Luke setting & dates

The Setting of Luke

Luke sets the story of Jesus firmly within the wider Roman world, opening with the reign of Caesar Augustus and the census that brings Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, and dating John’s ministry by the emperor Tiberius, the governor Pontius Pilate, and the local rulers. The early chapters move between Judea and Galilee — the temple in Jerusalem, where John’s birth is announced and the infant Jesus is presented; Nazareth in Galilee, where the family lives and where Jesus later announces His mission; and Bethlehem, the city of David, where He is born.

The great structural feature of Luke’s geography is the long journey to Jerusalem. From the moment Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (9:51), the Gospel follows Him steadily southward over many chapters, passing through Samaria and Judea, teaching in villages and homes along the way. Notable stops include the home of Martha and Mary at Bethany and the city of Jericho, where He saves Zacchaeus and heals a blind beggar. The journey climaxes in Jerusalem — the temple, the upper room, the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane, the halls of Pilate and Herod, and Golgotha — and just outside the city, at the empty tomb and on the road to nearby Emmaus, where the risen Christ opens the Scriptures. The Gospel ends near Bethany, where He ascends, and points forward to the gospel’s spread from Jerusalem “to all nations.”

Timeline

• c. 6-5 BC - The births of John the Baptist and Jesus are announced and take place; Jesus is presented in the temple.
• c. AD 26 - John the Baptist begins his ministry; Jesus is baptized and begins His public ministry in Galilee.
• c. AD 27-29 - The Galilean ministry: calling and teaching disciples, mighty works, and Peter’s confession.
• c. AD 29-30 - The journey to Jerusalem, with much of Luke’s unique teaching and parables.
• c. AD 30 - The final week in Jerusalem: the passion, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.
• c. AD 60-62 - Luke writes his Gospel, the first of his two volumes (with Acts).