Transcription
Well hey everybody, welcome back to part three of the Gospels in HD series! I am so excited for this. Today, I was excited on Monday for the Gospel of Mark, I was excited last night for the Gospel of Matthew, and today we are going to study my favorite of all four gospels. I saw that Karen asked in the comments below why this is my favorite gospel, and that will become evident as we go along.
So grab your Bibles, grab a pen and some paper, and let's jump into this exciting book: the Gospel of Luke.
Alright, now if you're watching this on the replay, as always, you will know that timestamps are available in the description of this video. I hope that you don't jump around; I hope that you watch the entire thing. But in the event that you like to jump around, I've made it very easy for you to jump to the sections that you want. I pray that you watch the whole thing because that's the way you're going to get the most out of this.
Alright, now with that in mind, let's jump right in. The Gospel of Luke is what we're going to look at today. First of all, as we've done for the other two gospels, Mark and Matthew, we want to give an overview of the details of the Gospel of Luke.
Now just a little bit of a review: Mark was Peter's scribe, and so we believe that Mark was primarily communicating Peter's version of the gospel since Peter was an eyewitness of these things. Mark was presenting a picture of Jesus as a suffering servant; he was always on the action, moving. It was a dramatic three-act play that we talked about; if you missed that, go back and watch part one. But essentially, Mark portrays Jesus as a man on the move who is active, who is always healing. That's the reason why the literary theme for Mark is healings and miracles because he knew that a Roman person would be heavily impressed with a man who was able to do things in a divine way.
So, Mark was wanting to prove that Jesus was more than a man; he was the Son of God. Seven percent of Mark is unique; the other 93 percent of Mark is found in the other gospels. Last night we came back and looked at Matthew, and if you missed that, go check that one out.
But Matthew had a different purpose. Matthew was living in Palestine at the time, and therefore he was writing his gospel to primarily a Jewish audience. His mentality was, "Let me figure out how I can convince these Jewish people that Jesus Christ is indeed the prophesied Old Testament Messiah that they were expecting and looking for." So, Matthew took a different approach than Mark. He said, "You know what, I'm going to use some of Mark's gospel, but I'm also going to use some information from another source."
He took a teaching here, a parable there, a story here, a healing from here, and Matthew, more than any of the other gospel writers, utilized and referenced the Old Testament Jewish scriptures in an effort to try to convince these Jewish people that this Jesus that they just crucified was indeed the King of the Jews. Forty-two percent of Matthew is actually unique to Matthew.
Now today we move on to the Gospel of Luke, and we're going to look at who Luke was. He was a physician; he wrote somewhere around 85 to 90 A.D. is what we believe. The picture that he wants to present is that Jesus was a merciful Savior for all people, and we're going to get into that in just a moment.
The unique feature of Luke is parables. So if Mark was focusing on the miracles and the power of God, and Matthew was focusing on the teachings (because he broke his gospel up into five sections where Jesus taught in his sermons), Luke focuses on the parables of Jesus Christ. Fifty-nine percent of Luke is unique and only found in the Gospel of Luke.
Now, I'm going to take a different approach today with the Gospel of Luke, if you'll allow me. Now, in the first two days, we talked a lot about the structure and different things about Matthew and Mark because we have covered so much of the basic story, the basic outline, the order of events, right from Jesus' birth all the way to his crucifixion. I'm going to take a different approach with Luke today and focus exclusively on the content.
I'm going to focus exclusively on the content that is unique to Luke and is not found in any other gospels so that you can specifically see how Luke is vastly different than the other three gospels. We're going to be looking at a lot of scripture today, so grab your Bible or your mobile device or whatever you use and flip along with me and read along with me because we're going to be looking at a lot of scripture, most of which is only found in Luke, which is how you're going to see how and why Luke is so different than the other gospels.
