Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    A Private Commentary on The Bible: Luke’s Gospel 13:1–24:53
    A Private Commentary on The Bible: Luke’s Gospel 13:1–24:53
    A Private Commentary on The Bible: Luke’s Gospel 13:1–24:53
    Ebook365 pages5 hours

    A Private Commentary on The Bible: Luke’s Gospel 13:1–24:53

    By James D. Quiggle

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A thoroughly exegetical and explanatory commentary explaining the meaning and significance of Luke’s Gospel. The book assumes and defends Luke as the true author based ion his investigation of eyewitness testimony. The exposition is based on the author’s translation of the Greek text, with notes to identify certain word choices. Textual views are discussed where appropriate. The book has a high view of Scripture as God’s inerrant Word, and uses grammatical-historical principles to interpret the text. The book treats Luke’s Gospel as an independent portrait of Christ, but also coordinates with the other Gospels to provide a clear picture of Luke’s view of the life and times of Jesus the Christ. The book takes a dispensational view of Christ’s first advent salvific mission and eschatological prophecies. The author writes for any Christian who wants to continue their study of the Bible, for Bible study leaders and teachers, Bible college students, and local church Pastors.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJames D. Quiggle
    Release dateSep 11, 2021
    ISBN9781005988661
    A Private Commentary on The Bible: Luke’s Gospel 13:1–24:53
    Author

    James D. Quiggle

    James D. Quiggle was born in 1952 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He grew up in Kansas and the Texas Panhandle. In the early 1970s he joined the United States Air Force. At his first permanent assignment in Indian Springs, Nevada in a small Baptist church, the pastor introduced him to Jesus and soon after he was saved. Over the next ten years those he met in churches from the East Coast to the West Coast, mature Christian men, poured themselves into mentoring him. In the 1970s he was gifted with the Scofield Bible Course from Moody Bible Institute. As he completed his studies his spiritual gift of teaching became even more apparent. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Bethany Bible College during the 1980s while still in the Air Force. Between 2006–2008, after his career in the Air Force and with his children grown up, he decided to continue his education. He enrolled in Bethany Divinity College and Seminary and earned a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Theological Studies.As an extension of his spiritual gift of teaching, he was prompted by the Holy Spirit to begin writing books. James Quiggle is now a Christian author with over fifty commentaries on Bible books and doctrines. He is an editor for the Evangelical Dispensational Quarterly Journal published by Scofield Biblical Institute and Theological Seminary.He continues to write and has a vibrant teaching ministry through social media.

    Read more from James D. Quiggle

    Related to A Private Commentary on The Bible

    Related ebooks

    Christianity For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Stepping Into The Book Of Romans

      Oct 2, 2020

      The New Testament book of Romans is a copy of a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Rome, sometime around the end of 58AD while he was in Corinth. He had never been to the Roman church before, although he had desired to do so for a lo

      2 min read

    • Article

      THE WAR FOR OUR YOUTH Why creation still matters

      Dec 30, 2019

      We’re being told by public education systems, universities, media, some parents, and unfortunately many church leaders, that parts of the Bible are not relevant anymore and that we need to reinvent God’s word. So, with this situation, in order to und

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Miracles of Holy Week

      Mar 26, 2022

      The Miracles of Holy Week
      4 min read

    • Article

      What The New Testament Doesn’t Say

      May 20, 2019

      When professing Christians deny Biblical creation, we often point them to the Words of Jesus and the New Testament authors, which clearly affirm their own belief in Biblical creation. Because Christians are, by definition, people who believe what Jes

      5 min read

    • Article

      What Happened Next?

      Feb 24, 2022

      What Happened Next?
      9 min read

    • Article

      Did You Know?

      Dec 31, 2021

      How many books are in the Bible? The Bible contains 66 books, divided among the Old and New Testaments. How many books are in the Old Testament? There are 39 books in the Old Testament. How many books are in the New Testament? There are 27 books

      3 min read

    • Article

      Did You Know?

      Feb 11, 2022

      The Holy Bible is a collection of many type of books – historical books, books of poetry, prophetic books, epistles (writing directed or sent to a person or group of people), and the Gospels. Here are the 17 historical books of the Bible: Genesis, E

      2 min read

    • Article

      Why Study Church History?

