How well do you know the life of Jesus?
While many Christians within the Reformed/Protestant world know a lot about the writings of Paul (like Romans), surprisingly the Gospels are often somewhat unfamiliar other than, say, popular parables or the Sermon on the Mount. But the Gospels are essential to knowing Jesus Christ up-close and personal!
They can also be intimidating: there are four of them, they tend to be long, and there is a lot of overlap among them but also noticeable differences. This Sunday school series will, thus, provide you with a more robust understanding of all four Gospels in general–with a special emphasis on Luke’s account. His account is the longest book of the NT and the most “complete” Gospel in terms of what it covers from Jesus’s life. Everyone is invited to join this study regardless of your background in the church or Bible-reading. It will meet from 10:15-10:45am in the worship center.
Season 1 (Luke 1-7) | Season 2 (Luke 8-10)
Season 3 (Luke 10-13) | Season 4 (Luke 14-24)
List of Topics
- Gospels 101
- Where did the Gospels come from?
- Why are there only four? And do we have the right four?
- How doe they relate to one another? Is there such a thing as “Q” that I’ve read about on the internet?
- What is the basic plotline of the Gospels, and why does it matter?
- Are the Gospels historically accurate? Can they be trusted?
- Going deeper on Luke’s Gospel
- Identity of Luke and his purposes in writing
- Birth narrative
- Introducing the Messiah’s identity and mission
- The “Sermon on the Plain”
- Peter’s Confession and the Transfiguration
- The “travel narrative”
- Understanding and applying parables
- Arrival into Jerusalem
- Conflict with the religious establishment
- Trial and crucifixion
- Post-resurrection teachings and ascension
- Connections to the next volume: Acts
Other Notes
The series will be taught by Pastor Greg Lanier. One of his research specialties is the Gospel according to Luke, beginning with his Ph.D. research at the University of Cambridge (UK), published as Old Testament Conceptual Metaphors and the Christology of Luke’s Gospel (Bloomsbury, 2018). He is also currently authoring an extensive commentary on the Gospel of Luke for the new Christian Standard Commentary series (estimated to hit shelves in 2023-2024). He has also published a book on NT canon that featured the Gospels and has written some short layperson-oriented pieces on the Gospels…
- Jesus’s Favorite Title for Jesus (18 December 2021)
- Curtain Torn in Two: What Did the Tearing of the Veil Accomplish? (2 April 2021)
- Does the Virgin Birth Really Matter? (23 December 2020).
- Why Did Jesus Command Others to Be Silent About Him? (21 July 2020)
- Resurrected Saints and Matthew’s Weirdest Passage (17 July 2020)
- The Parable of the Good Shepherd (February 2020)
- Whose Son Is He? How the Gospels Whisper Christ’s Divinity (4 December 2019)
- Bethlehem, the Nativity, and Matthew’s New Exodus (19 Dec 2018)
- Why Did Jesus Curse the Fig Tree? (2 Oct 2018)
- We Three Kings of Orient Aren’t (15 Dec 2017)
- Jesus’ Parables Are Not Heartwarming Sermon Illustrations (7 Sept 2017)
…As well as nerdy academic articles, such as:
- “‘Who Do People Say that I Am?’ The Person of Christ in the Gospels,” Primer 11 (2021).
- “The Fourfold Gospel Collection,” in W. Edward Glenny and Darian Lockett (eds.), Canon Formation: Tracing the Role of Sub-Collections in the Biblical Canon. London: T&T Clark, 2022.
- “Descent and Ascent in Luke–Acts,” in Darren Sumner and Chris Tilling (eds.), T&T Clark Companion to Christology. London: T&T Clark, 2022.
- “The Text and Paratext of Minuscule GA 1424: Initial Observations.” Pages 30-59 in Gregory R. Lanier and J. Nicholas Reid (eds.), Studies on the Intersection of Text, Paratext, and Reception: A Festschrift in Honor of Charles E. Hill. TENTS 15. Leiden: Brill.
- “A Case for the Assimilation of Matthew 21:44 to the Lukan ‘Crushing Stone’ (20:18), with Special Reference to 𝔓104.” TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism 21 (2016): 1–21.
- “Mapping the Vineyard: Main Lines of Investigation Regarding the Parable of the Tenants in the Synoptics and Thomas.” Currents of Biblical Research 15/1 (2016): 74–122.
- “Luke’s Distinctive Use of the Temple: Portraying the Divine Visitation.” Journal of Theological Studies 65/2 (2014): 433–462.
- “The Rejected Stone in the Parable of the Wicked Tenants: Defending the Authenticity of Jesus’ Quotation of Psalm 118:22.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 56/4 (2013): 733–51.
So…it’s safe to say that he likes the Gospel according to Luke (and the Gospels in general) and looks forward to teaching on this subject in a Sunday school setting!
The header graphic is from the 9th century Book of Kells. The Gospel according to Luke is often depicted with an ox, displayed in the lower left quadrant of this piece.
