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The Structure of Luke’s Gospel

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Luke wrote a two-volume history of the early Christian movement to Theophilus, a Roman official who likely had some role in Paul’s trial before Caesar. The charges against Paul guided Luke in his selection of themes, and led him to appeal to the Jews to turn around before their doom fell upon them.

So how does Luke structure his gospel? How does he arrange his material in order to persuade both the Romans to acquit Paul and the world (including Jews) to receive God’s salvation?

Major Divisions

Matthew uses five major speeches to shape his gospel. Mark uses disciples and predictions. John uses signs and conversations. But Luke’s primary mechanism for signaling literary divisions is his use of setting, especially geography.

After a short preface (Luke 1:1-4), Luke opens with a statement of time and place (Luke 1:5). Since he’s presenting an “orderly account” (Luke 1:3), he goes out of his way to refer to his sources and extensive research. So we ought to expect such organization to continue.

In Luke 4:14-15, Luke tells us that Jesus returned to Galilee, and he gives us a summary statement of Jesus’ work there (“he taught in their synagogues”). Such summary statements appear to serve as Luke’s main signals that a section is beginning or ending. And Jesus remains in Galilee until Luke 9:50.

In Luke 9:51, Jesus sets his face to go to Jerusalem. From here until Luke 19:27, Luke peppers his narrative with reminders that Jesus was “on the way” (Luke 10:38, 13:22, 17:11).1

In Luke 19:28, Jesus finally goes up to Jerusalem, and he remains there until the end of the book.

So Luke’s geographical markers give us the following major divisions for the book:

  1. Preface (Luke 1:1-4)
  2. Groundwork for ministry (Luke 1:5-4:13)
  3. Ministry in Galilee (Luke 4:14-9:50)
  4. Ministry on the way to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-19:27)
  5. Ministry in Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-24:53)

Now Luke is a long book. Can we subdivide these major sections any further?

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Luke 1:5-4:13

The early chapters begin with scenes that alternate between John and Jesus:

  • Prediction of John’s birth – Luke 1:5-25
    • Prediction of Jesus’ birth – Luke 1:26-38
      • Celebration of the two coming children, who will bring salvation – Luke 1:39-56
  • John’s birth – Luke 1:57-80
    • Jesus’ birth – Luke 2:1-20
      • Celebration of Jesus’ coming, which brings salvation – Luke 2:21-52

Then we get another major statement of setting (Luke 3:1-2) and another alternation between John and Jesus:

  • John’s baptism and credentials, preparing for the true son of God – Luke 3:3-20
    • Jesus’ baptism and credentials as the Son of God – Luke 3:21-4:13

So Luke’s first major division has two subdivisions:

  1. The salvation of God – Luke 1:5-2:52
  2. The Son of God – Luke 3:1-4:13

Luke 4:14-9:50

I’m frankly uncertain regarding how to subdivide this section. I’ve come across two schemes that both make sense.

One framework divides the text thematically:

  1. Jesus’ teaching – Luke 4:14-6:49
  2. Jesus’ offer of salvation through faith – Luke 7:1-8:56
  3. Jesus’ followers – Luke 9:1-50

This framework fits with the content of the material. The statement, “After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people” (Luke 7:1), sure sounds like a concluding transition statement into a new section. And it’s exactly the sort of thing Luke would say to “order” his account. But there is no clearly corresponding transition statement at Luke 8:56 or Luke 9:1 to suggest a division there. But “faith” is certainly a major theme in chapters 7-8. And Luke 9 appears to switch topics.

So a second possible framework is worth considering:

  1. Jesus’ first tour of Galilee – Luke 4:14-7:50
  2. Jesus’ second tour of Galilee, with his disciples – Luke 8:1-56
  3. Jesus’ third tour of Galilee, sending his disciples – Luke 9:1-50

The best evidence in favor of this framework is the presence of clearer literary signals in the text (Jesus’ “going out” or “sending out” at the beginning of each of the three sections). The downside to this framework is that it can be difficult to see a unified message in each of the sections.

So I prefer the first framework, but I could easily be persuaded to reconsider.

Luke 9:51-19:27

In this part of the book, it’s easier to identify clear subdivisions, because of Luke’s reminders that Jesus was “on the way” (Luke 10:38, 13:22, 17:11).1 These are not incidental statements without purpose. They serve as literary markers for the sections. In addition, each of the four sections opens with a question from someone for Jesus, and the rest of the section proceeds to answer the question.

