The Message of Luke (Bible Speaks Today) [Paperback]

Michael Wilcock (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bible Speaks Today | Publication Date: August 13, 1984

Luke the physician was fascinated by people--rich and poor, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rulers and slaves. In his Gospel he delights to portray Jesus as the Saviour not of an elite group but of anyone, in any condition, who turns to him. Jesus is indeed the Saviour of the world. Luke knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote his Gospel. He tells us his goal in the opening verses: to set forth an orderly and accurate account of what had been accomplished by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. In this up-to-date exposition, Michael Wilcock gives special attention to these opening words. Then, as he examines the individual deeds and sayings of Jesus, he shows how the structure of Luke's narrative brings out their meaning. The good news of Luke is still true today. No one is beyond redemption unless he chooses to put himself there. This message has implications not only for our personal lives but for our churches and for society as a whole.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Wilcock was formerly director of pastoral studies at Trinity College, Bristol. He has now also retired from many years of pastoring churches in the United Kingdom, most recently St. Nicholas' Church, Durham.

Product Details

• Paperback: 215 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (August 13, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877842914
• ISBN-13: 978-0877842910
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #580,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful Guide to Luke's Gospel, April 21, 2003

By 

Gontroppo "Music and Theology Lover" (Bathurst, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Message of Luke (Bible Speaks Today) (Paperback)

If you want to have a deeper understanding of Luke's Gospel, you will find Michael Wilcock's book helpful. At times it sounds a bit old-fashioned, and reveals Wilcock's Anglican point of view. But the book shows his high view of Scripture and includes a study guide which we found helpful when we studied Luke in our Bible study group. It took over a year, but this is understandable when you realise that Luke is the longest book in the New Testament and has over 24 chapters.

Bear in mind that the study guide contains questions about Wilcock's book, not about Luke itself. But we found it quite easy to adapt the questions so that they were about the Gospel, not the book about the Gospel.

I have also enjoyed Wilcock's book on Revelation, also in this Bible Speaks Today series, originally entitled "I Saw Heaven Opened."

Warmly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never Mind the Trees, Enjoy the Wood!, May 23, 2008

By 

Leslie Richford (Selsingen, Lower Saxony) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Message of Luke (Bible Speaks Today) (Paperback)

Michael Wilcock, The Message of Luke: The Saviour of the World. First published 1979. This edition with Study Guide: Downers Grove/Leicester, IVP Books 1997. 215 pages plus 13 pages for the Study Guide.

This is not a full-blown commentary on Luke's Gospel and was never intended to be; indeed, the slimness of the volume would preclude its doing justice to the longest book of the New Testament. But Michael Wilcock has very cleverly done something else: He has written a succinct, thoughtful and eminently readable guide to the "Message of Luke", concentrating on the broad sweep and the central issues of the Gospel. His analysis of Luke's purpose in putting together the Gospel the way he has done is masterful (and, of course, not without the necessary theological background). But Wilcock succeeds in making the whole an edifying Bible study which I would have no qualms in recommending to any young Christian (or anybody else for that matter) who really wanted to understand not just Luke but Jesus himself and the Gospel he came to bring. The book originally appeared, I believe, under its new subtitle, "The Saviour of the World", and that is really the ideal summary of the message both of Luke and of Michael Wilcock. We see here how Jesus came for a purpose, how he fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures, and how he introduced the earth-shattering changes to the "church" which came about as the result of the rejection of his message by the leaders of the Jewish community and its initial acceptance by Gentiles.