272 Luke and Jesus' Death

As we continue in our look at Salvation in the Gospel of Luke we focus on Luke and Jesus' Death. Does he attribute it to God as the initiator of this event? In looking at the passages where Jesus tells them He would die there is no hint that it was at the hand of God. Plus Luke's statements about Jesus death in the gospel and the book of Acts all place the responsibility for His death upon the people not God. When asked for a sign authorizing his authority to forgive sins Jesus did not point to the animal sacrifices or his own death but to the "sign of Jonah." We take a close look at the similarities between Jesus and Jonah.

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SHOW NOTES

Jesus' Death according to Luke is not regarded as a “ransom” or a “sacrifice.”

In Luke Jesus foretells His death in several passages. However, he never associates Jesus’ death with a “ransom” as Matthew (20:28) and Mark (10:45) do. While Matthew states that the blood of Jesus is linked to the forgiveness of sins

Matthew 26:28 NIV This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many

for the forgiveness of sins.

Luke does not make this linkage

Luke 22:20 NIV In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup

is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

Some quote Paul’s sermon in Acts to suggest that Luke propagated the necessity of the

cross to forgive sin but he is quoting Paul not Jesus.

Acts 20:28 NIV Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has

made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own

blood.

This does not mean that Luke does not believe the cross was an essential part of the

salvation accomplished by Jesus. Luke seems rather to emphasize that Jesus forgave sin

unilaterally prior to his death. Salvation for Luke was happening, including the forgiveness

of sin, all through the ministry of Jesus.

While Matthew and Mark frame Jesus' mission around giving His life as a "ransom for many" (Matt 20:28; Mark 10:45), Luke conspicuously omits this phrase in his parallel summary ofJesus’ purpose. In Luke 19:10, Jesus defines His mission simply: "For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost." For Luke, salvation (sōtēria) is not an abstract legal transaction deferred to the afterlife; it is an active, present restoration unfolding through personal encounters with Christ.

We now focus on the passages in Luke where Jesus foretells his passion.

The purpose of this exercise is to find any reference to God’s part in Jesus’ suVering if such exists.

• Luke 9:22: "The Son of Man must suVer many terrible things," he said. "He will be

rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will

be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead."

• Luke 17:25: "But first the Son of Man must suVer [pathein] terribly and be rejected

by this generation."

• Luke 18:31–33: "Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, 'Listen, we’re going up

to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man

will come true. 32 He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked,

treated shamefully, and spit upon. 33 They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but

on the third day he will rise again.'"

• Luke 24:7: "'...that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men

and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.'"

• Luke 24:26: "Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suVer all

these things before entering his glory?"

• Luke 24:44–46: "Then he said, 'When I was with you before, I told you that everything

written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be

fulfilled.' 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And he

said, 'Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suVer and die and rise

from the dead on the third day.'"

While Luke includes the predictions of suVering found in Matthew and Mark, he avoids

attributing Jesus' death to divine causation. In Luke’s second volume, Acts, the

responsibility for Jesus’ death is again attributed directly to human actions:

• Acts 2:23–24: "But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was

carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed

him to a cross and killed him.

24 But God released him from the horrors of death

and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip."• Acts 2:36: "So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus,

whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!"

• Acts 3:14–15: "You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the

release of a murderer. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the

dead. And we are witnesses to this fact!"

• Acts 4:10: "Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he

was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you

crucified but whom God raised from the dead."

• Acts 5:30: "The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed

him by hanging him on a cross."

• Acts 7:52: "Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the

ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you

betrayed and murdered."

• Acts 10:38–39: "And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy

Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were

oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 And we apostles are witnesses of all

he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on

a cross..."

• Acts 13:27–28: "The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus

as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in

doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath. 28 They

found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed

anyway."

Across these apostolic sermons by Peter, Stephen, and Paul, the cause of Jesus’ death is

placed squarely on human agency rather than a divine demand.

While some argue that contemporary readers cannot be held responsible for events two

millennia ago, Jesus taught that the way we treat the vulnerable and marginalized are the way we treat Him (Matthew 25:40, 45). Taking personal responsibility for human

wrongdoing stands in contrast to shifting blame onto God for human actions.

The Lord’s salvation doesn't merely assure a heavenly future: it delivers from

disaster and oppression (8:36); heals physical aVliction and disease (6:9–10; 7:50;

8:48; 17:19; 18:42); removes shame (7:50); elevates the forgotten, lowly, and

ostracized (1:47–54, 71; 2:30; 19:9–10); forgives sins (1:77); and restores life, peace,

mercy, and grace. This salvation is far more than a post-mortem guarantee. It is apresent reality and a whole-person restoration project that operates through the

power and presence of Jesus Christ.1

Throughout the above sermons the responsibility for the crucifixion is attributed directly to human choices and injustice. Divine action in Luke-Acts focuses not on orchestrating the death of the Messiah, but on vindicating Him through the Resurrection. By shifting focus away from the supposed divine necessity for blood sacrifice, Luke challenges readers to recognize human complicity in suVering and injustice rather than projecting responsibility onto God.

The Sign of Jonah

When asked for a sign authorizing His authority to forgive sins, Jesus does not point to

animal sacrifices or His own death. Instead, he oVers the "sign of Jonah"—who

surrendered himself to the storm and was raised from the depths after three days.

Similarly, Jesus surrendered Himself to human evil and the powers of darkness, emerging

triumphant in the Resurrection after three days. It was this miraculous saving of Jonah from drowning and his liberation from the fish which convicted the Ninevites. They repented. In the same way the resurrection of Jesus from the grave convinces sinners of his salvation power (Luke 11:30). They did not repent as the Ninevites did.

Both Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ call for repentance (Luke 11:32) through this sign.

Lukes Emphasis on the Present

o "Today . . . a Savior is born" (2:11)

o "Today . . . this scripture is fulfilled" (4:21)

o "Today . . . we have seen strange things" (5:26)

o "Today . . . I must stay at your house" (19:5)

o "Today . . . you will be with me in Paradise" (23:43) 1

While salvation includes new bodies at the Second Coming Luke’s emphasis is on how

Jesus changes our situation immediately by healings, exorcising demons, and inspiring new thoughts and feelings in those he met.

Luke’s Gospel redefines salvation as present, holistic restoration rather than merely

transactional, post-mortem safety.

Hebrews 2:14 NLT has Jesus delivering sinners from their fear of death and the defeat of

the devil by his death and resurrection. Apparently, this could only be done by Jesus’

passage through death and his subsequent resurrection. This route for salvation is mirrored by the worm or caterpillar’s journey through the cocoon or chrysalis and finally emerging as the beautiful non-destructive butterfly.Conclusion

In Luke's writings, divine agency is centered on the resurrection and restoration rather than the execution of the Son. While Matthew and Mark frame Jesus' death using the sacrificial imagery of the sanctuary system—where sin required the blood of an innocent sacrifice—

Luke emphasizes a different framework.

While omitting sacrificial/ransom terminology, Luke highlights human agency in the

execution of Jesus and divine agency in the Resurrection.

Contrasting Luke with Matthew and Mark regarding sanctuary/sacrificial imagery does not mean Luke repudiates the OT background but deliberately chooses prophetic and

restoration motifs (sōzō as healing/wholeness) over Levitical cultic mechanics.

Ian Hartley, October 2026

1 Excerpt: "Salvation in Luke-Acts" Mark Allan Powell, Trinity Lutheran Seminary

(Columbus, Ohio)Published in Word & World 12/1 (1992), p. 5. Copyright © 1992 Luther

Seminary, St. Paul, MN.