Walk Thru The Bible Luke 1-24 Monday - Luke 1 Pre-Birth Annoucements Luke 2 Birth of Jesus Luke 3 John the Baptist and Jesus' Baptism Luke 4 Temptation of Jesus Tuesday - Luke 5 Calling of the Disciples Luke 6 Lord of the Sabbath Luke 7 The Faith of a Centurion Luke 8 Parable of the Sower Wednesday - Luke 9 Sending of 12 and the Transfiguration Luke 10 Sending of the 70 Luke 11 Teaching of Prayer Luke 12 On Worry and God's Provisions Thursday - Luke 13 Narrow Door Luke 14 Pharisee's House and Cost of Discipleship Luke 15 Parables of Lost Things Luke 16 More Parables Friday - Luke 17 Ten Lepers Healed Luke 18 Parable of Persistance in Prayer Luke 19 Story of Zacchaeus Luke 20 Jesus' Authority Questioned Saturday - Luke 21 Signs of the End Luke 22 Last Supper and Arrest Luke 23 Crucifixion Luke 24 Resurrection Sunday - Make up day Sunday is make-up day. If you missed any reading or if you read only a few chapters per day make up for lost time by reading for an hour on the Lord's Day. Children's Bible Reading It is not easy for a child to read through the Bible nor to sit and listen to long passages being read. We recommend that if you have children in your home that you read daily one story from Ken Taylor's "The Book." Ken Taylor is the translator of the Living Bible. He did that while commuting by train to and from work so that his children would understand the Scriptures. The children have caught up with us. Be sure to go with us to the New Testament. It is important to follow the Law with the Grace of God as revealed in Jesus. "The Law came throught Moses but grace and truth came through our Lord Jesus Christ." (John 1:17) Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday - Sunday - The History of Luke's Gospel Luke is a physician, a medical doctor, who accompanied Paul on many of his missionary journeys. Luke and Acts are written as a whole history of Jesus Life and Times by the same author. Luke is writing to an important Roman named Theophilos. His intent is to compile the history of Jesus and the early church in chronological sequence. He perhaps borrows from Mark and Matthew, which were earlier Gospel manuscripts. He also has other first hand, eyewitness sources for his material. Take particular notice of Luke's interest in diseases and his description of them. Luke liked to describe the miracles of Jesus. Count how many you encounter in this Gospel. Similar to the other gospels, Luke's gospel also contains no author's name, yet it has been unquestionably ascribed to the hand of Dr. Luke from the first century. This gospel is unique in that it is a dual volume containing both the gospel and the book of Acts, both written by the same author, each perhaps separated by a few years. It contains a prologue that carefully outlines the purpose and intent of the work: " Many have taken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." (Luke 1:1-3) From this prologue we learn several things about the author: 1. The author is an educated man writing to a highly esteemed dignitary named Theophilus. We do not know who Theophilus was but some conjecture he was a high ranking Roman official acquainted with the author and who has made inquiries concerning the story of Jesus Christ. The author begins very professionally using language of classical Greek which was a common practice in historical works of the time. Therefore we conclude the author to be an educated man, well versed in the classical Greek writing style, and well known by men of influence. 2. The author refers to things "fulfilled among us" thus including himself with the band of those about whom he is writing. The author uses the first person pronoun "I" and later in the second volume the third person pronoun "we" thus showing that he was part of the story that is being recounted. He also reveals that he was not an eyewitness of Jesus Christ but received this information from others who were eyewitnesses. 3. The author presents himself as a careful investigator, the implication being that he is not presumptuous to do so but well qualified among his peers to accomplish this task. 4. The author reveals his sources: Eyewitnesses and servants of the word, as well as written accounts others have made of these events. It becomes obvious to the attentive reader that Luke is writing later than Matthew and Mark. Matthew qualifies as one of the eyewitnesses who took upon himself to write an account, and Mark is well known in Luke's Acts of the Apostles as "a minister of the word." This does not limit the author to two sources but implies that he relied on at least two written accounts and most likely other accounts as well. ("Many have taken in hand to write.") It is possible that the author traveled extensively to research this report. His sources would include personal recollections from the apostles, including Paul with whom Luke had very close associations. He would have interviewed women who accompanied Jesus as well as those who were healed by him. He may well have had a compiled library of written sources not available to Matthew and Mark, nor to us. 5. The author's intent is to put the events into an orderly account for the reader. That is, the author is attempting to organize the material in a chronological fashion as closely as possible to recollections of the witnesses. Luke then is the first to attempt a harmony of the gospels. We should remember also the testimony of John who later fills in the blanks for Matthew, Mark, and Luke who said of his own gospel account: "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book." (John 20:30) And "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were to be written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written" (John 21:25) There are events in Matthew that Luke does not include (i.e. The Wise Men) The same can be said for Luke's exclusion of some of Mark's material. All of the gospel authors use editorial license to choose those events that best suit their task and their audience. Is Luke the Author? Though the author does not mention his own name the internal evidence points to Luke. 1. Luke is the only New testament character that can fit the "I" and "we" passages of Acts. (See Acts 16:10-17, 20:5-15, 21:1-18, 27:1-28:16) Luke had extensive knowledge and access to Paul and all the apostles. 2. Luke was a gentile, well educated in Greek culture and language, a Greek speaker, probably born in Antioch, and he was a physician who accompanied Paul on several of his journeys and ministered to Paul while in prison.Luke's gospel uses the best Greek of the four and is written for the gentile mind. 3. Internal evidence that points to Luke is the volume of medical terminology used in his record. The author Hobart, in The Medical Language of Luke, documents over four hundred medical terms used by Luke alone among the gospel writers, which terms are also found in other Greek medical writers. 4. Finally the enormous voice of the church from the earliest days assign the gospel to Luke. In fact, there was no difference of opinion as to the authorship of this gospel. Such early church fathers as Irenaeus, Clement, Tertullian, as well as the Muratorian Fragment all agree that Dr. Luke is the author of both Luke and Acts. Promises of God: