Is There a Structure to Luke's Travel Narrative?

The fact that we have four gospels suggests that each focuses on different aspects of the life and ministry of Jesus. Bible commentators have generally been successful at providing outlines to guide us through the text and to bring out those unique emphases.

The central section of Luke's gospel is an exception. It seems more like a hotchpotch of unrelated stories than the orderly account that Luke claims to write. Different outlines have been tried but none appears to work. Scholars cannot even agree where this section should end.

This book offers a solution to the puzzle, proposing that the travel narrative be divided into three major teaching blocks and an appendix. This outline directly impacts the way we read the stories in these chapters and it also changes our understanding of the theology of Luke, the chronology of Jesus and the solution to the Synoptic Problem.