Alright, now once again, just like we said before, as a way of review, we believe that Mark was the first gospel written, which is why we covered that on Monday night. We believe that Matthew and Luke borrowed quite a bit of what's in their gospels from Mark, but much of what's in Matthew and Luke was not in Mark. So the question is, where did they get that information? Scholars believe, if you've been tracking along with me for the first two days, that there was some other hypothetical document called Q, and Q were sayings, miracles, parables, sermons, healings, stories, events, and all sorts of other things about the life of Jesus.
Each gospel writer, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, grabbed a story from here, a parable from here, a saying from here, a sermon from here, an event from here, and they knew exactly what they strategically needed to do to convince their specific audience that Jesus was who he said he was. That's what we're going to look at today in the Gospel of Luke.
Now, who was Luke? Luke was a Gentile, which is just another fancy name for non-Jewish. He was a Gentile physician who was the traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. You can see the scriptures on the screen, and he also wrote the book of Acts. Interestingly enough, Luke's gospel is the only one that has a sequel to it, which we're going to see in just a moment.
Now, in order to understand the Gospel of Luke, it is really critical that you understand the cultural background in terms of relationships between Jews and Gentiles. That's going to become very important as we come along. So I'm going to read this here, so follow along with me:
"The Gospel of Luke, together with the book of Acts, the second volume of his work, make up about 27 percent of the New Testament, which is more than the entire Pauline discourse, more than all of Paul's letters. The Gospel of Luke is the longest book in the New Testament."
Now here is the key—don't miss this: Luke, being a Gentile, understood what it was like trying to fit into what was seen as an extension of the Jewish religion. Gentiles have always been treated as enemies and unclean people in the eyes of the Jews. Now I'm going to come back to that in just a second, but you're probably already figuring out why Luke is my favorite gospel.
Has anybody out there ever struggled to fit in? Have you ever felt different? Have you ever felt rejected? Have you ever felt like an outcast? Have you ever felt marginalized? Have you ever felt like maybe because you didn't have all the money that you want that—maybe because your personality was different, or maybe because you made a ton of mistakes in your life— you have come to the conclusion that maybe God doesn't love you? Maybe God cannot accept you? Maybe God can't use you anymore because of all of the crazy bad poor decisions and the mistakes that you've made in your life?
If that describes anybody that I'm talking to, Luke is going to quickly become your favorite gospel, and I'm going to hopefully convince you of that before our time is over.
Alright, so let's keep going. For this reason, after salvation was offered to the Gentiles through Christ, the Jews made it difficult for Gentiles to get saved. For instance, they would require that Gentiles become Jews first, a process called proselytizing, and then become Christians.
Gentiles were told they had to adhere to all the Jewish laws first before receiving forgiveness. Luke writes his gospel clearly to let his Gentile community know that Jesus loves and came to save them just as he did the Jews.
Are you picking up on it? Luke was writing his gospel to convince a community of people that Jesus didn't just come for the highly aristocratic, highly upper-class, religious perfect people and all of the Jewish people. No, no; Jesus came to save those who were lost.
Alright, now why did he write his gospel? Let's clarify that again. Luke wrote his gospel, according to Luke chapter one, to write a better, more accurate gospel to an individual named Theophilus. Now Theophilus just is a name for lover of God. "Thea" means God, "fella" means love of, so "lover of God" is his name.
Now Luke, being a Gentile once again, sought to persuade primarily the Gentiles that Jesus was the perfect man and that the scope of his salvation— you're going to hear me say this again and again and again and again until it really drives home: the scope of Jesus' salvation was universal, including everyone, no matter your class, no matter your color, no matter your gender, no matter your socioeconomic status, or even your physical appearance. Jesus came for you.
Dennis, thank you so much for the super chat; I appreciate that!
Alright, now Luke tells us his purpose. Many, many acknowledge that many people have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us. Notice that Luke says, "Hey, I got some of my information for this gospel from eyewitnesses, original eyewitnesses and servants of the word that have handed this oral tradition down to us." He says, "So it also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first."
So Luke says, "I have looked into this, right? I've actually interviewed people. I've actually gone and spoken to eyewitnesses. I've interviewed them. I've gone out of my way to ensure that this is an orderly account."
