The Basics of: Luke

The Man, The Myth, The Doctor Turned Historian

Nikki Hudson

Jan 16, 2025

Have you ever stood in front of the doors at the grocery store and waved your hand, as if you had the Force?

Don’t lie to me.

I know you probably have.

I conjure up the Force’s abilities on a frequent basis.

You know who absolutely would not have done this?

Luke.

No, not that Luke.

Luke, as in, The Gospel According To Luke.

Without further audience participation, let’s talk about:

Our Dude, The Luke

While he wasn’t a farm boy from Tatooine, Luke was a bit of an unknown keep-to-yourself kind of a guy.

“Why is that, Reverend Doc?”

Because, my dear sweet Reader, Luke (similar to Mark) was not one of the original Disciples. In fact, if you weren’t aware of that fact, read the first three verses of his book and you’ll see it’s right there in plain sight. Kind of funny how we can ignore such basic information, isn’t it? The Reverend Doc didn’t even know this until she went through her very thorough and prestigious schooling, so…don’t feel bad about it.

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So, Luke was not an eyewitness. He makes that very clear. He also makes it clear that he found it important to examine the facts of the past.

Here’s another fun tidbit: Luke was the only Gentile (in other words, not a Jew) to write a Gospel. Because of this, you can see some major differences in the way he writes.

Did I mention he was a medical aficionado? Well, yeah. He was. Now you know that he wasn’t just puffing out his chest to try and sound smart. Luke was actually very smart (and people probably struggled to read his manuscript because of his clinical physician handwriting). He traveled alongside Paul (the Paul) and loved preaching the Gospel.

A Lil’ “By The Way” from the Reverend Doc: I’d be a bad Reverend Doc if I didn’t say that we obviously can’t confirm that Luke was really the one who wrote this book, but it’s just a rabbit trail that ends up leading right back to him anyways. Scholars believe that the author of the Gospel According to Luke also wrote the book of Acts, but we can’t really prove that, can we? Now you know.

The Gospel According to Luke

Considering that Luke was a medical genius, it makes sense that this Gospel is really detail driven. There are a lot of little easter eggs thrown into this Gospel that very much confirm that Luke was a medical person. Numbers, annunciation, stories and various accounts are in abundance in this Gospel.

There is one main theme here, and I hope when you read it that you can easily spot it: Jesus came from the Gentiles just as much as the Jews. If you get nothing from reading this book other than that, I’d say you did just fine.

This Gospel really stands out in the crowd, so I highly suggest you read it…or peruse it…or skim it, I don’t really care. Just open it up at some point and read a little.

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Now, per usual, we have two ways to read The Gospel According to Luke:

The Standard Way

Beginning of Jesus (Luke 1-2)

During Jesus (Luke 3-21)

The End and Beginning (again) of Jesus (Luke 22-24)

The Cool Factor™ Way

Part One: Information Overload (Luke 1-4)

The Cool Factor™: We get an in depth description of Jesus’ birth, the stories surrounding it, Jesus as an oddly smart child, His baptism and a genealogy. It’s a lot for only four chapters.

Part Two: A Cornucopia of Stories (Luke 4:16-9:50)

The Cool Factor™: When I say cornucopia, I mean a cornucopia. There are SO many and it seems never-ending at times.

Part Three: “Hey Siri, play A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton” (Luke 9:51-19:27)

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The Cool Factor™: This section is all about Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, including a lot of stories and meeting fun characters. The entire time you read this part, think about how Jesus knew He was headed to His final earthly destination. Adds a bit of ominous feeling to it, but also…hurts the heart.

Part Four: The Last of the Stories (Luke 19:28-21)

The Cool Factor™: Jesus uses His final bit of time to do a bit of cleanup, i.e. more riddles.

Part Five: The End (Luke 22-23)

The Cool Factor™: The older I get, the more difficult it has become to read these portions of the Bible. If you find this to be you, don’t not read them. It’s important to read them, and also, if you skip them, dishonor on you and your cow. Read them. Feel thankful.

Part Six: Not the End (Luke 24)

The Cool Factor™: Spoiler alert, Jesus resurrects. That’s The Cool Factor™.

Luke is overlooked by a lot of the Church. I could count on two hands how many times I’ve heard a pastor preach from Luke. It’s odd to me, but it is what it is.

Luke is a hidden gem.

(just like you)

Go read with confidence. Thanks for being here.