OVERVIEW:
The testimony of Satan concerning Christ as the Son of God (4:1-13); the testimony of the Scriptures (4:14-32); the testimony of demons (4:33-44); Jesus is the difference between failure and success (5:1-11); Jesus is the difference between guilt and forgiveness (5:17-26); Jesus is the difference between the old and the new (5:27-39); a new kind of sabbath (6:11); a new kind of nation (6:12-19); a new kind of blessedness (6:20-49).
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
If you were to be asked who it was that God used to provide the most content in the New Testament, that would be a no-brainer, right? The OBVIOUS answer is Paul. But though Paul is the obvious answer, the only problem is, he just doesn’t happen to be the RIGHT one! That’s right! Though Paul was used of God to write more BOOKS of the New Testament than any other writer, it is actually Luke who is the one God used to provide the most actual content. (Note: This is based on the amount of words and verses written by Luke in Luke and Acts, compared with the words and verses in the 13 books known to be authored by Paul. A great case could be made that Paul may have authored the book of Hebrews during his 40 days and 40 nights in Arabia, but it would be impossible to be dogmatic about it since the Holy Spirit did not inspire its human author to include his name.)
In yesterday’s comments we spent most of our time providing information to help us keep our bearings as we move through the Gospel of Luke. But who is this “Luke” anyway? Colossians 4:14 refers to him as “the beloved physician”. It should be noted, that God’s choice of words concerning him is very specific. It is NOT, “Luke, the beloved DOCTOR”, but “Luke, the beloved PHYSICIAN”. Why make such a “to-do” about such a seemingly insignificant observation? Well, above everything else, because “every word of God is pure” (Proverbs 30:5) God chooses His words very carefully. There are no indiscriminate or random words in the entire Bible. He specifically calls Luke a “physician” because He wants to make a distinction between his occupation, and the occupation of the “doctors” of his day.
When God refers to “doctors” in the Bible, (Luke 2:46; 5:17; Acts 5:34), they were actually theologians who were so engulfed in head knowledge about God, that they actually missed God when He was right in front of them! It is amazing how many people know all kinds of things about God and the Bible, but in the midst of all of their knowledge, never really get to know HIM! Perhaps the reason for such a strange divergence is that the Bible is not an end in itself – it is a means to an end. The end, however, is not to get to know the BIBLE, but to get to know GOD! Why do we read the Owner’s Manual in the glove box of our cars? To get to know the manual, or to get to know the car? Obviously, the car! In that same way, God provided us with His “Owner’s Manual” (the Bible), for the purpose of getting to know HIM!
It is also interesting to note that there are only two physicians who are actually mentioned in the entire Bible. Luke is obviously one of them, and our Lord Jesus Christ is the other. Though they both possessed the ability to heal physically (Jesus through miracles, and Luke through medicine), both were more concerned about the spiritual healing needed in men’s souls, than the healing needed in men’s bodies! Jesus is, in fact, both the Physician and the Cure Himself! Luke, the beloved physician, pointed men to the Great Physician and His glorious cure.
As we have provided for both Matthew and Mark’s Gospel, the following is a basic summary of the Gospel of Luke:
- Information About the Author:
• His name: Luke
• His name means “Light-giving”
• He was a Physician. (Colossians 4:14)
• He wrote this Gospel to Theophilus. (Luke 1:3)
• He also wrote the book of Acts. (Acts 1:1)
• He joins the 2nd missionary team in Troas. (Acts 16:1-10)
• He stays behind in Philippi. (Acts 17:1)
• He rejoins the missionary team on their 3rd journey. (Acts 20:1-6)
• He journeys with Paul to Rome. (Acts 27:12)
• He is also referred to in scripture as Lucas. (Philemon 1:23-24)
2. Facts About This Gospel:
• Approximate date of writing: 60 A.D.
• Written from Philippi
• Dates of the recorded events: 6 B.C. – 33 A.D.
• Theme: Christ as the ideal man
• Christ is seen in this Gospel as the Son of man
• Key verse: Luke 19:10
• Key word: Man (131 times)
• Chapters: 24; Verses: 1,151; Words: 27,090
3. Features of This Gospel:
• Luke is the only Gospel that records the parable of the Good Samaritan.
• Luke is the only Gospel that records the cleansing of the 10 Lepers.
• This Gospel contains 9 fulfilled prophecies.
4. A Simple Outline of This Gospel: The Four Periods…
• Period #1 – A time of Preparation. (Chapters 1-3)
• Period #2 – A time of Identification. (Chapters 4-8)
• Period #3 – A time of Instruction. (Chapters 9-18)
• Period #4 – A time of Culmination. (Chapters 19-24)