Alright, and so he says, "I went out of my way to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed." So Luke says, "Okay, I recognize that Matthew and Mark and maybe some other people wrote about this, but I'm gonna go out there and really make sure that I present a gospel that is orderly because I've investigated everything."
Now I want you to notice the sequel book in Acts. Notice it says here in Acts 1:1: "I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen."
So we see here that Luke's gospel and Acts should be read together because they are really two volumes of one story.
After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
Okay, so how does Luke do it? I'm going to point out to you today in this video six very distinctive literary features of the Gospel of Luke that help us understand how Luke specifically accomplished his goal of showing and proving that Jesus’ universal salvation was universal.
Let's jump into it.
**Literary Feature Number One:** Luke's genealogy demonstrates the universal scope of Jesus' salvation.
Now let's look at his genealogy. You might recall that Mark's genealogy was just one verse: Jesus is the Son of God. He knew that his Roman audience would not be interested in all of those Jewish names, so he cut that out. Matthew took his genealogy and needed to prove that Jesus was related to Abraham so that he could say that Jesus was a Jew, and then he also had to prove that Jesus was related to David because of a promise that God had given David that one of his descendants would always be on the throne and he would have an eternal throne.
But I want you to notice here that Luke does that. He says that Jesus is the Son of David; he also says that Jesus is the Son of Abraham. But Luke, unlike the other three gospel writers, goes a little bit further and says that Jesus is the Son of Adam and the Son of God.
Now what is he trying to do? He is trying to prove that Jesus' salvation—that Jesus has come for all people, not just people who descended from David, not just people who descended from Abraham, but no, no, Jesus came to save everyone because he is the Son of Adam and the Son of God.
Okay, so that's the idea behind his genealogy and why it's a little bit different than the others.
Now let's look at literary feature number two. How did Luke go about trying to prove, convince, and persuade his Gentile audience of misfits and outcasts that Jesus came for them too? Well, Luke highlights Jesus' overall mission for the Gentiles and the outcasts.
Watch this now: Simeon, his prophecy in Luke chapter 2— "For my eyes have seen your salvation." This is when Jesus was a baby: "You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples that Jesus would be a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel."
So even when Jesus was a baby, right there was a prophecy by a man named Simeon who saw that Jesus' salvation was going to be a light for the Gentiles. Why is it that Luke included this prophecy in his gospel and the other three did not? It's because of Luke's purpose, right?
It's because of Luke's purpose.
Let's keep going. Watch this; oh, you're going to like this. Luke highlights not only the spiritual but also the social implications of Jesus' earthly ministry. You need to get that! Jesus' mission is a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, which we're going to see in reading just a minute.
To bring good news to every group of people, even those whom society sees as rejects and outcasts. Let me prove it to you. Luke—and only Luke— includes this story when Jesus was starting his ministry. There's a story where he comes to Nazareth, his hometown. It says here, "Where he had been brought up, as usual, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. Now the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him."
Now, remember, this is only found in Luke, and there's a specific reason why Luke includes this. Notice it: "And unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the rich.' No! To the poor! He has sent me to proclaim release to the captive. No! To those who are blind and to set free those who are oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Do you see what Luke is trying to do? He is trying to show that the implications of Jesus' gospel is not just spiritual; it's social! He is coming to minister to the poor, to the blind, to those who are oppressed, to those who are needing to be free, to those who are outcasts.
So Karen, that's the reason why this is my favorite gospel, and you're going to see that.
Now I want you to notice here later on in that chapter that the Jews reject Jesus. I want you to notice this: he also said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown."
Because the Jews rejected Jesus, and I want you to pay attention now to how Luke highlights Jesus' ministry.
Watch this; don't miss this. "But I say to you, there were certainly many widows in Israel in Elijah's days when the sky was shut up for three years and six months while a great famine came over all the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but he was sent to a Gentile widow in Zarephath in Sidon. And in the prophet Elisha's time, there were many in Israel who had leprosy, and yet not one of them was cleansed except Naaman, a Gentile, a non-Jewish person, the Syrian."
