Luke is the story of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. It tells of his origin, life, teachings, ministry and miracles. It tells of his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. Consequently, Luke may be the most informative book in the Bible.
The Luke Series is a set of narrations based on the Bible’s book of Luke. Luke said that in writing his book that he investigated everything before writing Luke. His investigation included examining written materials and talking to eyewitnesses. This series is meant to imitate some of the stories Luke might have heard, as well as explore their meaning and importance. This series is true to the Bible, but fills in story lines based on history, geography, and imagination. Think of this series as being similar to a movie based on the book of Luke.
This series presumes that the author of Luke is Luke, a doctor who was a good friend and companion of Paul. That presumption sets the stage for Luke being able to correctly assess the veracity of the birth accounts of both John the Baptist and Jesus, and to understand their importance, both physically and spiritually. Don’t you imagine Luke, a doctor, was hesitant to write about miracles? But he believed in them to the point that he started his book with two miracle stories that could only be considered unlikely, if not outlandish.
Think of centurions as being the toughest of the tough. In terms of rank, they would be somewhat equivalent to a captain in the United States army. The typical centurion led a dangerous life because he led his soldiers in battle, and if he survived, he typically received Roman citizenship and a grant of land upon retirement. Like many soldiers of the time, they sought a calm, peaceful assignment as they approached retirement.
Very little is known about the centurion located in Capernaum. We can surmise he was there to protect the Via Maris trade route, and possibly act as an implicit threat to Herod’s nearby town of Tiberius. However, he treated the Jews and their religion with respect, which was unusual for a Roman; possibly he had become a God-follower, a person who believed in God but was not willing to become a Jew.
Since he was responsible for keeping peace, you can be sure the centurion knew all of the local leaders and kept abreast of all gossip and social news. He would have been familiar with Jesus and his healings and teachings. It was not a big leap for him to think of Jesus when his favorite servant was on the verge of death.
The healings, miracles, and resurrections of Jesus caused such a stir that he began to spend too much time doing those things instead of teaching. Desperately ill people certainly preferred healings over spiritual teaching, but Jesus was intent on healing people spiritually, too.
In Luke, this is the time when all of the attention turns from John the Baptist to Jesus. It is challenging for modern Christians to understand the importance of John the Baptist. It seems like Luke spends too much time on somebody who announces Jesus and then gets killed.
Jesus makes the effort to show the immense importance of John in preparing the way for Jesus. Jesus invokes Old Testament prophecies to show the validity of John’s message. This is important in trying to turn the Jews from the Laws of Moses to a new way of thinking. When Jesus gives John validity, it also provides validity for Jesus’ messages and claims.
Luke – Troy Powell Theophilus – Michael Page Mary – Chana Keefer John the Baptist – Sam Austin Satan – Christian Heep James – Andy Axewell Matthew – James Hansen Prince Right Hand Man – Ben Hall Centurion – Werner Richmond Mary Magdalene – Trisha Zarate James the Apostle – Lynn Andrews John the Apostle – John Ferguson Pharisee – M. Serrano Martha – Monica Peña Crippled Woman – Patty Pell Gardener – Adam Cope Judas Iscariot – Grey Acuña Lazarus (The Beggar) – Jeff Swearingen Tenth Leper – Eduardo Vildasol Young Ruler – Matthew Allen Holmes Zacchaeus – Chad Cline Andrew – Oscar Seung Peter – Francis Fuselier Pilate – Matthew Roy
