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7. "The Teaching of Jesus"

 

Advanced Religious Studies – Reid G and Tyler S (Philip Allan Updates, 2002)

‘ The Teaching of Jesus' , pages 312-325 © Advanced Religious Studies, Gordon Reid and Sarah Tyler, 2002, Philip Allan Updates

 

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Content of this paper

 

1. The Parables

1.1 Parables of the Kingdom

1.2 Parables of the Lost

 

2. Theological & Moral Teaching

2.1 The Sermon on the Plain

2.2 Wealth & Poverty

2.3 Prayer & Praise

2.4 Discipleship

2.5 Salvation

2.6 Eschatology

 

1. The Parables

Much of Jesus' teaching was done in parables – a common method of teaching in Judaism. A parable is a short story based on real-life situations to highlight religious truths,that Jesus used.

     

1.1 Parables of the kingdom

Introduction

•  In all the Synoptic Gospels, the teaching of Jesus was mainly concerned with the kingdom of God.
•  In the Old Testament God's kingdom was shown through his mighty works.
•  By the time of Jesus, the people of Israel believed that God would rid the land of their enemies and establish his kingdom on earth.
•  In Luke's Gospel , Jesus first mentions the kingdom of God in 4:43 ‘I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God… because that is why I was sent.'
•  Luke uses it to highlight how important the theme is.
•  The term 'kingdom of God' used by Luke refers to the way God acts and intervenes in  human history to establish his rule — it refers to God's work rather than the kingdom he rules
•  The good news in Luke is that Jesus is the Son of God who enables God's rule to be manifested.

    

Various Interpretations

•  In all the Synoptic Gospels , the teaching on the kingdom is complex:
  •  Some scholars, such as Schweitzer, claim that Jesus was teaching that there would be an imminent coming of the kingdom
  •  Others, however, such as Dodd, support the view of realised eschatotology — that is, that the kingdom of God was already present in the person and ministry of Jesus
  •  In turn, Sanders argues that the kingdom is coming in the distant future, possibly after a Day of Judgment.
•  Jesus' teaching on the kingdom in Luke seems to support all these views.

     

The coming is close

•  Luke himself does suggest that the coming of the kingdom is close — for example, in 10:9: ‘The kingdom of God is near.' Yet he tends not to convey quite the immediacy of the other synoptic writers.
•  Luke, instead, stresses the notion of joy at the closeness of salvation, when the End will bring the fulfilment of God's plan.
•  Thus, in the parable of the pounds (19:12-27) Jesus seems to suggest to the people that there will be a period of waiting before the kingdom comes.
•  Similarly in 9:27, Luke mentions a future coming of the kingdom, linked to the judgment of God: ‘I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.'

It is here

•  However, Luke's greatest emphasis is on the rather paradoxical notion that on the one hand the kingdom is already present, yet on the other that it is coming soon.
•  How is this explained? By reference to the fact that through the teaching of Jesus, the power of the kingdom of God will be manifested: ‘… the kingdom of God is within you' (17:21). ‘But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you' (11:20).
•  This fits in with the Old Testament view that God's word brings life and change — and in the same way the word of Jesus will bring in the kingdom of God.
•  As Marshall (1984) points out: ‘ Luke associates the coming of the kingdom not only with the preaching but also with the mighty works of Jesus which are signs of the activity of God. The coming of the kingdom is firmly tied historically with the ministry of Jesus. From now on, the kingdom is at work… '
•  Luke makes considerable use of sayings in which blessings and woes are associated with the kingdom—for example in 6:20, where Jesus makes it clear that the kingdom will be for the poor.
•  In 13:30 and 14:14 Jesus suggests that those who are least on earth will be great in the kingdom.
•  Moreover, in 7:28 Jesus highlights the point that even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than the greatest person outside it.
•  This is not because of any personal qualities, but because he who is in the kingdom belongs to the time of fulfilment.
•  Similarly, those who are more interested in worldly wealth and fail to follow Jesus cannot enter the kingdom (18:25; 29).
•  The message is clear: the kingdom is relevant for humanity now — it is not something they should assume will come in the distant future (18:8), but is present in the ministry of Jesus.

