2005 Bible Reading

This page is not a commentary, nor an outline. It is something to bear in mind in this kind of reading. These materials I learnt from two books by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart (How to Read the Bible for All Its worth; How to Read the Bible Book By Book). You could consult these books if you are interested.

(Pastor Raymond)

Luke

Whoever wrote the Gospel of Luke was a master of language and story telling. He presents Jesus in the world stage, beginning with well known ways of writing history books about the world (see 2:1 and 3:1-2). He also continues the story of Jesus’ ministry after His resurrection by describing it as the work of His Spirit. This ministry overcame sovereign boundaries and reached the center of the world (Rome). This latter part the Gospel writer puts in part 2—Acts. Therefore, it is important to read also Acts to get the full impact of Luke.

Luke’s primary concern is to show that Jesus’ ministry is the concrete proof of God’s faithful execution of His plan to save His lost people, who include “Israel” and Gentiles. Thus we will find the emphasis of finding and saving the lost, who are very often described in sociological and pathological categories such as the poor and the lame. The outcaste of Israel is the lost sheep David is to find and shepherd. In this connection, it is not a surprise to see Luke open the Gospel with multiple connections to David clearly emphasizing the kingly aspect which later on would be textured with his shepherding qualities. After all, the historical David was firstly shepherd and then king.

The Gospel of Luke gives readers a glimpse into the heartbeat of the God who looks for the lost. In showing God’s plan of salvation through the ministry of Jesus, Luke uses many times the Greek word translated in English as “must” or “it is necessary.” We need only to refer to 4:43, 9:22, 17:25, 22:37, 24:7 and 44, to grasp the sense of inevitability that flows from the desire of a saving God.

If the will of the Father is significant and the ministry of the Son is also in focus, then one should expect the work of the Holy Spirit should be somewhere in Luke’s Gospel. In this regard, there has always been a tendency, owing to the obvious work of the Holy Spirit described in Acts, to overlook the role of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of Luke. This is not healthy. From the very beginning, Luke already shows that the Holy Spirit has an instrumental role to play in Jesus’ conception (1:35), baptism (3:22), temptation (4:1), and his entire ministry (4:18). In fact, Luke, through the lens of Acts, interprets nothing less when he records the following words of Peter: “…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him” (Acts 10:38). Therefore reading Gospel of Luke with an eye on the work of the Holy Spirit is absolutely justified. Besides, it is only Luke who says that God gives His Spirit to those who ask Him (Lk 11:13).

We should also pay attention in reading Luke to pick up the importance of prayers. Often Luke records Jesus praying, and Luke has devoted more space to teachings on prayers than the other Gospels.