Doctor Luke was another companion of Paul. He wrote the Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles for his dear friend Theophilus, which I address in the books That You May Know (the book of Luke) and Tongues of Fire (the book of Acts).
Despite having penned two major books in the Bible—comprising about 25 percent of the content in New Testament—Luke is only mentioned three times in the Bible, so we don’t know too much about him.
First, we learn that he is a “dear friend” of Paul’s and a doctor. He is also esteemed by Paul as a “fellow worker.” Third, in one of his darker hours, Paul laments that “only Luke is with me.” As such, we see Luke as faithful and persevering.
We also know that Luke was a participant-observer in many of the events he recorded in the book of Acts. We see this through his first person narratives and the use of the pronoun “we.”
Although Doctor Luke was not a leader or an apostle, his contribution to our faith and understanding of Jesus and his church is significant.
Doctor Luke’s ministry function was not leading or preaching, but rather playing a silent and almost unnoticed supporting role .
His work was quiet, but his legacy lives on, loudly influencing Jesus’ followers two millennia later.
Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
A person who keeps resurfacing in the Bible is a man with two names. Sometimes he is Mark, and sometimes he is John.
For clarity, Luke often refers to him as John, also called Mark, John Mark for short. Let’s explore the failure and the comeback of John Mark.
John Mark’s story begins in Acts. When Peter is miraculously released from prison he heads to the home of John Mark’s mom, Mary. They are praying for Peter at that time. John Mark is likely a part of that prayer meeting (Acts 12:12).
Barnabas (John Mark’s cousin) and Paul take him on a missionary journey (Acts 12:25). He helps them at first (Acts 13:5). But after a while, John-Mark bales on them early on and returns home, to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).
Later, Barnabas wants to give his cousin a second chance, but Paul adamantly disagrees and the two-part company over John Mark’s failure (Acts 15:37-40).
However, the story doesn’t end there. John Mark makes a comeback and wins Paul over.
In Paul’s various letters, he affirms their relationship (2 Timothy 4:11), calls John Mark a coworker (Philemon 1:24), and asks the church to accept and welcome him (Colossians 4:10).
John Mark rushed into ministry before he was ready—he didn’t “count the cost” (Luke 14:28)—and did not prove to be faithful. Despite his poor start, he turned things around and finished well, helping both Paul and Peter.
Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
While Philemon is the recipient of the letter that bears his name, Paul is the author.
We know a great deal about Paul, as he is mentioned over 250 times in the Bible, mostly in the book of Acts, but also in the letters that he wrote, as well as once by Peter. Only Jesus is mentioned more frequently.
From these mentions, we know Paul to be a missionary, a church leader, a church planter, a mentor, and a teacher. In the book of Philemon, we also see him emerge as an influencer to reconcile and restore broken relationships.
Reconciliation was the reason for Paul writing his letter to Philemon. Paul’s desire was to see Onesimus and Philemon’s estranged relationship made right.
Paul encouraged both of them to the right thing: for Onesimus to return to his master regardless of risk and for Philemon to welcome him back without penalty.
Paul was able to assume this role of reconciler because he had a personal relationship with both parties. This history gave him a credibility that an outsider would have lacked, allowing him to positively influence them both.
If you, like Paul, are in relationship with two estranged people, should your role be to encourage them to pursue reconciliation? If you’re not sure, talk to God about it. He may have put you in that position for this very reason.
Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Since the New Testament Focuses on Jesus Isn’t It All We Need?
We read the Bible because it
reveals God to us. It is the foundation of our faith. But do we need to read
all scripture, the whole Bible?
The New Testament Is Enough
As Jesus wraps up a lengthy sermon, the one we call the Sermon on the Mount, he gives us a one liner that we recognize as the Golden Rule. He tells us to treat others the way we want them to treat us. Then he adds a curious addendum.
He says this one instruction summarizes the whole Law and all that the prophets wrote (Matthew 7:12). These writings—the Law of Moses and the prophets—encompass what we call the Old Testament of the Bible.
If treating others right, the way
we want them to treat us, distills everything in the Old Testament, there seems
no point in reading it. Right?
In fact, the New Testament provides
all the essential information we need to follow Jesus and be made right with
Papa. This informs our present physical life and anticipates our future
spiritual life with God in heaven.