Two parables of the kingdom merit particular examination: the sower and the banquet.

   

The Parable of the Sower – varying responses now

•  The parable (Luke 8:4—15) tells of a Sower sowing seeds; (a) some fall on the path and are eaten by birds, (b) some fall on rock and cannot grow properly, (c) some fall among thorns and are choked, and (d) the rest fall on good soil and produce much.
•  In those days, Sowers sowed first, then ploughed afterwards, and the parable reveals what happened to the seed before it had a chance to be ploughed into the ground.
•  (a) The seed that falls on the path is eaten by birds; (b) the seeds that fall on rock cannot find sufficient moisture in the soil; (c) whilst the seeds that fall among thorns are choked, because the thorns grow quicker than the wheat. (d) The seeds falling on the good soil produce a great harvest. 

Why Parables

•  When the disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable he tells them that he is entrusting them with ‘the secrets of the kingdom of God' (8:9).
• Morris (1988) notes: ‘Parables both reveal and conceal truth: they reveal it to the genuine seeker who will take the trouble to dig beneath the surface and discover the meaning, but they conceal it from him who is content simply to listen to the story '.
•  Nevertheless, this parable deals with the reasons why not everyone who hears the message of the kingdom of God acts upon it.
•  It can only grow if the hearer has faith and a responsive heart.
•  The seeds represent the word of God; (a) sometimes people are never bothered to hear it, or (b) people lack the depth in themselves to take it seriously. (c) Others lose faith at testing times. Yet (d) those who do hear it and accept it will benefit greatly: ‘ But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop ' (8:15).

     

The Parable of the Banquet – responding to the Invitation

•  In this parable (Luke 14:15-24) a man is holding a great banquet, the invitations are sent but the guests make excuses and do not come.
•  The man then orders his servants to invite new guests, the crippled, the blind and the lame.
•  The search for guests is extensive — not only is the city searched, but also the country lanes — God seeks everywhere for his people who come and celebrate joyfully.
•  This story highlights the fact that people will be saved and enter the kingdom by responding to God's invitation: ‘Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God' (14:15).
•  This is an image of the messianic banquet, where the righteous will eat with the Messiah.
•  The parable addresses an issue at the heart of the Gospel:
  •  the places at the banquet will not be given first to those who are just important by human standards
  •  it is the humble who will receive the seats of honour.
•  Moreover, those who share the feast will not necessarily be the ones who were first invited (the Jews);
•  if they refuse, then new guests (the Gentiles and others who were outcast from conventional Judaism) will take their place.
•  The parable ends on a sombre note: those who declined the invitation have lost their opportunity and will not get another.
•  Morris notes: ‘The story of the banquet emphasizes the truth that people are saved by responding to God's invitation, not by their own effort, whereas if they are lost it is by their own fault '.

  

     

1.2 Parables of the Lost

Introduction

•  Of all the Synoptic Gospels, Luke contains the most parables, and in chapter 15 a distinctive group, known as the parables of the lost , emphasise Luke's theme of seeking God and finding salvation.
•  Moreover, they add a fresh dimension: God does not simply wait for people to find him; he actively helps them to find him and then God's joy is highlighted as a lost sinner is found.
•  Chapter 15 begins with Jesus addressing a crowd of ‘tax collectors and sinners' (15:1) — outcasts from respectable Jewish society, either because they worked for the Romans or because they followed immoral occupations, such as prostitution, disapproved of by the Jewish religious authorities.
•  Alongside them in the crowd are the righteous Pharisees and Teachers of the Law who mutter that Jesus ‘welcomes sinners' (15:2).
•  The first two parables are brief ones, depicting people who actively seek what has been lost, emphasising the point that God does not stand passively by, but seeks out the lost.
•  There is an important point here. In traditional Jewish teaching at that time, it was accepted that God would welcome back a lost sinner.
•  However, what was revolutionary about Jesus' teaching was the notion that God would actually take the initiative and seek the lost sinner himself.

