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The Gospel of Luke 1:1-4

I’m not sure what the best way to approach this is going to be. Verse by verse exposition or taking larger sections and giving the overall force of the passage? I guess in a real commentary doing both is ideal. I think what I’ll do is make an attempt at summaries of sections with some comments about specific things in the text where I think helpful.

Ok, let’s dive in.

Luke 1:1-4

The overall intent of these verses is plain enough. Luke has taken up the task of writing his gospel after surveying what others have done (possibly including Mark and Matthew) and determining that there may be need for an “orderly account” of Jesus’ life, ministry, teaching, death, and resurrection. “Orderly account” doesn’t have to mean that his is more factually correct than other gospel accounts. Naturally, this taps into a much larger and complicated discussion of what is “correct.” In what sense does Christian biography (which the gospels seem to be a form of) need to be factually true in order to be “the truth.”

Luke does seem to have a tendency to include more information than the other gospels (it is the longest of the four). However, I tend to view the “orderly account” as being an explanation for how the Jesus movement went from a Jewish thing to a Jewish-plus-Gentile thing.

We also learn from these opening words (v.2) that Luke wasn’t an eyewitness of Jesus’ life and ministry. During his work with Paul (also not technically an eyewitness of Jesus’ earthly life), he likely had interactions with various early church leaders, and feasibly a fair number of Jesus’ original disciples. Whether he did or not, he affirms that he has “investigated” the traditions handed down by those earliest followers.

The letter is addressed to “Theophilus,” which could be an individual with that name. My own opinion is that Theophilus is any of us. And by that I mean any of us who would seek to be a “lover of God,” which is what the name itself means. Either way, Luke’s intent is clear. He wants to provide people with some sense of assurance about things they have been told about Jesus.

Dang. We are going to be moving pretty slow if I take this long to explain stuff. I’m going to need to keep this moving right along.

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The Gospel of Luke… Intro

Before we jump into the text proper, a few introductory words might prove helpful. Let’s do this in a question/answer format.

Who wrote The Gospel According to Luke?

Seems easy enough, right? Church tradition has identified Luke as the author, so in my mind it would take some conclusive evidence to demonstrate otherwise. One argument for Luke’s authorship of the gospel goes something like this. It is pretty much universally accepted that whoever wrote Luke also wrote Acts. The “we/us” passage of Acts indicate that whoever wrote Luke/Acts was one of Paul’s partners in ministry who travelled with him. According to Colossians, 2 Timothy, and Philemon, Luke was someone who was known to Paul and co-labored with him on a regular basis. So while neither church tradition nor the textual evidence is strong enough on their own to establish Luke as the author, both pieces taken together make a fairly strong case.

When was The Gospel of Luke written?

If Luke is the author, then the latest the gospel could have been written is the early 80’s when it is believed that Luke died. A fairly even-handed guess would be sometime between the mid-60’s (after the final events recorded in Acts) and before the early-80’s. The question that drives some of the speculation is whether the destruction of Jerusalem is predicted by Jesus in Luke or is it a Lucan literary device to refer to something that has already happened. Confusing, I know. Don’t lose sleep over it.

Why was this gospel written?

This may be the most important thing to understand as we follow Jesus through the pages of Luke. If Luke did co-labor with Paul in his missionary endeavors, presumably that would have taken them well beyond the borders of the Jewish world and deep into Gentile territory. As they presented Jesus the Messiah as the rightful Lord and Savior of every tribe, tongue, and nation, questions along the following lines were sure to follow… “How has it come to pass that a failed Jewish revolutionary has come to be revered as the universal Lord over all the world?” It is a fair enough question, and one that Luke takes a stab at answering. As we go through the gospel, we’ll be sure to stop along the way and see how Luke seeks to answer this question.

I’m also going to throw in a map. I like maps. I think they are helpful. One of the things a map does is to serve as a reminder that the events that Luke records aren’t just stories that sort of float around out in space. No, the story Luke tells happened in a real time and a real place.

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The Gospel of Luke… starting now

Today, at church, we started a new series on the Gospel of Luke. I got us started, and my enthusiasm for sharing all that I know and love about the gospels may have got the better of me. I’m not saying that’s a good thing. I pretty sure that people left today thinking, “that guy knows a lot about Jesus,” but not necessarily having tons of helpful things to grab hold of. Not that I think having “helpful things to grab hold of” was the intent of any of the gospel writers, which was in fact one of the points I was making. I think you get the idea.

So in my very limited ability, I tried to convey that there is so much to know and understand about who Jesus is in the gospels. The problem is that I may have tried to share all of that in one 30+ minute message. My text was mostly chapter 4 of Luke, and it really could should have been at least three different sermons.

Which brings me to why I’m here. I was pretty excited about everything that I had to say today, but sometimes EVERYTHING isn’t the best thing. You know… too much of a good thing.