  1. Do you want us to call down fire to consume them? – Luke 9:51-10:37
  2. Do you not care that I’m left to serve alone? – Luke 10:38-13:21
  3. Will those who are saved be few? – Luke 13:22-17:10
  4. When will the kingdom of God come? – Luke 17:11-19:27

The outline will be more memorable and concise, though, if we use the answers instead of the questions:

  1. Proclaiming his kingdom – Luke 9:51-10:37
  2. Growing his kingdom – Luke 10:38-13:21
  3. Numbering his citizens – Luke 13:22-17:10
  4. Timing his kingdom – Luke 17:11-19:27

Luke 19:28-24:53

Once again, we ought to expect some signals from Luke to show us the “orderly” nature of his account. So what do we find?

First, Jesus draws near to Jerusalem by drawing near to Bethphage and Bethany, at “the mount that is called Olivet” (Luke 19:28-29). So as we look for structural markers, we should look for a corresponding summary statement of setting. And we find it in Luke 21:37-38, where Jesus was “teaching in the temple” every day, but retiring to “the mount called Olivet” every night. So Luke 19:28-21:38 make up the first subdivision. In between these bookends, we see the content of Jesus’ “teaching in the temple”—a condemnation of Israel’s current generation.

Second, the next verses tell us that the Passover drew near, and the chief priests and scribes were seeking how to put him to death (Luke 22:1-2). This setting reaches its completion, of course, when Jesus is dead and seemingly done away with on the feast’s Day of Preparation (Luke 23:54-56). In between, we’re told repeatedly that Jesus was innocent and undeserving of this conspiracy (Luke 23:4, 14, 22, 41, 47, etc.).

This leaves us with chapter 24, the grand climax, where the living is not to be found among the dead (Luke 24:5), where the hope of Israel (Luke 24:21) is found in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:27, 32, 44-46), and where the worship of Jesus is found at Bethany (Luke 24:50-52) and the blessing of God is found at the temple in Jerusalem (Luke 24:53).

To summarize, we’ve got the following subdivisions:

  1. Israel is guilty – Luke 19:1-21:38
  2. Jesus is innocent – Luke 22:1-23:56
  3. Israel’s salvation has arrived – Luke 24:1-53

Summary and Conclusion

To summarize, the structure shows us the following train of Luke’s thought:

  1. Christianity is on trial, and this orderly account will help you to be certain regarding what you’ve heard about the movement – Luke 1:1-4
  2. The Defendant’s Credentials – 1:5-4:13
    1. The Salvation of God – 1-2
    2. The Son of God – 3:1-4:13
  3. The Defendant’s Fundamentals – 4:14-9:50
    1. His Teaching – 4:14-6:49
    2. His Offer of Salvation Through Faith – 7:1-8:56
    3. His Followers – 9:1-50
  4. The Defendant’s Goals – 9:51-19:27
    1. Proclaiming His Kingdom – 9:51-10:37
    2. Growing His Kingdom – 10:38-13:21
    3. Numbering His Citizens – 13:22-17:10
    4. Timing His Kingdom – 17:11-19:27
  5. The Defendant’s Vindication – 19:28-24:53
    1. Judaism is Guilty – 19:28-21:38
    2. Jesus is Innocent – 22:1-23:56
    3. Israel’s Salvation has Arrived – 24:1-53

1I’m grateful for William Taylor’s Read, Mark, Learn volumes on Luke, which persuaded me of Luke’s structural use of these “on the way” statements. The Amazon link is an affiliate link. If you click it and buy anything, you’ll provide a small commission to this blog at no extra cost to yourself.

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Why the Church Needs Malachi

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Mark Fugitt has a very helpful post on the book of Malachi. He encourages us to see more in this book than a memory verse to inspire capital campaigns (Mal 3:10).

Like all self-serving humans, Christians are apt to use particular Scriptures to further their own causes, and Malachi has become sadly typecast as a result. However, the book is so much more than this one liner. God wasn’t needing money and calling His prophet Malachi to start a capital campaign when He revealed what became the final book before the long, dark night of the souls waiting on redemption. 

Malachi is a book about corruption and justice. It begins with the people’s hopeless state of sin and the consequences of it. By the time we get to the famous verse about bringing all the tithes into the storehouse of God, we realize that giving was only one of the things they had forgotten. Godly institutions like marriage and sacrifice had become shams of their former redemption.