   

The parable of the lost sheep (15:3—7),

•  Jesus depicts God as a shepherd with 99 sheep which are safe in pasture and one that is lost.
•  He seeks until he finds it, and rejoices when he has done so.
•  Jesus highlights the joy of God over the return of one sinner who has repented, a joy that is even greater than his joy at the 99 who had remained safe: ‘ … there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent' (15:7).

   

The parable of the lost coin (15:8—10),

•  A woman with ten silver coins loses one.
•  This is a serious loss for her — she may be poor or the coin may come from a traditional wedding bracelet — and she sweeps the whole house until she finds it, just as God will seek out the repentant sinner, and then rejoices at its recovery.

     

The parable of the lost son (15:11—32)

•  This emphasises the nature of God's forgiving love and highlights the contrast between the repentant sinner and those who feel they are righteous.
•  In the parable, the younger of two brothers asks his father for his share of the estate.
•  This was not a common Jewish practice — under the Law the son would not usually get his share until his father had died.
•  In effect, the son was treating his father as if he were dead.
•  His father agrees and the son goes off to another country and spends all the money on riotous living.
•  Faced with a famine, he is forced to feed pigs in order to live — a distasteful job for a Jew, since the pig was regarded as an unclean creature (Leviticus 11:7).
•  He decides to return home and ask his father to give him a job as a servant.
•  Realising that he has sinned against both God and his father (18:15), he believes that he has forfeited his right to be treated as a son.
•  His father sees him and, although the son is unworthy, the father overwhelms him with his welcome — he throws his arms around him and kisses him, gets him the finest robe, puts a ring on his finger (to convey authority) and shoes on his feet (slaves went barefoot; free men wore shoes), and orders a feast of celebration.
•  The son acknowledges his sin — ‘ Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son' (15:21) — but the eldest brother is outraged. He refuses to join the celebrations and complains to his father that he has worked hard, yet has never been given a feast. The father declares his right to be joyful at the return of his younger son, saying: ‘… this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found' (15:30).
•  In this parable, the father = God ; the eldest son = outwardly righteous Jewish leaders and the youngest son = repentant sinner.
•  God welcomes the sinner back and does not accept the complaint of the righteous who refuse to share his joy.
•  Showing love to repentant sinners is not a threat to those who are already within the kingdom of God.

    

2. Theological and moral teaching

2.1 The Sermon on the Plain

General Introduction

•  The Sermon on the Plain (6:17—49) by Jesus, covers a range of important topics.
•  Jesus is speaking to a very large crowd, including his own disciples and people who have travelled from all over the country to hear him.
•  There are also many in the crowd who have come to be healed or freed from evil spirits.
•  He delivers the sermon on a ‘level place', indicating perhaps a mountainside, as this was not the term usually given to a plain.

•  The sermon breaks down into the following four sections:
  •  The blessings and woes (6:20—6)
  •  Love (6:27—36)
  •  Judging others (6:37—42)
  •  Firm foundations (6:46—9)
•  Throughout the sermon Jesus highlights what it means to be a disciple and true follower.

    

Introduction to the blessings and woes

•  The blessings are a series of statements that turn the values of the world upside down.
•  They praise the qualities the world despises and rejecting the qualities the world admires.
•  Thus, Jesus says: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God' (6:20).
•  He is referring to his disciples here.
•  He is not saying that poverty is a blessing, but that those who are blessed are those who know they are spiritually poor in the sense that they have no resources and must rely on God.
•  The rich of the world are self-reliant — they feel that they do not need God.
•  The poor in spirit know that they do.

    

The Blessings

•  Jesus goes on to offer blessings
  •  to those who are ‘hungry' (6:21) and who know that they need God in order to be satisfied,
  •  and those who ‘weep' (6:21), that is, those who see the evil in the world and weep at the suffering caused by humanity's rejection of God.
  •  and who are persecuted ‘because of the Son of Man' (6:22). Those who suffer in this way should ‘ rejoice' and ‘ leap for joy' (6:23), because they are suffering for the sake of their belief in Christ and ‘great is your reward in heaven' (6:23).

