262 Luke's Liberation from Racism Part 1

In this episode we take a close look at the Gospel of Luke. He is the only writer of the gospels that is a Gentile and as a result he includes many stories that are not included in the other gospel accounts. Evidentially they are still rather racist in their perspective and so it becomes the role of Matthew to include all these other stories that would otherwise have been lost had it not been for the Gospel of Luke. As a Gentile he wants the Gentiles to know that Jesus was including them in the kingdom as well. It also speaks well of God to use the other writers inspire of their prejudice to also write their accounts of the life and death of Jesus.

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SHOW NOTES

The Gospel of Luke: Liberation from Racism and Misogyny Part 1

Luke has the best Greek in the New Testament. He is highly educated, well-travelled, well connected, and extremely widely read and as a result an excellent writer. Donald Guthrie claims, “Luke is full of superb stories and leaves the reader with a deep impression of the personality and teachings of Jesus."

“Luke is uniquely characterized by its polished literary style, extensive historical context, and universal message. Unlike the other Gospels, Luke was written by a Gentile convert who structured his account as a chronological, two-volume historical work, pairing his Gospel directly with the Acts of the Apostles.” (AI)

Luke wrote as much of the New Testament as Paul in his two books. “Luke isn’t only influential by the quantity of his writing, but by its non-racial content. Matthew contains a temporary injunction by Jesus against going to the Samaritans (10:5). Mark makes no mention of Samaritans. John only mentions the Samaritan Women in chapter 4. (AI)

Luke’s gospel has some distinct approaches.

“The Historian's Approach: Luke explicitly states in his Gospel Preface that he compiled his account by investigating eyewitness reports. He anchors Jesus' life to exact Roman and regional rulers, providing a much firmer historical timeline. (AI)

“Emphasis on the Marginalized: Luke includes stories and parables specifically highlighting outcasts, the poor, Samaritans, and women. Nearly half of Luke's material, including the Parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, is completely absent from the other Gospels. (AI)

“A Focus on Prayer and Joy: Jesus is portrayed praying more frequently in Luke than in any other Gospel account, and the narrative begins and ends in the Temple with themes of immense joy and praise.” (AI)

The evidence for Luke being a Gentile

Colossians 4:7-15 NLT Tychicus will give you a full report about how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper who serves with me in the Lord’s work. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. 9 I am also sending Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, one of your own people. He and Tychicus will tell you everything that’s happening here.

10 Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greetings, and so does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin. As you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way. 11 Jesus (the one we call Justus) also sends his greetings. These are the only Jewish believers among my co- workers; they are working with me here for the Kingdom of God. And what a comfort they have been!

After mentioning Jews who were with him Paul gives attention to the 3 Gentile converts who are also with him.

12 Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fullyconfident that you are following the whole will of God. 13 I can assure you that he prays hard for you and also for the believers in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

14 Luke, the beloved doctor, sends his greetings, and so does Demas. 15 Please give my greetings to our brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church that met in her house.

As we have already noticed Luke’s gospel includes incidents that the Jewish gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and John, left out of their accounts. This demonstrates that while the Jewish writers wrote their gospels under inspiration their characters were not instantly perfected through this inspiration. They retained their antipathy towards Samaritans and Gentiles. Apparently moral perfection is not included in the gift of inspiration to record words which later became recognized as part of the Bible. Of

course this observation is not new. Moses lost his temper at the end of his long life of following God’s leading which included writing of the first five books of the Bible. Elijah, the powerful reformer of Israel, lost his faith in God’s protection and ran from Jezebel. Paul will confront Peter over his refusal to eat with Gentiles when Jews arrived (Galatians 2).

Parables, incidents and the gospel writers.

Matthew has 12 unique parables in his gospel.

Mark has 1 unique parable in his gospel.

Luke has 15 parables which are unique to his gospel.

John has no parables. He does have signs which are miracles which point to Jesus’ divinity. The most impressive of these is the Raising of Lazarus.

Here are many of Luke’s unique additions to the gospel story.

1. Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham (1:1-17) the first Jew. Luke traces it back to Adam, the first generic man (3:23-38). In this way Luke makes God the father of all people and by implication salvation is then available to all people.

2. Matthew 13:55-57 and Mark 6:1-6 state the reason the Nazarenes could not believe Jesus’ miracles was because they had grown up with him but this is a superficial reason. Only Luke explains in detail why the Nazarenes wanted to execute Jesus. It was because Jesus stated that God loved Gentiles (4:25-27) as much as he loved Jews.

3. When Jesus sends out the 12 disciples Matthew restricts their ministry to the Jews (10:5-6). Luke has no restrictions. They are sent to all (9:2).

4. James and John are rebuked for wanting to call down fire on the inhospitable Samaritans (Luke 9:51- 56). They are not using the confrontation on Mount Carmel but the supernatural execution of 100 soldiers sent to arrest Elijah (2 Kings 1). Jesus points out to James and John they are unaware of the spirit that is driving them in this desire.

5. The Good Samaritan—Three Jewish leaders passed by a neglected, wounded Jew on the roadside. It was a despised Gentile who attended to him (Luke 10:25-37). This was a shocking indictment for the Jews. A despised Gentile was kinder than they were to one of their own.