You see, when they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They got up, drove him out of town, and brought him to the edge of the hill that their town was built on, intending to throw Jesus off the cliff.
Alright, now what's happening here? By including these stories, Luke makes it clear that just as the prophets of old, Elijah and Elisha, did not limit their ministries to the in-group, to the Israelites only, in the same way that Elijah and Elisha had a strong ministry to Gentile people, he's saying Jesus' ministry will be similar. Jesus will also not be a respecter of Gentile class or race.
Are you getting this? Are you seeing why Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is choosing to include these stories when the other gospel writers did not?
Let's keep going.
**Literary Feature Number Three:** Luke, more than any other gospel writer, highlights Jesus' specific love for a plethora of outcast groups.
Let me reiterate this again: Have you ever felt like an outcast? Have you ever felt different? Have you ever felt rejected? Have you ever felt like people have talked about you? Have you ever felt like you're broke, busted, and disgusted?
Have you ever been a result of racism or people have been racist towards you? Have you ever experienced any sort of mistreatment or favoritism because of your gender?
I'm going to even go a little step further. Have people also mistreated you maybe because you are confused about your gender, or about your sexuality? And this generation is treating you like an outcast, feeding you the lie that Jesus does not love you, that Jesus cannot save you, that Jesus doesn't want to have anything to do with you because you feel different?
Luke is going to highlight how Jesus loves all of these groups that society at that time would have seen as total rejects and would not have wanted to have anything to do with these people.
Let's jump into it; we're about to get into it!
Let's look at this first group: a tax collector. We looked at tax collectors yesterday in Matthew's gospel and we explained why tax collectors were so hated. They were hired by the Roman government, who was oppressing the Jewish people at that time, and they would purposely overcharge people the amount of taxes that were actually due, so they could skim some off the top and keep it for themselves.
Tax collectors were considered the lowest of the low when it came to people that the Jewish people respected. But these are the people that Jesus was hanging out with, spending time with, and showing love towards.
Notice it says: "After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi (or Matthew), sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, 'Follow me.'"
So right away, Luke is highlighting the fact that Jesus is inviting a sinful, decrepit, evil, and despicable tax collector to be in his ministry. So leaving everything behind, he got up and began to follow him.
Then Levi (or Matthew) hosted a grand banquet for him at his house. Now there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining at the table with them.
Can you get the picture? Visualize this! Now Matthew or Levi has this huge party because he's rich. That's another thing that they didn't like about these people because they were rich, and they made their money dishonestly.
He has this huge banquet, and Jesus is there hanging out with them at the party with all of these tax collectors and sinners. The Pharisees and the scribes were complaining to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
Why do you do that? Jesus replied to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."
Do you see that? Every chance Luke gets, he is trying to highlight Jesus' mission, every chance he gets.
Now let's look at how Jesus showed love toward the poor, another group of people who would have been considered outcasts and rejects in society.
Luke 14:1: "One Sabbath, when he went in to eat at the house of one of the leading Pharisees, they were watching him closely."
So visualize this now. Jesus is at a house of one of the leading Pharisees, and there is a banquet that was there, so Jesus was there, and he went to the house of the Pharisees.
While he is there, he tells them this parable and he says in verse 12: "He also said to the one who had invited him, this is the Pharisee, the self-righteous Pharisee, 'When you give a lunch or a dinner, don't invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, because they might invite you back and you would be repaid.'"
He said, "Don't do that." On the contrary, Mr. Rich Righteous Pharisee, "When you host a banquet, invite those who are poor, those who are maimed, those who are lame, and those who are blind, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Do you see this? Luke is trying to highlight that if you're broke, busted, and disgusted, if you're poor, he says, "I accept you! I embrace you! I love you! I forgive you! I've come for you!"
Let's keep going. I told you we're going to be reading a lot of scripture today. This is a story—it's not a parable because Jesus never used proper names in parables. This is an actual story of a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus.
I want you to notice how Jesus highlights that this poor man—the plight of the poor man—there was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day. But a poor man named Lazarus was covered with sores and lying at his gate.