Fugitt briefly explains the book’s context, flow of thought, and main point in a way that promotes vibrant application to our generation. I commend this article to you.

Check it out!

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Luke’s Secondary Audience

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Upon analyzing Luke’s treatment of the Jews in both Luke and Acts, I concluded that neither Jesus, nor Paul, nor Luke gleefully wished doom on the Jews. Paul says as much regarding himself, in both Acts (Acts 28:19-20) and his own letters (e.g. Rom 9:1-3, 10:1). Yet he remains confident in the justice of that coming doom as retribution for the way the Jews treated both their God and his message (1 Thess 2:14b-16).

So throughout both Luke and Acts, we ought to notice a consistent thread of appeal to the Jews to turn around before it’s too late. Though Luke’s primary audience is Theophilus (Luke 1:3, Acts 1:1), a “most excellent” Roman official, Luke extends persistent invitations to a secondary audience, the Jewish people, to repent while they still can.

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Luke’s Appeal to the Jews

Luke wants the Jews to repent and turn to Jesus.

We see this appeal in Jesus’ tearful regret over his people (Luke 19:41-44). We see it in Jesus’ stern warning after they try to implicate Pontius Pilate (Luke 13:1-5). Luke follows that warning with a parable (Luke 13:6-8) and healing episode (Luke 13:10-17) whose allusions to the rotten vine of Isaiah (Isaiah 5:1-7) and the subsequent ethical condemnation (Isaiah 5:8-25) must not be missed.

We see the appeal in Jesus’ inaugural sermon in Luke, where he offers himself to the people of Israel, for the sake of their liberty, sight, and reception of God’s favor (Luke 4:17-21). We see the appeal in one of Jesus’ final discourses, where he foretells the precise signs that generation should look for to recognize the doom before it hits (Luke 21, especially Luke 21:29-33).

We see the appeal in the words of Peter when he begs his fellow Jews to save themselves from “this crooked generation” (Acts 2:40). We see it again when Peter exposes once again the Jews’ rejection of their Messiah, even while once again offering the ignorant a chance to trust the Prophet whom God sent to give them life (Acts 3:12-26).

We can see the appeal in the words of Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon, who offer help to Israel (Luke 1:54-55), mercy to Israel (Luke 1:72), and glory to Israel (Luke 2:32). It is the unrequited hope in this redemption for Israel that has crushed the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:21). This hope in the restoration of Israel is on the minds of Jesus’ disciples even in their last days with him (Acts 1:6-7). This same hope, sometimes labeled as hope in the resurrection, inspires Paul at every step (Acts 23:6, 24:15). Paul’s hope in these promises have put him in chains (Acts 26:6-7, 28:20).

Through both volumes, Luke constantly appeals to the Jews—perhaps even the same Jews who now accuse Paul before Caesar—to find the very hope they seek (Acts 26:6-7). But to find it, they must stop doing what they are doing (Luke 3:7-8) and receive cleansing on the inside from the mighty one (Luke 3:15-16).

An Appeal for Salvation

And this hope which Luke, Jesus, and Paul share for the Jews, this “hope of Israel” for which Paul is in chains (Acts 28:20), can be summarized in a single word which Luke uses more than any other gospel writer: salvation.

Besides Luke, only John uses the noun, and only once (John 4:22). Luke uses it 5 times in his gospel (Luke 1:69, 1:77, 2:30, 3:6, 19:9) and 6 times in Acts (Acts 4:12, 7:25, 13:26, 13:47, 16:17, 28:28). Luke alone includes Isaiah’s line about all flesh seeing “the salvation of God” in his description of John the Baptist’s ministry (Luke 3:6). Simeon sees this salvation in the infant Jesus (Luke 2:30), and it can come to any house of Abraham’s true children (Luke 19:9)—those who repent and believe.

Luke uses the verb form “save” (sometimes also translated “made well” or “healed”) more times than any other gospel writer. And he is the only one beside John (again, only once, in John 4:42) to use the personal title Savior (Luke 1:47, 2:11).

Luke is deeply concerned with salvation. It’s the thing a Savior effects when he saves people. This salvation is something the Jews can find nowhere but in Jesus the Savior (Luke 2:11, Acts 4:12).