So, instead of ambushing unsuspecting church-goers with more than they bargained for, I’m going to move a good bit of my discussion to here. I’m doing this for a few reasons.

First, as I’ve already said, I need an outlet. I’ll be studying Luke with the church and a couple different small groups. But I’ll enjoy having a place to say all that I’d like to say that, frankly, most people aren’t all that interested in.

Second, while looking for resources geared towards helping people study Luke on their own, I was fairly disappointed with the quality of what’s available for free online. I don’t want to denigrate the work that people have done to explain this gospel, but it just seems like they weren’t asking, “What is going to be helpful for people who are trying to make sense of Luke as they are sitting in front of their computer.” I’m absolutely certain that my efforts will suffer from the same deficiencies, but it won’t be from a lack of trying.

And third, I am hopeful that those who are studying Luke this summer and have questions will feel free to ask away. Church services generally don’t allow for that sort of interaction, nor would it be entirely helpful. Even if we made the opportunity available, people don’t ask the questions they have; either because they feel dumb asking or they think others will judge them for saying off-the-wall stuff. Hopefully, this can be a place where neither of these things get in the way of some good interaction.

So ideally, this will end up being a combination of commentary and online Bible study. We’ll see.

There are, however, a few obstacles with doing what I plan to do here.

1) While I know more than your average person about the Bible, I fall a far cry short of anything resembling a Biblical scholar. I’ll try to do decent research for what I put together, but please take it all with a grain of salt. I’m just a guy who loves studying the Bible, but probably gets it wrong about as often as I get it right.

2) I have a day job. It is called “being a pastor.” And while there should be more time for stuff like this, the days fill quickly. I’ll try to be fairly consistent, but we’ll see.

3) The first two obstacles pale in comparison with #3. I am about to be out of town for the better part of a month. And where I’m heading, internet access is going to be sketchy at best and more likely non-existent for long stretches of time. I’ll just need to get creative about how this gets done.

Ok, as you can see, this little project is going to require a lot of grace. However, with all that out on the table, I’m looking forward to diving in. My hope is that this really will be a resource for anyone who would study The Gospel of Luke (whether this summer or in the future). And be it known, the question that will drive the conversation day after day, at least for me, will be “What is it that Luke actually intended to communicate?”

I, for one, think this is an important question to ask. You might, as well.

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More Mountains

Like most summers, the Rocky Mountains will provide the backdrop for various adventures in the coming weeks.

I’m taking my family (and an assortment of others) for a two-week camping trip. This annual event is sure to be both epic and rejuvenating at the same time.

I’ll also help lead a pack of graduating seniors as they take a week to pause and think clearly about the next chapter of their lives.

In between those two trips, I’m hoping for a couple days to do some climbing in southwest region of the state.

And then, later in the summer, I’m looking to take a group of guys (18 year old plus) for a long weekend of the perfect combination of mountain-leisure and mountain-rigor. I never exactly know who is game for this sort of thing, nor am I the kind of person that wants to make it an exclusive affair. So, if you are male, have August 3-9 more or less free, and desire this kind of mountain adventure, let me know. I’m going to be there. And I’m thinking about a dozen others will be joining me.

May all your summertime plans bear good fruit… no matter where you find yourself.

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Four (almost all covers) for Friday

I’m not a super huge fan of covers, but every now and then I’ll come across one that I like. Today, you’re getting three! The fourth song is so good that someone should do a cover.

Derek Webb – Living on a Prayer (Bon Jovi Cover) // That’s right! A Bon Jovi cover. I never thought I would live to see the day, but what can I say… I kind of like it.

Taylor Swift – White Blank Page (Mumford & Sons Cover) // While we are on covers that I never thought possible, here’s one everything in me wanted to despise. And yet, I couldn’t. It is just so good. Shame on me.

Mayer Hawthorne – Don’t Turn the Lights On (Chromeo Cover) // As my friend Bryan Jones sometimes says, “I’m out of words now…”

Benjamin Francis Leftwich – Atlas Hands // The only non-cover in the line up. This album is destined to become one of my most listened to of the year. This song will be one of the reasons why.

Happy weekend!

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Mountain Meetings

A few weeks ago, Bob asked “one big question” that maybe was two.

“Where is your favorite spot, what is your favorite activity to seek God?”

I’m ready to answer the “activity” half of the question.

Drum roll.

And, here it is…

Being in the mountains.

Shocking, I know.

I am also aware that I’m cheating a little. Mountains are the spot. Reading is the activity. It is probably all just a matter of semantics, but here’s the way I see it. When I’m in the mountains, I am active. When I’m reading, I’m sitting in a spot. Ok, as always, I don’t need to justify myself. My blog. I do what I want.

I’m not entirely sure what it is about the mountains that draws me to them, but they have so often been the setting for seeking after God.

Maybe it is their sheer beauty.

Or the way the mountain air clears the mind.