Now I want you to pay attention to this; I highlight the word gate for a reason. Pay attention to what's going to come next.
So what is separating this poor man from getting into this rich man's house? A gate. A gate is separating this poor man from having access to where he wants to be, which is the rich man's house where there is a plethora of food and provision. Keep that in mind.
Now what did this poor man want? He just wanted not a full meal—not a whole pizza, not a cheeseburger—no, he just wanted what fell from the rich man's table. But instead, the dogs would come and lick his sores.
And one day, the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.
Okay, so he said, "I don't want much; I just want the scraps that fall from your table." Now watch the reversal.
And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus at his side. "Father Abraham," he called out, "have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue!"
There's a reversal! You see, the rich man says, "I don't need a full glass; I don't need a gallon of water; I just need a little something to quench my thirst because I'm in agony in this flame. I just need a little something." In the same way that just like Lazarus needed just a little bit of crumbs that fell from your table.
He said, "You just need a little something." But notice this: "Son," Abraham said, "remember that during your life, you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here while you are in agony."
So there's a reversal. Besides all this, a great gulf or great chasm has been fixed between us and you.
Okay, so he says, "Hey, in the same way that there was a gate separating the poor man from the rich man, now there's a great chasm that is separating this rich man from getting to the place where he wants to be, which is where the poor man is."
Now Jesus is highlighting this; this story is only found in the Gospel of Luke and not in the other gospels.
Here we go. Let's now take a look at another beautiful story—one of my favorite stories—that is only found in Luke and not found in the other gospels: the story of the prostitute.
It says here, "Then one of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. Once again, he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. And a woman in the town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house. So she brought an alabaster jar of perfume and stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to wash his feet with her tears."
She wiped his feet with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "This man, if he were a prophet— I don't even believe he is—but if he were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this was who is touching him. She's a sinner; she's a prostitute; she's a loose woman."
Jesus replied to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." He said, "Well, say it, teacher."
And he tells Simon this parable and he says, "Simon, there are two people who owe this man. One owes fifteen denarii, the other owes five hundred." Right? "Neither of them are able to repay the person that they owe."
Right? And so he says, "Okay, I'm gonna forgive both of them." And he says, "Simon, who do you think is going to be more gracious and more thankful?" And Simon said, "Well, the one that was forgiven more is going to be more thankful because he owed more."
To which Jesus says this: "Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that's why she loved so much. But the one who is forgiven little loves little."
In other words, he says, "Because you don't understand the depths of your sin—because you think internally that you're actually better than this woman—because you've not committed the exact same sins as she has, you have not yet come to that understanding because you think that your sins are less than hers, and that's why you can't love me the way she does."
Because she is in touch with her sin; she is in touch with the depths of her sin, her total depravity. She knows that she's a sinner. She knows that she has slept with too many men. She knows that she's wasted her life away on prostitution.
You have not yet come to that understanding, because you think your sins are less than hers, and that's why you can't love me the way she does.
Jesus is teaching these messages to highlight his love for people who have made a mess out of their lives. That's why, you know what, that's why this is so special. Because I've made some mistakes, y'all. I've made some bad decisions in my life. I've had those times, those days, where I've said, "Lord, man, what am I doing? Why have I done this?"
And to know that the Lord Jesus Christ loves me in spite of the poor decisions that I've made? That's why Luke's gospel is my favorite gospel.
Let's keep going—those who are lost.
Now, one of the most famous parables, some of the most famous parables, the parable of the Good Samaritan, the parable of the Prodigal Son, are only found in the Gospel of Luke—not in Matthew, Mark, or John.
Now notice the context: "All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him, and the Pharisees and scribes were complaining: 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'"
So he told them this parable. Now we're not going to read the parable because you know the parable of the Prodigal Son.
Okay, but this set of parables contrasts two groups: the religious and the rebellious.
So I want you to notice this, right? What do you have here? You have two groups of people: the tax collectors and sinners whom Jesus is hanging out with, and the Pharisees and scribes who were complaining about Jesus hanging out with these two other groups.
