Exploring the Word of God: Studies in Luke

By Michael D. Morrison

In this lay-level commentary, Dr. Michael Morrison examines the overall structure and purpose of the Gospel of Luke, explores the limits of its accuracy, and highlights the birth narratives and some of Jesus' best-known parables.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Grace Communion International
• Release date: Sep 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301707768

Michael D. Morrison

I grew up in a small town in southern Illinois: Sparta. Our family of seven was religious but did not go to church - instead, we had a Bible study at home every week. I eventually began attending a church after I moved away, and then I went to a Bible college, and eventually a seminary. Now I work for Grace Communion Seminary, an online seminary based in Glendora, California. My interests are the Gospels, the epistles and theology of Paul, and ethics.

Book preview

Exploring the Word of God:

Studies in Luke

By Michael D. Morrison

With additional chapters by J. Michael Feazell, Sheila Graham,

Jim Herst, Paul Kroll, D. Taylor, and Joseph Tkach

Copyright 2013 Grace Communion International

Cover art by Ken Tunell.

Scripture quotations, unless noted, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Table of Contents

Explore the Gospels: Luke

Special Report: What You Have Heard Is True!

Open Letter to a Wealthy Man

Luke’s Legacy to Women

The Prominence of Women in the Gospel of Luke

Luke’s Orderly Account – An Examination

Announcing the King: A Study of Luke 1:1-38

Two Songs of Praise: A Study of Luke 1:39-80

A Savior Is Born: A Study of Luke 2:1-21

What Child Is This? A Study of Luke 2:22-52

A New Look at the Good Samaritan

Parable of the Lost Son

The Prodigal God

Lazarus and the Rich Man (by J. Michael Feazell)

Lazarus and the Rich Man (by Paul Kroll)

The Comma of Luke 23:43

About the Authors

About the Publisher

Grace Communion Seminary

Ambassador College of Christian Ministry

Introduction: This project began in the mid 1990s. The first volume of Exploring the Word of God was published in 1995. We were not able to print any more volumes, but we continued to study and write articles about Scripture. We have gathered these articles and are publishing them as e-books. We hope you find these studies useful and encouraging.

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Explore the Gospels: Luke

By Jim Herst

The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are the two parts of a work addressed to Theophilus (compare Luke 1:1-4 with Acts 1:1-2). The author of Acts apparently accompanied Paul on some of his journeys – note the we in Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1–28:16. A comparison of Acts with Paul’s epistles indicates that Luke the physician was the author of Acts and the third gospel.

Theophilus was frustrated. He was a wealthy man and had a responsible position in society. Others might have thought he had it made. But Theophilus lived up to his name, which meant lover of God. He was still looking for the truth.

Although he was a Gentile, he was fascinated by the religion of the Jews. He had recently come into contact with an unusual sect, who on the one hand seemed to be Jewish, and yet were rejected and even hated by them.

These people were known as Christians, after their leader, Christos. Something about Christos’ radical teachings fascinated Theophilus. In spite of his education and position, he was at heart a humble man. Christos seemed also to have been humble, even though his followers claimed that he was God.

Christos had been dead – executed as a criminal – several decades ago, but he was already a legend. His followers claimed he had worked miracles, walked on water, and had even raised the dead. He could easily have become rich and famous, but he chose to live and work among ordinary people. He considered everyone – even the lowliest outcasts and misfits – worthy of respect.

But were these stories true? Christos and his revolutionary way of life fascinated the gentle Theophilus, but before he could commit himself to it he needed to know more. But how? Were Christos’ devoted disciples, who even seemed ready to die for him, reliable? They were mostly uneducated. Some were even slaves! Were their stories to be trusted? Well, he did know someone he could trust. This man was a Christian, and an educated person like himself. He was known as Luke, the beloved physician. He had not known Christos personally, but he was a meticulous scholar.

Luke, knowing that Theophilus needed a careful explanation of the factual basis for the Christian beliefs, sent him a carefully written manuscript. It began:

So many others have tried their hand at putting together a story of the wonderful harvest of Scripture and history that took place among us, using reports handed down by the original eyewitnesses who served this Word with their very lives. Since I have investigated all the reports in close detail, I decided to write it out for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can know beyond the shadow of doubt the reliability of what you have been taught.