And yet, when they reject it, God offers it freely to the Gentiles instead (Acts 28:28). “They [the Gentiles] will listen” are Paul’s last words in Luke’s body of writing. They are the last words put in the mouth of any character. They represent Luke’s parting shot, his fourth-quarter Hail Mary pass. His desperate appeal to the Jews, motivating them through jealousy (Rom 10:19).

Image by Keith Johnston from Pixabay

Conclusion

Though we have good reason to read Luke (and Acts) as a trial-brief to help exonerate the Apostle Paul from the charges laid against him by the Jews, that defense of Paul before the Roman official Theophilus is clearly not Luke’s only purpose. Luke also seeks to win the Jews who accuse Paul—and Jews around the world—to receive their own Messiah, and with him the salvation of God. That Messiah rose from the dead to make it possible.

Yet even if the Jews don’t receive their Messiah, God remains eager to save (Luke 14:15-24). Therefore his offer of “salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:77) will find a warm reception among the other nations of the world (Luke 2:30-32, 4:25-27, 11:29-32, Acts 8:5-8, 10:1-5, 13:48-51, etc.).

We could therefore possibly identify a tertiary audience for Luke’s gospel in the Gentiles of the world who likewise need and will receive God’s salvation offered in Christ. But I find it simpler to see them as part of the same “secondary audience.” In other words, faithful Jews are not those who are Jews merely outwardly—via ancestry—but those who are Jews inwardly, with circumcised heart (Rom 2:28-29). True Jews are those who repent and believe in Jesus the Messiah. And God is able to raise up such children for Abraham from the stones if he pleases (Luke 3:7-8).

So while Luke addresses Theophilus directly, he also implicitly writes his book for all of Abraham’s children, be they Jew or Gentile, to lead them to repentance and faith in the risen Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

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The Differences Between Law and Wisdom

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The relationship between law and wisdom is a tricky topic that requires careful thought. Too many fall into oversimplification, as though law has to do with right or wrong, and wisdom has to do with the gray areas of life. Or as though law communicates universals and wisdom (especially Proverbs) offers only probabilities.

So robust thinking, that makes sense in plain language, is hard to find.

Here is an excellent post at Beautiful Christian Life that offers you just that—robust thinking in plain language.

Though I don’t have any strenuous disagreements, I would prefer to give less weight to theological frameworks in shaping the presentation of what the law is. But the author’s presentation of wisdom is terrific.

Check it out!

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Luke’s Treatment of the Jews

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The themes of Luke and Acts are shaped by the charges brought against Paul by the Jewish leadership. So in continuing our overview of Luke’s gospel, we ought to look at how Luke portrays the Jews, and especially the leadership. In this post, I’ll land on the key points in Luke’s gospel, but I’ll end with a few comments from Acts as well.

The Jews in Luke’s Gospel

Of course, no people group is monolithic. So authors rarely treat them as such. Therefore, we should not be surprised to see a variety of portraits of Jewish people in Luke’s gospel.

  • While some of the greatest acts of faith, in Luke’s gospel, take place among foreigners (Luke 7:8-9, 17:17-19), many Jews still demonstrate sincere faith in the identity or promises of Jesus: the paralytic’s friends (Luke 5:20), a sinful woman (Luke 7:50), a bleeding woman (Luke 8:48), a synagogue ruler (Luke 8:50), and a blind man (Luke 18:42).
  • Jesus’ own mother is in many ways a faithful, model Israelite, trusting the Lord’s word (Luke 1:38), ruminating on God’s ancient promises (Luke 1:46-55), and obeying everything written in the law of Moses (Luke 2:22-24, 39).
  • A few select witnesses understand who Jesus is and what he came to do (Luke 2:15-17, 34-35, 36-38).
  • While multitudes of Jews seek Jesus out for teaching and healing, at least 11 stuck close to him (Luke 6:13-16).
  • A number of marginalized Jews play key roles in making Jesus’ ministry possible (Luke 8:1-3).
  • Yet notwithstanding these positive examples, Jesus wonders whether he will, in the end, find faith among those who ought to be faithful (Luke 18:1-8). This leads him into severe criticism of the Jewish leadership (Luke 18:9-14).
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Jewish Leaders in Luke’s Gospel

Luke’s portrayal of the Jewish leaders is quite bleak. This ought not surprise us, as this is likely the very group of people Luke must defend Paul against.

