO2, analysis and evaluation, which asks students to assess a claim about the text, weigh both sides and reach a substantiated judgement. Precise knowledge of passages and references is essential.

How should I revise CCEA AS 1 Gospel of Luke?

Read the set sections of Luke closely and learn the key passages with their references, such as the canticles, the Nazareth sermon, the parables of Luke 15 and the distinctive sayings from the cross. Group the material by theme (the poor, women, the Spirit, forgiveness, salvation for all). For AO2, rehearse balanced evaluations of claims about Luke and reach a judgement. Revise from the current CCEA specification and CCEA past papers, because question style is board-specific.

Northern IrelandReligious Studies

CCEA AS 1 Gospel of Luke: a complete overview of the background, the identity of Jesus, discipleship, parables, miracles and the passion

A complete overview of CCEA AS 1 An Introduction to the Gospel of Luke. Covers the background and infancy narratives, the identity of Jesus and the Nazareth manifesto, discipleship and the poor, the parables and miracles, and the passion and resurrection, with the AO1 and AO2 skills the unit tests.

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Jump to a section

Background and the infancy narratives
The identity of Jesus
Discipleship and the poor
Parables and miracles
The passion and resurrection
How AS 1 is assessed
How to study AS 1 Gospel of Luke
The module, dot point by dot point
For the official specification

CCEA AS 1 An Introduction to the Gospel of Luke is one of the Textual Studies units of the AS-Level Religious Studies course, one of eight AS units spread across four areas of study. It studies Luke's distinctive portrait of Jesus and his good news for the poor and the outcast. This overview maps the unit and how to study it.

Background and the infancy narratives

The unit begins with the background: Luke's authorship, date (around AD 80 to 90), audience (mainly Gentile) and purpose, set out in the prologue (Luke 1:1 to 4), and the link with Acts as volume two. The infancy narratives (Luke 1 to 2) introduce Luke's themes through the great canticles: the Magnificat, Benedictus, Gloria and Nunc Dimittis.

The identity of Jesus

Luke presents Jesus through his titles (Son of God, Son of Man, Christ, Lord, Saviour, prophet), the baptism and temptation, and the programmatic Nazareth manifesto (Luke 4:16 to 30), which announces good news to the poor and the inclusion of the Gentiles.

Discipleship and the poor

A central strand is Luke's social teaching.

The cost and demands of discipleship: the daily cross and the priority of Jesus over family and possessions.
The right use of wealth and the danger of riches: the rich fool, the rich man and Lazarus, and the generosity of Zacchaeus.
The prominence of women and Jesus's welcome of the poor, sinners and outcasts.

Parables and miracles

Jesus teaches through parables, including the distinctive Lukan parables of the lost (Luke 15), the good Samaritan and the rich man and Lazarus, and acts through miracles (healings, exorcisms, nature miracles and raisings) that reveal his identity and the kingdom.

The passion and resurrection

The Gospel climaxes in the passion and resurrection: the Last Supper, Gethsemane, the trials stressing Jesus's innocence, the crucifixion with its three distinctive sayings, the empty tomb and the Emmaus road.

How AS 1 is assessed

AS 1 is a written paper testing two assessment objectives.

AO1 (knowledge and understanding). Explain the text, its themes and key passages accurately, with references.
AO2 (analysis and evaluation). Assess a claim about the text, weigh both sides and reach a substantiated judgement.

How to study AS 1 Gospel of Luke

This unit rewards close knowledge of the text and its themes.

Read the text closely. Know the key passages and their references.
Group the material by theme. The poor, women, the Spirit, forgiveness and salvation for all.
Learn what is distinctive to Luke. The canticles, the Nazareth sermon, Luke 15 and the sayings from the cross.
Rehearse balanced evaluation. For AO2, weigh claims about the text and reach a judgement.
Practise with CCEA past papers. The AO1 and AO2 split and the question style are board-specific.

The module, dot point by dot point

Each theme has a specification-level page with worked questions and cross-links, plus a quiz. Browse the full set at /ccea-a-level/religious-studies/syllabus.

For the official specification

CCEA publishes the full specification, past papers and mark schemes at ccea.org.uk. Always revise from the current CCEA specification and CCEA's own past papers.

Sources & how we know this

CCEA GCE Religious Studies (2016) specification — CCEA (2016)