The Gospel of Luke10 Feb
Luke was an associate of the Apostle Paul and also the author of the book of Acts. Luke was a doctor and probably well educated according to the style of writing and structure of his text. The Gospel of Luke is specifically addressed to an individual named Theophilus and is focused on the complete story and history of Jesus Christ from His birth and ministry to His crucifixion and resurrection. Luke’s Gospel focuses on Christ’s teachings about salvation and Christ’s fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming Messiah. It includes the beautiful birth story of the baby Jesus and the miracle conception by God. Bible scholars generally agree that the Gospel of Luke was written between 59 and 70 A.D. The author is referenced in Colossians 4:14 by the Apostle Paul.
The Gospel of Luke is organized into eight primary sections that describe the life, ministry and miracles of Jesus Christ. This Gospel is filled with details about history and surrounding events of the times. It is careful to include details about the political culture and the families surrounding Jesus during His earthly life. The first section begins with an introduction that explains the purpose of this Gospel from the writer. The second section, beginning in the fifth verse of Chapter One, describes the events surrounding the coming of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist. This section describes the birth of Jesus and some events of His childhood. The first quote of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke appears in the second chapter, verse 49. The third section details the events leading to the public ministry of Jesus, including His baptism (Lk 3:21, 22) and His temptation (Lk 4:1-13). The next four chapters comprise the fourth section of Luke’s Gospel, including the beginning of Christ’s ministry, choosing His 12 Apostles (Lk 6:12-16), and performing miracles (Lk 4:35, 4:39, 5:13). Throughout these chapters, Jesus displayed many powers that validated His authority given to Him by God, including the authority to forgive sins (Lk 5:20, 7:48), the authority to know our thoughts (Lk 5:22), the authority to heal people (Lk 6:8), the authority to bring peace to people (Lk 7:50), and the authority over nature by calming a storm (Lk 8:24). This section also describes many lessons and teachings of Jesus that are principles for living according to God’s way of life.
The fifth section of Luke’s Gospel begins with Chapter 9, verse 10, where Jesus performs the miracle of feeding five thousand people with five loafs of bread and two fish (Lk 9:10-17). The Apostle Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ (also known as the Messiah) (Lk 9:20). In verses 9:28-34, the transfiguration is described in detail. The beginning of the sixth section outlines the ministry of Jesus in Judea starting in Chapter 9, verse 51. Jesus gives His followers instructions on how to help others through discipleship (Lk 10:1-17); Jesus teaches us how to pray effectively to God (Lk 11:2-4); Jesus warns people how not to act, including being hypocritical and judgmental (Lk 11:37-52); Jesus tells His followers not to worry about common concerns in life, but to trust God (Lk 12:22-34); and Jesus gives people a stern warning that we must repent (change from sinful ways) or perish (Lk 13:1-5). The seventh section of the Gospel of Luke runs from Chapter 13:22 through Chapter 19:22 and describes many teachings and miracles of Jesus. Jesus almost exclusively uses parables to give lessons about living. The eighth and last section of this Gospel describes the important details about the trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus again shows His authority by knowing everything around Him (Lk 19:30). Jesus gives many final instructions about how to live (Lk 21:19,34) and how to rely on God (Lk 22:40, 46). He again confirms His authority as the Son of God (Lk 22:70). Finally, Chapter 24 details the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension to heaven.
19 Responses to “The Gospel of Luke”
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Today’s devotional talks about Zechariah at the temple meeting the angel Gabriel. I hope that as we read the Gospel of Luke, we will be convicted of the mighty power of the Lord to work miracles in our lives.
Pastor Steve, do you think Luke was a disciple of Christ and an eye witness as a follower of Christ? He is so detailed in his writings. How could someone else dictate the specifics he records?
Luke was a companion of the Apostle Paul, and we see him traveling to various places in the book of Acts. As an historian, Luke was trying to give an accurate picture of Jesus’ life, and used several eye-witness sources to put his gospel together. His depth of detail is because he sought out the truth.
That is the amazement of the four gospels. Reading all four Gospels gives you a unique yet same picture of Jesus and His works. The gospel of John, which is my favorite, shows Christ as a one on one personal Savior. Firstly you need a Spirit of revelation to understand God’s Word. Literal, revelatory, and prophet insight. When I don’t understand something I shelf it or ask other brethren about their take on a specific scripture.
I meant prophetic insight.
Pastor Sam, question: What is your insight on this? Luke 7:18-23 John sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus “Is He the one or are we to look for another”? Jesus responds with an account of miracles. This always puzzled me but I think John sent out his disciples not for his sake but for the disciples of John’s sake. John knew who Jesus was.