      Jun 15, 2020

      Why Study Church History?
      3 min read

    • Article

      10 Jewish Biblical Facts That Hardly Any Christians Know…

      Oct 28, 2022

      As a new believer in Yeshua (Jesus), I assumed I was no longer Jewish—that believing in this Jewish Man had nothing in common with Jewishness. However, after reading the New Testament, I was shocked to find out that it was a Jewish book, telling a Je

      3 min read

    • Article

      Crosses Across Asia

      Apr 8, 2022

      Crosses Across Asia
      3 min read

    • Article

      How to Spread the Gospel Like Wildfire

      Aug 19, 2019

      The Gospel spread like wildfire in the early church. For example, a single speech from Peter converted 3000 people (Acts 2:41), and after he gave a second speech, the number of believers totalled 5000 (Acts 4:4). In only a few decades, the Good News

      5 min read

    • Article

      AGENTS OF Change

      Apr 13, 2020

      What on earth is a Reformational church? The Reformational church is God’s agent of constant change from glory to glory, conforming to the image of His Son. That’s why we are straightening and aligning the church to what Jesus intended in the first p

      4 min read

    • Article

      Book of Uncommon Prayer

      May 3, 2023

      Book of Uncommon Prayer
      3 min read

    • Article

      ‘A History Of The Bible’ Offers Scholarly Insights Into Its Construction

      Aug 27, 2019

      Theologian and Anglican priest John Barton takes a well-researched look into the context and composition of the Bible.

      2 min read

    • Article

      Shaping Scripture

      Feb 16, 2023

      Shaping Scripture
      1 min read

    • Article

      Characters Of The Bible Anna

      Nov 25, 2022

      Characters Of The Bible Anna
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for A Private Commentary on The Bible

    5/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      A Private Commentary on The Bible - James D. Quiggle

      Luke’s Gospel

      Luke 13:1 – 24:53

      BOOKS BY JAMES D. QUIGGLE

      DOCTRINAL SERIES

      Biblical History

      Adam and Eve, a Biography and Theology

      Angelology, a True History of Angels

      Essays

      Biblical Essays

      Biblical Essays II

      Biblical Essays III

      Biblical Essays IV

      Marriage and Family

      Marriage and Family: A Biblical Perspective

      Biblical Homosexuality

      A Biblical Response to Same-gender Marriage

      Doctrinal and Practical Christianity

      First Steps, Becoming a Follower of Jesus Christ

      Thirty-Six Essentials of the Christian Faith

      The Literal Hermeneutic, Explained and Illustrated

      Christian Living and Doctrine

      Spiritual Gifts

      Why Christians Should Not Tithe

      Dispensational Theology

      A Primer On Dispensationalism

      Understanding Dispensational Theology

      Dispensational Eschatology, An Explanation and Defense of the Doctrine

      Antichrist, His Genealogy, Kingdom, and Religion

      God and Man

      God’s Choices, Doctrines of Foreordination, Election, Predestination

      God Became Incarnate

      Life, Death, Eternity

      Did Jesus Go To Hell?

      COMMENTARY SERIES

      The Old Testament

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Judges

      A Private Commentary on the Book of Ruth

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Esther

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Song of Solomon

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Daniel

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Jonah

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Habakkuk

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Haggai

      The New Testament

      The Gospels

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Matthew’s Gospel

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Mark’s Gospel

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Luke’s Gospel 1:1–12:29

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Luke’s Gospel 13:1–24:53

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 1–12

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 13–21

      (John’s Gospel is also in a one volume edition)

      The Parables and Miracles of Jesus Christ

      The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ

      The Christmas Story, As Told By God

      Pauline Letters

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Galatians

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Ephesians

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Philippians

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Colossians

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Thessalonians

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Philemon

      General Letters

      A Private Commentary on the Book of Hebrews

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: James

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: 1 Peter

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: 2 Peter

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: John’s Epistles

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: Jude

      Revelation

      The Epistle of Jesus to the Church

      REFERENCE SERIES

      Dictionary of Doctrinal Words

      Translation of Select Bible Books (Old And New Testament)

      Old and New Testament Chronology (Also in individual volumes: Old Testament Chronology; New Testament Chronology)

      TRACTS

      A Human Person: Is the Unborn Life a Person?

      Biblical Marriage

      How Can I Know I am A Christian?

