We will begin our verse by verse study of the Gospel according to Luke on Monday, 3/23/2020.
But first, four unique things about LUKE
1. Luke is the longest Gospel (and New Testament book)
If you were to judge book length based on the number of chapters, you'd walk away thinking that Matthew and Acts are longer than Luke. After all, they both have 28 chapters and Luke's Gospel only contains 24.
But with a word count of 19,482, Luke's is actually the longest. Acts has 18,450 Greek words, while Matthew's contains 18,346.
In fact, even though Paul wrote the most books in the New Testament (13) followed by John (5), Luke is actually the New Testament's most prolific author by sheer volume.
2. Luke is the only Gospel written by a Gentile
While debate still abounds, it's traditionally accepted that Luke was a Greek, and the only Gentile author of a Gospel. Not only is Luke considered the only Gentile writer, but both Luke and Acts (traditionally considered one work) were written to share the story of Christ and the rise of the church with "Theophilus."
There are a number of theories into this person's identity, most of them assuming Theophilus to be a high-ranking or prominent Gentile himself—making Luke the only Gospel written by a Gentile for a Gentile audience.
3. Luke was a physician
In the fourth chapter of Paul's letter to the Colossians, he calls Luke a doctor (4:14). You can also see evidence of Luke's profession in the medical language he uses. In Acts 28:8, Luke says:
"His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him" (New International Version).
The Greek Luke uses for "suffering from fever and dysentery" (puretois kai dusenterio sunechomenon) is the actual correct medical terminology that one might find in the works of Hippocrates. In Luke 14, we encounter a man with dropsy. Luke uses the word hudropikos, which occurs nowhere else in the Bible but can also be found in Hippocratic writings.
It's interesting to note that in Mark's account of the bleeding woman, he makes the following statement:
"She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse" (Mark 5:26, NIV).
Luke's version seems to leave a better impression of the medical community:
"And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her" (Luke 8:43, NIV).
4. Luke features unique and well-known parables
Each of the Gospels features some unique stories, elements and teachings, but Luke is particularly packed with interesting and distinct parables. These include the parable of the prodigal son (15:11–32) and the good Samaritan (10:29–37).
Here are some other parables that are limited to Luke's Gospel:
Parable of two debtors (7:40–43)
Parable of the friend at midnight (11:5–8)
Parable of the rich fool (12:13–21)
Parable of punishment (12:47–48)
Parable of the barren tree (13:1–9)
Parable of the lost coin (15:8–10)
Parable of the shrewd manager (16:1–12)
Parable of the rich man and Lazarus (16:19–31)
Parable of the persistent widow (18:1–8)
Parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (18:9–14)