  

The Woes

•  In contrast, the woes (6:24—6) are a series of expressions, almost of regret, aimed at those who enjoy the qualities that the world approves of.
•  Thus he says
  •  ‘woe to the rich' (6:24), because those who are wealthy tend to think that they have everything they need — they rely on money rather than God. This kind of prosperity leads to inner emptiness.
  •  Jesus also offers ‘woe to you who are well fed' and who ‘laugh now' (6:25) for much the same reason. Like the rich, these people feel that they lack nothing and do not need God: they are unaware of their own spiritual need and poverty.
  •  Finally, Jesus says: ‘Woe to you when all men speak well of you' (6:26). He is suggesting here that the message of God to the world is an uncomfortable one — if people speak well of you, then perhaps you are not giving out God's true message. The word of a true believer is often unpopular.

   

Love (& doing)

•  The central theme of the Sermon is the need for love.
•  Jesus makes clear that his followers must love all people, not just those who are easy to love
•  He is speaking of agape — love not earned, but freely given because the believer chooses to
•  Jesus begins with a dramatic statement: ‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you' (6:27).
•  A believer cannot pick and choose whom to love — he or she must love all people.
•  Moreover, it is not enough just to be nice: Jesus requires that believers do good .
•  He illustrates this in the famous saying: ‘If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also' (6:29).
•  He is talking about an attitude of mind : instead of seeking revenge, the believer should accept injury and, instead of reacting in anger, offer love.
•  Thus: ‘Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you' (6:30—1).
•  Jesus requires his followers to give all they have, out of love for others, to act towards others as they hope others would act towards them.
•  In other words, following Christ is not just about thinking but about doing loving actions.
•  Christians are therefore required to have higher standards than everyone else — not just to love their friends, but to love everyone, and their reward will be great in heaven (6:35).

    

Judging others

•  Jesus' teaching is direct and simple: ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged' (6:37).
•  He is not talking about judgment in courts of law, but instead he is referring to the everyday judgments we make of others — through gossip, backstabbing and false witness.
•  If we judge others in this way, we too will be judged and, moreover, those who judge others bring the judgment of God upon themselves: ‘Forgive, and you will be forgiven' (6:37).
•  Jesus emphasises to his followers that if they lack love, they cannot guide others, for they cannot see where they are going. Lack of love and spiritual blindness will not bring people to God.
•  Disciples must ensure that they can see clearly before looking at others: ‘… first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye' (6:42).

    

Firm foundations

•  Jesus uses the illustration of a tree and its fruit to show that the good person produces good things through having a good heart (6:45) — in other words, the good we do or speak comes not from our heads, but from our hearts.
•  The sermon concludes by highlighting the importance of believers acting upon the teaching Jesus has given and giving their lives a firm foundation, so that, when judgment comes, they have built their lives on God.

  

  

2.2 Wealth and Poverty

In the teaching of Jesus the good news of the kingdom of God was for the poor and there were stern warnings to the rich about the danger of being kept outside the kingdom by their possessions . (Marshall, 1984)

A Message to the Poor

•  According to Luke, Jesus came to preach the Gospel to the poor and that seems to be of paramount importance: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor' (4:18).
•  Jesus himself is described as having been born into humble circumstances and his first visitors, the shepherds, were from the poorest classes.

    

A Message to the Rich

•  Luke emphasises throughout the Gospel the dangers of wealth.
•  In the Magnificat, Mary sings of the fact that ‘He has filled the hungry with good things, but he has sent the rich away empty' (1:53).
•  In the Sermon on the Plain , Jesus warns ‘Woe to you who are rich' (6:24) because the rich feel that they have everything, and therefore forget their spiritual need for God.
•  This theme is continued in the parable of the rich fool (12:16), in which Jesus warns against the greed and jealousy that wealth can bring.
•  Jesus is talking to a man who is angry about the inheritance his brother has been given.
•  Jesus tells him that people's lives are not measured by the amount of possessions they have (6:15)
•  In the ensuing parable he shows that what is important is not to store up money , but to be rich in spiritual matters before God: being rich does not mean that you can control your own destiny.