      Now That I am A Christian

      Thirty-Six Essentials of the Christian Faith

      What is a Pastor? / Why is My Pastor Eating the Sheep?

      (All tracts are in Kindle format and cost $0.99)

      Visit me at https://www.facebook.com/BooksOfQ

      A Private Commentary on the Bible

      Luke’s Gospel

      Luke 13:1 – 24:53

      James D. Quiggle

      Copyright Page

      A Private Commentary on The Bible: Luke’s Gospel 13:1–24:53

      Copyright © 2021 James D. Quiggle. All rights reserved.

      Published by James D. Quiggle, 2021

      Translation of the Gospel According to Luke by James D. Quiggle.

      All translations except as noted are from James D. Quiggle Translations of Select Bible Books, copyright 2020.

      Some Bible versions cited or quoted were sourced from PC Study Bible®, version 5, release 5.2. Copyright© 1988–2008, by BibleSoft, Inc.

      American Standard Version (ASV). Public Domain.

      Authorized (King James) Version (KJV). Public Domain.

      Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Scripture quotations marked HCSB are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

      New King James Version® (NKJV). Copyright © 1982, 1983 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      New King James Version® (NKJV). The New Open Bible Study Edition. Copyright © 1983, 1985, 1990 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV). Copyright © 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, A Division of Good News Publishers, 1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, USA. All rights reserved.

      The Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV), Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

      Holy Bible, New Living TRANSLATION (NLT) ® Copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

      Young's Literal TRANSLATION of the Holy Bible (YLT), by Robert Young, Originally Published In 1862, Edinburgh. Revised Edition 1887. Public Domain.

      This digital edition of A Private Commentary on the Bible: Luke’s Gospel contains the same material as the print version.

      Table of Contents

      Preface

      Abbreviations

      Introduction

      Luke Thirteen

      Luke Fourteen

      Luke Fifteen

      Luke Sixteen

      Luke Seventeen

      Luke Eighteen

      Luke Nineteen

      Luke Twenty

      Luke Twenty-One

      Luke Twenty-Two

      Luke Twenty-Three

      Luke Twenty-Four

      Appendix: Harmonizing Peter’s Denials

      Appendix: Gospel Witnesses to the Resurrection

      Sources

      Preface

      The Private Commentary on the Old and New Testaments is my interpretation of the Bible, neither more nor less. I am responsible for the use made of all quoted and cited material.

      The scope of the Private Commentary series is to bring the reader to a practical understanding of Scripture. I explain and discuss each verse, idea, theme, and biblical truth as discovered in turn during the course of the exposition. My target audience is the Bible college/seminary student, Bible study/small group leader, Sunday School teacher, and local church Pastor. My point of view is a conservative theology. Other opinions concerning the Scripture are presented and discussed as I believe will profit the target audience. Bible students who desire to understand and apply the scriptures are invited to study the book with me and come to their own conclusions.

      This material is copyrighted to prevent misuse or abuse. Those persons using this material in their teaching/preaching ministry may copy and distribute individual pages (e.g., an excursus, a table/list, or an appendix) for distribution to one’s students or auditors. The entire book may not be copied and/or distributed, nor large portions of the book, such as a chapter or extended comments on Scripture passages. The cost of this work has been kept as low as possible so every interested teacher, preacher, and student may afford a personal copy.

      Abbreviations

      AD … Anno Domini (In the year of the Lord [since Christ was born])

      ANF … Ante-Nicene Fathers

      Ant. … Antiquities of the Jews

      AUC … Anno Urbis Conditae. In the year of the founded city. The date in years from the founding of Rome, which was about 753 BC.

      BC … Bello Christo (Before Christ [was born])

      ca. … about (an approximate date) (Latin: circa)

      cf. … compare (Latin: confer)

      e.g. … for example (Latin: exempli gratia)

      etc. … and so forth, and so on (Latin: et cetera)

      ff. … and the following verses.

      HGH … Historical-Grammatical Hermeneutic (aka, Literal hermeneutic)

      Ibid … in the same place (referring to the source cited in the previous entry) (Latin: ibidem)

      i.e. … that is (Latin: id est)

      NPNF … Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers

      LXX … Greek translation of the Old Testament

      n. … note (referring to a footnote or endnote in the work cited)

      m. … Mishnah (followed by tractate name, e.g., m. Baba Metzia)

      s. v. … under the word (Latin: sub verbo)

      v. … verse

      vv. … verses

      Introduction

      Any commentary on the four gospels must answer the question, Why are they so alike but also so different? A simple illustration will explain my answer to that question.

