Ark of the Covenant - Bible History Online
Bible History
Picture Study Bible with Maps and Background Information

Luke 19

1 - He entered and was passing through Jericho.
2 - There was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
3 - He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn't because of the crowd, because he was short.
4 - He ran on ahead, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way.
5 - When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him,"Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."
6 - He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully.
7 - When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, "He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner."
8 - Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much."
9 - Jesus said to him,"Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.
10 - For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost."
11 - As they heard these things, he went on and told a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that God's Kingdom would be revealed immediately.
12 - He said therefore,"A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
13 - He called ten servants of his, and gave them ten mina
14 - But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, 'We don't want this man to reign over us.'
15 - "When he had come back again, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by conducting business.
16 - The first came before him, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.'
17 - "He said to him, 'Well done, you good servant! Because you were found faithful with very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.'
18 - "The second came, saying, 'Your mina, Lord, has made five minas.'
19 - "So he said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.'
20 - Another came, saying, 'Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief,
21 - for I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You take up that which you didn't lay down, and reap that which you didn't sow.'
22 - "He said to him, 'Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I didn't lay down, and reaping that which I didn't sow.
23 - Then why didn't you deposit my money in the bank, and at my coming, I might have earned interest on it?'
24 - He said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina away from him, and give it to him who has the ten minas.'
25 - "They said to him, 'Lord, he has ten minas!'
26 - 'For I tell you that to everyone who has, will more be given; but from him who doesn't have, even that which he has will be taken away from him.
27 - But bring those enemies of mine who didn't want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.'"
28 - Having said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 - When he came near to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the mountain that is called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples,
30 - saying,"Go your way into the village on the other side, in which, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat. Untie it, and bring it.
31 - If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say to him: 'The Lord needs it.'"
32 - Those who were sent went away, and found things just as he had told them.
33 - As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?"
34 - They said, "The Lord needs it."
35 - They brought it to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the colt, and set Jesus on them.
36 - As he went, they spread their cloaks on the road.
37 - As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen,
38 - saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!"Psalm 118:26
39 - Some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
40 - He answered them,"I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out."
41 - When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it,
42 - saying,"If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes.
43 - For the days will come on you, when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side,
44 - and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn't know the time of your visitation."
45 - He entered into the temple, and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it,
46 - saying to them,"It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,'Isaiah 56:7but you have made it a 'den of robbers'!"Jeremiah 7:11
47 - He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him.
48 - They couldn't find what they might do, for all the people hung on to every word that he said.
Luke Images and Notes

The Book of Luke

Luke 1:1-4 - Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

Luke 2:49 - And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

Luke 19:42 - Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

Luke in The New Testament - A Brief Overview

Luke by El Greco 1605
Painting of St. Luke by El Greco - 1605

Introduction to The Gospel of Luke

The Word Gospel. The third book of the English Bible that most of us read from is the Gospel of Luke. Luke is the third of the four gospel writings, yet there is only one gospel about Jesus Christ and there are four different writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word "Gospel" means "good news", and the good news is about Jesus Christ dying on the cross and then 3 days later conquering death and rising from the dead, offering salvation to all mankind, this is the Gospel.

Summary of The Book of Luke

Brief Summary. Jesus was the most perfect man of all men, the perfect Son of God. Completely devoted to everyone, especially the weak. He was the most humble man that ever lived, and not only a servant, but the lowest slave. He completely put others first before He thought of Himself, the Son of man.

Purpose. Luke seems to portray Jesus as an ideal man, very appealing to the Greek culture which exalted reason, philosophy, the human mind, and beauty. Luke's writings were orderly and classical. he mentions that Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before He chose His apostles (Luke 6:12-16), unlike the other Gospel accounts. There are also statements in Luke that speak of His purity more clearly, like when the centurion said "certainly this was a righteous man" (Luke 23:47). The other Gospel accounts seem to have a different focus in their portrayal of Christ. Luke also seems to reveal Christianity as a religion for all mankind and not just the Jews. For example, the lineage of Jesus is traced past Abraham all the way back to Adam the first man. Jesus is seen in Luke as a friend of sinners and a savior to anyone who would believe in Him. When considering both of Luke's works it is clear that he traces the origin, heart, and description of the Christian movement from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, to Antioch, to Macedonia, to Achaia, to Ephesus, and finally to Rome, the capital of the world. He examined eyewitnesses, knew personally and had close contact with the main followers of Christ like Mark and James, the brother of the Lord, Paul. Silas (a member of the Jerusalem Church) and no doubt many others.

