Walking Through Luke Week 1
Getting Started – Part 1
Can you just dive right into a book of the Bible without reading an introduction, without knowing anything about the book? Yes, absolutely! Most of the time when I’m doing my Bible reading, I just dive right in! Sometimes that works out great. In my morning reading I’m just working my way through the Bible getting to know God more, looking for Scripture to pray, or hoping to hear Him speak something personal to me.
I don’t have to do any research before I just read a book of the Bible. That being said, knowing who wrote the book, to whom it was written, and what was happening in the place and time it was written (context), can really open up greater understanding as I read.
So for Bible reading, an Introduction (like what comes right before each individual book in a Study Bible) is nice to have, but not essential. Don’t let it stop you from starting or continuing your daily Bible reading.
But when it comes to Bible Study, a good Introduction is more important. Depending on your learning style, you could read a Study Bible introduction, listen to an introductory sermon on the book, or let your Bible study leader share a little bit about the book the first week.
Here’s one way to approach beginning the book of Luke. (A handout to write on is available at Week 1 – Luke 1:1-4.)
Read the First Few Verses
My personal preference is to dive in and start reading the book, and then go back and read an Introduction in a Study Bible or commentary. Sometimes we can find out in the first lines of the book who wrote the book and to whom, and why it was written.
For example, in the first four lines of the Gospel of Luke, the author gives us a little introduction. He tells us what kind of book this is (Luke 1:1). He tells us to whom he is writing (Luke 1:3). He tells us how he went about writing the book (Luke 1:2-3). And he tells us the reason he wrote the book (Luke 1:4).*
Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed them down to us. 3 It also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed.
That’s a huge start! And we haven’t even opened a commentary!
Ask Some Questions
Reading the first verses gives us some good information. It should also prompt some questions. What questions do YOU have after reading Luke 1:1-4? I’m still wondering…
- Who wrote the book?
- Who is Theophilus?
- How did the author conduct this research?
- What are “the events that have been fulfilled among us”?
- Who is “us”?
- Who else has “undertaken to compile a narrative”?
Stop and Think for a Minute
Don’t rush off to find the answers in a commentary or Study Bible just yet. Take a minute to brainstorm some possible answers to the questions you came up with. For example:
- Who wrote the book? I’m guessing it was Luke, since the book is called The Gospel According to Luke. I remember a doctor named Luke being mentioned at the end of Colossians. I wonder if it’s the same guy.
- Who is Theophilus? Well, Luke calls him “most honorable,” so he must be important. His name kind of sounds Greek. Does that mean he wasn’t Jewish? I wonder how they knew each other. Come to think of it, I wonder if Luke was a Jew or a Gentile? And it seems kind of odd that Luke would go through all this research just for an audience of one person…
You get the idea. Look what happens when I think about my questions. I end up with more questions! When I’ve got specific questions, and I have thought about those questions a little bit, then I’m ready for commentary, in this case an Introduction to Luke, written by an expert.
Go to Your Study Bible
If you don’t have a Study Bible, you can access one on-line. Look for the answers to your questions, and jot them down in your notebook (or the Luke: Week 1 handout).
In addition to the author, audience, date, and location of the book, a good Introduction will also give you an Outline and Themes.
Outline of the Book
An outline is just a way of writing out what happens in the book and in what order. The outline is like a map. It gives you a mental set of pegs to hang the story on. It can help you see what the author is going to emphasize and recognize foreshadowing (when the author hints at something that will happen later.)
How detailed the outline gets is a matter of preference. At the beginning stage, I find it helpful to try to chunk the book into no more than 4 pieces. If you find an outline that is more detailed than that, see if you can combine a couple parts in your own mind, or look for a simpler one.
For example, the ESV Study Bible has a great outline of the book of Luke breaking it down into eight parts.
- The Prologue (1:1–4)
- The Infancy Narrative (1:5–2:52)
- Preparation for the Ministry of Jesus (3:1–4:15)
- The Ministry of Jesus in Galilee (4:16–9:50)
- The Journey to Jerusalem (9:51–19:27)
- The Ministry of Jesus in Jerusalem (19:28–21:38)
- The Suffering and Death of Jesus (22:1–23:56)
- The Resurrection of Jesus (24:1–53)
That’s really good, but a lot for my brain to remember. A simpler outline might be:
- Jesus’ Early Life and Ministry (Mostly in Galilee) (1:1-9:50)
- Jesus’ Journey to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27)
- The Climactic Events in Jerusalem (9:28-24:53)
After I learned this outline, I read the Book of Luke all the way through in one or two sittings. Having this simple outline in mind really helped me feel the shift in the narrative when Jesus “set his face toward Jerusalem” in Luke 9:51.
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
Themes
Themes are the big ideas that the author will develop over the course of the story. It is helpful to know the themes of a book as you begin to study it. It helps the whole book hold together as one whole narrative.
The themes give context. The difference between studying a whole book and studying just one passage is that we get to look at each part of the story in relationship to the other parts of the story. We see things in context. If we know the themes of the book, we can see how Luke uses the stories in sequence to highlight the themes.
Themes can help you figure out why the author included a certain part of the story, and understand the point he is trying to make. Reading and interpreting Luke with the themes in mind also will protect us from making bad interpretations and applications, like when we get to Jesus’ parables, for example.
If you are a small group leader, the themes can help you organize your discussion time. Asking questions about how Luke is developing the themes of the book is a way to discuss the entire week’s reading (often an entire chapter or more) in a short period of time. (We have included Weekly Discussion Guides with ideas of theme-related questions you can ask.)
Wrap Up
In the next post I’ll go over some specific themes in Luke, and a few other things that I found helpful to know before reading the book.
* Answers from above
- What kind of book this is? – a narrative. An orderly history. (Luke 1:1) It will also confirm what has been taught, so maybe something more than a narrative…
- To whom he is writing? – most honorable Theophilus (Luke 1:3);
- How he went about writing the book – interviewing eyewitnesses or reading their accounts, carefully investigating everything and putting it together in an orderly sequence (Luke 1:2-3);
- The reason he wrote the book – to give his readers certainty about what they’ve been taught about Jesus (Luke 1:4).
The ESV® Study Bible, Copyright © 2008 by Crossway.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers.
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