The parable of the shrewd manager

•  This parable (16:1—9) features a steward who has wasted his master's possessions and then dishonestly tries to cover up his negligence.
•  However, Jesus is not praising dishonesty, but is encouraging believers to be as wise with their money as non-believers are .
•  Morris (1988) observes: ‘ The sons of light are the servants of God. Well-intentioned as they are, they often lack the wisdom to use what they have as wisely as the worldly use of their possessions for their very different ends'.
•  Jesus warns the Pharisees, who ‘loved money' (16:14), that the problem with wealth is that money can itself become a god, and that ‘No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money' (16:13).

     

The rich man and Lazarus

•  In this parable (16:19-31), the rich man is shown as living only for himself — he has all he wants.
•  In contrast, the poor man, Lazarus, has nothing and is forced to eat the scraps from the rich man's table.
•  Lazarus appears to be a religious man, and when he dies he goes to Abraham's side, whilst the rich man goes to hell.
•  Yet in death, the rich man does not change his ways — he still holds on to the world's values and believes that poor Lazarus is still only fit to be his servant: ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue' (16:24).
•  Abraham points out to the rich man that he could have helped the poor when he was alive, but chose not to do so.
•  Now, worldly values no longer apply and there can be no crossing of the ‘great chasm' (16:26) that is between them.
•  Even then, the rich man remains self-centred, asking Abraham not to help the poor, but to help the man's brothers.
•  Abraham's reply is that the brothers have all the help they need in the scriptures.
•  In other words, the rich man is in the state he is, not because he had money, but because the attitude to life that money had given him prevented him from accepting the truth of the scriptures.
•  This is the real warning to the wealthy.

   

God's grace & the rich young ruler

•  This theme is highlighted clearly in Jesus' conversation with the rich young ruler (18:18-27), where the rich man is convinced of his own goodness through obedience to the Law, yet still wants to possess eternal life.
•  The rich man is too satisfied with himself and has not truly reflected on what God's goodness means and how far short of God's standards he has fallen.
•  So Jesus issues him with a challenge of faith — to give away all his wealth.
•  If the man had truly understood the laws of God, he would have known that he could not have kept and worshipped his money, as he did, for he had not given God first place in his life.
•  The man became ‘very sad' (18:23) and was unable to rise to the challenge, prompting Jesus' famous saying: ‘Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God' (18:25).
•  Jesus makes it clear that there are no advantages in being rich when it comes to salvation — salvation is God's gift, given through divine grace: ‘“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life ”' (18:29—30).

   

God's grace & Zacchaeus

•  The grace of God is clearly shown in the incident with Zacchaeus, another rich man, but this time one who has understood that his money will not bring him fulfilment.
•  He realises his foolishness and returns his property to the poor and receives salvation (19:9).

   

God's grace & the Widow's Offering

•  This message is reinforced in the incident of the widow's offering (21:1—4), where Jesus praises the poor widow for giving all she has, rather than the rich who, although they gave more money, did not make so great a sacrifice.
•  Marshall (1984) points out, however, that Luke is not just referring to financial wealth: ‘ The teaching about wealth and poverty must be set in its context. We have already seen that the ‘poor' to whom the gospel is preached are those who are needy and dependent on God. By the same token, the ‘rich” are those who are self-satisfied and feel no need of God' .

