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.
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Luke introduces James into this story when Jesus taught in his hometown of Nazareth. The unbelieving people of Nazareth used the existence of Jesus’ family to dispel the notion that Jesus was anything special.1 Luke thought it was important to point out that Jesus was rejected in his hometown. Apparently, Luke wanted us to know that familiarity does breed contempt, so we must guard against that in our own lives.
When Jesus made it clear that non-Jews will receive salvation, the people became enraged and tried to kill him. The Jews of the time were very jealous of their special relationship with God.
There is no proof that James believed Jesus to be the Son of God while Jesus was alive. In fact, there are some verses that indicate Jesus’ brothers opposed his ministry. However, the book of Acts says that James later became the leader of the church in Jerusalem.
This episode portrays James as following Jesus for several days during his early ministry. There is nothing in the New Testament that says he did or did not do such a thing. This episode’s storyline does allow an understanding of why Jesus chose Capernaum as his headquarters instead of his hometown of Nazareth. We also get a glimpse of the early days of Jesus’ ministry when he spent much time healing people, casting out demons, and teaching. He did this not only in Capernaum, but also throughout the region of Judea.
Luke 4:31 is a hint of things to come. It says that the people were amazed because Jesus’ words had authority. The people were not just impressed, but absolutely amazed. Why? Probably because they were used to hearing religious leaders quote other religious leaders who quoted other religious leaders. The words they were hearing from their religious leaders may have been correct, but they certainly lacked true authority and authenticity.
Of the many religious leaders of the time, the Pharisees were most stung by the reaction of the people. They knew the Scriptures, studied all the time, and were devoted to following the rules they had made so they could better satisfy God, so the authority of Jesus was a serious threat to their leadership positions.
1 Matthew 13:53-58
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
