Life on word read-along

The Gospel According to Luke

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Week One: Luke 1-6

In the week ahead, you are going to be slowly reading through the first six chapters of Luke's Gospel. I will tell you upfront: you are in for a treat! A lot happens in these few chapters: the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus, John's ministry in preparation for Jesus, and the beginning of Jesus' ministry. You will read about how God was working things for good both on a cosmic scale for the whole world and in the minute, personal details of the people involved.

Let's jump in to some helpful things about the text to keep in mind while reading, and some other considerations as you start this week. I suggest coming back to the email each day so that you can read through the helpful things to know about the chapter you are reading that day. If you missed the email that gave an introduction to this read-along and to the book of Luke, click here!

Helpful Things to Know:

Chapter 1:

• The major theme of the first section of Luke (1:1-2:52) is the faithfulness of God. What God has promised, He will do. What unfolds in the first century surrounding the life of Jesus is the culmination of the work God was doing all throughout the Old Testament.
• Pay attention to how Luke weaves John the Baptist's story into the tapestry of Israel's history. He uses OT language and imagery to tell of Zechariah and John the Baptist (v. 5-25), and Zechariah's prophecy is all about God acting at last, doing what He promised so long ago that He would do.
• You're probably familiar with what the angel Gabriel tells Mary in verses 31-33, but make sure you pay attention to the fact that he is making both a theological AND political claim. This Jesus to be born is uniquely identified with God as His Son and as the true King of the world. This means Caesar, the acting ruler of Jesus' time, is NOT the true king...we'll see how this causes a big stir later...

Chapter 2:

• Here is more on Caesar in the opening verse of chapter 2. If you have time, do a quick google search of Caesar Augustus. You'll find that he actually made divine claims about himself, calling himself the son of a god (sound like a familiar title??). So, the birth of Jesus marks the beginning of this major clash between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world.
• In the account of Jesus being presented at the temple (2:22-38), we see that the old man Simeon makes two major claims: (1) The Redeemer Jesus that has been born will walk a road of suffering. He is the true King, but salvation will come through His suffering (v. 33-35). (2) The Redeemer came not only for the Jews, but for the whole world (v. 29-32).

Chapter 3:

• In verses 1-3, Luke gives us information not only to be able to precisely date when the events were happening in history, but also to get a hint of the oppressing political atmosphere of the time. The Jewish people were exiles in their own land and their misery was coming to a boiling point.
• John the Baptist urgently calls the Jewish people to repent. Why is repentance happening through baptism? Think back to the OT when Israel was brought out of Egypt through the Red Sea, the Sinai Wilderness, and then through the Jordan into the Promised Land. Now, they are once again slaves, but this time, in their own land. They are not free and their sin is the reason for their hardships. John was calling them to turn back to God because the promised Deliverer was coming and they must prepare their hearts.

Chapter 4:

• Remember - something isn't called a temptation if it's not attractive to you. All three of the temptations found in verses 1-13 were real for Jesus, highlighting His humanity. He came as a real man and was tempted by real things just as we are. In this account are echoes to other places in Scripture where people have fallen to temptation. Think about the Garden of Eden or when Israel was brought out of Egypt but still struggled with idolatry and disobedience after all that God had done to deliver them. Jesus - the true Israel, the rightful King, the better Adam - does not give in to temptation.
• After the account of Jesus' temptation, the next big segment of Luke's gospel begins, spanning from 4:14-9:30. These chapters are all about Jesus' ministry as He teaches and performs miracles.
• In verses 16-30, we read of Jesus being rejected in His hometown. When He started teaching in the synagogue, the people were at first amazed, but then were ready to kill Him. Why? Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1-2, a chapter that looks ahead to the day when Israel is a light to the nations and salvation is for all. Jesus then mentions Elijah and Elisha, and in both cases, they are helping Gentiles (go read these passages! 1 Kings 17-18; 2 Kings 5:1-14). This is definitely not what the people want to hear - they want to hear about God's fierce judgment towards Gentiles! Things escalate because Jesus does two things: (1) He compares Israel's spiritual climate of the time to one of the least spiritual periods in Israel's history, (2) He hints that the Gentiles (often hated by the Jews) were more worthy of being ministered to than the Jews were. No wonder He caused an uproar!!