Or the lessons learned about fear and trust.

But it is most certainly about the people with whom I find myself in the mountains, and in life, again and again. The people with whom I seek God… together.


More to come…

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Four for (a different) Friday

Howdy folks. Today we’re branching out a bit. Never fear… I’ll be sure to include my trademark ultra low-key depressing music in there somewhere. Let’s do this.

Canopies – Rebels // Not to be confused with Canopy Climbers. Don’t we all need a little more synth in our lives?

Emanuel and the Fear – Dear Friend // Not really my cup of tea, but it might be yours. I can sort of get behind it.

Foster the People – Waste // Don’t know why I like this song so much, but I do. Maybe it is because it’s awesome.

Seryn – We Will All Be Changed // Ok, I’ve regained my sanity, sort of. This one is much closer to home.

And for being willing to go down the road of expanding our musical horizons today, your reward is a little more of the goodness that is Seryn. The video is a bit confusing, because it says “This Is Where We Are.” I believe that is the album’s name. The name of the song is “The River.”

No ‘thank you’s’ will be necessary.

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Scripture and the Authority of God by N.T. Wright

I’m thinking of renaming the blog “Four for Friday,” because that’s about all I’m able to make time for these days. So I’m sneaking a quick one in just before Friday to try to maintain some blog-cred.

Another alternate name could be “N.T. Wright Fan-Boy,” since that’s about the only other thing I talk about around here. A friend of mine was reading Wright’s Scripture and the Authority of God and asked if I had read it. Much to both our surprise, I hadn’t. He said he was finding it challenging and would love hear my thoughts on it. Never needing much of any encouragement to read more Wright, I promptly ordered it and dove right in. As chance would have it, I finished it up this past weekend, a day or so before this same friend tied the knot.

As you might suspect, the book is good. Really good. Wright successfully (IMHO) navigates between the warring conservative and liberal advocates in the “Battle for the Bible.” One group of Christians argues for a kind of inerrancy that the Bible doesn’t really seem to affirm about itself. While the other group writes off the Bible simply a man-produced piece of literature and therefore no more authoritative than “Chicken Soup for the Soul” or “Harry Potter” or Oprah or whatever.

Or as Wright says it himself…

Much of what has been written about the Bible in the last two hundred years has either been following through the Enlightenment’s program, or reacting to it, or negotiating some kind of halfway house in between.

So many good thoughts and not really anytime to unpack them, so I’ll just fire away a few more memorable quotes and let the chips fall where they may.

On how the Word is authoritative…

The apostolic writings, like the ‘word’ which they now wrote down, were not simply about the coming of God’s Kingdom into all the world; they were, and were designed to be, part of the means whereby that happened, and whereby those through whom it happened could themselves be transformed into Christ’s likeness.

On role that “religious experience” should play in constructing truth…

We could put it like this. ‘Experience’ is what grows by itself in the garden. ‘Authority’ is what happens when the gardener wants to affirm the goodness of the genuine flowers and vegetables by uprooting the weeds in order to let beauty and fruitfulness triumph over chaos, thorns, and thistles. An over-authoritarian church, paying no attention to experience, solves the  problem by paving the garden with concrete. An over-experiential church solves the (real or imagined) problem of concrete (rigid and ‘judgmental’ forms of faith) by letting anything and everything grow unchecked, sometimes labeling concrete as ‘law’ and so celebrating any and every weed as ‘grace.’

Ok, there’s more – always more – but that’s enough to try and wrap one’s brain around for one day. Oh, one other thing. Scot McKnight also recently wrote a bit about the book. Lot’s more interaction over there.

See you tomorrow with some insanely great music in hand.

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Four for (Another) Friday

I trust your Memorial Day Weekend plans are in full swing. Here is some music to help pass the days…

Widespread Panic – C. Brown // This one comes by special request. Jamey brought it to my attention that these fellas will be opening up Riverfest tonight.

Arcade Fire – Speaking in Tongues (feat. David Byrne) // I believe this song is going to be included in some special re-release of Suburbs later this summer.

Ivan & Alyosha – Glorify // While we are working with biblical allusions for song titles, here’s a song that strays a bit from what I think St. Paul was after.

Typhoon – Summer Home // Saved the best for last…

Happy weekend!

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Four for Friday

What do to after you’ve had your mind blown by my man N.T.? That’s easy… take in some great tunes.

Been a good music week, so let’s get to it.

Blue Scholars – Cinemetropolis // Title track from their brand new album.

Bon Iver – Calgary // Vernon and company have been working on a new album as well. Here’s the single they’ve released.

Pinback – Sherman // My nearly hitched friend introduced Pinback to me a few years back. I’ve been a fan ever since.

Canopy Climbers – Break // Another friend turned me on to Canopy Climbers last Sunday and their songs have been the soundtrack for the better part of my week.

See you next Friday! Unless, of course, the world ends tomorrow.