      Let us suppose four friends visit the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA. Each person has been given a camera and notepad (or a phone and I-Pad) with which to record his experiences. Let us suppose they almost always travel as a group, thus visiting the same places at the same time. Occasionally one will go somewhere by himself, or perhaps just stay in the tent for the day. Each takes pictures of similar vistas, but each has his own perspective. Each writes of his own particular experience.

      Upon returning home, each prepares a book with narrative and pictures of his experience. Upon comparison, some narratives and pictures are the same, some similar, some different, some missing. Although they almost always went together to the same place and saw the same scenes, each person has his own experiences, perspective, photographs, and style of writing.

      When we compare the four gospels, the above scenario becomes more complicated. John was with Jesus from the beginning, as was Peter and Andrew. John, Peter, and Andrew began following Jesus, John 1:37, 40–42, before Jesus called them to full time ministry, Luke 5:10–11. There is evidence these three and John’s brother James returned home now and then to take care of their families and fishing business, Mark 1:16–20. Not all twelve were present during the raising of Lazarus: Thomas, not Peter, is the spokesman for the group, John 11:16. Matthew joined the group between Passover AD 30 and the end of summer that year, Matthew 9:9. Luke conducted interviews of the eyewitnesses to Jesus’ ministry (Luke 1:1–4).

      The narratives of Christ’s ministry in each of the four gospels is based on the personal experiences of many eyewitnesses. Matthew learned from Peter, Andrew, John, James, et al, what happened before he began to travel with Jesus. Those absent during the Lazarus incident learned from those present. Luke learned from many people, comparing this account with that account. Each was guided by the Holy Spirit to record what they saw and heard, making their own choices and writing in their own style, superintended by the Holy Spirit. That is inspiration. God so prepared and superintended the writers of Scripture that in speaking and writing their own words, they wrote God’s words. God intended each to write a narrative of Jesus’ words and works from his own particular perspective and experiences. When the gospel accounts are put together, they give us a complete picture of Jesus Christ’s Person, words, and works—not everything Jesus did but sufficient for understanding.

      Luke’s Origin

      The Luke named as the author of this gospel has always been identified by the New Testament church as the beloved physician, Colossians 4:14, the companion of Paul the apostle, 2 Timothy 4:11, and fellow laborer in the gospel with Paul, Philemon 24. These are all the occurrences of the name Luke.

      Because the Book of Acts refers to a former account written for Theophilus, the person mentioned at Luke 1:3, the Book of Acts was also accepted by the New Testament church as being composed by Luke, Paul’s companion and fellow laborer. Beginning at Acts 16:10, the we passages have been identified as referring to Luke meeting and traveling with Paul.

      Acts 16:9–12 (ESV), And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days.

      Their meeting was approximately AD 49–50, based on the dating of 1 Thessalonians, written from Corinth. (The dating of Paul’s time in Corinth is based on the Gallio Inscription, cross-referenced with Acts 18:12. See Hollingsworth, 198.)

      The change from we to they at Acts 17:1 indicates Luke remained in Philippi when Paul left for other cities. Luke rejoined Paul a few years later when Paul returned to Philippi, Acts 20:6, and remained with Paul through his several imprisonments in Israel and Rome, Acts 28:16. The date when Luke rejoined Paul was approximately AD 58.

      Most Bible students believe Luke wrote his gospel during Paul’s two years (Acts 24:27) as a prisoner in the governor’s house (governor Felix, then governor Festus) at Caesarea, Acts 23:24 through 27:1. The accepted dates for Paul’s imprisonment in Caesarea (based on the governorship of Felix and Festus) are AD 58–60. The accepted dates for Luke writing his gospel are AD 58–62.

      What seems likely is Luke’s gospel was in or near its final form about the time Paul was sent to Rome in AD 60. David Alan Black, Why four gospels?, presents a strong case for the origin of Luke’s Gospel. In Black’s view, Matthew was written ca. AD 42 as the evangelistic gospel of the early church. This was the gospel Paul used during his missionary journeys. Paul’s experience evangelizing gentiles led him to conclude a gospel written for non-Jews, for gentiles, was needed.

