More Non-Doctor Thoughts

I’m not a doctor like Luke was, but I am working on my Doctor of Ministry degree.  I completed the Scriptures I had prepared for this week’s blog posts, so I found myself praying about Luke and going back to my notes from one of my classes.  I was required to write a three page summary of the book of Luke.  It started out like this:

Luke's Gospel, traditionally attributed to the traveling companion of Paul the Apostle, is the first volume of the two-volume set: Luke-Acts. Luke is written by an educated Greek who appears to be writing to a Gentile audience. The author is not, like claimed by two of the other Gospels, one of the original twelve Apostles nor is he an eye-witness to the events he relates. Instead, Luke gives an account from the information he compiled when he “carefully investigated everything from the beginning” (Luke 1:3 [NIV]).

It was fun to read through the summary again this morning.  I saw what I considered to be the highlights of the text at the time.  Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Zechariah all set the stage.  John the Baptist plays a big role in the early part of Luke’s narrative, but the real hero of the story is clearly Jesus – the Messiah, the Son of God, and God.

We use the word “epic” a lot in recent years.  Luke, however, takes 24 chapters to tell a truly epic tale of the Son of God.  His carefully detailed, orderly eyewitness account takes us from the proclamation of His birth to his ascension into heaven.  When I finish reading the book, I can almost hear my children saying, “Read it again, daddy.”  Luke’s Gospel is a masterpiece to read and gives strength to my faith.  I finished my summary by saying:

Luke finishes part one of his accounts with Jesus ascending up into heaven with his disciples worshiping him. They return to Jerusalem with joy and stay at the temple praising God (24:50-52). The stage is set for part two of Luke's epic tale, where he will shift from the biography of a hero to the history of his movement.

How about you?  Have you read this epic account?  Have you read his second volume: Acts?  Take the time.  It’s worth it.