Chapter 5:

• This is the first time that Luke mentions the Pharisees, a pressure group devoted to seeing the coming of the kingdom of God...on their own terms. They believed God would act as they wanted Him to once Israel had intensified their observance to the Torah (law) down to the smallest of details. They really missed the mark on some things though. They tended to focus on the minutiae of the law, while neglecting what was most important (a repentant heart towards God).
• Verses 17-26 make up the account of Jesus healing a paralytic and forgiving his sins. Not only does this show His miraculous power, it also shows a very bold claim Jesus is making. The normal way to have sins forgiven was through the Temple, the sacrificial system, and the priests. Yet Jesus lays aside the normal way of doing this, claiming to have the authority Himself to forgive sins! You can see why this would greatly anger the Pharisees. Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man - this was His favorite title that He often referred to Himself as - mentioned in Daniel 7. Though it would have been obscure, Jesus is making a Messianic claim here. He is the Messiah who has all authority to forgive sins and heal the sick.

Chapter 6:

• In verses 12-26, Jesus gives a list of four promises and four warnings very similar to what is found in Deuteronomy, making up the covenant between God and Israel. Now, God is acting in a new way through the Person of Jesus, yet this work is connected to everything that has gone before.
• As Jesus continues teaching His disciples and the crowd, He teaches this message about great generosity and loving one's enemies. He is not giving a new rule book or to-do list for being a morally good human. Instead, He is looking beyond behavioral change. If you are going to love your enemies, live freely and generously, and be light in spirit, no matter what the world throws your way, you must experience a change at the heart level - and this is what Jesus is offering. Why the generosity and change in behavior though? Jesus is saying, "you are to be like this, because this is what your God is like." We can be generous and loving and free because we serve a God who is these things, and Jesus was the true embodiment of this as He walked on earth.

Some Questions to Consider:

• I mentioned above that a major theme in the first section of Luke is that God is faithful and keeps His promises. Where in the first three chapters does this theme show up and how does this show the connectedness of the Old and New Testaments? To get you thinking, look back at the passage of John the Baptist's birth being foretold (1:5-25), and consider how similar this is to Old Testament accounts (Gen 17:17ff, Gen 30:22ff, and more).
• The first few chapters of Luke reveal God acting in a new way through the Person of Jesus. You can think of this as the large-scale things God was doing in bringing about salvation. But just as important, notice the small-scale ways God was working in these chapters, being involved in the little details of ordinary peoples' lives, seeing their personal hopes and fears, and caring for them. What comes to mind when you consider how God cares just as much about the personal you-and-God things as He does His ongoing work of drawing all people to Himself and establishing His Kingdom on earth? What does this teach you about God's character?
• Consider again the account of Jesus teaching His disciples to love their enemies (6:27-36). I explained earlier that He wasn't giving a to-do list, but was pointing to the needed transformation of a person's heart. This transformation, this heart change, is to be grounded in who God is. What is the connection between how we view God's character and how we live our lives?

Family Discipleship Considerations:

• Just as we need reminders of God's faithfulness, so do our children and those around us. The more we can talk about the character of God to the little people in our lives, the more they are likely to grow up with a personal understanding of who God is that isn't easily shaken. Consider the ways that God was faithful to His promises both in the chapters we've read and in your own life. Can you share one or a couple of these with a little person in your life?
• If you are a parent, especially of younger children, you spend quite a bit of time every day giving commands to your kids - "please do this," "don't touch that," "please listen and obey...." Reflect on the commands that Jesus gives us in these chapters. Do you see them as a to-do list or as a way of modeling the character of God to those around us? When you are parenting, are you more focused on outward behavior or on the heart? Think of some ways that you can ground what you tell your kids in the character of God. For example, "Did you just take that away from him? Do you think that taking things away from another person is modeling God's love and generosity towards others?" (Obviously this can be adapted for different ages/levels of understanding)

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c. 1730 oil painting by Peter Brandl - "Simeon with the Infant Jesus" - based on Luke 2:25-34 ​ Side note: let's be real - we know baby Jesus did not have blonde hair and was not that light complected. BUT what a beautiful picture of the faithful old man Simeon seeing his hope in God come to fruition in this little baby that was (and is!) the true King of the world!