      Paul had Luke write that gospel. Black proposes that when Paul came to Rome, he asked Peter to review and give his approval of Luke’s gospel. Black suggests Peter did this in a series of lectures. These lectures were stenographically recorded, and a short time later published by Mark. This agrees with the testimony of Papias (AD 70–155), Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord.

      And the Presbyter [John] said this. Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatsoever he remembered. It was not, however, in exact order that he related the sayings or deeds of Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor accompanied Him. But afterwards, as I said, he accompanied Peter, who accommodated his instructions to the necessities [of his hearers], but with no intention of giving a regular narrative of the Lord’s sayings. Wherefore Mark made no mistake in thus writing some things as he remembered them. For of one thing he took especial care, not to omit anything he had heard, and not to put anything fictitious into the statements. [Roberts, ANF, 1:153, 155–156 (Fragments, 1, 6).]

      According to Black, the order in which the gospels were written is Matthew, Luke, Mark, John. This means one of Luke’s written sources was Matthew’s Gospel. Mark’s Gospel was third in order and was not dependent on any other gospel. I agree with this view. Mark and Luke were probably published about the same time, and both probably published in Rome.

      Luke is mentioned as the author of Acts by Irenaeus (AD 120–202) [Roberts, ANF, 1:414 (Against Heresies, 3.1.1)]. just as Luke is recognized as the pen that wrote the Acts of the Apostles and as the translator of the Letter of Paul to the Hebrews. Origen (AD 184–253) said of the four gospels, the first is written according to Matthew . . . the second is according to Mark, who composed it as Peter explained to him . . . and the third according to Luke, the gospel commended by Paul, which was written for the converts from the Gentiles, and last of all the gospel according to John [Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 6.25].

      Luke claims he "accurately investigated [parakolouthéō] all these things from the first," interviewing eyewitnesses or those who heard directly from the eyewitnesses. Certainly in AD 58 many eyewitnesses could be found. Jesus was crucified AD 33, twenty-five years before Luke began to write his gospel.

      The details in the infancy narratives of John and Jesus leads to the strong possibility Mary mother of Jesus was still living. If, as the culture of the times indicates, she was fourteen to fifteen years old when Jesus was born ca. 5 BC, then she was in her early sixties in AD 58. Although the average life-span was thirty-five to forty years, that low figure was due to high mortality rates at birth, in infancy, and the death of the mother as she gave birth. Mary was cared for by her children and the church, Acts 1:14, and thus likely to live a long life. There is no reason to doubt Luke’s word that he investigated all these things from the first.

      Translation Issues

      One of the characteristics of any of the four gospels is the heavy use of pronouns. Usually context establishes the correct noun for the pronoun. At other times it is difficult to know who is who. For example, at Jesus’ baptism by John, 1:10, And immediately coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens split open, and the Spirit as a dove coming down upon him. Both Jesus and John were in the water and therefore came up out of the water. So which of the two men saw the heavens split open and which of the two men saw the Spirit as a dove coming down upon him? The most likely answer is, And immediately coming up out of the water, John saw the heavens split open, and the Spirit as a dove coming down upon Jesus.

      Here is another example, the healing of the withered hand, Mark 3:2, And they watched him, whether on the Sabbath he would heal him, in order they might accuse him. There is no obvious noun referent for they, although synagogue in v. 1 seems likely. And who is the first he? The chapter begins with and he entered. The sentence should most likely be understood as, And the leaders of the synagogue watched Jesus, whether on the Sabbath Jesus would heal the man having a withered hand, in order they [the leaders of the synagogue] might accuse Jesus.

      Luke has similar issues.

      Some modern translations supply a noun in place of the pronoun in the text. For example, in the preceding example, the HCSB, NIV, and ESV change they to people.

      My intent in translating is always to translate vocabulary, grammar, and syntax as close to the Greek text as the rules of English allow. (This does not always mean a word for word translation.) Where Luke’s text uses pronouns, so does my translation. Should I believe the noun the pronoun is referring to is not obvious from the context, I will address that issue in the exposition.

