The Luke Project
Who is Jesus and Why Should I Care? This is a question that stayed with me for way too many years. I grew up in a house divided. My Dad was an atheist, and my mom was a Christian. She would take my brother and I to Sunday School and church while we pleaded to stay home with Dad. I was bullied very heavily in elementary and middle school during the week, and then on the weekends, had to go to church, where those same bullies were, along with others. They acted so nice when they were with their families and in Sunday School; however, it was during the breaks between Sunday School and church, and at school that they showed a different side. We were taught that Jesus loved us; however, I did not feel love. I felt not good enough, shame, and judged. I felt like Jesus was someone who looked down on me from up above and was judging my every move so that he could throw me below into the pit of fire when he found out who I really was. I was shy, sad, and full of fear and anger. I felt misunderstood by others, but could not find the voice to speak up and let anyone in.
Chapter 5: Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
5: 17-26 As Jesus would teach from village to village, Pharisees (Jews who focused only on the law of Moses) and teachers of the Jewish law (called Scribes, who functioned as lawyers who worked closely with the Pharisees) seemed to always be sitting nearby. They had...
Chapter 5: Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy
5: 12-16 As Jesus was traveling from one village to the next teaching, he met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed to him with his face to the ground and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Jesus...
Chapter 5: The First Disciples
5: 1-11 Jesus attracted crowds wherever he went to teach. One day, he was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and there was a very large crowd listening to him. There were two empty boats at the edge of the water. The fishermen had left them to go wash...
Chapter 4: Jesus Casts out a Demon
4:31 - 44 Jesus left Nazareth and went to Capernaum, a town near Galilee. He taught there each Sabbath day in the synagogue. As with Galilee and Nazareth, the people were amazed at his teaching as he spoke with authority as his message was directly from God and not...
Chapter 4: Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
4: 16-30 After coming out of the wilderness for forty days, Jesus returned Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. He taught regularly in the synagogues and became quickly known and praised throughout the whole region. He went to the synagogue in Nazareth...
Chapter 4: The Temptation of Jesus
4: 1-13 After returning from being baptized by John, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit then led him into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil for forty days. During that time, Jesus had nothing to eat and became very hungry. The devil knew...
Chapter 3: The Baptism of Jesus
3: 21-38 One day, while John was baptizing others, Jesus came to be baptized. Jesus was not baptized for the forgiveness of sins, as the others were. Instead, he was baptized to identify himself with John the Baptist, who was sent as his forerunner. Jesus started...
Chapter 3: John the Baptist Prepares the Way
3: 1-20 We now skip to John the Baptist and Jesus in their late 20’s/early 30’s. John was living in the wilderness, probably due to his parents passing when he was young (they were very old when John was conceived and born). While there, he received a message from...
Chapter 2: Jesus’s Early Life
Jesus’s Birth Joseph and Mary had to return to Bethlehem for a census (taken for the purpose of taxation and military service) that was ordered by the Roman emperor, Augustus. The census had to be done in the town the individual was from, and since...