    

     

2.3 Prayer and Praise

Prayer - Introduction

•  Luke highlights the importance to believers of having the right attitude towards God and stresses the vital significance of prayer in this relationship.
•  He does this by recording the prayers of Jesus (including seven prayers that are not mentioned anywhere else) and by explicating Jesus' teaching on prayer through the parables.
•  Jesus is first recorded as praying at his baptism (3:21)
•  Luke later highlights the importance of prayer in Jesus' own life — he prays in ‘lonely places' (5:16), spends the whole night praying to God (6:12) and prays in private (9:18).
•  Jesus also praises God for what has been done and he is said to be ‘full of joy' : ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children' (10:21).
•  Luke shows Jesus teaching the disciples to pray and links prayer closely with the notion of praise — that through salvation and forgiveness humanity is reconciled to God, producing joy and praise.
•  In 11:1—13, the teaching on prayer reaches its climax with the giving of the Lord's Prayer . Jesus gives it to his followers after one of them asks for his guidance on how to pray. As a prayer, it has a pattern which is the model for all prayer:

   

The Pattern of the Lord's Prayer

• It begins with ‘ Father' (11:2), encouraging believers to think of God in a personal and loving way.

• ‘ Hallowed be your name' (11:2) means ‘holy' and reminds the people that they should have proper reverence for God.

• ‘ Your kingdom come' (11:2) looks forward to the coming of the kingdom of God and the fulfilment of God's will.

• The prayer then contains a petition that God will provide for everyday needs. ‘ Give us each day our daily bread' (11:3) is a request for continual help, for the believer lives in continual dependence on God's love and mercy.

• ‘ Forgive us our sins' (11:4) is followed by the assertion that the believers will, in turn, forgive those who have sinned against them. Just as God will forgive, so believers should also forgive.

• ‘ And lead us not into temptation' (11:3) allows believers to recognise that they are weak and that they need to ask for God's help to be kept free from the temptation to sin.

Persistence in Prayer

•  Jesus then goes on to highlight the need for meaningful and persistent prayer.
•  In the parable of the friend at midnight (11:5—8), a man continually asks his friend for bread.
•  The friend refuses, but the man keeps on asking until eventually the friend, impressed by the man's sincerity and persistence, grants his request.
•  The meaning of the parable is made clear by Morris (1988): We must not play at prayer, but must show persistence if we do not receive the answer immediately. It is not that God is unwilling and must be pressed into answering. The whole context makes it clear that he is eager to give. But if we do not want what we are asking for enough to be persistent we do not want it very much.
•  Jesus then goes on to tell his followers: ‘ Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you' (11:9).
•  By this he is saying that, whilst God is very willing to give, it is important that people do their part by asking.
•  He is not saying that all prayer will be granted immediately or in the way the believer hopes.
•  He is saying that God hears all true prayers and they are always answered in the way God sees best .

    

The Persistent Widow

•  This is shown in the parable of the persistent widow (18:1—8) (sometimes called the parable of the unjust judge), which teaches that believers should not be discouraged if they see no answer to their prayers — they should pray on and not lose heart.

     

Praying with a right spirit

•  Similarly, in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (18:9—14) Jesus shows the importance of praying with the right spirit.
•  Here, although the Pharisee appears to lead a righteous life, the spirit of his prayer is wrong:
  •  He has no sense of his own sin or dependence on God
  •  His prayer is full of praise for himself, not God.
•  The tax collector , in contrast, has the right spirit:
  •  He knows he is unworthy and is full of sorrow.
  •  He knows he is utterly dependent on God and asks for God's forgiveness: ‘ God have mercy on me, a sinner' (18:13).
•  God accepts his prayer and his sins are forgiven — he has humbled himself and as a result will find God's mercy.

Prayer in time of crisis.

i) Peter

•  In 22:31 he says that he has prayed for Peter, that he will have a strong faith and be able to strengthen his comrades.

ii) On the mount of Olives

•  In 22:41 Jesus prays alone on the Mount of Olives after first telling his disciples to pray for themselves that they ‘will not fall into temptation' (22:40).
•  At that time, Jewish custom was to pray standing up, with the eyes looking to heaven.
•  However, at this time of great crisis, Jesus kneels down — his prayer is a reflection of his fear at the death that lies before him.
•  His prayer is unique, for he asks God, if he is willing, to ‘take this cup from me' (22:42).
•  The cup is an Old Testament symbol of suffering and the wrath of God (Psalm 11:6; Ezekiel 23:33).
•  Yet Jesus' focus remains on the Father; he is obedient to his will and he goes on to pray that God's divine plan will be fulfilled: ‘ … yet not my will, but yours be done' (22:42).

iii) At the Cross

•  Finally, at the point of death , just as he had taught his followers to do in the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus prays for his enemies: ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing' (23:34).

