Luke’s Gospel of Jesus
Who Was Luke in the Bible?
Little is known about Luke, the author of two Bible book volumes: Luke and Acts. We do know he was a physician and the only non-Jewish Gentile to write any part of the New Testament. He was a close friend of Paul, who referred to him as “the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14). Perhaps Luke’s interest in medicine is the reason his gospel gives such a high profile to Jesus’ acts of healing.[1]
• The JESUS film was released in 1979 by Jesus Film Project. This high-definition film (full movie, 2 hrs., available in more than 2,000 languages) is an authentic portrayal of one of the most influential figures in human history, and one of the most effective evangelistic tools today. The script is taken directly from Luke’s gospel.
To date, billions have watched and more than 600 million people have made decisions to follow Christ after watching JESUS and Jesus Film Project’s library of films and short films, which are available on jesusfilm.org. Herein, Jesus is portrayed by Brian Deacon.
Luke’s gospel stands out among the gospels in various ways. First, it’s the longest of the four, starting earlier in Jesus’ life than the others (with the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist), and ending later (with Jesus’ ascension to heaven). Only Luke reveals anything about Jesus’ childhood, describing his family’s visit to Jerusalem when he was 12 years old (Luke 2:41–52). Even more significantly, Luke is the only gospel writer to provide a sequel: the Book of Acts, wherein he continues his story beyond the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus to the birth and growth of the early church.[2]
Watch this animated video (8 minutes) by The Bible Project, which provides a biblical overview of “Luke’s gospel,” chapters 1 to 9. The follow-up overview video (8 min.) of the second half of Luke’s gospel (chpts. 10–24) can be seen here.