“And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”Read the surrounding chapter
Time, place, and setting
- Time
- First century ministry; proposals for Gospel composition span later decades. 5
- Place
- Judaea, Jerusalem, Galilee and the journey toward Jerusalem. The final scenes return to Jerusalem and its vicinity. 1
- Setting
- Jesus proclaims God’s kingdom within Jewish life under Roman power. His compassion, teaching, suffering and resurrection shape the call to follow him. 1
Chapters 1 and 2: Promise, prayer and recognition
Begin with the dedication in 1:1 to 4 before entering the temple scene. The opening explains why the account is written and how its subject has been received. The Gospel’s writing date remains a separate question from the events narrated. 5 Chapter 1 then moves between Zacharias and Elizabeth, Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, the women’s meeting, John’s birth and prophetic praise. Prayer, worship and promised birth connect the opening with Israel’s Scriptures. 18 Genesis 12 and 17 and 1 Samuel 1 and 2 help locate Abraham’s covenant and Hannah’s prayer in their earlier settings. Mary’s song and Zacharias’ prophecy bring those hopes into Luke’s account of mercy. 1
Chapter 2 moves from the imperial decree to Bethlehem, shepherds, circumcision, temple recognition and the family’s later visit to Jerusalem. Census chronology and the notice’s syntax remain debated. 8 That issue deserves proportionate attention alongside what the story explicitly emphasises: the child’s birth, the good news, fulfilment of the law, Simeon’s expectation and Anna’s testimony. Scripture gives the infancy narrative much of its language and horizon. 6 Simeon joins Gentile light with Israel’s glory and also warns Mary of painful opposition. The joyful opening already prepares readers for conflict rather than promising an uninterrupted life of ease. 1
Chapters 3 to 4:13: Repentance and identity
John’s public preaching in chapter 3 includes fruit worthy of repentance, sharing clothing and food, honest collection and restraint by soldiers. Hearers receive particular answers suited to their responsibilities. Jesus’ baptism occurs while he prays. The Spirit descends and the Father’s voice identifies the beloved Son; the genealogy then reaches back through Israel’s generations to Adam. Sonship and ministerial anointing are distinct within this sequence. 17 In 4:1 to 13 the wilderness temptations concern bread, worship and the misuse of a promise of protection. Deuteronomy 6 and 8 and Psalm 91 provide the scriptural settings of the exchanges. 1
Keeping the whole testing account together makes its movement clearer. Jesus responds to the tempter through Scripture, and the narrator ends by noting departure for a season. The later passion brings renewed testing, prayer and endurance. Luke’s Jesus centred narrative has several features associated with ancient biography. 21 The genre helps readers attend to the identity disclosed through his responses rather than extracting isolated phrases as a technique. The explicit letters that name Luke can be read alongside the received attribution, while the account’s actual dedication remains unnamed. Medical diction alone cannot establish its author’s identity. 10 Colossians 4, Philemon 1 and 2 Timothy 4. 1
Chapters 4:14 to 9:50: Announcement and encounter
The Nazareth synagogue reading introduces the public ministry. Isaiah’s restoration setting belongs behind Jesus’ announcement of fulfilment. 4 The Greek release term in 4:18 concerns deliverance for captives. 2 Isaiah 58 and 61 provide useful companions: acceptable worship, relief of oppression and restoration are related within their own prophetic settings. Jesus’ references to Elijah’s widow and Naaman widen the scene’s mercy. 15 Read the audience’s response before moving to Capernaum, where teaching, deliverance and healing show the announcement at work. Chapters 5 and 6 add calling, forgiveness, Sabbath disputes, the Twelve and teaching about enemies, generosity and judgement. 1
Chapters 7 and 8 gather varied responses to Jesus. A centurion trusts his authority, a grieving mother receives her son, John’s messengers ask about his identity, and an anointing woman is misunderstood by a host. Saving language addresses different needs through these encounters. 7 Women then accompany the ministry and contribute practical support. 14 The sower’s explanation asks how hearers receive the word; the storm, restored man, bleeding woman and Jairus’ daughter show authority amid fear and need. Chapter 9 brings the Twelve’s mission, feeding, Peter’s confession, Jesus’ suffering prediction and transfiguration. The predicted cross now shapes the call to follow. 1