I am so thankful that God loves, calls and uses ordinary people. The daily reading is reminding me of this. I liked today’s devotional describing what Zechariah might have been experiencing in the Holy Place – I keep picturing the scene in the movie The Nativity Story. I am also so grateful that we do not have to follow so many instructions to be in relationship with the Lord. Would I have the patience to follow each step exactly as the Lord instructed? Would I be given an honorable job in service to the Lord? Especially as a woman, no. Then I am awed by Mary’s obedience and willingness to consider herself blessed and favored in the midst of a circumstance that was going to turn her life upside down. Her trust is beautiful.
Simeon
The years have flown
Lord hear me groan
Give light to my eyes
I will sleep in death
I’ll never rest
Oh, let me see the one
You have blessed
With my very own eyes
Let me sing
I have seen
The coming King
As a babe – Peace, I can go
Prophets and angels longed to know
Yet, my eyes have seen
Your salvation
Simeon’s cry resounds in our heart
Enlighten our eyes
To know in whole, not in part
Spirit of revelation descend
Fill us with fullness
Life without end
Such a gift Audra. Thank you for sharing, beautiful friend!
Love that last stanza…
I loved today’s reading, Luke 15, and the hope it provides that each of us is precious to God, that He searches us out and joyfully forgives us, and rejoices when we come home to Him, regardless of how we got lost. His great love for us is so apparent and comforting, and it’s so awesome that He has the patience that He does! I am so thankful for the patience that He has shown me!
I’m late on this one…but I’ve finally decided to share it. Remeber the song by Benny Hester? In part:
And the only time, the only time I ever saw him run,
Was when he ran to me, took me in his arms, held my head to his chest, and “said my son’s come home again”, Looked in my face, wiped the tears from my eyes, with forgiveness in his voice he said, “Son do you know I still love you”? It caught me by surprise, when God ran.
Just saw the song by Phillips, Craig and Dean! Guess I’m on the same page as someone. Benny Hester had a better version…my opinion
Hi All: I give my 5th and 6th grade SS class a bonus “quiz” each week from the past week’s New Testament readings so that: 1) it encourages them to do the readings to get extra credit from me, and 2) they have to think a little more about what they read, and 3) then I discuss the Qs and Answers with the whole class so that whoever didn’t do the readings will get a sense of some of what was read that week. It actually has made for good discussions, (especially when they guess wrong). Since I am going through the effort of coming up with Qs each week anyway, I thought others might like to see if they can answer the Qs as a review (selecting the Qs each week is a great review for me!) Here are my Qs for the past week’s reading in case any of you want to try them (Pastor Steve suggested I put them up). NT Questions for 2/28/10:
1. Why does Jesus talk about birds (or ravens) and lilies of the field (Luke 12)? (What point is He making?)
2. In Luke 13 Jesus teaches “Strive to enter through the ___________________ door”.
Enter what/where?
3. What kind of salt is useless?
How does that relate to believers?
4. What do the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son have in common?
(besides the obvious fact that something was lost in all three parables)
5. a. When Jesus speaks about the Rich Man and Lazarus, what does the rich man ask for?
b. When he doesn’t get it, what does he ask for next?
c. How does Abraham respond?
6. When Jesus heals 10 lepers, how many come back to thank Him?
7. In the parable where a Pharisee and a tax collector go to the temple to pray, how do each of them pray and which one does Jesus say is justified?
Don’t send me your answers – I have enough quizzes to check already! (PS I have been encouraged by the students who CAN answer the Qs – it is great that some of the kids are keeping up with the readings as well!! Parents – keep encouraging your kids to read!)
Thank you so much for doing this Laura. Marianna is in your class and it’s sooo good for her. This whole 365rev. is so good. I’m so happy to see her reading her Bible on her own again!
Marianna is one of those students who encourage me! She is a very bright girl and it is good for her mind to be filled with bible truths – as us all! (I’m glad the class has gotten more interesting for her, too.)
Pastor, I have a question. Just curious about the day Jesus was crucified. It appears there were two holy days that week. The Passover and the Sabbath. John 19:31 “The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was a high day)”. I always wondered how the Lord could be crucified and died Friday afternoon, and rose from the dead early (dawn) Sunday morning. It does not add up to 3 day and 3 nights as we know it according to the Gregorian calendar. I know I am missing something here. This is just a simple question, any insight?
Nick, I believe that in the Jewish counting, every part of a day is considered a day, so Friday, Saturday and Sunday are 3 days, even if only part of Friday and part of Sunday.
There were 2 Sabbaths that week. The passover which was a holy high day. Joh 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) and then there was the weekly Sabbath.
