Luke 10: 38-42 Jesus Essay

Luke’s Gospel is a portrayal of Jesus as a model of social justice. Hence, the reader is empowered and influenced by the Gospel to be actively involved in social justice issues. The Catholic Church has sought to reach out to those in need, and Luke’s Gospel demonstrates this through injustices that Jesus challenged. In addition, mental illness, which is a current social justice issue reflects and appeals to problems that Jesus faced and reacted to in his time.

I chose to read The Gospel of Luke for my project. It is said that The Gospel of Luke was written somewhere between 80 CE - 90 CE. The Gospel of Luke was written for Theophilus, who was called “Friend of God”. But The Gospel was also written for a wider audience, including converts and potential converts.

In The Judaeo-Christian Tradition by Jack H. Hexter, the trial of Jesus is addressed in an unorthodox perspective. The trial of Jesus incorporates two trials: the Roman trial and the Jewish trial. In Hexter's book the Roman trial is addressed in great length while the Jewish trial is almost unaddressed. Hexter provides a perspective of the trial of Jesus with only one cause: the charge of sedition, for claiming to be king of the Jews. By using the four gospel texts, Hexter's view is illuminated and we find crucial aspects to the trial that not only counter Hexter's view on the sedition charge but also provide evidence for other important charges. Themes other than the charge of sedition supporting Hexter's perspective include, the

The two Gospels that I 've decided to compare are Luke and John. Luke is considered a Synoptic Gospel and presents the human side of Jesus. Luke takes us through the longer version of his birth and his childhood and focuses on the humanity of Jesus. There was a debate in this story whether or not Jesus was human and raised many question to potential followers. Many said that Jesus was just a spirit but by reading Luke, there was great detail of his humanity. Luke directed this book directly to Gentiles and focused more on the teachings and miracles that Jesus created rather than the law. Stated in the text, Luke’s Gospel also depicts more clearly the way in which the proclamation of the kingdom of God and the accompanying mighty works of Jesus brought the benefits of salvation to marginalized people. Luke also highlights the concern of Jesus for the materially poor, and the duty of his followers to be free from love of possession and to give generously to those in need. John was considered a different story in the Bible and in the Gospel. It was the last story of the Gospels and does not repeat any of the other stories from Matthew, Mark, or Luke. John had the opportunity to see the gospel and its affect it had and based that off the

10. One of the ways Jesus shows compassion for those less fortunate people in the scriptures is by paying attention to the individuals that no one else would, for example, the lepers (the extremely ill people). Most of all he would dedicate his time to the down trodden and would advocate for others to follow his example as well.

He is mentioned to by Paul as "Luke the beloved physician" (Col. 4:14). Luke fixed forth the humanity of the Son of Man and cites it in chronological order the life of Christ. Being a physician, he is more precise when using language. For example, when he indicates a leper he uses the identical medical term to describe the circumstance, for example "full of leprosy" (Luke 5:12). Luke’s gospel is particularly focused towards an individual named Theophilus and is focused on the complete story and past events of Jesus Christ from his birth and ministry to his crucifixion and resurrection. A major theme in Luke’s gospel shows how important the poor were to Jesus and how we should not neglect the poor. Examples of this are seen when the book talks about the distinctive beatitudes “blessed you are poor…hunger now...weep now...” and the distinctive woes “woes to you that are rich...that are full...that laugh now…” which overall say, money and power will tend to bring judgement upon you. In addition, the gospel of Luke refers to certain parables like the Rich man and Lazarus. This sends a message to warn the rich who tend to trust in their riches more than in God, wealth tends to pull us away from God and that if we neglect the poor and prioritize our riches more we will go to hell. Asking oneself- is your existence a blessing for the

“Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27) is one of the most fundamental questions that Jesus asked his disciples. It is a question, from my personal viewpoint, that has a simple answer. Jesus is Lord! Needless to say, there is more to the identity of Jesus, but it is my belief that Jesus is the Messiah, the second person of the Holy Trinity. He is the promised Savior foretold in the Old Testament by the prophets. There is an endless list that gives Jesus titles such as Ruler and King, Master and Teacher, Savior and Christ, but in Acts 2:36 Luke writes, “God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Jesus is the one who went to the Cross to bring humankind forgiveness, redemption, and salvation.