  • It’s no coincidence that Luke’s opening scene, after his preface, describes a Jewish priest inside the temple of God in Jerusalem. And this holy man on a holy task can’t recognize the holy word of God when he hears it. The angel Gabriel must defend his credentials to this priest before cursing him with muteness (Luke 1:18-20)—if you won’t trust God’s word, you’ll have nothing of your own to say. So while this priest comes around by the end of his story (Luke 1:63-64, 67-79), he has a rather inauspicious beginning. It’s as though Luke wants us to be suspicious from the start of Jewish priests serving in the temple!
  • When Jesus first arrives at the temple, as an infant, the two people who recognize his identity are not priests (Luke 2:25, 36-37)!
  • The civil leader closest to being Jewish refuses to repent of his sin (Luke 3:18-20), thereby finding himself utterly unprepared to meet the King of the Jews (Luke 23:8-12).
  • Unlike Matthew (Matt 3:7) and John (John 1:19), Luke doesn’t mention any Jewish leaders going out to visit John the Baptist (Luke 3:7, 10-14).
  • Luke’s first mention of the Pharisees has them questioning Jesus’ identity (Luke 5:17-21). It doesn’t take them long to start plotting his downfall (Luke 6:7, 11). Luke tells us outright that they rejected the purpose of God for themselves (Luke 7:29-30) and were lovers of money (Luke 16:14).
  • The Pharisees repeatedly extend hospitality to Jesus (Luke 7:36, 11:37, 14:1), yet Luke always uses the episode to expose their mistaken beliefs and evil motives.
  • They ask him questions under false pretenses (Luke 5:30, 6:2, 13:31, 17:20), and they lie in wait for him (Luke 11:53-54).
  • Of course, they arrest Jesus under cover of darkness and on trumped-up charges (Luke 22:52-53, 23:2).
  • They play the primary role in manipulating Pilate to execute Jesus (Luke 23:10, 13-18). We know of only one of their number who did not agree with the council’s decision to condemn Jesus (Luke 23:50-51).

Jewish Crowds in Luke’s Gospel

Under such poor leadership, it’s inevitable that the rot would likewise infect the masses.

  • Jesus’ own townspeople try to kill him (Luke 4:28-29).
  • As in all the gospels, the crowds come out to hear him teach (Luke 5:1) and to get healed (Luke 5:15).
  • However in Luke, it’s only “the multitude of his disciples”—not a broadly Jewish crowd—who acclaims his entry to Jerusalem (Luke 19:37). The Pharisees ask Jesus to shut them up (Luke 19:39-40).
  • A theme unique to Luke is Jesus’ surprising sorrow over the coming fate of the people. He weeps for them while riding his donkey (Luke 19:41-44). On the way to his own death, he ominously advises the daughters of Jerusalem to weep not for him but for themselves and their children over their coming doom (Luke 23:28-31).
  • The coming doom on that generation of Jews is a major theme for Luke (Luke 12:49-59, 13:1-9, 13:27-30, 13:34-35, 21:5-36).

Hope for Jews

Notwithstanding all the negativity toward the majority of Jews who reject or oppose Jesus, Luke presents tremendous hope for the people of Israel.

From the beginning of Luke’s history, there is much hope extended to Israel:

  • John will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God (Luke 1:16).
  • Jesus will reign over the house of Jacob forever (Luke 1:32-33).
  • In Mary’s pregnancy, God has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy to Abraham and his seed (Luke 1:54-55).
  • The prophetic calling of John involves giving knowledge of salvation to God’s people in the forgiveness of their sins (Luke 1:76-79).
  • In the baby Jesus, Simeon sees God’s salvation, which is glory for Israel (Luke 2:29-32).
  • Anna speaks of the baby Jesus finally bringing to pass the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:38).

This theme of hope for Israel leads Luke to recount Jesus’ patient exposition of the Old Testament to show that he, in fact, is the one who will redeem Israel (Luke 24:21, 25-27).

