AN INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF LUKE (BACKGROUND)

 

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

(Lesson 01 – Jan 07, 2025) BACKGROUND

 

 

Ta Biblia (GK) means “the books” (collection of books). The canon of the Catholic Church was affirmed by the Council of Rome (382), the Synod of Hippo (393), two of the Councils of Carthage (397 and 419), the Council of Florence (1431–1449), and finally, as an article of faith, by the Council of Trent (1545–1563). Those established the Catholic biblical canon consisted of 46 Old Testament, 27 New Testament, and 73 books in total.

 

The Protestant Bible contains 66 books in total—39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. However, it does not contain seven books: Baruch, Tobit, Judith, I and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, or Sirach, which Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Orthodox Churches use. These books are called Deuterocanonical books. Catholics and Protestants agree on the New Testament, which contains 27 books.

 

Until Martin Luther (not to be confused with Martin Luther King) an Augustinian friar, and ordained priest (1507) the Church had all these Canonical books.

 

The paschal event was the central point to tracing the Jewish people's beginnings (Old Testament), reflected in the era of King Solomon. Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection were the main events for the beginning of Christianity and the New Testament.

 

New Testament (27 Books): 4 Gospels: (3 Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke) and the Gospel of John; Acts of the Apostles; “Pauline epistles” are letters written by the apostle Paul (14), while “Catholic epistles” (7 also called “general epistles”) are letters from other apostles like Peter (2 letters), James, John (3 letters), and Jude; and The Book of Revelation by John

 

The Pauline Epistles are addressed to specific communities or individuals. The Catholic Epistles are concerned with the connection between faith and works, and the importance of correct doctrine and moral living. For example, 1 Peter encourages followers of Jesus to live out their new identity in Christ, while Jude confronts those who deny the right doctrine through immoral lifestyles.

 

According to the majority of scholars, the Gospels were probably written between AD 66 and 110 – Mark was the first to be written, using a variety of sources, followed by Matthew and Luke, which both independently used Mark for their narrative of Jesus's career, supplementing it with a collection of sayings called "the Q source" (German word Quelle = source = sayings of Jesus), and additional material unique to each – so they are called Synoptic Gospels

 

 

 

Ex. Common Tradition of Mt and Lk  = “Do to others what you would have them do to you”  Lk 6:31 and Mt 7:12.

Many non-canonical gospels were also written later than the four canonical gospels and like them advocated the theological views of their various authors. Important examples include the gospels of Thomas, Peter, Judas, and Mary; infancy gospels such as that of James (the first to introduce the perpetual virginity of Mary); and gospel harmonies such as the Diatessaron.

 

The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious text considered non-canonical and not included in the Bible. But, there are several references to Enoch in the Bible: Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. Jude 1:14–15: A prophetic passage that quotes from the Book of Enoch. The passage attributes the words to “Enoch, the Seventh from Adam; Lk 3:37: Briefly mentions Enoch in one of the genealogies of Jesus' ancestors; Gen 5:18: Mentions Enoch as the seventh generation from Adam and the father of Methuselah; 1 Pet 3:19–20; 2 Pet 2:4–5; Mt 5:5; Lk 6:24; Mt 19:28; Lk 16:26; Jn 12:36.

 

Until the age of the printing press - Papyrus was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge. Papyrus (plural: papyri or papyruses) can also refer to a document written on sheets of such material, joined side by side and rolled up into a scroll, an early form of a book.

 

LXX (Septuagint, Seventy) Ptolemy II Philadelphus (the Greek Pharaoh of Egypt) sent seventy-two Hebrew translators—six from each of the Twelve Tribes of Israel—from Jerusalem to Alexandria to translate the Tanakh from Biblical Hebrew into Koine Greek.

 

Inspiration and Inerrancy: Inspiration from God's errors by human incapacity in the Bible by the translators.

 

The symbols of the 4 Gospels: Matthew = man, Mark = lion, John = eagle, and Luke = calf

 

 

The gospel of Luke (a companion of Paul) and the Acts of the Apostles make up a two-volume work that scholars call Luke-Acts. Luke begins his gospel with a preface addressed to “Theophilus,” which means “Lover of God” and could refer to any Christian.

 

Luke emphasizes the fact that Jesus and all his earliest followers were Jews, although by his time the majority of Christ-followers were Gentiles. Nevertheless, the Jews had rejected and killed the Messiah, and the Christian mission now lay with the Gentiles. 

Lukan source from Old Testament: Ex. "He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty":  Lk 1:53 = Ps 107:9; 1 Sam 2:5.   

 

.......To be Continued....