In this study we will see:
- How Luke's Gospel fits into history.
- That Jesus is "the Son of God."
- What Jesus said he came to do.
The New Testament is made up of several short books and letters. Our English Bibles are translations of what the
early Christians actually wrote. The experts tell us that we can be sure that the text on which these translations are based
is exceptionally accurate and that seeming contradictions are readily explained.
How can we be sure about the Bible accounts?
In the days of the first Christians, there were many writings about the life of Jesus. But some had special quality--they
had been written by Jesus' followers or their close friends. These gospels and letters were carefully copied by hand. Over
the years, archaeologists have found thousands of manuscripts of bits of the New Testament and even some complete copies.
By comparing these, we can get very close to what the New Testament writers originally wrote. Some of these copies are dated
less than 100 years after the original gospel or letter was written.
For an idea of how good this evidence is, compare the New Testament with other writings that are about as old as the New
Testament. For example, Julius Caesar wrote a book called The Gallic War about 50 years before Christ was born. We
obviously do not have the original copy. Yet, we do have nine or ten copies, and the earliest of these was made about 900
years after the original. This is a typical gap for ancient writings.
When, however, we examine the historical evidence relating to the Bible, one learns that there are thousands of manuscripts
of the New Testament books. Therefore, we have good reason to believe that we know almost exactly what Luke, Paul and the
others wrote.
Who wrote the gospel of Luke?
The author of this gospel, Luke, also wrote another book in the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles. He was the only
New Testament writer who was not Jewish, and he was a doctor. Independent evidence confirms that he was a very careful and
accurate historian.
Luke's Gospel: fact or fiction?
Read Luke 1:1-4
- Where did Luke get his information? (1:2)
- How did he write it? (1:3)
- Why do you think Luke wrote this introduction?
Where did Jesus come from?
Luke gives details of the unique origin of Jesus, and the following passage explains how Jesus' birth
was foretold.
Read Luke 1:26-38
- What would the future hold for Mary's child? (1:32,33)
- How would Jesus be conceived? (1:35-37)
- Jesus is said to be the Son of God. What do these verses say about Jesus' "double" origin?
Jesus explains his purpose
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the south of Palestine. He grew up in a very ordinary town, named Nazareth, located
in Galilee which was in the north of Palestine. Jesus was a carpenter, but at the age of 30, he became a religious teacher,
moving from town to town.
In Luke 4:14-22, we read what happened when Jesus began teaching. He went to the synagogue, which was the local place of
worship. Although he probably had no more religious education than the average Jewish man, people wanted to hear him. He was
asked to speak at the synagogue in Nazareth.
Read Luke 4:14-22
- What kinds of people had Jesus come to help? (4:18)
What do you think
this means?
- What was he going to announce? (4:19)
What does this mean?
- What do you think the people in the synagogue understood when he said the words in verse 21?
TO THINK ABOUT
Jesus came to help the "poor", the "captive", the "blind", and the "oppressed." What are ways in which people today are
poor, captive, blind or oppressed?
| One | Two | Three | Four | Five |
| 
