Week 43. Walking with Dr. Luke...

Last week, we read through the entire book of Luke in 8 days. Reading it this way helped me pay attention to things I had never noticed before.  Since we believe that Luke was a physician, I made a little note “Dr. Luke” every time he mentioned medical details…and there were lots of them.  And I look forward to reading Acts since Luke wrote that book, too. 

I like to imagine that since Luke was not one of the 12 disciples, he must have interviewed lots of people to get his facts.  Luke was Greek, not Jewish, so he found some of their rituals especially interesting.  I imagine that he must have talked to Jesus’ mother Mary, to record all the details about her pregnancy, and the conversations and things that are recorded in the first 2 chapters of Luke.  How else would he know that she “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”…(chapter 2)  and that she and Joseph “marveled at “ what Simeon and Anna said about Jesus when he was being presented in the temple after his birth in Chapter 2…and about Jesus getting “lost” when he was a boy?    

People walked A LOT back then, of course.  Mary and Joseph walked to Jerusalem every year for the Festival of Passover.  I “googled” this, and I think it takes about a week to walk from Nazareth to Jerusalem.  So this annual trip must have been a highlight of their year, like a vacation.    Can you imagine how it must have felt to “loose” your 12 year old boy for several days?  I think Mary must have told Luke about it.  It certainly would have been something that stood out in her memory. 

Since Luke was a physician, he recorded lots of healings.  Can you imagine what it would be like to be crippled for many years, with an atrophied body, rejected because you were “unclean” according to the Jewish rules, and be suddenly healed by Jesus?  It would change your life forever.  It always surprises me when I read that Jesus told some of the people he healed not to tell anybody about it yet.  Wow, how could they NOT tell EVERYBODY?  And all your friends and family would know immediately, just by seeing you.  Jesus’ power was just too strong to keep quiet about it. 

“…and the people tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all…”(Luke 6:19)

Keep reading, with imagination!