   

Praise - Introduction

•  Praising God is seen in Luke to come as an automatic response from people experiencing the good news of salvation and forgiveness— for the effect of this is to feel joy towards God and the knowledge that, through God's grace, the person has been saved : ‘… rejoice that your names are written in heaven' ( 10:20); ‘I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents' (15:10).
•  Elsewhere, Luke uses praise as an expression of joy in the glory of God — for example, in the birth narratives, where the angels fill the skies, praising God (2:13—14).
•  There is also praise as a result of seeing the works of God — for example, at the healing of the paralysed man (5:26) and the raising of the widow's son (7:16).
•  Moreover, the people praise God when Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (19:37) and Luke even shows the centurion praising God as he witnesses the death of Jesus on the cross (23:47).

•  Perhaps the most well-known examples of praise are the great hymns in the birth narrative:

    

Mary's praise

•  The song of Mary, known as the Magnificat (1:46—55), is a song of praise in Old Testament language, modelled on Hannah's song in 1 Samuel 2:1 ff.
•  It is an appreciation of the mercy of God, his holiness, his power and his mercy in forgiveness.
•  It goes on to look forward to what God will do and his fulfilment of the promises made to his people: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour' (1:46—7).

Zechariah's praise

•  Zechariah's song, or the Benedictus (1:67—79), is a song of thanksgiving for the coming of the Messiah and the deliverance from sin and the hope of salvation.
•  Like the Magnificat, it uses Old Testament imagery and emphasises the fulfilment of God's divine plan for his people and the forgiveness of sins: ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people' (1:68).

   

Simeon's Praise

•  Finally, Simeon's song, the Nunc Dimittis (2:29-32) is a hymn of praise for the salvation of Israel.
•  Simeon expresses his desire to die contentedly for he has seen, in the infant Jesus, God's salvation for all people — God's plan will be fully realised: ‘For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people' (2:30—1).

     

Rejoicing

•  The word ‘rejoice' occurs more times in Luke than in any other book in the New Testament, and the Gospel itself ends on a note of praise, where, following the return of the risen Jesus to heaven, the Apostles are filled with great joy: ‘ And they stayed continually at the Temple, praising God' (24:53).
• As Morris (1988) notes: ‘Luke has written with a profoundly thoelogical purpose. He sees God at work bringing salvation and he enjoys bringing out a variety of aspects of this saving work'. 

2.4 Discipleship

NB. We have removed this section as it is a virtual cut-down repeat of Paper 6, “Jesus & Discipleship

    

2.5 Salvation

Introduction

•  The concept of salvation is more prominent in Luke than in the other Synoptic Gospels.
•  The word 'salvation' comes from the Greek verb sozo, which means 'to make safe or well'.
•  Luke suggests that humanity needs to be saved from the power of sin, which has separated humanity from God.
•  This is achieved through the saving power of Jesus on the cross.
•  Luke's concept of salvation is based on the O.T. notion of the action of God, which saves his people.
•  This was understood by the Old Testament writers as the concept of salvation history — God acting in thelives of his people and the nations of the world to bring about his purposes and lead his covenanted people into a special relationship with him.
•  Luke sees the events of the Gospel and Acts in this light — they are the next stage in the working out of God's salvific plans and promises. This is clear from the very start of the Gospel.