Jewish Leaders in Acts

In the book of Acts, we see the Jewish leaders continuing their opposition to Jesus by escalating their opposition against Jesus’ followers. The Jewish leaders:

  • are annoyed at the apostles’ teaching (Acts 4:1-2)
  • arrest the apostles (Acts 4:3, 5:17-18)
  • ask questions under false pretenses (Acts 4:7)
  • can’t figure out what to do (Acts 4:15-17: 5:33-39)
  • command the apostles to stop speaking (Acts 4:18, 5:28, 5:40)
  • beat the apostles (Acts 5:40)
  • allow themselves to be manipulated into prosecuting Christians (Acts 6:12-14)
  • persecute the church (Acts 8:1, 9:1-2)
  • plot to kill Paul (Acts 9:23-24, 14:5, 18:12-13, 20:3, 20:18-19, 21:11, 23:12-15, 23:20-21, 23:27, 24:2-9, 25:2, 25:7, 25:15, 26:21)
  • are pleased with the death of James (Acts 12:3)
  • whip up lynch mobs (Acts 13:50, 14:19, 17:5, 17:13, 21:27-30, 22:22-24)
  • remain doggedly resistant to receiving Gentiles into the church, even after coming to faith in Christ (Acts 11:2-3, 15:1-2)

Yet even in Acts, there is hope for the Jews.

  • A great many of the priests come to faith (Acts 6:7).
  • The first converts in many towns are Jews (Acts 13:43, etc.).
  • “More noble” Jews in Berea consider Paul’s teaching in light of the Old Testament Scripture (Acts 17:11).

There is hope for the Jews precisely because Paul’s mission, all along, has been to bring the Jews their promised hope (Acts 26:6-8, 28:18-20).

Conclusion

Across the entire two-volume history of Luke and Acts, all these observations boil down to a few key assertions:

  1. Jesus came to fulfill all God’s promises to the Jews, putting Israel at the center of God’s work in the world.
  2. The apostles (especially Paul) preached a message consistent with Jesus’ mission to fulfill God’s promises to the Jews.
  3. A few Jews received and participated in that message.
  4. Many Jews, especially leaders, rejected that message and tried to squash it out by any means necessary.
  5. Because of this rejection of their own Messiah, Luke expects the first century Jews to suffer a terrible doom on their temple and nation.
  6. In the first century AD, the Christians are not disturbers of the Roman peace; the Jewish leaders are. Therefore Rome will herself serve as the agent of God’s vengeance on the Jewish people (Luke 21:20-24). Jesus—and Paul, for that matter—is like a new Jeremiah, weeping over a new calamity coming upon Jerusalem and its temple at the hands of a new Babylon.

Neither Jesus, nor Paul, nor Luke gleefully wish this doom on the Jews. Perhaps this trial-brief could have another purpose besides simply persuading Theophilus of Paul’s innocence…?

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Help Your Teens Study the Bible

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Do you have teenagers in your home? Or will you soon have teens in your home? I’m less than 2 months away from the milestone, so I was delighted to see this great advice from Katherine Forster (herself a teenager) in her article “5 Tips for Helping Your Teens Study the Bible.”

  1. Lead by example
  2. Include them in your study
  3. Make it part of the family routine
  4. Provide materials
  5. Remember the Lord does the work

Her first tip is particularly convicting, but all five are timely reminders. See the article for further explanation.

Check it out!

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The Best Book of the Bible for Teaching OIA

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When people get excited about the OIA method of Bible study and want to teach it to others, they often ask me what the best books of the Bible are to use for this purpose. In other words, which book (or books) will make it easiest for newbies to acquire the basic skills of observation, interpretation, and application? Which book should I use as my example to make it easiest for people to learn to study the Bible for themselves?

And herein lies the beauty of the OIA method: it works equally well on any book of the Bible.

Built into the method is the need to observe the genre and ask corresponding interpretive questions. The OIA method requires you to adjust your expectations for narrative, poetry, prophecy, law, and epistle. It requires you to discover the author’s main point for his audience in their historical circumstances. It expects you to remain aware of the context so you can follow the author’s train of thought. It pushes you to connect the main point to the person and work of Jesus Christ before you attempt either inward or outward application.

And you can and should do all of these things on any and every book of the Bible.

Therefore, my stock answer to the question of which book you should use to teach the OIA method is whichever book you want. People are more likely to catch a vision for OIA Bible study from your enthusiasm for it than from any particular book of the Bible. If you try to teach the method using the “right” book or a recommended book, but you are not thrilled to your core by what God is teaching you in that book, people will tend to think the OIA method is dry and dusty.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

In 20 years of teaching the OIA method, I can remember using each of the following books at various times:

  • Genesis
  • Exodus
  • 1 Samuel
  • 1 Kings
  • Proverbs
  • Ecclesiastes
  • Joel
  • Amos
  • Nahum
  • Haggai
  • Matthew
  • Mark
  • John
  • Romans
  • Galatians
  • Ephesians
  • Philippians
  • 1 Thessalonians
  • 2 Timothy
  • Hebrews
  • James
  • 1 Peter
  • 3 John

None of these books were any better or worse than others for teaching the method. What made each one work was that I was intrigued by it at the time.