Chapters 9:51 to 19:27: The journey and its teaching
The journey begins with Jesus setting his face toward Jerusalem. Rejected hospitality, would be followers, the sending of the seventy and a lawyer’s question lead into teaching about discipleship and neighbour love. The Samaritan acts compassionately toward the wounded traveller. 11 Martha’s welcome and Mary’s listening follow, so practical attention and receiving Jesus’ word stand near each other in the narrative. Chapter 11 teaches prayer and the Father’s gift of the Holy Spirit. Chapters 12 and 13 address possessions, readiness, division, repentance, Sabbath healing and the kingdom’s growth. These subjects recur as the journey develops. 1
Chapters 14 to 16 move through meals, invitations, cost, lost people and money. Unexpected parable comparisons can unsettle familiar judgements. 20 The father in chapter 15 approaches both the returning and resentful sons. 9 His invitation brings the elder brother into the story’s unfinished response. 3 The steward in 16 changes debt bills, but the precise transaction mechanism is disputed. 19 Read the accompanying sayings about faithfulness and mammon before proceeding to Lazarus at the rich man’s gate. Luke 17 and 18 then join forgiveness, faith, gratitude, readiness, persistent prayer and humility; chapter 19 brings Zacchaeus and the minas before Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. 1
Chapters 19:28 to 21: Jerusalem and public conflict
Zacchaeus’ welcome gives the approaching arrival a significant household setting. Jesus’ declaration answers the crowd’s judgement about belonging. 13 The entry, lament over Jerusalem and temple confrontation then bring conflict into public view. Psalm 118 helps locate the words of welcome in their earlier setting of thanksgiving and deliverance. Chapter 20 contains distinct exchanges about authority, tenants, tribute and resurrection. Keeping the questioners and Jesus’ answers visible prevents an opponent’s accusation from being mistaken for his teaching. The later trial’s claim that he forbids tribute contradicts the answer given here. Luke 19 to 23. 1
At the end of chapter 20, Jesus warns about scribes who devour widows’ houses. The poor widow’s offering immediately follows. That juxtaposition invites attention to both her devotion and the danger described before it. Concern for needy people belongs within the Gospel’s mission. 16 Chapter 21 then moves from admiration of the temple to warnings about deception, conflict, persecution and Jerusalem’s distress. Jesus speaks of endurance and testimony, including divine help when his followers answer opposition. His words require attention to their actual Jerusalem setting, together with their wider call to faithful expectation, rather than substitution of a present country for the named city. 1
Chapters 22 to 24: Covenant, suffering and resurrection
Read the Passover meal, greatness dispute, Peter’s warning, prayer and arrest as one connected movement. The covenant words concern Jesus’ blood, while his teaching redirects prominence toward service. In the garden he prays amid distress; at the arrest he heals the wounded servant. The trials contain accusations, recognitions of innocence and political decisions made by different speakers. Chapter 23 records the cross, the penitent criminal, Jesus’ final prayer and burial. Psalm 31 provides the earlier setting for entrusting one’s spirit to God, while Isaiah 53 and Jeremiah 31 give broader scriptural settings of suffering and covenant. Luke makes its own Christian claims through Jesus’ words and acts. 1
Chapter 24 begins at the tomb and continues through the road to Emmaus, the Jerusalem gathering, Scripture opened, forgiveness commissioned and ascension. Resurrection worship leads toward promised witness in Acts. 12 Acts 1 and 2 supply the explicit continuation of power from on high, prophecy, tongues and public proclamation. Acts 10 and 13 expand the witness amid the Spirit’s action and prayer. First Corinthians 12 to 14 describe gifts governed by love, shared service and edification; James 5 joins healing prayer to patient care. These contexts help Pentecostal readers connect Luke’s conclusion with the church’s active life while preserving its centre in the crucified and risen Jesus. 1
Sources
Numbered references support the material above. Scripture quotations use the KJV.
