June 1-7, Introduction to Summer Bible Study on Luke

Today we get started with our summer Bible Study on the Gospel according to St. Luke.  Each week a new study will be submitted and we invite you to participate the rest of the week with posting your comments, insights, questions.   This week we start with the introduction.

Before we get started:  Overview and Introduction

Many narratives, events, encounters, and teachings make the Gospel of Luke the longest book of the New Testament.  Thus it’s impossible to do a quick overview.  About 60% of the book’s content is unique to Luke[i].  While other Gospels focus on the three years of Jesus’ public ministry, Luke covers two years and eight days in detail.  However, Luke gives us the most information concerning Jesus’ childhood.  This all makes it interesting to ponder why Luke selected what he did.

1-4:13	4:14-9:50	9:51-19:27	19:28-24
Preparation	Identification	Teachings	Mission Accomplished
Nazareth	Galilee	Judea & Perea	Jerusalem
30 Years	1 1/2 years	6 months	8 days

Luke’s four major sections to the book takes the reader on a journey.  In fact, the idea of a sacred journey is the main motif.  Some other major themes we will find are:

·        The individual is important

·        God’s love and grace is inclusive

·        Prayer is the grand means of grace

·        Jesus loved dinner parties 

Thus, another major theme is hospitality.  Hospitality is critical to Jesus’ evangelism style.  Another unique aspect of Luke’s gospel we have already alluded to is the importance of the individual.  Luke more than any other book shows Christ’s unrelenting interest in the marginalized and dispossessed people he encountered on this sacred journey. 

Let me introduce you to Luke

Most know Luke simply as the doctor who traveled with Paul.  Luke, the doctor, turned historian is responsible for a fourth of the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke plus Acts.  We know that he was an extraordinary person and an intellectual equal to the apostle Paul.  We know this because the Gospel of Luke is written in the most sophisticated Greek both in form and in the vocabulary choices. Luke, the doctor, was most likely a scientific mind of his day.  He was thorough in his research style and methodical in giving the details he records. 

Luke was a Greek (non-Jewish) member of the Church of Antioch.  Most likely he was converted to Christianity and discipled by Barnabas before he was invited to companion Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey through Asia.  Eventually Luke became Paul’s partner in ministry and scribe or secretary to Paul.  Intellectual equals and hearts beating in sync for the love of Christ made Paul and Luke the dynamic duo of the early Church. 

 

Scriptural Encounter and Discussion – Week One Luke 1:1-4

Luke’s Introduction

Let’s Get Started:  Read Luke 1:1-4 

Observation Level

(First step in Bible study is to start by observing what is actually there before you start trying to interpret or apply)

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• This book is written to a man named Theophilus.  From the way Luke address him, “Most Honored” or “Most Excellent,” Theophilus was a high ranking Roman official or a highly respected academic, or both.  Luke used the same wording in Act 26:25 to refer to Festus, a Roman governor.
•  Purpose of writing was to provide the most accurate account of the Christ event.  He says, “Many have written accounts…”  Here he is referring to the numerous accounts or gospels that were circulating at the time.  That raises the question, “Why not send Theophilus one of these already written?  Why send another account? 

Reread Verse 3.  Here Luke makes clear that he is only going to include in this account that which he has thoroughly investigated.  Luke uses the Greek word, “πεπληροφορημένα” which means absolutely certain – no doubt remains.  This word denotes the strongest conviction.

The implication of this phrase is that Luke is laying his academic or scientific reputation on the line so he is going to make sure what he reports is absolutely the truth.  He has conducted independent research on every report, every eyewitness has been re-interviewed by him, every fact has been checked out.  Theophilus can use this account to check the accuracy and test the authenticity of the teachings he had heard.    Luke is assuring him that he has used only primary sources in this writing. 

Imaginative Level

(Use your imagination and memory to dialogue with the text)

Imagine you are the one Luke is writing to, given his strong assurance of the truth he is going to tell you, what might you be feeling and thinking about what you were about to read? 

Keep in mind Luke is going to report on some amazing and hard to believe events and Theophilus, a well-educated public figure, is aware of some amazing claims about Jesus that was circulating at the time.  Could he be having doubts or be a skeptic about this Christian movement and its claims about a leader who rose from the dead? 

Are you or have you been skeptical about the Christian foundational story too?  What kind of questions do you have or did you have when you first started exploring Christian faith?

The instinct of a scientist in approaching a new field of study or understanding a phenomenon involves some critical thinking and investigation in a search for truthful understanding of what is going on.  Are you like Luke and Theophilus, one who has done a thorough investigation, or are you a cultural Christian who has just accepted what you heard without any serious effort or thought about it?

Maieutic Level

(Maieutic means making meaning or connections with reality.  It’s about discerning wisdom)

Christians and non-Christians hold widely differing views about the Bible. Some common untruths or disparaging attitudes about the Bible you may have heard are[ii]:

1.      Modern scholarship debunks the Bible

2.      The New Testament was composed long after the death of Jesus

3.      Jesus and the Bible have been shown to be false

4.      Christians worship the Bible

5.      Little or nothing is known about the historical person Jesus

6.      Jesus of history is different from the modern day Christ of faith

7.      The Gospels contradict one another

What attitude or views about the Bible do you bring to this summer’s Scriptural exploration and conversation?

Week One Summary of possible questions for discussion or reply:  Please share your replies, questions, or additional insights on this weeks reading.

1.      Imagine you are the one Luke is writing to, given his strong assurance of the truth he is going to tell you, what might you be feeling and thinking about what you were about to read?

2.      Are you or have you been skeptical about the Christian foundational story too?  What kind of questions do you have or did you have when you first started exploring Christian faith?

3.      Are you like Luke and Theophilus, one who has done a thorough investigation, or are you a cultural Christian who has just accepted what you heard without any serious effort or thought about it?

4.      What attitude or views about the Bible do you bring to this summer’s Scriptural exploration and conversation?

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[i] Irving Jensen, Bible Chart (Chicago:  Moody Press, 1976, 1981), chart 48.

[ii] Jeffrey Russell, Exposing Myths About Christianity (Downers Grove, IL: IV Press, 2012).