So what does Jesus do? He sets forth three sets of parables all about things that are lost—right? All about things that were lost: a sheep, a silver coin, and a son.
Why is he doing this? He's trying to highlight that Jesus has come for people who are lost, people who are prodigal, people who have made a mess of their lives, and they've come to their senses, just as verse 17 says, and that Prodigal Son comes running back to the father saying, "Look, I'm so sorry! I messed up! I wasted all of your money!"
And the whole moral of the story is that Jesus loves both groups; he loves the religious group, but he also loves the rebellious group.
That's the story and the purpose of the parables in Luke 15.
Now look at this: even towards the end of Luke, we see that Jesus is still showing love for a group of people that society would have considered outcasts. Even on the cross, there's a committed criminal, a criminal who is sentenced to die, and he says, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
And Jesus said to him, "Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."
Have you ever wondered why that story is only in Luke and not in Matthew, Mark, and John? Could it be that Luke is trying to highlight that even if you've made a mess of your life all the way to the end, and you're on your deathbed, and you're getting ready to die, and you have not shown any regard for God throughout your entire life, I still love you, and I still want to save you?
Wow! Absolutely amazing!
See, if you just came to this series thinking that these gospels were just randomly thrown together, I hope you're seeing that these gospel writers were intentional about what they selected and what they chose not to select.
So all of this ministry to outsiders is creating a stir with the religious leaders of Jesus' day.
Molly, thank you for the super chat; I really appreciate that!
So notice this conflict starts to emerge: "On a Sabbath, he passed through the grain fields; his disciples were picking heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. But some of the Pharisees said, 'Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?'"
See, there's some conflict that's brewing because they don't like what Jesus is doing.
Then the scribes and Pharisees began to think to themselves, "Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But the Pharisees and the scribes were complaining to the disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
Now this leads Jesus to totally uproot their entire value system by introducing the value system of his kingdom, which scholars have referred to as the upside-down kingdom.
Notice it now. Luke says in chapter 6, "Blessed are you who are poor and woe to you who are rich." Then he says, "Blessed are you if you're hungry." Then he also says, "Woe to you if you are now full and you have all the food and everything that you ever want in your house and your refrigerator is full."
He says, "Blessed if you are weeping now, and woe to you if you're laughing now."
He says, "Blessed if people hate you, and woe to you if all people speak well of you."
You see, Jesus is turning up; he's flipping—they're flipping upside down their entire value system.
**Literary Feature Number Four** of six: Luke goes out of his way to highlight the faith of outcast groups as opposed to the faith of Jewish people.
He wants to show every chance he gets that outcast groups he wants to highlight in the most positive light he possibly can. So watch what he does.
Watch how he does this. Let's look at the parable of the Good Samaritan. We're not going to read it, but you know the story here.
Okay? There was a man who was on his way from Jericho to Jerusalem— or it may have been the other way around— and so he is beaten badly and robbed and left on the side of the road.
Well, guess what? A priest goes and sees him and says, "Nah, I can't do anything because you're beaten up and you're bloody, and if I touch you, I might be ceremonially unclean."
So he passes, and then a Levite passes by. But then a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion.
He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
So we see that Luke goes out of his way to include this parable; other gospel writers did not. Why? Because he wants to show that this Samaritan was the hero in the story.
This Samaritan—he paints this Samaritan in a more positive light than he does the priest or the Levite.
Let's look at Zacchaeus, a hated tax collector, and let's see how Luke highlights the faith of this hated tax collector.
There was a man named Zacchaeus who was not just a tax collector; he was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able to because of the crowd since he was a short man.
Alright, thank you so much, Emory; I appreciate that.
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Now notice this: look, I'll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord, and if I've extorted anything from anyone, I'll pay back four times as much."
Wow! That, my friend, is repentance. That is repentance!
Here's a very rich man who has acknowledged that as a tax collector, he has defrauded people; he has cheated people. And he says, "You know what? I am so sold out for you, Jesus, as a hated tax collector, that I'm willing to give half of all my possessions to the poor, and from what is left over, I am going to repay all the people that I swindled four times."
