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THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN ... LUKE WAS CALLED A "BELOVED PHYSICIAN" BY THE APOSTLE PAUL (COLOSSIANS 4:14). ONE ENCYCLOPEDIA SUGGESTS THAT HE MAY HAVE LEARNED ABOUT MEDICINE FROM A FAMOUS SCHOOL IN TARSUS THAT RIVALED THOSE IN ALEXANDRIA AND ATHENS. A MOST UNIQUE BOOK ... LUKE'S GOSPEL HAS MORE VERSES (1,151) THAN ANY OTHER NEW TESTAMENT WRITING. IT IS A STAGGERING 88 TIMES LARGER, IN TERMS OF KING JAMES WORDS, THAN THE BOOK OF 3JOHN WHICH IS THE SMALLEST! EVEN LUKE'S FIRST CHAPTER, WITH 80 VERSES, IS THE LARGEST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. EVEN MORE ASTONISHING IS THE NUMBER OF VERSES IN LUKE'S GOSPEL WHICH RECORD INFORMATION SUCH AS EVENTS, PARABLES, AND TEACHINGS NOT FOUND IN MATTHEW, MARK OR JOHN. ABOUT 54%, OR 620 VERSES, OF HIS GOSPEL IS UNIQUE! THE ONLY ONE ... LUKE IS THE ONLY ONE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT'S EIGHT WRITERS WHO WAS A GENTILE (NON-JEW). MATTHEW, JOHN AND PETER WERE JEWISH. PAUL, FROM THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN (ROMANS 11:1) AND MARK, WHO WAS A LEVITE, WERE ALSO JEWS. JAMES AND JUDE, AS PHYSICAL HALF-BROTHERS OF JESUS, WERE ALSO JEWISH. THE WIDEST AUDIENCE ... LUKE'S GOSPEL HAS BROADER GOALS AND IS WRITTEN FOR A WIDER AUDIENCE THAN THE OTHER THREE GOSPELS. HE ALSO GIVES A GREATER OVERALL COVERAGE OF JESUS' LIFE THAN MATTHEW, MARK OR JOHN. |
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