We finish this series this week with The Book of Luke.  The synoptic gospels are the three books we are looking at, Matthew, Mark and Luke. These three books contain a total Red Letter 31,426 words in red. Today we have arrived at the book of Luke. This book is often referred to as the “lovely book”. We note that John is a bit different as it stands alone. The first three often contain the same stories, even at time using the same words. It is agreed that Luke was a Gentile and some say the writing style was tailored to appeal to the gentile population at that time. Now to Luke and I would encourage you to read Luke, there are 24 chapters in this book.

It is not until the second chapter, verse 49 that we encounter first words in Red… Mary and Joseph had left Jerusalem after the Passover Festival to return return home to Nazareth. They were traveling with in a group and and did not miss Jesus at first. When they discovered Jesus wasn’t with them they returned to Jerusalem to look for him…They found him in the Temple after a frantic search and when they questioned him his reply was…Luke 2:49“But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”. There are 24 chapters in Luke which contain a total of 123 Red Letter verses. If you step back and study the book of Luke, the first three chapters are all about the entrance of Jesus into the world and His ministry. Here are some other verses from the book of Luke.

Luke 6:37-38  “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”

Luke 6:43-44 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit”  

Luke 9:24 “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

Luke 10:2  “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Luke 23:34 “And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

These verses are indicative of the story being told here in the Book of Luke, to me they are the keys that instruct us in the good way. I encourage you to read Matthew, Mark and Luke. If you do not have a Red Letter Bible you can go on-line and you will find a Red Letter bible offered for free. These words of Jesus are a road map to a good life.

Life is Good

jk