Wow! And Jesus commends this man's faith, and Luke goes out of his way to highlight that this man demonstrated true faith in God.
"Wow! Today salvation has come to this house," Jesus told him, "because he too is a son of Abraham."
Now here it is! "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost."
Alright, here we go. Lepers! Do you remember that Jesus healed ten lepers? Well notice: "But one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice gave glory to God, and he fell down at his feet, thanking him, and he was a Samaritan."
Hmm. Samaritans were hated by Jews. Why were they hated by Jews? Well, you have to understand that when in the Old Testament the Jewish people were displaced from their land, there were still some of them that were left back there. And there were some Assyrians and other people who came to move into the land.
Well, many of the Jewish people who were in the land started intermarrying with these pagan other nations, and their offspring were considered Samaritans. So they were like a half-breed; they were kind of considered traitors. They were kind of considered that they had gone against what God had clearly said, "Do not intermarry with these other nations." So they were not respected; they were hated by the Jewish people.
And so for that reason, they were cast out, and Luke goes out of his way to commend the faith of these groups.
Jesus said, "Were there not ten that I cleansed? Where are the other nine? Didn't any return to give glory to God except this foreigner?"
Thank you, Murray; God bless you; I appreciate that super chat!
Now watch this: According to the ceremonial laws of uncleanness, Jesus was not permitted to even touch a leper without going through the proper process of cleansing. However, Jesus never allowed that to hinder him from ministering to them.
Jesus says, "I don't care about any sort of becoming unclean. If I touch this leper, I love you! I want to minister to you! I accept you! I embrace you! Even if it means I have to take upon myself your uncleanness!"
Wow!
Look at this: Jesus now goes out of his way to highlight in a parable the faith of the tax collector versus the faith of a Pharisee.
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. He said, "Two men went up to the temple to pray: one a Pharisee and one the other a tax collector."
The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: "God, I thank you that I'm not like other people. I'm not greedy, I'm not unrighteous, I'm not an adulterer, and I'm even not like this little tax collector over here! I fast twice a week and I give a tenth of everything I get."
Do you ever know anybody like that who thinks they're more righteous than everybody else because they don't do the same things that they look down upon other people for doing?
But the tax collector, standing far off, wouldn't even raise his eyes to heaven. But he kept striking his chest, saying, "God, have mercy on me; I'm just a sinner! I'm just a sinner!"
And Jesus says, "I tell you, this one, the tax collector, went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
Luke is highlighting the faith of these groups.
Let's move to literary feature number five. Oh, all my ladies are going to love this because Luke highlights Jesus' love and acceptance of women in this culture more than any of the other gospel writers.
You see, in a culture where women's contribution to society was limited to domestic responsibilities and childbearing—ladies, you're going to love this one—Jesus openly affirmed the ministry of women in his earthly ministry.
As a matter of fact, the word "woman" occurs 43 times in Luke as compared to 49 times in both Matthew and Mark combined. Let the church say amen!
Alright, now watch how Luke specifically goes out of his way to highlight the ministry of women and to raise the bar because you have to understand women were not respected in this society; they were also considered a lower tier of people. Jesus says, "No, not so! Not so!"
Let's keep going. I want you to notice here that the birth narratives of both John the Baptist and Jesus are told not from the man's perspective but from the woman's perspective— from Mary and Elizabeth, respectively, excuse me, to be Elizabeth and Mary, sorry.
Okay, Elizabeth for John the Baptist and Mary for Jesus. So both birth narratives are told from the woman's perspective.
Let's keep going. There is a prophetess named Anna who only shows up in Luke's gospel. Once again, it says, "There was also a prophetess, Anna"— that means she was speaking on behalf of God, y'all!
Okay? That means she was speaking on behalf of God—"a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage and was a widow for 84 years. She did not leave the temple serving God night and day with fasting and prayers."
At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
You see, Jesus highlights this woman's prophetic ministry. It says it right there in the text— it says it right there in the text; Luke includes that.