The New Testament is enough. Or is
it?
The Old Testament Magnifies the New Testament
Yet early in the same sermon, Jesus says he didn’t come to abolish (that is, do away with) the Old Testament—the Law and the prophets—but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17).
If Jesus isn’t tossing out the Old Testament but is instead building upon those writings, aren’t they also foundational to our faith and understanding of God?
Yes.
Though we can view the New Testament as containing all the essential faith information we need, understanding the Old Testament adds meaning; it deepens our understanding of the symbolism, power, and purpose of the New Testament.
For example, how can we fully appreciate Jesus’s sacrifice and dying for our sins, without knowing the backstory in the Old Testament?
We can’t.
That’s why we need the Old
Testament. Though the New Testament may be enough, the Old Testament amplifies
it.
All Scripture Is Useful
Consider what Paul writes to his protégé Timothy. Paul says, all scripture is useful to inform us in our faith and life (2 Timothy 3:16). He doesn’t say the New Testament is useful, which, by the way, didn’t exist when Paul wrote to Timothy.
From Paul’s perspective, he refers to all the scripture that existed at that time.
This includes what we now call the Old Testament and the Apocrypha. (The Apocrypha was part of the Septuagint, the Bible Jesus and Paul quoted from. The Apocrypha was also part of the original King James Bible.)
From our understanding today, when
we read Paul’s words that all scripture is useful, we conveniently include the
New Testament in this. It’s not wrong to do so, but it is an expansion of what
Paul wrote nearly 2,000 years ago.
Which Is It?
As we study the Bible today, we
will do well to study all of it.
Yes, the New Testament is more applicable. Yet the writings of the Old Testament—all them—carry meaningful significance.
Therefore, we should keep in mind to not focus so much on the New Testament that we ignore the Old.
As Paul wrote, all scripture comes from God. It is the Word of God, God breathed. It is useful to us in our daily life. It teaches us, rebukes us, and corrects us. It trains us in how to live right. It prepares us to do good (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
In Acts chapter 26, the prisoner Paul makes his defense before King Agrippa. Basically Paul recaps key moments of his life and turns his testimony into a sermon.
This must make King Agrippa squirm, because he pushes back, asking if Paul expects him to become a Christian. For the record, Paul does.
However, I want to focus on something Paul says early on in his testimony to the court. Paul asks those present, “Why would anyone consider it incredible that God can raise the dead?” (Acts 26:8). What an interesting question.
If we believe in God and consider him as an all-powerful deity, we can certainly accept that he is able to bring dead people back to life. Most notably he does this for Jesus. And Jesus, who is one with God, raises several people from the dead too.
So do Paul, Elijah, and Elisha, who all raise the dead through God’s power.
If God doesn’t change and once brought dead people back to life, there’s no reason to expect that he can’t raise the dead now. For some people in our world, resurrection from the dead is normal and still occurs.
Yet other people in our world, namely those in developed nations, dismiss the idea of supernatural resurrections. What’s the difference?
We get a hint in Matthew 13:58, which says Jesus—even Jesus—was limited in what supernatural wonders he could perform, because of the people’s lack of faith.
So if we’re not seeing people rise
from the dead, it might not be God’s doing, but our lack of faith.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
What Can We Learn from the Ending Sentence or Thought in Each Book of the Bible?
As a writer I know the two most important things of anything I write are the beginning and the ending. A strong opening draws readers and keeps them interested, while a powerful close gives readers something to take with them.
Though I don’t think biblical writers focused on these two areas, it’s still interesting to look at how they wrapped up their writings. Here’s a list of the last sentence or thought from each of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament.
The Final Words in the Book of Matthew
Matthew ends by quoting Jesus, which many embrace as a personal call to action.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
‘And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’ ” (Matthew 28:18-20, NIV).
The Final Words in the Book of Mark
Mark has two endings, with the second one not found in all manuscripts. But since the first version ends abruptly and leaves us hanging. I’ll share the concluding thought in the second one.
“After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.
Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it” (Mark 16:19-20, NIV).
The Final Words in the Book of Luke
Luke ends his biography of Jesus by telling us what his followers did. This contrasts to what Jesus told his followers to do at the end of Matthew.
“When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.
Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God” (Luke 24:50-53, NIV).