The new testament contains four (4) accounts of the story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection as presented by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, The 3 accounts are similar, while Johns bible presents Jesus in a unique way. These differences exist because Matthew and Luke got their information from Mark and John got his information from another source, maybe John did not have access to the other gospels or he chose not to use them. No one really knows the source of John’s gospel and we don’t know for sure who wrote the gospels. Scholars refer to the authors as Matthew, Mark, Luke & John, this may not even be their real names. The Gospel were not first hand accounts except for Mark. John did not seem to have known the existence of the other

ideas of God the Father, Jesus the Son of God and the Holy Spirit in

Luke and Acts tells the story of what Jesus did and taught during his ministry, first in his earthly life and then as the exalted Christ and Lord through his disciples. This essay will outline the various titles Luke used to portray or described Jesus in his two-volume narrative, in doing this we hope to get a better understanding and a complete picture of who Jesus was. Luke in his two volume work described Jesus in numerous ways and I am only going to be discussing four which referred to him as Christ, Lord, Prophet and Savior. The main Christological themes that appear in Luke-Acts highlighted and emphasised on the concept of the “Lord 's Christ”, meaning the coming ruler of God 's people, who will serve as their Savior and performing prophetic work [2 pg. 123-143]. Moreover, Jesus’s role was not assumed on his own initiative, but rather it was the work of God. Thus we can say that God’s work and plans were at the center of the Book of Acts and Luke’s gospel [1 pg 22].

In this article Harold Attridge examines Luke’s background, the scriptures Luke wrote, Jesus’s values, the context and purpose of Luke’s gospel and the treatment of Christians at the time of Luke’s writings. The article expresses that Luke’s Gospel was written before the destruction of Jerusalem and at a time when Christians were being persecuted for practicing their faith so consequently the purpose of his Gospel was to show an ethical example and imply that Christians could be good citizens. This source is relevant to the topic as it suggests the purpose of Luke's Gospel and the treatment of Christians before the fall of Jerusalem. A limitation of the website is that it has not been recently published, it’s publish date is April 1998 so it may not be up to date with the latest, accurate information. Nonetheless, this source is very beneficial and appropriate to the task as it provides facts and research on the chosen sacred text. This source will not be the cornerstone of my research but will add a good understanding to the purpose of the sacred text.

In the Bible, the four Gospels push different ideologies, views, lessons and different stories that center around the central figure of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke main themes center on Universalism, social justice, compassion for outcasts, the role of woman and the Holy Spirit.(Hauer and Young) These parables are able to connect to the context of when Luke was able bring these stories together in 85 CE. The Gospel was most likely written in Greek speaking area located in the Roman empire.(Coogan et al.) This time of stability allowed for the proliferation of Christianity and Gospels such as Luke. The passages that will be discussed will mainly focus on compassion for outcast seen in Luke 16:19–31 and warning against greed in Luke 12:13-34. Luke 13:6-9 focuses on a fig tree talks of the opportunities people and if they use them properly. Finally, the last parable is 7:11-17, which focuses on holy spirit and the possibilities for miracles and the importance of life. These parables in Luke are able to give a social justice commentary that can make a person feel compassionate for the poor and the reckoning they would receive in the afterlife if they didn’t follow Jesus’s teachings. As, well the story is able to push across a message that will everlasting importance to people. This has led to the Gospels of Luke becoming one of the main 4 Gospels and one of the most highly regarded of the Gospels. (Hauer and Young)

The Gospel of Luke thoroughly illustrates the themes of mercy and compassion in his use of literary devices such as symbols, stories and parables. Luke urges how significant it is to feel and deliver the ready willingness to help anyone in need in our society. The Gospel offers a model to live out these virtues through Jesus’ actions and his parables.

An angel appeared before a woman named Mary and stated to her that she would give birth to a son. She would name her son Jesus. Mary being a virgin gave birth to a child, conceived by God through his Spirit. Jesus being conceived in a supernatural manner became man and God in one creation. God became incarnate in this child who became known by the name of Jesus (Mathew 1:18-25) . Jesus was a Palestinian Jew, born in a town south of Jerusalem, raised in Nazareth in a small village in Galilee. Jesus was not any ordinary child. Jesus was the son of the living God. Not only was He the son of Mary, He was foremost the Son of God. He was incarnated sent to us for the redemption of all mankind. So how do we handle the incarnation of God?

The theme of the gospel of Luke talks about the journey of the life of Jesus, Christ. His death, burial, and resurrection. Moreover, his ministry, teachings and parables. As a historian, and physician, Luke was not only eloquent in his writing about Jesus; he also took interest in his early life. The Gospel of Luke also depict Jesus as compassionate, caring, and loving. Likewise, Luke not only put Jesus at the heart of the Jewish world during the first century, but also at the heart of the Roman world, where with the Christian gospel exploded.