The Word of God taken verse by verse. The meanings of the words and verses are explained in context, and in many cases translation from the original written language for the words, phrases, and context are explained.
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” — Luke 20:17 Context and Key Themes Luke 20 unfolds almost entirely within the temple courts during the final week before the crucifixion. Jesus is teaching daily, and the religious establishment has decided he has to be stopped. They cannot arrest him openly because the…
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” — Luke 19:10 Context and Key Themes Luke 19 is the chapter where the long journey to Jerusalem finally arrives. The road that began in Luke 9, when Jesus set his face to go to the holy city, ends here — with a…
“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” — Luke 18:13 Context and Key Themes Luke 18 is a tapestry of scenes about what real faith looks like and what it doesn’t. Two opening parables illustrate prayer and humility — the persistent widow before the unjust judge, and the Pharisee and the tax collector at the…
“The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” — Luke 17:21 Context and Key Themes Luke 17 moves through a series of loosely connected teachings and one dramatic healing, all of them building toward a central question: what does real faith look like in the space between the first and second comings of…
“You cannot serve God and money.” — Luke 16:13 Context and Key Themes Luke 16 is a chapter about money, eternity, and the way the first shapes the second. Jesus tells two parables back to back, both concerning wealth and how it is handled. The first, the parable of the dishonest manager, is one of…
“This my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” — Luke 15:24 Context and Key Themes Luke 15 is one of the most beloved chapters in all of scripture, and for good reason. It is built around a single complaint from the religious establishment and a single thematic response…
“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” — Luke 14:27 Context and Key Themes Luke 14 is set almost entirely at a Sabbath dinner in the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. From that single meal, Jesus delivers a healing, two table parables about pride and…
“Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” — Luke 13:5 Context and Key Themes Luke 13 continues Jesus’s long journey toward Jerusalem with a series of teachings on repentance, patience, healing, the shape of the kingdom, the narrow door of salvation, and a heartbreaking lament over the city that would reject him. The chapter…
“Do not be anxious about your life… Consider the ravens… Consider the lilies.” — Luke 12:22, 24, 27 Context and Key Themes Luke 12 is a long chapter of teachings given while a crowd of many thousands presses in on Jesus, so thick that they are trampling one another. The density is not accidental. Jesus…
“Lord, teach us to pray.” — Luke 11:1 Context and Key Themes Luke 11 is a chapter about prayer, spiritual warfare, and religious hypocrisy — three subjects that turn out to be deeply connected. It opens with the disciples watching Jesus pray and asking him to teach them how. Out of that request comes the…