The Justice of God: Gospel of Luke Reading Plan

This guide accompanies the teaching series Just God, where we’ll be looking at God's heart and God's vision for those who experience brokenness and vulnerability in this world. During this series we encourage you to read through the Gospel of Luke with the lens of the justice of God in mind.

• Overview & Context

• 30 Day Reading Plan

The Bible’s Radical View of Justice

Why is justice such an important, and sometimes controversial, topic in our world today? What does the Bible have to say about justice? Watch the Bible Project’s video with an overview of the Bible’s Racial view of justice or visit their webpage on Justice Biblical Themes for even more resources.

Book Recommendations for Just God

If you would like to dig deeper into some of the topics our teaching series Just God check out these books that we recommend:

Featured
How to Heal our Racial Divide
How to Heal our Racial Divide

The good news is that the Bible has a lot to say about how to heal our persistent racial divides. In this book, popular Bible teacher Derwin Gray walks us through Scripture, showing us the heart of God—how God from the beginning envisioned a reconciled multiethnic family in loving community, reflecting his beauty and healing presence in the world. This message is central to the gospel itself.

When Helping Hurts
When Helping Hurts

Poverty is much more than simply a lack of material resources, and it takes much more than donations and handouts to solve it. When Helping Hurts shows how some alleviation efforts, failing to consider the complexities of poverty, have actually (and unintentionally) done more harm than good. But it looks ahead. It encourages us to see the dignity in everyone, to empower the materially poor, and to know that we are all uniquely needy - and that God in the gospel is reconciling all things to himself.

Tales of the Not Forgotten
Tales of the Not Forgotten

In this collection of four real-life stories written for preteens, a compelling storyteller paints a picture of God’s dynamic movement in four foreign cultures, inspiring children to trust that God is weaving a story in their lives as well.

This resource will shrink the macro picture down to approachable, individual stories of real children and teach about fundamental survival issues. The stories address some of the challenging questions that kids have and weave God's promises to orphans into each one.

Overview & Context

The story of Jesus’ life is told by four different authors in the Bible—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These “biographies” are called Gospels, because they reveal why the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is Good News for those who believe in Him. Each Gospel writer had a unique perspective on Jesus and a unique purpose for writing their account.

The Gospel of Luke was written by a man who was not one of the original disciples of Jesus. After becoming a disciple, however, Luke participated in the mission of spreading the message of Jesus to the ancient world. As a doctor and historian, he was commissioned by a man named Theophilus to research and investigate the events of Jesus life to record what was reliable and trustworthy. After years of travel, interviews with eyewitnesses, and personal investigation, Luke wrote “an orderly account…so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been to taught (about Jesus).” (Luke 1:4)

With the compassion of a good physician and while writing to help a Roman believer, Luke gives special attention to what the Good News of Jesus means to those who were often left out or overlooked. He convincingly shows, from the beginning, that Jesus came not just for one group or kind but for people from every nation and tribe and tongue. The stories Luke includes vividly depict God’s special concern for those who are unequally burdened by the brokenness of the ancient (and modern) world—children, women, the poor, the foreigner, and the afflicted.

This emphasis makes the Gospel of Luke the perfect companion to BridgePointe’s teaching series, Just God. We challenge you to use this reading plan and daily reflection questions during this series. We invite you to see Jesus as the embodiment of God’s justice for all people. And we encourage you to answer His call to join the work of restoration and reconciliation on behalf of the brokenhearted.

Luke: The Justice of God

30 DaY Reading Plan

How to use this plan:
You can follow this reading plan in as little as 15 minutes a day, or you can create more space to meditate on the truth of Scripture and listen for the Holy Spirit. Decide on a regular time and place to spend this time with God and follow this simple approach:

  1. Use a few moments of silence to quiet your soul and ask the Holy Spirit to help you hear from Him through Scripture.

  2. Read the daily Scripture, making notes and underlining whatever stands out to you.

  3. Use a journal to answer the reflection questions that will be used each day.

Reflection Questions:
This study is intended to draw your attention to the justice of God—His desire for all people to be treated rightly because they are made in His image and loved by Him. These simple questions, used each day, can help you see God’s heart for the brokenhearted, the outcast, women and children, and people from every nation. And, with the Spirit’s help, you will be challenged to do what Jesus did and treat people rightly, just like Him.

  1. How does this Scripture show God’s desire for justice for all people?

  2. How could this impact the way you relate to the world around you?