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Read (and listen!) through the amazing story of Luke and Acts!
Immerse: Luke and Acts is part of Immerse: The Reading Bible, which takes you on a new and unique journey through the books of Luke and Acts in the New Testament. This fresh arrangement of the books highlights the depth of the New Testament’s fourfold witness to Jesus the Messiah. The Son of God, who fulfills all the longings and promises of the collected Scriptures. The goal of Bible reading is to understand the sacred writings in depth so we can learn to live with them. Using the text of the New Living Translation (NLT) from Tyndale Publishing, now you can experience Luke and Acts the same way the original readers did and be fully immersed in the most amazing story of all time!
Oliver: Welcome to Immerse Luke
and Acts, Day two, Week one
.
, immersed in Luke Acts.
The longest story in the New Testament,
one that fills a quarter of its pages
was originally addressed to one person.
The author dedicates this two
volume series covering the life
of Jesus and the early church to
the most honorable Theophilus.
This Greek name shows that he was a
Gentile, non Jewish, and his title
suggests he was likely a Roman official.
This history of the early Christian
movement was written in the mid 60s A.
D., right around the time when
the Roman government first became
hostile to Jesus followers.
Theophilus may have been facing pressure
to forsake his allegiance to Jesus.
At the same time, some Jewish believers
were questioning the place of Gentiles in
a movement devoted to a Jewish messiah.
So Theophilus would no doubt
welcome the reassurance that what
he'd heard about Jesus was genuine
and that the good news really was
intended for Gentiles like himself.
Luke was in a unique position
to answer these questions.
He had worked closely with Paul,
who brought the message of Jesus
to Gentiles living throughout
much of the Roman Empire.
Luke was able to tell important
parts of the story from first hand
experience, and since he was educated
and literate, He could also research
and record the movement's history.
The good news of Jesus invited
Jews and Gentiles to unite
into a single new family.
So believers from all backgrounds
benefited from Luke's account of
God's story of salvation for the
whole world, which had come to
surprising fulfillment in Jesus.
The first volume, Luke, begins with
a prologue about the remarkable
circumstances surrounding
Jesus birth and early days.
From its start, the story shows how Jesus
was sent as both the long promised King of
Israel and the Savior of the whole world.
After the introduction, Luke is
divided into three main parts.
The first section describes Jesus
early ministry in Israel's northern
region of Galilee, where he announces
the good news of the kingdom of God.
Luke then portrays Jesus taking the
journey south toward Jerusalem, where
he fulfills his calling and destiny.
Along the way, Jesus continues to
show how the coming of God's reign on
earth means freedom for the oppressed.
And a welcome for outsiders.
The third section shows Jesus mission
coming to its climax in Israel's
ancient capital of Jerusalem.
During the Jewish Passover festival,
His enemies conspire to have
Him executed on a Roman cross.
But Jesus then rises from the dead
with royal authority, winning God's
great battle against sin and death.
The second volume, Acts, describes how the
first community of Jesus followers brought
the message about Him to all nations.
In six different phases, the good
news about Jesus breaks through some
significant barrier as it advances.
Each phase ends with a version
of the summary statement.
God's message continued to spread.
The number of believers greatly increased.
Phase 1.
The message breaks through a
linguistic barrier as the Jerusalem
community welcomes Greek speakers.
Phase 2.
The message breaks through a
geographic barrier by spreading
into Judea and Samaria.
Phase 3.
A significant religious and
ethnic barrier is broken when
the community welcomes Gentiles.
Phase 4.
Another geographic barrier is broken
when the good news moves into Asia Minor.
Phase 5.
Yet another geographic barrier is
broken when the good news spreads
into Greece, the cultural center
of the ancient Mediterranean world.
Phase 6.
The good news about Jesus the
Messiah reaches all the way to
Rome, the very heart of the empire.
In this way, Luke Acts
completes its two fold movement.
First, Jesus went to Jerusalem to
complete his great work through his
suffering, death, and resurrection.
Second, the persecution of his
followers brought the good news
about Jesus from Jerusalem to Rome.
In this combined story, it is revealed
that Jesus is Israel's promised
king and the world's true ruler.
This concludes today's
Immerse Reading Experience.
Thank you for joining us.