The Gospel Of Luke Mr. Perrotti Chapter 6 – Lesson 3/B Freshmen Religion

The Gospel of Luke A novel for the Gentiles. Traditions report that Luke was a companion of Paul – a physician and therefore someone learned in Hellenistic (characteristic of or associated with the Greeks) –tradition states he cared for Mary in her old age. – Luke was someone who was steeped in scripture, in the Septuagint (The Greek translation of the Bible) – Luke was aware of Greek literary patterns, historiographical and novelistic.

What did Luke write? Luke wrote two works, – The third gospel, an account of the life and teachings of Jesus – The Book of Acts, which is an account of the growth and expansion of Christianity after the death of Jesus down through close to the end of the ministry of Paul. – The longest and most detailed Gospel – Written around 75AD

How does Luke describe Jesus? In Luke, Jesus emerges primarily as a teacher – a teacher of ethical wisdom – someone who's confident and calm in that moral teaching. – Someone who is very much interested in teaching the virtues of compassion and forgiveness among his closest followers and disciples.

JESUS IN LUKE (cont.) The Jesus of Luke is an enormously powerful figure. – At his first appearance in his hometown synagogue he quotes the prophet Isaiah and it's the passage that talks about freeing those who are oppressed and letting those who are blind see. – Jesus is a powerful figure and comes across as a liberator, a great miracle worker

JESUS IN LUKE (cont.) Luke portrays Jesus in the gospel in in essence according to the image of the divine man. – The person in whom divine powers are visible and are exercised, both in his teaching and in his miracle doing. – The divine man theme is important even through Jesus' suffering and death, because Jesus dies the perfect martyr's death, an exemplary death. – There is no crying, "my God, my God, why has Thou forsaken me?" (Mark’s version) – Instead Jesus dies commending his spirit into the hands of the father. A Divine Death!

JESUS IN LUKE -- TEACHER, MARTYR Jesus in Luke's gospel comes across differently than the other Synoptics – He's much more like a philosophic teacher kind of like Socrates: He's reasoned He's dispassionate He's a critic sometimes of society but he's certainly concerned about the way his teachings bear on those who are listening.

Death of Jesus in Luke The death of Jesus in Luke's gospel is more like a martyr's death it's much calmer, he goes relentlessly to the cross, knowing that it is what must happen. Pilate isn't at fault at all. Pilate tries to get rid of the case by sending Jesus away to Herod.... Pilate isn't the enemy of Jesus, he isn't the bad guy Luke portrays Jesus as our Savior!! –Theme of his Gospel!

Parables in Luke Jesus as compassionate – Forgiving – Waiting for us to turn to him – Celebrates with us and his followers – Teaches that the Kingdom of God is for everyone at anytime Parable of the Prodigal Son! “My son was dead but know he is alive”

Luke’s Audience In contrast to either Mark or Matthew, Luke's gospel is clearly written more for a Gentile audience. (Non-Jewish Christians) – Luke is traditionally thought of as one of Paul's traveling companions. – Luke was from those Greek cities in which Paul had worked and preached. – Luke's audience seems to be a much more cultured even though some of his readers were the poor Gentiles outside of Greece. – He has the ability to reach both the educated and uneducated with his narrative style.

Scholars or Shepherds! Both! – The Gentiles of Greece were educated and cultured. – The Gentiles of Samaria (Lost tribes of the North) were uneducated farmers, shepherds and herdsman! – That is why Luke’s Gospel was so detailed information for those who wanted it Detailed information for those who needed it

LUKE/ACTS -- THE FIRST CHRISTIAN HISTORY Luke's gospel’s companion volume. – The Acts that the story of the beginnings of the Christian movement and down through the time of Paul's career. – Luke/Acts is telling us a bigger story, a story that started with Jesus – He then sees the story continuing with the founding of the church and with the eventual travels of Paul that take him to Rome itself. – Luke/Acts is the first attempt to write a history of the Christian movement from the inside while he travelled with Paul.

The Gospel Of Matthew Written during the same time as Luke! Portrayed Jesus as a Jewish Teacher or Rabbi. His Gospel was an important continuation of the Old Testament to the early Jewish Christians.

MATTHEW'S JEWISH CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY Matthew's gospel is clearly written for a Jewish Christian audience living within the immediate proximity of the homeland itself. – Matthew's is the most Jewish of all the gospels. – It was important for Matthew to connect his Gospel with the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah “King of the Jews” – Matthew uses a great amount of detail to keep Jesus in this light!

CONFLICT IN MATTHEW'S COMMUNITY Now, we have to remember that in Matthew's gospel that the Pharisees are Jesus' main opponents throughout his life. – Actually, in Jesus' own times, the Pharisees weren't that prominent a group. – Why would Matthew give the Pharisees so much prominence, when they really had none…. – Because Pharisees are becoming the early Christians opponents at the time he was writing his Gospel. – They were watching two Jewish groups, Matthew's Christian Jewish group and the local Pharisaic groups in tension over what would be the future of Judaism.

Jews vs. Jewish Christians It's important to Matthew to show them both and then settle the score. – Matthew's community observes Torah. In Matthew, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "think not that I've come to destroy the law and the prophets - I've come not to destroy them but to fulfill them.“ The way Matthew then tells the story of Jesus draws on a lot of symbols from Jewish tradition that really convey a picture of Jesus.

Jesus as the New Moses Matthew does a very good job of showing Jesus in this light. – Jesus goes up on to a mountain to teach and there talks about the law. He looks like Moses. – Jesus delivers five different sermons of this sort, just like the five books of Torah. – There are a lot of elements in this story that resemble Moses' traditions, from the killing of the babies, in the birth narrative, to the Sermon on the Mount, to even to the way that Jesus dies, just like some of the prophets died, as martyrs to their prophetic calling.

Who was Matthew? Matthew - Tax Collector and Apostle – Matthew was a dishonest tax collector driven by greed, until Jesus Christ chose him as a disciple. – Jesus first met Matthew in Capernaum, in his tax booth on the main highway. – Matthew was named Levi before his call by Jesus. We don't know whether Jesus gave him the name Matthew or whether he changed it himself, but it is a shortening of the name Mattathias, which means "the gift of God."

Who was Matthew? Despite his sinful past, Matthew was uniquely qualified to be a disciple. By surface appearances, it was scandalous and offensive for Jesus to pick a tax collector as one of his closest followers, since they were widely hated by the Jews. Matthew displayed one of the most radically changed lives in the Bible in response to an invitation from Jesus. He did not Hesitate!

Accomplishments of Matthew He served as one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ. – As an eyewitness to the life of the Savior, Matthew recorded a detailed account of Jesus' message and deeds in the Gospel of Matthew. – He also served as a missionary, spreading the good news to other countries. – His life alone served as an example of how God will never turn his back on even the worst of sinners!

Parables in Matthew In the 28 Chapters of Matthew’s Gospel there are 31 Parables! – Parables have their origin in the Old Testament (Ezekiel was one of the many prophets who used Parables) – Jesus bas Rabbi and teacher, he used parables to explain many complex issues or to make his point! The Parable of the Lost Sheep was one of the more recognized stories!

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EL SHADDAI El Shaddai is identified explicitly with the God of Abraham and with YHWH. – The term appears chiefly in the Torah. – This could also refer to the Israelite camp's stay at Mount Sinai where God gave Moses – Matthew carried this theme throughout his Gospel! com