Fascinated, Theophilus settled down to study the manuscript – the first person to read what we now know as… The Gospel According to St. Luke.

Maybe this is not exactly the way it happened. But something like this prompted Luke, the beloved physician to put pen to papyrus and write a definitive account of the life of Jesus Christ. The result was a thoroughly researched and beautifully written narrative of what Jesus was like and what he did.

Luke’s Gospel is not a dry theological treatise. He was excited by what he had discovered, and he wanted to share that excitement and joy with his readers. Gospel is an old English word meaning good news. No one has conveyed that good news better than the beloved physician.

What’s in a name?

The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are the two parts of a work addressed to Theophilus (compare 1:1-4 with Acts 1:1-2). The author of Acts apparently accompanied Paul on some of his journeys – note the we in Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1 – 28:16. A comparison of Acts with Paul’s epistles indicates that Luke the physician was the author of Acts and, hence, of the third Gospel.

Outline of Luke

Luke tells the story of Jesus’ life and ministry.

1. The preparation (1:1–4:13)

The events preceding Jesus’ ministry can be divided into three sections:

1:1-4 The prologue, where Luke explains his purpose in writing his gospel.

1:5–2:52 Jesus’ birth and early years. Luke shows parallels between the annunciation and birth stories of John the Baptist and Jesus.

3:1–4:13 The ministry of John the Baptist and the preparation for Jesus’ ministry, baptism and his victory over Satan.

2. Jesus’ Public Ministry (4:14–21:38)

4:14–9:50 Jesus’ ministry in Galilee: preaching in the synagogues and performing miracles, which helped the people but began to bring him into conflict with the religious authorities.

9:51–19:27 Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem and is eventually welcomed triumphantly. Throughout this section, Luke mentions several times that Jesus is on a journey (9:52-53, 56; 10:1, 38; 13:22, 31-33; 14:25; 17:11, 18:31, 35; 19:1, 11, 28). (However, it is historically likely that Jesus made several trips back and forth from Galilee to Jerusalem; Luke presents it as a single journey to reflect the theological truth that he was destined to die in Jerusalem and he never wavered from his goal). This section contains many parables unique to Luke’s Gospel:

The good Samaritan (10:29-37)

The friend at midnight (11:5-8)

The rich fool (12:13-20)

The returning master (12:35-38)

The barren fig tree (13:6-9)

The wedding banquet (14:7-14),

The great banquet (14:15-24)

The lost coin (15:11-32)

The shrewd manager (16:1-9)

Lazarus and the rich man (16:19-31)

The unjust judge (18:1-8)

The Pharisee and the tax-collector (18:9-14).

3. Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem 19:28–21:38

His triumphant entry, a lamentation over the city (19:41-44)

The cleansing of the Temple (19:41-48)

His teaching on tribute to Caesar and the temple tax (21:1-38)

His prophecy of the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem itself (21:1-38).

4. Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. 22:1–24:53

The passion narrative portrays Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. Luke includes three of Jesus’ sayings on the cross not found in the other accounts (23:34, 43, 46), including a plea for God to forgive those who were crucifying him (23:34).

How to read this book

In some ways, the best way to read Luke is to study it and Acts as a continuous work, written by the same author. For example, knowing how important the Holy Spirit is to the story in Acts helps us appreciate its role before and at Jesus’ birth (1:15, 35, 41, 67; 2:25-26) and in guiding his ministry (3:22; 4:1, 18).

Luke-Acts, as the work is called by scholars, has a more historical emphasis than the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John. As in the historical books of the Old Testament, God is the main character in Luke-Acts – his unseen hand guides events to fulfill his purpose. But Luke also places these events into "the context of world history. He connects it not only to the story of Israel but also to the larger oikoumene, the civilized world of Hellenism. Thus he alone of the evangelists provides chronological references for key events (see Luke 1:5; 2:1-2; 3:1-2; Acts 18:12)" (Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke, Sacra Pagina series, vol. 3, pp. 5-6).

Luke, an educated man, wrote in very good Greek. Where the parallel accounts merely transliterate a Hebrew or Latin word, Luke often uses a Greek word