Social Justice in the Gospel of Luke
Scott Joseph Tabor
ID/LR 5001 Foundations of Integrative Thought
Social Justice in the Gospel of Luke
When reading through the book of Luke, specifically Luke 4:16-30 social justice comes front and center almost immediately as Jesus is handed a scroll of the book of Isaiah. Jesus, not being one to shy away from teaching, read this book out loud and brought focus to an issue that many of us face today. The question of who is the Gospel for? Who are we as Christians, meant to share the good news with? Socially are we supposed to go outside of our comfort zones to reach those who, the Church or Society has deemed as un-teachable? This is what we will be looking at in this paper.
Who is the Gospel for? As you read through Luke 4:16-30 and get to verse 18 you see the Jesus is reading from the Book of Isaiah, specifically Isaiah 61:1 which says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners;” (Isaiah 61:1, New American Standard Bible). Jesus very clearly is telling all those who are listening to him in the synagogue that they are too take the message of God out to all people. They are to specifically, teach the Word of God to those who are hurt, who have found themselves in times of trouble. But how does this tie into social justice? First let’s look at what social justice
The Gospel of Luke was also written around eighty CE, written somewhere outside of Palestine (Tatum, 1999, p.34). The author may have been Luke the Gentile Christian, writing to another Gentile, Theophilus. Like Matthew, Luke is strongly believed to be written after Mark, with references from him, “Q” and “L” if following the Two (Four)-Document Hypothesis. The authors of Luke and Matthew are believed to be written during the same time without the knowledge of knowing. As mentioned before, Luke is about fifty percent longer than Mark is, making it important source since it contains more information about the historic life of Jesus. There is also a second part to Luke which is the book Acts, but is separate in Bible. Both include the beginnings
Within Christian communities, enthusiasm to respond to injustice around the world with compassion continues to increase. Regrettably, well-meaning people who have good intentions but neglect to consider best practice principles are ultimately doing a disservice to the individuals and communities they intended to help. Moreover, a lack of understanding of holistic social action results in dependency and disregards the dignity of the poor. In From the Roots Up, Dr. JoAnn Butrin challenges Christians, both individually and as the larger body of Christ- the church, to respond to injustice thoughtfully and holistically. Butrin (2010) asserts:
The Art of Personal Evangelism: Sharing Jesus in a changing culture By Will McRaney, Jr. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Academic, 2003, 268 pp., $19.99 paper.
In 1968, a small town teacher and her students had been to such hatred, and the situation was life-changing for them all. In spite of plausible ethical boundaries that were crossed, the teacher known as Ms. Elliot felt it her duty to show her students that discrimination was immoral. Years later, her former students were grateful for the difficult lesson, and Ms. Elliot furthered her calling to educate people on this topic, ranging from elementary age children to adults. Her cause could be deemed a worthy one, her methods might be viewed as unconventional, but her message could be interpreted as one of love towards humanity, regardless of one’s differences. As a Christian, one is commanded to love their neighbor and pray for their enemies, and picking and choosing another’s privileges does not fit into Jesus’ model that He set forth for His
of oppression, understanding the central core of the Gospels as Jesus' identification with the poor
This essay will endeavour to find out what are the social justice models in the Old Testament. It will also explain what Jesus said about social justice in Luke.
Luke’s Gospel greatly emphasizes the social justice aspect of Christian living. Throughout the third book in the New Testament, the story and history of Jesus Christ is written, and Luke preserves the many sayings of Jesus warning that those with material possessions have a
Social Gospel was a movement to put social problems with Christianity , Issues such as inequality, alcoholism , crime, uncleam environment, child labor, poor schools and the danger of war.
The Social Gospel is the idea of social problems being looked and fixed with a Christian point of view. The Gospel will always stay the same and we should refer the Social Gospel as living out the Gospel. The goal of the Social Gospel Movement was to tie salvation and good work together. They thought people should live the life of a Jesus Christ. Classes, counseling, job training and libraries were provided by churches to act according to the Social Gospel. The origins and issues of the Social Gospel Movement, how the Social Gospel related to a Progressive Era, the work of Walter Rauschenbusch, and how Social Gospel relates to the Gospel will be covered in this essay.
In a world that does not know the Gospel anymore, we must indulge in it, and love our fellow community though they may not share similar values, but find balancing in still remaining in our own values. Though many of times we find ourselves in opposition of the majority of the world, we must exude Christ love onto others as He does to us unconditionally. The author addresses ways in which we are able to live out our faith and still find a place within our community though they may not share similar values.
With the proclamation of the Kingdom of God, Jesus seeks to bring about God’s plan for humanity through physical, spiritual, and social healing. His purpose and mission is to prepare the hearts and minds of the people so they can build new lives in God’s kingdom. Jesus often uses stories to illustrate his message
Jesus Christ sought to improve the individual, the component of society, and as result, his teaching ideally aims to advance the well-being of society as a whole. The four Gospels and the book of Acts thoroughly demonstrate the extensive sociological knowledge that was present in Jesus’ teaching. His message facilitates personal reform, rather than change in the social structure alone. Although Jesus establishes the church as a social institution, he does so, only after a number of individuals become his followers.
Lohfink, Gerhard. Jesus and Community: The Social Dimension of Christian Faith. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984. Kindle.
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 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.