The Four Gospels: Luke

Introduction to The Gospel of Luke

Why is the Gospel of Luke unique?

- writer was a doctor

- writer was Greek (probably not Jewish)

- he didn’t know Jesus personally

- might have been writing to one person – to Theophilus, (means “Lover of God”)

Luke tries to show how Christianity is not a threat to the Roman Empire.

The Gospel of Luke is the first part of a two-part volume (second part is Acts)

Note that Acts 1:1 refers to the gospel as a book about “all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” It is important to remember that Jesus’ spirit – the Holy Spirit – is here with us right now.

Luke probably written to

- God-fearing gentiles (non-Jews who worshiped God)

- Diaspora Jews (Jews not living in Palestine)

- Gentile Christians with no synagogue background

The Four Gospels: Matthew

The Gospel of Matthew - Main points:

- The Gospel of Matthew emphasizes forgiveness.

- It was likely written during a situation of conflict between Jewish Christians and Non-Christian Jews.

- This gospel was most likely written mainly for a Jewish audience, but Matthew also makes the point that Jesus is called to be a “light to the Gentiles.”

- Matthew makes frequent reference to the fulfillment of [Old Testament] scriptures, and the structure of the book echoes the Torah and the Exodus story.

- In Matthew’s parables, there is an emphasis on Eschatology (the end times) and Ethics.

Famous quotes from our esteemed teacher: “The closer you get to the white board, the lower your intelligence gets.”

Details from our esteemed teacher: can be obtained by e-mailing me at c3sunday@gmail.com

We also started an overview of Luke, which will be posted in the next blog post.

On the Authority of Scripture

A quick note on the authority of scripture

If Jon talked about this in class, I missed it, but it was in his notes and I found it important and interesting.

• If Jesus Christ is who the texts claim him to be, then these texts receive their authority from Jesus Christ , and not the other way around… we believe these texts because of Jesus Christ , it is not that we believe in Jesus because we believe in these texts.

• If Jesus Christ is who he is, we believe in texts that speak about him because of his authority; we donʼt believe in his authority because we believe in these texts.

• People debate the authority of scripture because thatʼs the base we get for the authority of Jesus - if we get a low authority of scripture youʼll get a low authority of Jesus… this is why we have apologetics.

• The real authority in this line is not with Jesus but with the text, and based upon our arguments for its reliability.

• But if Jesus Christ is God incarnate, Jesus Christʼs authority is not derived from the texts, but from himself - and the texts have authority because of Jesus Christʼs authority.

• If we rely on the authority of the texts to found the authority of Jesus Christ , then our faith can easily be shaken based on new arguments against scripture.

• However, if we give Jesus Christ authority, then we see the texts as the means by which Jesus Christ is giving access to himself and witness to himself.

The Four Gospels: Mark

Mark 1:1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God

The word gospel is euangelion in Greek. In the Roman world, this word was used when Roman troops occupied a territory. The Romans would say the “Good News” is that “Caesar is your Lord” now. Mark flips that meaning – it’s about the good news that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The Passion of Christ occupies 1/3 to ½ of the gospel of Mark.

Mark focuses on “The Messianic Secret” – that Jesus did not want people to tell anyone about him. For instance, look at Mark 1:34 He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

And Mark 1:43-44 Jesus sent [the healed leper] away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone....

Mark brings the reader into the dilemma of Jesus’ followers trying to figure out who Jesus is. Note that the Jewish image of Messiah at that time was a ruling, kingly, military person who would throw off Roman rule. In the second half of Mark we find out this Messiah is not like that.

Mark 8:27-38 is the “hinge” point. Peter says, “You are the Christ.” The next part of Mark is devoted to what that means. Jesus joins together two portrayals of the Messiah: the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53) with the Son of Man (Daniel 7).

The Messianic Secret primarily appears before the “hinge” in Chapter 8. Perhaps Jesus asks them not to tell anyone because Jesus knows they don’t really understand, yet, who he is. Maybe it was important for Jesus’ closest friends to truly know who Jesus is before those on the periphery understand. Huge lesson for us: we do not understand who Jesus is instantaneously – we need to study, struggle with it, pray, etc.

Let’s look at two parables in Mark, on either side of the “hinge” in Chapter 8.

Chap 4: Parable of the Sower

Chap 12: Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Mark gives the sense that you have to be on the inside of Jesus’ circle. The mystery of the parable is revealed if you spend time with Jesus, if you invite God to help you interpret.

Comparing the two Parables:

They have a lot in common:

- Both have Old Testament references.

- Both show the rejection of Jesus by religious authorities.

- Both have an authority figure.

- Regular folks would understand these agricultural pictures. Most of the listeners were probably sharecroppers who were heavily taxed.

- Patience of the key figure (the sower; the owner of the vineyard)

- Both reflect Jesus’ thoughts on the status of his ministry

Differences:

1. The Sower: the disciples did not understand it and had to have it explained to them whereas with the Parable of the Wicked Tenants – the disciples understood it.

2. Jon mentioned another difference, but I didn’t get it.

In Mark, we see a progression from not understanding who Jesus is (through Chapter 8, the hinge) to understanding who Jesus is and exploring that further.

The Four Gospels: an overview

January 9: An Overview of the Four Gospels, taught by Jon Draskovic

There was one Jesus. Why do we have four different gospels?

- there were four different writers

- different perspectives

- different communities written to

Timeline

Jesus was born in about 6 BC and by 100 AD all of scripture has been written.

6 to 4 BC Jesus Christ born

33 AD Jesus died, resurrected, ascended

(soon after) Paul converted on Road to Damascus

40 to 60 Paul’s missionary journeys; Paul’s letters written

65-68 AD Probably when Mark’s gospel written

70 Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem

100 All of scripture has been written

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are the three “synoptic gospels” – all three have mostly the same materials. Scholars think there was another source, called “Q”, which doesn’t exist any more (there are agreements between Matthew and Luke that aren’t in Mark).

The Gospel of John has 73% different content than the other 3 gospels. John’s community was probably had more time to think about the theology concerning Jesus.

Note that the gospel writers were interpreting the history of Jesus’ life and resurrection for their particular community: some things that would have been obvious to that community remain unstated.

Why not combine the four into one? In the year 170 an early Christian created one gospel out of the four. What do we think of that effort?

- an attractive idea.

- in fact, that is what the church does – the church fathers meld the stories into one because it’s more teachable, even though there are conflicts and paradoxes in the different accounts (example, during Advent, the Christmas stories from Mt and Luke are melded together).

- we should keep the different accounts because we keep each writer’s unique perspective.

- having four gospels respects the complexity of being human.

Are there conflicts between the gospels? Yes. For example:

- John vs Luke – did Jesus pre-exist his birth?

- Matt and Luke: genealogies are different.

- John vs. synoptic gospels: the timing of Passover/Passion events are different.

There are differences between the gospel accounts which we can’t reconcile.

There are also agreements between the gospels:

Matthew, Mark, Luke all have the same story (the “Triple Tradition”)

“Double tradition – same story in Mt and Luke, or in Mark & Mt.

Sometimes we see the same teaching in different settings, e.g. Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” vs Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain”

Underlying all this is our belief that God (through the Holy Spirit) inspired these writings.

Specifics on the Gospel of Mark

- the first gospel (the shortest, with fewer stories told in greater length).

- uses elementary grammatical constructs.

- written in “Koine Greek”, the language of ordinary citizens.

- focus on Jesus’ limitations of power, Jesus’ fear of the cross adds credibility.

- he was possibly writing to the Christian community at Rome.

- Mark’s community was probably being persecuted. See Mark 8:34-35. And 10:29-30.