A five part interactive study. Discover Jesus for yourself.
SECTION 1
Jesus: A comprehensive look at his
origin and purpose.
In this study we will see:
How Luke's Gospel fits into history.
That Jesus is "the Son of God."
What Jesus said he came to do.
The New Testament is made up of several short books and letters.
Our English Bibles are translations of what the early Christians actually
wrote. The experts tell us that we can be sure that the text on which
these translations are based is exceptionally accurate and that seeming
contradictions are readily explained.
How can we be sure about the Bible accounts?
In the days of the first Christians, there were many writings about
the life of Jesus. But some had special quality--they had been written
by Jesus' followers or their close friends. These gospels and letters
were carefully copied by hand. Over the years, archaeologists have
found thousands of manuscripts of bits of the New Testament and even
some complete copies. By comparing these, we can get very close to
what the New Testament writers originally wrote. Some of these copies
are dated less than 100 years after the original gospel or letter
was written.
For an idea of how good this evidence is, compare the New Testament
with other writings that are about as old as the New Testament. For
example, Julius Caesar wrote a book called The Gallic War about
50 years before Christ was born. We obviously do not have the original
copy. Yet, we do have nine or ten copies, and the earliest of these
was made about 900 years after the original. This is a typical gap
for ancient writings.
When, however, we examine the historical evidence relating to the
Bible, one learns that there are thousands of manuscripts of the New
Testament books. Therefore, we have good reason to believe that we
know almost exactly what Luke, Paul and the others wrote.
Who wrote the gospel of Luke?
The author of this gospel, Luke, also wrote another book in the New
Testament, the Acts of the Apostles. He was the only New Testament
writer who was not Jewish, and he was a doctor. Independent evidence
confirms that he was a very careful and accurate historian.
Luke's Gospel:
Where did Luke get his information? (1:2)
How did he write it? (1:3)
Why do you think Luke wrote this introduction?
Where did Jesus come from?
Luke gives details of the unique origin of Jesus, and the following
passage explains how Jesus' birth was foretold.
What would the future hold for Mary's child? (1:32,33)
How would Jesus be conceived? (1:35-37)
Jesus is said to be the Son of God. What do these verses say
about Jesus' "double" origin?
Jesus explains his purpose
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the south of Palestine.
He grew up in a very ordinary town, named Nazareth, located in Galilee
which was in the north of Palestine. Jesus was a carpenter, but at
the age of 30, he became a religious teacher, moving from town to
town.
In Luke 4:14-22, we read what happened when Jesus began teaching.
He went to the synagogue, which was the local place of worship. Although
he probably had no more religious education than the average Jewish
man, people wanted to hear him. He was asked to speak at the synagogue
in Nazareth.
What kinds of people had Jesus come to help? (4:18)
What do you think this means?
What was he going to announce? (4:19)
What does this mean?
What do you think the people in the synagogue understood when
he said the words in verse 21?
Think About It
Jesus came to help the "poor", the "captive",
the "blind", and the "oppressed." What are ways
in which people today are poor, captive, blind or oppressed?