Audience. Luke addressed his account of the life of Christ and the Acts of the Apostles to a man named Theophilus, yet it possesses a style that would appeal to all intelligent gentiles and would certain appeal to any believer. Theophilus could have been a gentile convert to Christianity who desired to know more of the facts surrounding the life of Jesus Christ, possibly a wealthy contributor to Christianity, no one can say for certain. The name Theophilus means "lover of God" and has been supposed by many to be a euphemism for all lovers of God in Christ.

Authorship. The gospel of Luke does not proclaim who the author is within the document, yet the historical information we have from the first two centuries of the Christian Era was unanimous in concluding that the writer was Luke. Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:1) as a continuing document, from the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus to Paul's imprisonment and ministry in Rome.

Date. Since the Book of Acts was written while Paul was in Rome, the date of Acts would be around 62 AD, and since the Gospel of Luke was mentioned as a "former 'treatise," Luke must have been written a few years earlier.

Place. It cannot be determined with certainty where the Gospel of Luke was written. Some of the early Church writers said it was written in Achaia. Many think Acts was most likely written in Rome and therefore Luke must have also. One common speculation is that the Gospel of Luke was written in Caesarea Maritima while Paul was in prison there a couple years before his journey to Rome.

The Man Luke. Luke was a gentile (non-Jew) and was not mentioned during the actual life of Jesus, but afterward he became a Christian under the influence of Paul the Apostle. Luke was described by Paul in his letter to the Church in Colossae as "the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14). Luke was also mentioned as a companion of Paul on his missionary journeys, and on his third and last missionary journey he said that "only Luke is with me" (2 Timothy 4:11). Luke must have been an amazing man because he claims in the beginning of his account of the life of Christ that he "investigated everything carefully" (Luke 1 :1- 4). This would mean that he would have spoken with eyewitnesses to the miracles and events surround the ministry of Jesus. He was clearly persuaded by the facts that he was told and became a devoted follower of Christ and a companion of Paul until the end. There can be no doubt that Luke was a gentile believer, even his name "Luke" is a gentiloe name. Also in Colossians 4 it mentions the names Epaphras, Demas and Luke in contrast with those "of the circumcision." It is interesting to note that early Church leaders Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, and Eusebius mentioned in their writings that Luke was influenced by Paul when he wrote the third Gospel account.

Language. Luke was written in Greek, he was a gentile believer and uses a style similar to other important Greek documents. He uses a popular, non-literary Greek style, omitting Semitic and Latin "barbarisms"; yet, he manifests a rich vocabulary and a high degree of literary artistry, as seen in his ability to sketch the character of an individual in a few graphic strokes of the pen. A noted French philosopher and critic of the Bible called the book of Luke "the most beautiful book ever written."

Historical Trustworthiness. Throughout the history of the Church and especially during the 1800's their has been many targeted attacks on the historical trustworthiness of Luke's writings. As the science of archaeology increased technologically and archaeological discoveries from the first century were being uncovered, Luke's writings were emerged as extremely accurate. Luke has been heralded by many scholars as one of the ablest and most accurate historians of the ancient world.

Outline of the Book of Luke

His Birth, Childhood, Early Ministry - Chapters 1:1-4:13
His Ministry in Galilee - Chapters 4:14-9:50
His Journey to Jerusalem, Ministry - Chapters 9:51-21:38
His Rejection and Death - Chapters 22:1-23:56
His Resurrection and Ascension - Chapter 24:1-53

Jesus written in Hebrew
The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".

Luke Resources

Outline of the Life of Jesus in Harmony
Simple Map of First Century Israel
Topographical Map of First Century Israel
Map of the Ministry of Jesus
Map of the Roads in Ancient Israel
Map of the Roman Empire