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Let's study Luke

A rare gem

LET’S STUDY LUKE
By Douglas J. W. Milne
Banner of Truth. 400 pages. £9.50
ISBN 0 85151 896 6

This book is a rare gem. It is a commentary written by a theologian for ordinary people!

The author is Principal of the Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, Australia. Although it is a commentary for lay people, it is not simplistic or patronising. Douglas Milne writes with a scholar’s economy of words, covering much ground in a small space. He is not afraid to raise difficult and divisive theological, textual, ethical, medical issues. Questions like: ‘Why are the temptations in a different order in Matthew to Luke?’, ‘What about the ethics of drowning a large herd of pigs?’, ‘Isn’t demon-possession psychological?’, ‘Does Jesus heal today?’, ‘These verses are not in the earliest manuscripts, should we consider them part of God’s word?’. With his scholarship he is able to answer them simply and concisely. As a Presbyterian he has a strong emphasis on covenant theology. But he is not merely a theologian, he also has a pastor’s heart. His aim is that God’s word will change our lives. His application is gentle, yet searching and never trite.

The book is arranged so that it can be used in different ways. It could be used as a daily reading guide, both by individuals or a family. In which case there are 104 studies. The studies work their way through Luke, section by section. Each study has the portion of the Bible printed (it uses the ESV) and about two pages of comments. I used it for my daily quiet time and found it thoughtful, challenging and thought provoking. It can also be used by groups. At the end there are questions for group study use. The questions are well balanced, to challenge both mind and heart, though at times they do read like an exam paper! A minor irritation is the occasional typesetting error, but this did not distract from an excellent book.

The aim of this series of commentaries is ‘exposition of Scripture written in the language of a friend, seated alongside you with an open Bible’. Douglas Milne has achieved this admirably, so much so that I was sorry to finish the book!

Daphne Ross,
Farnham