Luke’s Gospel

Week 3

Discuss the themes and structure of Luke’s Gospel

Discuss how passages with those themes in them

Discuss Luke’s the Magnificat and Nazareth Sermon

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• Longest Gospel
• Believed to be written for Gentile Christians until recently

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• Why an ox?
• Scene: Temple with Zechariah (sacrifice) and Jesus as the bearer of burdens
• Slow, plodding pace

Luke’s Sacrificial Jesus

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• Salvation as Universal: Jews, Gentiles, Rich, Poor, Powerful, Powerless, Women, Slaves, Tax Collectors, Soldiers
• Jesus as the Son of God and Messiah: Effects and includes everyone
• Salvation as Present Liberation: Being set free “today”; Less emphasis on Cross and Salvation: No “ransom” or “Lamb of God”; Jesus is born a savior and saves today

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Structure:

• Luke-Acts: Moves geographically Galilee/Judea -> Jerusalem. Acts moves Jerusalem -> Judea/Galilee -> “Ends of the Earth”
• Parallel Women/Men Stories: Simeon & Anna; Mary & Zechariah
• Mixes Modern and OT Language: “And it came to pass”

Themes of Luke

Unique Features of Luke

Luke was not as popular as Matthew and took centuries to grasp the growing church’s imagination

Luke is the only Gospel with a preface to a patron, “Theophilus”

• “most excellent Theophilus”

Luke was not an eyewitness but relied on them

• “just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word”

Has a huge knowledge of Judaism in Jerusalem and the diaspora

Unique Features of Luke

• Knows other Gospels and wants to write an “orderly” account
• Dates, places, names, and times are given to root us to the real world
• Disciples in better light than Mark and Matthew
• Nazareth sermon is 3x longer than Mark & Matthew; occurs much earlier as his thesis for Jesus’ ministry to specific include the marginalized (socially, economically, etc)
• Emphasis on wealth ethics, portrays Jesus as poor
• “Sinners” and “widows” appear more than other Gospels combined
• Distinct concern about using money and arranges stories to reflect this theme

Luke 20:45-21:6

Jesus said to the disciples [in the temple], “Beware the scribes who walk around in long robes and who love lofty greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance.. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

21:1, “He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins…

21:5, “When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”

Joseph and Mary in Matthew

• Mainly concerned with Joseph’s angelic message that helps us view the birth in its proper light
• No date or place about where this happens. Bethlehem and Nazareth mentioned later only for context about the magi
• No contextual information about Joseph or Mary. Assumes we know of them already.

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Joseph and Mary in Luke

• Divides it in two to include John the Baptist and Jesus as fulfillments
• Mary receives the angelic message not Joseph
• Gives us dates, times, and places
• Carefully introduces key characters of Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary

Examples of Luke vs Matthew

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Luke 1:46-55: The Magnificat

Introduces themes of his Gospel early in Mary’s Song

New Testament Psalm using common literary structure common in OT Poetry is AA, BB, CC, etc.

Modeled on Hannah’s song in 1 Sam 2:1-10

• Both became pregnant miraculously
• Both babies are prophesied via God’s messengers (Eli in 1 Sam 1:17; Angel in Luke 1:35)
• Hannah and Mary respond to by calling themselves slaves

Magnificat

Introduces key theology for Luke’s gospel

• God’s faithfulness to God’s promises
• Inclusion of the poor/ marginalized in God’s community
• Difficulty of salvation for the rich and powerful
• Continuation of salvation history begun in the OT

Eschatological Reversal: “last times” during which the Kingdom of God is being built on earth, starting today. Signs are not fire, battles, destruction but the salvation for the rich, poor, enslaved, free, Jew, and Gentile, men, women, eunuch.

4:18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor… Today this scripture has been fulfilled.”

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4:24-27, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months and there was a severe famine over all the land, yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many with a skin disease in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

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Luke 4: Nazareth Sermon

All are included in Jesus’ liberation. And it starts today.

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Conclusion