   

Salvation Declared

•  In the Magnificat, Mary refers to ‘ God my saviour' (1:47) and highlights the saving power of God through his actions and the fulfilment of his promises.
•  Moreover, even the name Jesus means ‘God saves'.
•  In the Benedictus, Zechariah recognises God's saving power and that he has ‘ … raised up a horn of salvation for us ' (1:69).
•  This salvation will come from the house of David — highlighting the hope of a Davidic Messiah who would save his people from their enemies.
•  Later, the angel tells the shepherds of the birth of Jesus with the words: ‘Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord' ( 2:11).
•  Luke highlights the fact that salvation is available to all people, not just the Jews.

•  In the Nunc Dimittis , Simeon declares: For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel. (2:30-2)

   

Salvation for all… who will receive it

•  Luke also suggests that God's salvation made manifest through Jesus is for the Samaritans (9:51) and lepers (17:16) — usually sidelined by the righteous Jew — and his ‘great commission' to his disciples is to preach to all nations (24:47).
•  However, not all will be saved, for, although the good news is offered to everyone, people must actually choose for themselves whether or not to accept it, as the parable of the sower suggests: ‘But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop' (8:15).

Salvation follows repentance

•  Salvation requires repentance — a change of heart and attitude.
•  John the Baptist (3:3) and Jesus both preach that people must repent in preparation for salvation and the coming of the kingdom: ‘But unless you repent you too will all perish' (13:3).
•  For Luke, the world is corrupt and under the control of the forces of evil (11:18).
•  He suggests that salvation will come because Jesus has ultimate authority and power over evil: ‘I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God' (12:8).
•  Salvation is the offer of eternal life and freedom from sin — it is the opposite of death.

•  Luke speaks of Jesus coming to ‘ seek and to save what was lost' (19:10) and shows Jesus as the culmination of God's history of salvation for his people.
•  As Marshall (1984) suggests ‘ the idea of salvation supplies the key to the theology of Luke'.

   

    

2.6 Eschatology

Introduction

•  Eschatology is the study of things of the end and, in particular, the concept of Christ's Second Coming , or his parousia .
•  He will return bringing with him judgment and the end of things as they presently are.
•  In Luke, the emphasis is on
  •  the supremacy of God over the world and
  •  of God as the ultimate source of salvation.
•  Throughout the Gospel, Luke paints an eschatological picture — God controls events in accordance with his divine plan .

Jesus the bringer of salvation

•  In turn, the life of Christ is seen in the same eschatological way: Jesus is depicted as the fulfilment of the Old Testament scriptures and the centrepiece of God's plan of salvation .
•  In Luke 4:7—21, Jesus tells the people that the Old Testament scriptures are fulfilled.
•  The prophet Isaiah has already foretold his work.
•  Jesus will fulfil that prophecy when he preaches ‘good news to the poor' (4:18), gives ‘recovery of sight for the blind' (4:18), and releases ‘the oppressed ' (4:18).
•  Christ is the summit of God's plan — and the eschatological message is shown in 18:31: ‘ … everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled' .

   

The Second Coming

•  In terms of the Second Coming of Christ , Luke seems to present a somewhat contrary picture, with two differing strands of thought.
•  On the one hand, there are references to the possibility that Jesus will return quickly and unexpectedly and that believers must be prepared at all times: ‘You must also be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him' (12:40) and ‘The Kingdom of God is near you' (10:9).
•  On the other hand , there are references suggesting that the coming of Christ will be in great glory at a future date: ‘The Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky' (17:24); ‘There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars… on the earth, nations will be in anguish' (21:25); ‘At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory ' (21:27).
•  Ernst Kasëmann (1964) suggested that Luke foresaw a future coming because ‘ You do not write the history of the Church if you are expecting the end of the world to come any day ' .
•  Luke does emphasise the notion that the coming of the last days will be a time of joy and salvation.
•  Morris (1988) writes: ‘ … he looks for the coming of the End when the salvation of which he writes will reach its consummation ' .
•  For Luke, the eschatological message was summed up at the very end of the Gospel: ‘ Then he opened their minds so that they could understand the scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations ”' (24:45—6).