The Gospel According to Luke:
An Overview

The Gospel According to Luke: An Overview is one book in a three-part Catholic Bible study that looks in-depth at the synoptic Gospels. Each book is designed to enhance the Catholic experience of liturgical Year A, B, or C while pointing out similarities and differences in the synoptic Gospels. This and the other two books in the study are being submitted to the Most Reverend William M. Joensen, Ph.D., bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines for an imprimatur.

Authors are Jennifer McGaw Phelps and Matthew Phelps. A sample of the Introduction and Lesson 1 will be posted in late 2026. The Gospel According to Luke: An Overview will be available for purchase from our website shop in late summer 2027, about three months prior to the start of liturgical Year C on November 28, 2027, the First Sunday of Advent. A study of the Gospel According to Matthew will be available before the beginning of liturgical Year A on December 3, 2028.

After this book in the study is written, be sure to check out our online study pages for additional commentary for each lesson. The online glossary for the Gospel According to Luke will list every proper noun included in the biblical text—as well as some foreign words and phrases—and a separate online page will link to Revised Standard Version (Catholic Edition) cross references in the primary biblical text. Links to the online glossary and cross references will be accessible at the top of every online study page for The Gospel According to Luke: An Overview. Other features include maps of the region showing what’s going geographically at the time of Jesus.

Lessons in The Gospel According to Luke: An Overview are listed below; each lesson will be linked to its corresponding online study page. These pages will begin posting before the start of liturgical Year C in 2027.

Introduction What to Expect
Lesson 1 The Angel Gabriel Visits Zachariah
Lesson 2 John the Baptist Is Born
Lesson 3 The Birth of Jesus Christ
Lesson 4 The Ministry of John the Baptist
Lesson 5 Jesus Is Tempted; His Ministry Begins
Lesson 6 Jesus Calls His First Disciples
Lesson 7 The Sermon on the Plain
Lesson 8 ‘Tell John What You Have Seen & Heard’
Lesson 9 Miracles & Parables
Lesson 10 Peter Acknowledges Jesus as the Christ
Lesson 11 After the Transfiguration
Lesson 12 More Parables
Lesson 13 The ‘Our Father’
Lesson 14 Beware of Hypocrisy
Lesson 15 What the Kingdom of God Is Like
Lesson 16  The Need to Renounce Everything
Lesson 17 ‘Your Brother Was Dead & Is Alive’
Lesson 18 Lazarus & the Rich Man
Lesson 19 Where Is the Kingdom of God?
Lesson 20 Jesus of Nazareth, Have Mercy
Lesson 21 To Everyone Who Has, More Will Be Given
Lesson 22 Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem
Lesson 23 The Wicked Tenants
Lesson 24 There Will Be Signs in Sun & Moon & Stars
Lesson 25 Judas Betrays Jesus
Lesson 26 Jesus Is Seized by His Enemies
Lesson 27 Jesus Dies on the Cross
Lesson 28 He Is Not Here, But Has Risen!


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