Background to Luke's Gospel

Background to Luke's Gospel

1. Sources for Luke

   • L= Luke's own writtings
     • The Call of the Disciples, The Sinful Woman, Martha & Mary, The Widow of Nain, The Parable of the Good Samaritan, The Parable of the Persistent Neighbour, The Parable of the Lost Son, The Parable of the Rich Man & Lazarus, The Parable of the Pharisee & the Tax Collector
     • More than 1/3 of Luke's Gospel is L material
   • M = Mark's Gospel
     • Written first 
     • Almost all of Mark's Gospel is in Luke, just with more detail
     • Mark used Peter as one of his main sources
   • Q = Quelle
     • German word for "source"
     • Writings and oral traditions of Jesus' sayings and preachings which circulated around the Early Church

2. Who was Luke?

   • Almost certainly a Gentile
     • May have been Greek
       • The Greek he wrote in is more advanced than that of Mathew or Mark
   • Earliest tradition says he was a physician who accompainied St. Paul on his missionary
     • "beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14) "fellow worker" of Paul (Philemon 24) "with Paul" whilst he was awaiting trial (2 Timothy 4:11)
     • From the end of the 2nd Century
   • Later traditions say he was a painter who died childless and unmarried at the age of 84
   • Thought to have written Acts of the Apostles
     • Continues the story, starting with Jesus' ascension to Heaven
     • "In my former book"

3. Introduction to Luke

   • Theophilus
     • Greek for "lover of God"
     • May be for an individual or larger audience
     • "Most Excellent"
   • Luke does not name himself in the introduction
   • Wants to write an "orderly account" of Jesus' life
   • Writing around 80 CE

4. Jesus Preaches at Nazareth/ Isiah Reference

   • As Jesus read the prophecy, the charcteristics of the Messiah and his actions were identified
     • He will be annointed by the spirit of the Lord
       • Refers to the Baptism important theme in Luke Messiah = annointed one
     • He will preach good news to the poor
     • He will proclaim release to captives
     • He will give sight to the blind
     • He will free those who are oppressed
     • He will proclaim the year of the Lord
       • The Old Testament teaches that every 49 years, in Israel, there would be a Jubilee year in which 4 things would happen
         • Slaves would be freed
         • Debts would be wiped out
         • Property would return to its original owner
         • The land would become very fertile
         • People lived in hope of these things happening
   • Isiah's prophecy
     • Jesus was certain that this prophecy related to him. He thought it was his role to fulfil this prophecy
       • "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing"
       • He had been baptised and felt that he was definetly being called by God after his period in the desert
     • It was normal for the Synagogue leaders to invite people to read, it was Jesus' interpretation and the people's reaction that was odd
     • At this point in Jesus' life he was still working alone

5. Jesus is rejected at Nazareth

   • The Reaction of the Crowd
     • It was prophesied in the Old Testament that the Messiah would be rejected
     • The crowd questioned whether this was "Joseph's son and not someone special
     • They demanded that Jesus perform a miracle as he had in Capernaum, Jesus was building a reputation and the crowd knew this
     • Eventually the crowd got so angry they tried to throw Jesus down a cliff. The text says that Jesus "walked through the crowd", this is a mysterious comment but indicative of Jesus' power.
   • Elijah & Elishah
     • Both prophets had experienced rejection from the Israelites
     • Told people what God expected of them
     • Both performed miracles with Gentiles
     • Early sign that Jesus had not just come for the Jews
   • The important thing is that Jesus was rejected in Nazareth, just as the prophets had said he would be
     • Isiah 53

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