Luke 24:44-49
He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their scriptures this way. He said, “You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You’re the first to hear and see it. You’re the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high.”
Well, here we are. We’ve had a few gaps in our summer and it has taken longer than I thought it would, but we have made it through our intensive study of the four Gospels – reading and studying them in the order in which New Testament scholar Marcus Borg suggests they were originally written down: Mark, Matthew, John and – finally – Luke.
I have a couple of thoughts on Luke just to wrap up and then I want to hear from you what you think about this experiment we’ve conducted this summer. What, if anything, have you learned by dealing with these writings in the order in which they came into being and began to pass around the newly emerging Christian world? Does Borg’s thesis make sense to you? How has it helped your understanding of the Bible – or has it?
But first a few odds and ends we haven’t covered. One thing I haven’t mentioned yet that Borg brings out is Luke’s emphasis on the Spirit – in this gospel it is made clear that Jesus’ ministry is facilitated by the workings of Spirit in this world. Jesus in conceived by the Spirit, and then the Spirit descends on him at his baptism, after which he returned from the Jordan, filled with the Spirit, to withstand the temptation in the wilderness. Throughout his ministry he makes the claim that he is guided by the Spirit – he is doing the Spirit’s will.
The other gospels – especially John -- refer to the Spirit, of course, but just for fun I checked out my NRSV Concordance and found that the word “Spirit” occurs almost twice as often in Luke’s gospel as in any of the other three. Jesus’ first public words of ministry are “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor...” and as he was dying on the cross, his last words were into your hand I commend my spirit.
The book of Acts, which as we know is simply a continuation – Chapter Two – of Luke’s Jesus story, begins with the grandest of all Spirit stories – the wide-scale over-taking of the Spirit on the believers at Pentecost.
Another important point to recognize in Luke’s gospel is his inclusivity. We talked last time about Luke’s social justice emphasis and his inclusion of all the peoples that orthodox Judaism had excluded: those in certain “unclean” professions, such as those shepherds who were so prominent at Jesus’ birth; the poor and property-less, who rarely count in any culture; women, represented by the many strong and important women in this gospel; and finally, Gentiles – the ultimate outsiders.
All the way back when the infant Jesus was presented in the Temple, the Elder Simeon rejoiced that he had lived long enough for his eyes to have seen God’s salvation, “which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for the glory of your people Israel.”
One last comparison: Both Matthew and Luke recount the parable of the Great Feast. Matthew’s version is, as we have seen throughout that gospel, directed at “the Jews” and this version ends with an emphasis on anger and punishment against those who were initially invited but refused to attend the feast properly dressed and in celebratory mode. Luke’s version, on the other hand, does say that those who were invited are now out of luck, but here the emphasis is on going out and inviting everyone in. Matthew’s retelling of the story is a cautionary tale. Luke’s is a worldwide invitation.
To quote Borg one final time (for this season) – speaking of Luke: “The author [Luke] proclaims in both volumes [Luke & Acts] that the inclusion of Gentiles as well as Jews in the Jesus movement was divinely and providentially ordained from the beginning of Jesus’s life. It was neither an accident nor a mistake.”
If you would be interested I would like – probably next summer – to take this same approach and look into Paul’s letters – and we’ll find out quite a lot there about the troubles that trying to include those Gentiles could lead to.
Now … let’s hear your thoughts …
I have a couple of thoughts on Luke just to wrap up and then I want to hear from you what you think about this experiment we’ve conducted this summer. What, if anything, have you learned by dealing with these writings in the order in which they came into being and began to pass around the newly emerging Christian world? Does Borg’s thesis make sense to you? How has it helped your understanding of the Bible – or has it?
But first a few odds and ends we haven’t covered. One thing I haven’t mentioned yet that Borg brings out is Luke’s emphasis on the Spirit – in this gospel it is made clear that Jesus’ ministry is facilitated by the workings of Spirit in this world. Jesus in conceived by the Spirit, and then the Spirit descends on him at his baptism, after which he returned from the Jordan, filled with the Spirit, to withstand the temptation in the wilderness. Throughout his ministry he makes the claim that he is guided by the Spirit – he is doing the Spirit’s will.
The other gospels – especially John -- refer to the Spirit, of course, but just for fun I checked out my NRSV Concordance and found that the word “Spirit” occurs almost twice as often in Luke’s gospel as in any of the other three. Jesus’ first public words of ministry are “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor...” and as he was dying on the cross, his last words were into your hand I commend my spirit.
The book of Acts, which as we know is simply a continuation – Chapter Two – of Luke’s Jesus story, begins with the grandest of all Spirit stories – the wide-scale over-taking of the Spirit on the believers at Pentecost.
Another important point to recognize in Luke’s gospel is his inclusivity. We talked last time about Luke’s social justice emphasis and his inclusion of all the peoples that orthodox Judaism had excluded: those in certain “unclean” professions, such as those shepherds who were so prominent at Jesus’ birth; the poor and property-less, who rarely count in any culture; women, represented by the many strong and important women in this gospel; and finally, Gentiles – the ultimate outsiders.
All the way back when the infant Jesus was presented in the Temple, the Elder Simeon rejoiced that he had lived long enough for his eyes to have seen God’s salvation, “which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for the glory of your people Israel.”
One last comparison: Both Matthew and Luke recount the parable of the Great Feast. Matthew’s version is, as we have seen throughout that gospel, directed at “the Jews” and this version ends with an emphasis on anger and punishment against those who were initially invited but refused to attend the feast properly dressed and in celebratory mode. Luke’s version, on the other hand, does say that those who were invited are now out of luck, but here the emphasis is on going out and inviting everyone in. Matthew’s retelling of the story is a cautionary tale. Luke’s is a worldwide invitation.
To quote Borg one final time (for this season) – speaking of Luke: “The author [Luke] proclaims in both volumes [Luke & Acts] that the inclusion of Gentiles as well as Jews in the Jesus movement was divinely and providentially ordained from the beginning of Jesus’s life. It was neither an accident nor a mistake.”
If you would be interested I would like – probably next summer – to take this same approach and look into Paul’s letters – and we’ll find out quite a lot there about the troubles that trying to include those Gentiles could lead to.
Now … let’s hear your thoughts …
Some thoughts on our discussion:
Yes, the congregation enjoyed this learning experience this summer. This is a group of people who truly enjoy growing and stretching their understanding. We have all been captured by trying to "think ourselves" into the time and place for which and from which each gospel took shape.
It was a challenge to try to "be" in a time when all the teachings and parables we so take for granted were not yet written down anywhere and so, were not necessarily known by all Christ followers -- yet.
And Yes, we are definitely a 'go' on studying Paul's letters next summer -- especially now that we have learned to try to be aware of just why this piece was written as it was and just exactly for whom was it written?
We would unanimously recommend this study to any other church that likes to grow and explore in their faith.
RSS Feed