This is some information I found interesting. Let me clarify my question, it is not meant to add or subtract anything from our fundamental beliefs nor bring in endless questions or auguments nor offence to anyones faith. It’s just a question to provoke thought and as you stated LReimer the Jews may have had a different view of what a day was. Here is what I found interesting:
The Bible does not explicitly state on which day of the week Jesus was crucified. The two most widely held views are Friday and Wednesday. Some, however, using a synthesis of both the Friday and Wednesday arguments, argue for Thursday as the day.
Jesus said in Matthew 12:40, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Those who argue for a Friday crucifixion say that there is still a valid way in which He could have been considered in the grave for three days. In the Jewish mind of the first century, a part of day was considered as a full day. Since Jesus was in the grave for part of Friday, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday—He could be considered to have been in the grave for three days. One of the principal arguments for Friday is found in Mark 15:42, which notes that Jesus was crucified “the day before the Sabbath.” If that was the weekly Sabbath, i.e. Saturday, then that fact leads to a Friday crucifixion. Another argument for Friday says that verses such as Matthew 16:21 and Luke 9:22 teach that Jesus would rise on the third day; therefore, He would not need to be in the grave a full three days and nights. But while some translations use “on the third day” for these verses, not all do, and not everyone agrees that “on the third day” is the best way to translate these verses. Furthermore, Mark 8:31 says that Jesus will be raised “after” three days.
The Thursday argument expands on the Friday view and argues mainly that there are too many events (some count as many as twenty) happening between Christ’s burial and Sunday morning to occur from Friday evening to Sunday morning. Proponents of the Thursday view point out that this is especially a problem when the only full day between Friday and Sunday was Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. An extra day or two eliminates that problem. The Thursday advocates could reason thus: suppose you haven’t seen a friend since Monday evening. The next time you see him it is Thursday morning and you say, “I haven’t seen you in three days” even though it had technically only been 60 hours (2.5 days). If Jesus was crucified on Thursday, this example shows how it could be considered three days.
The Wednesday opinion states that there were two Sabbaths that week. After the first one (the one that occurred on the evening of the crucifixion [Mark 15:42; Luke 23:52-54]), the women purchased spices—note that they made their purchase after the Sabbath (Mark 16:1). The Wednesday view holds that this “Sabbath” was the Passover (see Leviticus 16:29-31, 23:24-32, 39, where high holy days that are not necessarily the seventh day of the week are referred to as the Sabbath). The second Sabbath that week was the normal weekly Sabbath. Note that in Luke 23:56, the women who had purchased spices after the first Sabbath returned and prepared the spices, then “rested on the Sabbath” (Luke 23:56). The argument states that they could not purchase the spices after the Sabbath, yet prepare those spices before the Sabbath—unless there were two Sabbaths. With the two-Sabbath view, if Christ was crucified on Thursday, then the high holy Sabbath (the Passover) would have begun Thursday at sundown and ended at Friday sundown—at the beginning of the weekly Sabbath or Saturday. Purchasing the spices after the first Sabbath (Passover) would have meant they purchased them on Saturday and were breaking the Sabbath.
Therefore, according to the Wednesday viewpoint, the only explanation that does not violate the biblical account of the women and the spices and holds to a literal understanding of Matthew 12:40, is that Christ was crucified on Wednesday. The Sabbath that was a high holy day (Passover) occurred on Thursday, the women purchased spices (after that) on Friday and returned and prepared the spices on the same day, they rested on Saturday which was the weekly Sabbath, then brought the spices to the tomb early Sunday. Jesus was buried near sundown on Wednesday, which began Thursday in the Jewish calendar. Using a Jewish calendar, you have Thursday night (night one), Thursday day (day one), Friday night (night two), Friday day (day two), Saturday night (night three), Saturday day (day three). We do not know exactly when He rose, but we do know that it was before sunrise on Sunday (John 20:1, Mary Magdalene came “while it was still dark”), so He could have risen as early as just after sunset Saturday evening, which began the first day of the week to the Jews.
A possible problem with the Wednesday view is that the disciples who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus did so on “the same day” of His resurrection (Luke 24:13). The disciples, who do not recognize Jesus, tell Him of Jesus’ crucifixion (24:21) and say that “today is the third day since these things happened” (24:22). Wednesday to Sunday is four days. A possible explanation is that they may have been counting since Wednesday evening at Christ’s burial, which begins the Jewish Thursday, and Thursday to Sunday could be counted as three days.
In the grand scheme of things, it is not all that important to know what day of the week Christ was crucified. If it were very important, then God’s Word would have clearly communicated the day and timeframe. What is important is that He did die and that He physically, bodily rose from the dead. What is equally important is the reason He died—to take the punishment that all sinners deserve. John 3:16 and 3:36 both proclaim that putting your trust in Him results in eternal life! This is equally true whether He was crucified on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.