Chapter three continues Luke’s parallel between John and Jesus. In the first two chapters we find the angelic announcements of the two, followed by their births, circumcisions / namings, and a brief account of their boyhoods. John’s story always came first, then Jesus’. Now, in chapter three, we find the beginning of their respective ministries. […]
Chapter two is bookended with two well-known stories of Jesus’ early life – his birth in Bethlehem and his visit to the Temple at twelve years old. Unlike Matthew, Luke went into great detail from the human perspective of Jesus’ birth. The 70-mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem was at the demand of the human emperor.
The third gospel was written by “Luke the physician” (Colossians 4:14). It is the first of two historical volumes he wrote to Theophilus (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-2), who was possibly a Roman official or even Luke’s publishing underwriter. Luke stated his goal was to provide a clear, well-researched (although not necessarily strictly chronological) account of