      Another issue of Luke’s frequent use of the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive indicates a possibility, probability, exhortation, or axiomatic concept [Mounce, 287 ff.]. The subjunctive mood is used when something will happen but has not yet happened. The words shall, should, might, may, continually are used to indicate the subjunctive. My preference was to use might or may.

      Exegesis (Interpretation)

      My theological perspective may be adequately described as Dispensational Calvinist Baptist. The word Calvinist requires a moment’s comment. Most people, believers and unbelievers alike, think of Calvinism solely in terms of soteriology, God’s sovereignty, and election. That is a gross error. Calvinism is a complete theology describing all aspects of Bible doctrine. As a Dispensationalist I have a different understanding of eschatology and a few related issues than does Calvinism.

      My Dispensational Calvinist Baptist perspective affects the interpretation. Like most Calvinists, Dispensationalists, and Baptists, my hermeneutical (interpretive) methodology is the historical-grammatical hermeneutic (HGH), otherwise known as Literal interpretation. (See my book, The Literal Hermeneutic, Explained and Illustrated.)

      The HGH or Literal hermeneutic understands the words and language used by the human authors of the Bible in the normal and plain sense of words and language as used in everyday conversation and writing.

      Understanding words in their plain and normal sense means all words in all languages have a semantic content and range that reflects the historical-cultural background of the original writer and reader.

      Understanding words in their plain and normal sense means that languages also communicate meaning through well-defined rules of vocabulary, grammar, and syntax.

      Understanding words in their plain and normal sense means recognizing all language includes idioms, slang, figures of speech, and symbols specific to that language and the historical-cultural circumstances of original writer and reader, and that these must be interpreted for the modern reader in terms of his or her language.

      Understanding idioms, slang, figures of speech, and symbols in the plain and normal sense of language means an idiom, slang, figure of speech, or symbol is based on something literal and is intended by the writer or speaker to communicate something literal.

      Understanding the biblical use of words, figures of speech, idioms, slang, and symbols means recognizing the biblical authors sometimes used and invested these parts of language with specific theological or spiritual meanings, and that the Holy Spirit maintained the consistency of those meanings among the several human authors.

      If an interpretation invests an author’s words, figures of speech, idioms, slang, or symbols with a meaning other than the plain and normal meaning of their use in the language in which he is communicating, then it is not a literal interpretation, but is an allegorical interpretation: an abstract distortion of the meaning of the text dependent on the interpreter’s imagination, not the biblical writer’s truth-intention.

      The HGH looks for authorial intent: what did the human author mean when he wrote, and the corollary, what did his original audience understand when they read what he had written? In 1976, E. D. Hirsch, an English professor at the University of Virginia, wrote, in Validity in Interpretation, about why one must seek the literal interpretation of any written communication:

      Verbal meaning is whatever someone (usually the author) has willed to convey by a particular sequence of words and which can be shared by linguistic signs.

      The author’s truth-intention provides the only genuinely discriminating norm for ascertaining valid or true interpretations from invalid and false ones.

      The first objective of hermeneutics is to make clear the text’s verbal meaning, not its significance.

      Meaning is that which is represented by the text and what an author meant to say by the linguistic signs represented.

      Significance, by contrast, names a relationship between that meaning and a person, concept, situation, or any other possible number of things.

      The meaning of a text cannot change, but significance can and does change. If meaning were not determinate, then there would be no fixed norm by which to judge whether a passage was being interpreted correctly. [Kaiser and Silva, Hermeneutics, 30–31.]

      Authorial intent is the core of the literal method. Modern theorists of interpretation have posited the reader decides intent, which means what was written means something different—even radically different and opposite—to another reader. Under that method the norm for interpretation is each reader’s imagination. The literal method looks for the original’s author’s intent to establish meaning.

      The literal method comes to its conclusions by analyzing the scriptures. The literal method understands the biblical text in the plain and normal sense of words and their meanings. This book interprets Scripture from the plain and normal sense of the words of the text by using the following seven methods of analysis. [The first five are from Virkler, Hermeneutics, 76. The last two are from me.] The interpreter synthesizes these methods to arrive at an understanding of the texts.