The Final Words in the Book of John
As a writer I especially appreciate the end of the book of John, but from a broader perspective it makes me wish more people had written about the life of Jesus. I want to know more.
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 21:25, NIV).
The Final Words in the Book of Acts
Luke concludes the book of Acts with what may be Paul’s last work here on earth. This should encourage us to finish strong.
“For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.
He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:30-31, NIV).
The Final Words of the Letters from Paul
Paul ends most of his letters succinctly and often with a bit of encouragement. A reoccurring word in many of his parting lines is grace.
“…to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen (Romans 16:27, NIV).
Noted for his direct, practical writing, James ends his book the same way.
“Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5:20, NIV).
The Final Words of the Letters of Peter
The ending to Peter’s two letters are much different than Paul’s.
“Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ” (Peter 5:14, NIV).
“So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him” (2 Peter 3:14, NIV).
The Final Words of the Letters from John
There seems to be no similarity in how John concludes his three letters.
“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21, NIV).
“The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings” (2 John 1:13, NIV).
“I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name” (3 John 1:14, NIV).
The Final Words from Jude
Over the years, I’ve heard many church services end by quoting these two verses.
“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 1:24-25, NIV).
The Final Words in the Book of Revelation
And last, we have the final words of the Bible.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen” (Revelation 22:21, NIV).
Final Thoughts
When we read the Bible and get to the end of a book, what do we do?
Do we read fast and quickly close our Bible, glad to have finished another book, or do we let the ending sit with us a while as we contemplate its words?
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Though the Bible has many commands, love is the greatest command of them all. Check it out:
The Old Testament Law
In the first five books of the Bible, sometimes called the Torah or Pentateuch, God gives instructions to Moses. The people refer to this as the law. These rules, or guidelines, are numerous.
In fact, there are 613. Though I once considered counting them myself, I decided not to. Plenty of Jewish scholars already have, and they come up with 613. I’m fine with that.
Bible students divide these 613 instructions into two categories: things we should do and things we shouldn’t do. Some people call these positive commands and negative commands. In case you’re wondering, yes, there are more things we shouldn’t do than things we should do.
Furthermore, some Bible academics group these 613 commands by topic, such as worshiping God, making vows, offering sacrifices, and so forth. Even with these divisions and categorizations, the number of instructions is still unwieldy.
Besides there’s not too many people I know—okay there’s no one I know—who follows all 613 rules.
The Ten Commandments
In the middle of the 613 instructions, we find the Ten Commandments. Ten is much more manageable than 613. Most people I know affirm the Ten Commandments—even if they can’t list all ten.
(Though I can come close, I can’t either. But this doesn’t trouble me because different faith traditions can’t agree on what the ten are anyway.)
Again, scholars divide this list. The first four commandments relate to our relationship with God, and the last six relate to our relationship with others.
Also, if you’re keeping track, the majority of the Ten Commandments tell us what not to do, only a few tell us what we should do.
Jesus Summarizes the Law
Someone asks Jesus to identify the greatest commandment. But he doesn’t give one answer. He gives two. The first is to love God fully and completely. The second is similar, to love others as much as we love ourselves.
Then Jesus adds that the Law and writings of the prophets all hinge on these two commandments (Matthew 22:36–40).
Though Jesus gives two answers, they have a common theme. The theme is love. Love is the greatest command.
Paul Writes about Love
In the first letter Paul writes to the church in Corinth, he devotes a whole section to love. He tells them how important love is and gives them a description of how love behaves.
Then he says that love never ends, even though prophecies—and other things people think are important—will cease. He concludes this famous passage with a succinct phrase, “The greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13).
Love Is the Greatest
So, we start with 613 instructions, focus on the ten big ones, and then Jesus narrows it down to two, which have a common theme of love. Paul confirms that love trumps everything.
Instead of focusing on what we should and shouldn’t do—following a list of requirements with religious fervor—we should instead turn our attention to the greatest commandment: love.
Love God, and love others.
If we do this everything else should fall into place.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
When we talk to others about God it’s critical we teach sound doctrine
Paul writes a letter of instruction to his protégé Titus. In it he devotes a lengthy section instructing Titus about how to teach others.
Paul opens this passage with the simple direction that Titus must teach whatever’s appropriate for sound doctrine (Titus 2:1).