Luke also shows how many women supported Jesus' ministry both physically and financially. Luke includes these gospels, notice, in Luke 8: "Afterward, he was traveling from one town and village to another, preaching and telling the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses."
And okay, Mary called Magdalene—seven demons had come out of her—Joanna, the wife of Chuza, he mentions these women by name: Herod's steward, Susanna, and many others who were supporting them from their possessions.
Luke says, "You know what? Women have a role! Women have a place! I value women!" He wants to restore the dignity of women and their contribution to his ministry.
Let's look at how Mary and Martha accepted Jesus into their home. While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary who also sat at the Lord's feet and was listening to what he said.
But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand!"
The Lord answered, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her."
Thank you, Martha, for that super chat; I appreciate that!
So we see that Jesus is highlighting these women and how they have supported him throughout his ministry.
Now watch this: Luke also highlights how it was the women who followed Jesus from the courthouse to his crucifixion. It was the women who followed him from when he was being arrested and on trial all the way to his crucifixion.
Notice what it says in verse 49, Luke 23: "But all who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things."
A few verses later: "The women who had come with him from Galilee followed along and observed the tomb and how his body was placed."
"It was the women, it was the women that tracked with him every step of the way, even to where his body was placed, and then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes, and they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment."
Jesus is showing how beautifully women supported his ministry, and Luke highlights that effort.
In addition to this, Luke chose to feature parables of Jesus that featured women, such as the parable of the lost coin in Luke 15 and the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge.
These are parables where the woman is seen as the heroine in a positive light!
**Literary Feature Number Six** is the final one: In an attempt to portray Jesus as the perfect man, Luke highlights Jesus' humanity in multiple ways.
You see, Luke wants to prove that not only is Jesus the perfect Savior for all mankind, but he's a perfect man. He wanted to show some things about Jesus' humanity that he knew his audience would be able to relate to.
So what does he do? Well, he talks about prayer—Jesus praying more than the other gospel writers. In the four gospels, fifteen occasions of Christ praying are reported, eleven of which are found in Luke.
Alright, let's look at a couple of them.
Luke 6: "During those days, he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God."
While he was praying, Luke 9: "In private, and his disciples were with him, he asked them, 'Who do the crowds say that I am?'"
He's focusing on the humanity of Christ, the prayer life of Christ.
He also focuses on Jesus' emotions. As Jesus approached and saw the city, he wept for it. Then later on in Luke 22: "Being in anguish, he prayed more fervently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground."
He's trying to highlight that Jesus is the perfect man.
So this is my final slide to you today. The main idea behind the Gospel of Luke is that Jesus is the Savior for all people, no matter your class, no matter your color, no matter your conduct. Therefore, we should treat others the same way Jesus did.
My message to you today is this: The Gospel of Luke is my favorite gospel because if you can relate to any of the stories in Luke, maybe you can relate to the story of the prostitute.
Maybe you can relate to the fact that maybe you were disabled, and you were a leper, and nobody wanted to be around you. Nobody wanted to get close to you. Nobody wanted to even touch you, but Jesus did.
Maybe you can relate to the tax collector; people just didn't like you. Maybe they didn't like it because you made too much money, and they were jealous of you; whatever it is!
Maybe you relate to the Prodigal Son— you knew better, but you did your own thing, you went your own way, and you made all sorts of poor decisions in your life.
Because of those decisions, you have deduced that certainly God cannot have his best plan for your life.
Maybe you've slept with too many men; maybe you've slept with too many women. Maybe you're hooked on an addiction that you can't seem to break free, and maybe you're here and you've been divorced once, twice, maybe even three times, and you've got that big "D" on your chest, and you think that God doesn't love you, and Jesus can't do anything with your life.
Or maybe you've committed adultery? I don't know what particular sin that you are identifying with today, but let the Gospel of Luke be a reminder that no matter who you are, no matter what you've done, no matter where you've come from, you are not too far out of the reach of the mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness—and even the salvation—of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
And that is the message of the Gospel of Luke!