      1. Historical-Cultural analysis: considers the historical-cultural milieu in which the author wrote. This analysis discovers the facts of the historical-cultural background of the passage by reconstructing or comprehending the historical and cultural features of the specific passage. This requires an understanding of:

      a. The situation of the writer, especially anything that helps explain why he or she wrote the passage.

      b. The situation of the people involved in the text and/or the recipients of the book that can help explain why the writer penned this material to them.

      c. The relationship between the writer and audience or the people involved in the text.

      d. The cultural or historical features mentioned in the text.

      2. Contextual analysis: considers the relationship of a given passage to the whole body of an author’s writing.

      3. Lexical-Syntactical analysis: develops an understanding of the definitions of words (lexicology) and their relationships to one another (syntax).

      4. Theological analysis: studies the level of theological understanding at the time the revelation was given in order to ascertain the meaning of the text for its original readers. It takes into account related scriptures, whether given before or after the passage being studied.

      5. Literary (Genre) analysis: identifies the literary form or method used in a given passage: historical narrative, letters, doctrinal exposition, poetry, wisdom, prophetic.

      6. Comparison with other interpreters: compares the tentative interpretation derived from historical-cultural, contextual, lexical-syntactical, and theological analysis with the work of other interpreters.

      7. Doctrinal analysis: the harmonization of doctrine in a specific passage with the full teaching of Scripture on that doctrine.

      The goal of a proper biblical interpretation is to apply the principles and perform the analysis in order to discover what the human author meant as he wrote the scriptures, and what his original readers understood when they read the scriptures.

      Thus the plain and normal method, aka the literal method of interpretation is really the historical-cultural, contextual, lexical-syntactical, theological, literary, comparison, doctrinal method of interpretation. That unwieldly phrase is why it is called by the shorter designation of literal interpretation or grammatical-historical interpretation.

      A consistent application of the principles and analytical methods of the literal method of interpretation will reveal the plain sense of the words—the meaning and significance the human authors intended as the Holy Spirit wrote the bible through them.

      My interpretation of Luke’s Gospel will utilize the HGH, i.e., the literal method of interpretation, to determine Luke’s intended meaning—his truth-intention, as it is called by some.

      Eschatology in Luke’s Gospel

      Like all Dispensationalists, and unlike most Calvinists (and some Baptists) I apply the HGH to all scriptures and doctrines. In relation to Luke’s eschatology, I do not hold to Amillennial, Postmillennial, or historic premillennialism. I am a Dispensational Premillennialist. I believe the scriptures teach the return of Christ at the end of the Tribulation to rule over the earth and its peoples for 1,000 years.

      I also do not hold to a partial, mid-, mid-wrath, or post-tribulation rapture. I believe the scriptures teach a pretribulation rapture.

      I do not believe scripture teaches the New Testament church has superseded, replaced, or is a continuation of national ethnic Israel. The New Testament church is a people group with its own yet-future destiny in the plan of God, just as national ethnic Israel has its own yet-future destiny in the plan of God. Those yet-future destinies overlap at certain points, but the New Testament church and national ethnic Israel are separate people groups in the plan of God. For further discussion of these and other eschatological issues see my book, Dispensational Eschatology, An Explanation and Defense of the Doctrine.

      Last Thoughts

      As I read commentaries on Luke’s Gospel, I am struck by the assumption the story belongs to Luke. Commentators are always asking why Luke wrote this or why Luke wrote that. For example, when looking at Gabriel’s announcement to Mariam, commentators wonder why Luke did not reference Isaiah 7:14. I know why. Luke reports the facts, he reports what was said. Luke was not creating a story, he was reporting what happened. What happened was the two participants, Mariam and Gabriel, did not make any reference to Isaiah’s prophecy.

      Let me repeat something I said when I wrote my commentary on the Revelation (The Epistle of Jesus to the Church). John did not create the Revelation, he reported what he saw and heard. Even so, Luke did not create a history, he reported the history his investigations revealed, using those facts to create an historical narrative that gives the facts. Here and there Luke gives his conclusions based on the facts, but he never confuses the facts with his conclusions.

      When Luke reports the words of the angel Gabriel to Zecharias, and later to Mariam, where did Luke get those words? According to Luke’s own testimony he learned those words from those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word. The most likely eyewitness is Mariam, and if not her then someone to whom Mariam gave her account of the events. Thus we need not wonder the origin of Gabriel’s words, we need merely seek to understand them.

      If

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1