I like this phrase, “sound doctrine.” The concept of having a healthy foundation for our faith should guide the things we tell others when we talk about God.
Sound Doctrine
This idea of having a worthy creed implies that there is a basis for it. The Bible is certainly our primary source for our doctrine.
We find further guidance in this by the direction of the Holy Spirit and in considering what others have to say about the Bible.
If we say something contrary to what we find in the Word of God or how the Holy Spirit directs us, this isn’t a doctrine that’s sound.
Unsound Doctrine
If we consider sound doctrine, the opposite might be unsound doctrine. What does this entail? Unsound doctrine includes things that aren’t in the Bible, notions we make up or sound good.
Our unexamined customs, practices, and traditions could fall under the category of unsound doctrine. We should avoid it.
Sound Heresy
Another opposite of sound doctrine might be sound heresy. What is sound heresy? It’s things that sound good, but aren’t. Sometimes this is people misquoting Scripture.
For example, “The Good Lord helps them who helps themselves,” isn’t in the Bible, but many people think it is. It is, in fact, sound heresy, because people believe it even when they shouldn’t.
Another example of sound heresy comes from preachers who say things with such passion and so frequently, that we accept their words as truth even if those things aren’t supported by the Bible.
We feel good about these ideas, but they aren’t relevant; they’re just sound heresy.
Instead we must seek to hold onto a sound doctrine, rejecting shallow doctrine as well as sound heresy. We should be like the people in Berea who check to see if Paul’s words are supported by what Scripture says (Acts 17:11).
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
God’s Holy Spirit exists in those who follow Jesus
Before Jesus leaves this earth to return to his father in heaven he promises his disciples that they will receive the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, who Father God will send them.
The Holy Spirit will teach them all things and remind them of what Jesus said (John 14:26).
A few weeks later, the Holy Spirit shows up. He comes with power and might. He supernaturally enables the disciples of Jesus to do amazing things (Acts 2:1-4).
What about us today? For people who see no evidence of the Holy Spirit in their lives, they assume this promise of Jesus only applied to his disciples, that the Holy Spirit is not a present-day reality.
However, other people operate under the power of the Holy Spirit most every day. They see Jesus’s promise as one that applies to all his followers throughout time. They believe that the Holy Spirit lives in us—all of us. Which is it?
We get a hint at the answer in Paul’s letter to his protégé Timothy. Paul affirms the Holy Spirit lives in Timothy, as well as in all of us (2 Timothy 1:14).
This confirms that Paul believes in Holy Spirit power. Paul moved in that power, and Timothy could tap into that same power.
Neither Paul nor Timothy were disciples of Jesus, but they are his followers. As followers of Jesus they have the Holy Spirit in them, even though they weren’t his disciples.
The same applies to us today. As followers of Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit lives in us.
The question is, what are we doing with this Holy Spirit power? Are we ignoring it, or using it to accomplish amazing things for Father God and Jesus?
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Paul tells us that faith and love is what matters most
In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he opens chapter five with a discussion about freedom and slavery, about following the law and not following the law. He says that in Jesus these things have no value. So what counts the most?
His explanation of this is a bit confusing. It’s a passage we need to go back and reread to try to understand what this prolific biblical writer is trying to tell us. But if we don’t quite grasp it, that’s okay.
Paul summarizes his point in one succinct line: “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6, NIV).
The only thing that counts is love expressed through faith.
Think about it.
Faith
Faith is the starting point. We have faith in God the father through Jesus the son as revealed by God’s Holy Spirit. We have faith that God lives in us and is through us.
We have faith that a better tomorrow awaits us, both in this world and in the next.
We have faith that God is with us in all circumstances and at all times, that he answers our prayers aligned with his sovereign wisdom.
Love
But faith alone fall short. James tells us that faith without action is dead (James 2:17). While action could mean many things, let’s go back to Paul. He says that through our faith we are to express love. That’s what matters.
If faith is the starting point of the one thing that counts, love expressed is the outcome. Love is a confusing word in today’s modern society, covering the full gamut of emotions from preference to passion.
To understand the kind of love that Paul is talking about, we should go back to the Bible, we should go back to the words of Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church.
He starts out by saying, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud” (1 Corinthians 13:4, NIV).
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