Therefore, the best book of the Bible for teaching OIA Bible study is whichever book you are currently most interested in and excited about. It’s more important for you to be enthusiastic than for you to select the “right” book. Your enthusiasm will be infectious, and the people you teach are then most likely to experience firsthand the riches of the method.

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Let’s Think Straight About Commentaries

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Christine Gordon and Hope Blanton have written a thoughtful piece on the role of commentaries in Bible study: “Yes, Bring Commentaries to Bible Study.” I appreciate their willingness to push back on an idea we’ve trumpeted on this blog (though I doubt they have our blog specifically in mind):

Others have been warned that commentaries present a direct danger to their personal Bible study. Naysayers caution Christians that reading the words of others may prevent them from thinking their own thoughts and coming to their own conclusions about Scripture. The vital steps of observing the text and interpreting it for ourselves, they worry, may be missed if we allow others to do it for us.

The objection is initially well-stated: Commentaries indeed pose a direct danger to personal Bible study. I would only clarify that the danger is not that we’d allow commentaries to do the vital steps of observing and interpreting for us. The real danger is that the vital steps of observing and interpreting the text would go undone altogether—yet we wouldn’t notice on account of the secure embrace we feel from the opinions of the experts.

This is why we are more than eager to recommend good commentaries that promote observation, interpretation, and application of the text. We must remember that a commentary is like gasoline. It will get you where you want to go, if you possess a working engine. But if you’re prone to drinking it straight, you ought to label it as poison.

And this gets at the overwhelming agreement I have with Gordon and Blanton. Because they arrive at the same place I do, even if they’re more sensitive to different dangers along the way than I am:

Instead of preventing beneficial study, good commentaries can protect us from heretical interpretations, correct our personal biases, and help us come to the conclusions God intended when he wrote his Word. When used judiciously, these resources give rich, deep material for the Bible student, leading to informed observation, accurate interpretation, and appropriate personal application.

Commentaries also give us windows into the historical context of the people to whom the books were written…

Yes, we must still do the work of observing and interpreting the text. But with commentaries we can do so in an informed way, with a clearer understanding of the way the first hearers would’ve understood the passage…

Just as you would carefully select a Bible teacher or pastor for orthodoxy and trustworthiness, so you must be deliberate in your use of commentaries…

Read the Bible passage multiple times. Linger there before you open the commentary. Get a good idea of the story, teaching, or principles. Try to form a few questions—things you don’t understand or ideas you’d like to investigate. Then bring these questions to your commentary. Commentary writers—your brothers and sisters who have labored to understand the Word in a detailed and careful way—will help to clarify the text and encourage you as you read.

I couldn’t agree more if such regulations were shouted at me from atop Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. If more people used commentaries this way, I would lay my cloak at their feet to ease their journey. If it were the case that people used commentaries as conversation partners with regard to the text, instead of as teachers independent of the text, the world would be a happier place.

Gordon and Blanton model such wise use of commentaries for us. They give examples of how commentaries can help us to to find answers to our interpretive questions that are assumed in the text. I might argue that some of their other benefits of commentaries could simply be acquired by studying the text in context—though, once again, good commentaries will be helpful conversation partners, pointing out arguments or trains of thought we may have missed. There remains much to commend in this article.

Check it out!

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The Beginner’s Guide to the Bible

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For a number of years, I’ve been impressed by the work of Jeffrey Kranz at his site OverviewBible. On the site, he has provided us with some of the most informative, concise, and visually appealing book overviews I’ve ever come across. Without sacrificing quality of scholarship or depth of insight, Kranz writes for ordinary people in a delightfully clear manner. If you want to get your bearings in one of the Bible’s books, and do so quickly and accurately, OverviewBible.com is a great place to start.

Kranz has now also published The Beginner’s Guide to the Bible, an ebook available on his website, to introduce you to the book of books in a way that will motivate you to go and read it. Having received a complimentary copy of the book from Kranz in exchange for an honest review, I am happy to report it is a smashing success.

Minor Haggling

Let me get a few things out of the way up front so I can move on to the good stuff.

