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The Gospel According to Luke – Final Journey to Jerusalem
Our study in Chapter 18 begins with two classic parables that urge religious individuals to go substantially deeper in their faith: The Corrupt Judge and the Pharisee and the Publican. In the first, Jesus again (cf. 11:5-10) teaches His disciples to persist in prayer, "you ought always to pray and not lose heart." In the…
Read MoreThe Gospel According to Luke – Parables of Sin, Repentance and Faith
Chapter 15 contains three classic parables, each targeting the self-righteous and speaking of the need to rejoice and repent. Jesus likens his close contact with sinners to that of a shepherd who risks death to save his lost sheep. Unlike the murmuring Pharisees, we must seek the lost, encourage our pastors to seek out the…
Read MoreThe Gospel According to Luke – Timeless Parables and True Discipleship
Timeless Parables and True Discipleship Beginning in Luke 12:13, we see that Jesus’ teachings sharply contrast worldly notions of fiscal prudence and advocate extreme trust in God’s provisions. Speaking tenderly to his disciples, Jesus is serious when he says "do not live in fear, little flock … sell what you have and give alms." Jesus…
Read MoreThe Gospel According to Luke – Mission and Prayer
At the start of Chapter 10, Jesus sends out 70 missionaries to minister to the towns of Galilee. He sends them in pairs in order that they may be a microcosm of the Church, and also because Torah establishes the validity of a claim by the testimony of two witnesses. Making no specific provisions for…
Read MoreThe Gospel According to Luke – Continuing the Ministry in Galilee
Beginning in Chapter 8, our study continues Luke’s account of Jesus’ active ministry. Accompanied by "the twelve […], some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities; Mary, called Magdalene […] and many others," Jesus draws large crowds when he preaches (v. 2-3). To one great crowd, Jesus delivers the parable of the…
Read MoreThe Gospel According to Luke – Chapters 6 and 7
At the start of Chapter 6, the scribes and Pharisees confront Jesus on two occasions regarding how He and His disciples observe the sabbath. Jesus implies that while the law of the Lord is perfect and provides guidance, the law is not an end in and of itself, but a means to the end –…
Read MoreThe Gospel According to Luke – Chapter 5
In Luke 4:31 Jesus teaches at the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath. For the first time, Jesus publicly commands an unclean spirit to listen to Him, and instantly it comes out of the man. This very important event along with the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law are the first episodes that bring Jesus into the…
Read MoreThe Gospel According to Luke – Beginning of the Gospel Proper
At the start of the Gospel proper, Luke focuses on John the Baptist: his ministry and his message. It seems Christians today often shrink the role of John the Baptist and the roles other Prophets in the history of salvation, and instead embrace a "let’s cut to the chase" mentality. The fact that John is…
Read MoreThe Gospel According to Luke – Presentation and Finding in the Temple
Following the Presentation Luke omits the flight into Egypt and focuses on Jesus’ upbringing in Nazareth. He emphasizes that throughout this time "Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man". The childhood of Jesus has serious Christological implications. The Gnostic Gospels show Jesus acting on a whim but the…
Read MoreThe Gospel According to Luke – The Census and the Nativity
The study begins with the controversy regarding the census that sent Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem and the dating of the birth of Christ. The historical reading of the historian Josephus is that Herod died in 4 B.C. and thus it is logical for Christ’s birth to be sometime before that. Although some favor 6…
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