- The Holy Bible, King James VersionKing James translators · 1611
Luke 1 to 24; Genesis 12 and 17; Exodus 3, 12 and 13; Leviticus 19 and 25; Deuteronomy 6 and 8; 1 Samuel 1 and 2; 2 Samuel 7; 1 Kings 17; 2 Kings 5; 2 Chronicles 28; Isaiah 40, 49, 53, 58 and 61; Jeremiah 7 and 31; Psalms 31, 91, 110 and 118; Daniel 7; Malachi 3 and 4; Jonah 3; Acts 1, 2, 7, 10, 13, 20 and 28; 1 Corinthians 12 to 14; James 5; Colossians 4; 2 Timothy 4; Philemon 1; Greek Luke 4:16 to 21
View the source - A Greek English Lexicon of the New TestamentJoseph Henry Thayer
Entry 859, historical introduction and both numbered senses; Luke 4:18
View the source - The Gospel according to St Luke, Cambridge Bible for Schools and CollegesFrederic William Farrar · 1891
Luke 15:11 to 32
View the source - Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, LukeHeinrich August Wilhelm Meyer
Luke 4:16 to 21
View the source - Luke and Acts, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary Volume 12Allison A. Trites and William J. Larkin · 2007
Luke introduction, printed pages 3 to 9 and 24, publisher preview PDF 18 to 25
View the source - The Gospel According to Luke: All Flesh Shall See God’s SalvationGreg Carey · 2012
Pages 3 to 8, publisher supplied selection
View the source - Salvation in Luke ActsMark Allan Powell · 1992
Complete prose, pages 5 to 10
View the source - Detaching the Census: An Alternative Reading of Luke 2:1 to 7David J. Armitage · 2018
Pages 75 to 77 and 93 to 95, introduction and Discussion
View the source - The Parable of the Prodigal Father: An Interpretative Key to the Third Gospel (Luke 15:11 to 32)Trevor J. Burke · 2013
Pages 217 to 218 and 234 to 238, introduction and Reading the Parable
View the source - Luke the Physician: Some Notes on the Internal EvidenceLuuk van de Weghe · 2025
Pages 31 to 33 and 43, medical vocabulary and concluding argument
View the source - The Good Samaritan and the Hope for Kingdom Restoration (Luke 10:25 to 37)John A. Davies · 2025
Pages 154 to 155 and 170 to 173, opening, Christological and ethical readings, conclusion
View the source - The Ascension in Luke ActsJohn F. Maile · 1986
Pages 29 to 31 and 57 to 59, opening and concluding argument
View the source - The Enthymeme in Luke 19:9 and the Salvation of ZacchaeusFrank Z. Kovacs · 2022
Pages 120 to 121 and 139 to 143, rhetorical form and summary
View the source - A Dialogic Reading of Luke 8:1 to 3Mphumezi Hombana and Jurgoi Saleh Jnr · 2025
Contextual Considerations through Divine Grace Reciprocated in Gratitude
View the source - Jesus and the Marginalized: Attaching Pastoral Meaning to Luke 4:14 to 30Jeannette Steyn and Aneel Yousaf · 2010
Sections 4 and 5, Context and Exegesis and Historical Background
View the source - Provision for the Poor and the Mission of the Church: Ancient Appeals and Contemporary ViabilityChristopher M. Hays · 2012
First mission section and Authority of Jesus; Love and Conclusion
View the source - Jesus and the Spirit in Lucan PerspectiveMax Turner · 1981
Pages 4, 34 to 38 and 41 to 42, originating notice and Spirit argument
View the source - The Motif of Worship, Prayer, and Prophecy in Luke 1:5 to 25 as a Bridge between the Old Testament and the Gospel of LukeDaniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh · 2024
Pages 7 to 13, literary analysis and exegesis
View the source - And How Much Do You Owe? Take Your Bill, Sit Down Quickly, and Write (Luke 16:5 to 6)Luca Marulli · 2012
Pages 200 to 202 and 213 to 216, debt arrangements and concluding interpretation
View the source - Incongruity in the Gospel ParablesDavid Seccombe · 2011
Pages 165 to 172, parable incongruities and conclusion
View the source - What Are the Gospels? A Comparison with Graeco Roman BiographyRichard A. Burridge · 2018
Introduction I.4 to I.8, publisher preview PDF 20 to 24
View the source