First, you won’t be able to find the book anywhere but OverviewBible.com. You can’t buy it from Amazon; you won’t find reviews at Goodreads [Update: It’s now in the Goodreads database.]. But don’t let this fact put you off. This work is no hack job.

Second, I sadly found the book to have a number of typos in it. This could be an unfortunate byproduct of a low budget for self-publishing, and I hope Kranz remedies it soon. The typos distract from the otherwise high-quality presentation.

Major Reveling

Though this book aims at “beginners,” I had more fun with it than a youth group camping trip. In fact, the time and money for your next youth group camping trip might possibly be better spent on providing copies of this book to your students and meeting together to discuss it. (And don’t get me wrong: The book is not only, nor even primarily, for teenagers.)

Kranz writes in a plain, conversational style. He assumes zero knowledge of the Bible on the part of his readers. He explains what to make of this book, how to approach it, and what to expect from it. He doesn’t waste any of your time on Bible trivia, which has about as much impact on your life as any other sort of trivia. He directs his full attention to that which will give you the richest understanding of and insatiable hunger for the books of the Bible and their basic messages.

Kranz begins with the basics of what the Bible is, where it came from, and what it’s for (and not for).

He then summarizes what the Bible is about. In this second part of the book, Kranz defines “covenant” and walks through the four most significant covenants in the Bible: Abraham’s, Israel’s, David’s, and the New Covenant. Kranz unpacks rich theology in plain language, all to show that what the Bible is after more than anything else is a relationship with God. And Kranz shows how the ancients thought about relationships quite differently than we do today, which is why we must understand the concept of covenants.

Then the last two-thirds of the book contain a walkthrough of each of the Bible’s 66 books. Kranz explains the groupings of the books in the English Bible, the differences in genre between groupings, and the broad outlines of each book. He covers matters of author, audience, and purpose as appropriate, but he doesn’t get distracted by academic minutiae. And Kranz keeps his focus on observing and summarizing the text. He avoids getting into interpretive debates, and this approach maintains focus on the beginner, who should be able to gain a basic roadmap of the Bible without being expected to sign on to any particular theological tradition.

Though I’ve been a Christian most of my life, and I’ve been studying the Bible for many years, I really enjoyed reading this book. Kranz assumes no Bible knowledge on the part of the reader, yet he never speaks condescendingly or patronizingly. This gives his work an uncanny ability to both stimulate and satisfy.

Who It’s For

This book intentionally aims at the beginner. The person who has never read the Bible before, or who has tried and failed from confusion or boredom. The person who didn’t go to Sunday school or read the storybook Bibles. The person who doesn’t know whether Moses or Abraham came first, and who can’t remember whether “Israel” is a younger twin brother, a nation of twelve tribes, a political entity, or the northern part of a divided kingdom.

There is a man in my church who just put his faith in Christ in the last year. He’s a graduate student (so quite intelligent) from an Asian country (so unfamiliar with western culture and tradition). He never read the Bible before this, but now he can’t put it down. And yet, he finds so much of it confusing.

I recently told him I’ve found the perfect book for him. I really want him to read this book.

And I want you to read this book, if you struggle to read the Bible. Because the greatest commendation I can give to Kranz’s book is that he doesn’t want you to camp out with his book. His book glories in another Book, and I don’t think you can finish Kranz’s book without a piqued interest in God’s book. Even if you’re not yet sure that it’s God’s book.

Check this book out. Give it to your friends who are just getting to know the Bible. Keep it in mind for seekers or new believers. Discuss it with your neighbors who think the Bible is an unreliable, ancient, and muddled mess. Or use it to help stimulate those who struggle to read the Bible for one reason or another.

Kranz’s book will be a go-to resource for me with anyone who wants to know more of the Bible. Buy it at OverviewBible.

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Don’t Judge Matthew 7:1

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The latest issue of Tabletalk magazine has a helpful article by Tim Witmer on Matthew 7:1. Witmer tackles the popular usage of the phrase “Don’t judge” and shows it to be a misuse of the verse’s context. Of course this verse is not saying that we shouldn’t make moral judgments about people!

However, Witmer also avoids excusing an attitude of judgmentalism among believers in Jesus Christ. Correlation with other Scripture passages clearly denounce any attitude of superiority or invulnerability.

Witmer’s point could be further strengthened by an analysis of the train of thought in Matthew 7:1-12. His article is a good example of why context matters.

Check it out!

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