Part 4: The Gospel of Luke

1. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • The Gospel of Luke was written around 80- 85 A.D. • Luke’s audience is primarily Gentile Christians in Greece, represented by the person Theophilus. • Luke’s Gospel begins with a genealogy, much like Matthew’s Gospel, but Luke’s genealogy begins with Adam, showing how Jesus is the savior of the entire human race, not just the Jewish people. • The symbol of Luke is an ox, an animal used for sacrifice, recalling how in the beginning of the Gospel, Zachariah is offering a sacrifice in the Temple to God.

2. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke Remember, Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience, showing how Jesus was fulfilling all the Jewish prophecies about a coming Messiah. Matthew starts the genealogy with the Jewish Patriarch Abraham then, to connect Jesus to the Jews. Luke was writing to a Gentile audience, or people who were non-Jewish, which is why his genealogy starts with Adam, to show how God came to save all people and how Jesus descends from the father of all mankind, that of Adam.

3. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Luke’s Gospel was formulated from stories found in the Gospel of Mark, the Q source that influenced Mark and Matthew’s Gospels, and a “L” source that is independent to Luke’s Gospel alone. • Luke was writing to proclaim the Good News of Christ to Greek-speaking Gentile Christians in the early Church. • Luke’s Gospel has an infancy narrative, similar to Matthew’s, yet includes other stories only found in Luke’s Gospel, including: • The Annunciation to Mary • Narratives surrounding the birth of Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist • Mary’s visit to Elizabeth • Jesus bring born in a stable and placed in a manger • Announcement of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds (Gloria from Mass…remember?) • Presentation of Jesus in the Temple • Finding Jesus in the Temple as a young boy

4. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • We must understand the Biblical allusions found in these stories and that even though these stories are written about Jesus’ birth, they were written after Jesus’ Resurrection, with the understanding and knowledge that Jesus is the Savior of all mankind. • In Luke’s Gospel, we come to fully meet events in Mary’s life, such as the Annunciation and Visitation. • Many of our beliefs in Mary are rooted in the Gospel of Luke’s accounts. • Luke tells us that Mary is engaged to Joseph, but before they are living together, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary.

5. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • The angel says “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” • The angel then tells Mary she will bear a son and conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit. • In response, Mary says, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

6. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • The Catholic Church says Mary is free from Original Sin from the moment of her conception in St. Anne’s womb (Immaculate Conception), since the angel says to Mary at the Annunciation “full of grace” and that “the Lord is with her.” • Mary was chosen, from the rest of all human women, to be the Mother of God. • Mary’s Fiat, or Latin for “let is be done,” shows how Mary chooses to freely cooperate with God’s will. • Later on, Mary goes and visits Elizabeth, her cousin, and Elizabeth says to her “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” • For these reasons, the Church believes Mary is the preeminent disciple of Jesus Christ, the model of holiness we are all called to imitate.

7. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Elizabeth also calls Mary, “the Mother of my Lord,” which she does after the child in her womb, John the Baptist, leaps for joy at the mere presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb. • Since Mary is the Mother of Jesus, who was true God and true man, we call Mary the “Mother of God.” • In the Eastern Church, Mary is given the title Theotokos, which means “God bearer.” • Mary then is recorded as giving “birth to her firstborn son,” wrapping Him in swaddling clothes and laying Him in a manger since there was no other place for them to go. • The word “firstborn” does not mean Mary later had children and that Jesus was her first child; rather, it is a reference to Old Testament writings that Jesus is the firstborn of all Creation and of the dead (Resurrection).”

8. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Another allusion, or reference to the Old Testament, is of Jesus being wrapped in swaddling clothes. • This is an allusion to the Book of Wisdom, when King Solomon says how he was raised, ‘In swaddling clothes and with constant care I was nurtured. For no king has any different origin of birth.” • Luke shows that Jesus is divine through the use of the word “firstborn,” and then that Jesus is human through the use of the fact Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes, like any other human child. • Mary places Jesus in a manger, which is a feeding trough for animals. • This is Luke’s way of teaching that Jesus is the “Bread of Life,” which we come to share in at Mass to have life.

9. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Angels tell the shepherds to go find the child, the Savior, wrapped “in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger,” once again identifiers of Jesus’ divine nature and human nature. • Luke then follows his infancy narratives with a genealogy of Jesus line that goes back to Adam, once again showing how Jesus was calling all people, Jew and Gentile alike. • Jesus is Savior for all people; the invitation to the Kingdom of God is universal.

10. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Luke’s audience, Gentiles, had other questions about being Christian, such as, • Do we have to become Jewish first to become Christian? • What should be the Christian attitude toward the poor and marginalized? • How can we follow Christ in our lives? • To answer these questions, Luke tells his audience that everyone is invited to believe in Christ, whatever walk of life or background they come from. • Jesus uses parables in Luke’s Gospel to help people understand that all people are called to the Kingdom and share in salvation.

11. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • While Jesus is a guest for dinner at a Pharisee's house, Jesus responds to a comment from another guest that said, “Blessed us the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” • Jesus tells a parable about a man who gives a feast and invities hand-picked guests; however, each guest invitied refuses to go to the feast. • The man throwing the feast gets so mad that he tells his servants to go and find people in need to come enjoy his feast such as the blind, poor, lame, etc. • Jesus, in this parable, is showing that ALL people are invited to the Kingdom of God. • The problem is, people who are invited sometimes refuse the invitiation. (Matthew 14)

12. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Another story in Luke’s Gospel that shows Jesus calls everyone is the story about Zacchaeus, the tax collector. • Zacchaeus is despised by society, yet Zacchaeus is so excited when he hears Jesus is coming by that he climbs up a tree to get a better view of Jesus since Zacchaeus was so short. • Jesus sees Zacchaeus in the tree and tells Zacchaeus that he will stay that night at Zacchaeus’ house. • Zacchaeus is so overcome by Jesus’ prescence that he promises to give half of his wealth to the poor. • Jesus then says, “Today, salvation has come to this house….For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” (Matthew 19)

13. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Luke portrays Jesus as particularly interested in reaching out to sinners with compassion and forgiveness. • Only Luke’s Gospel, out of the Synoptic Gospels, has the parable about the Prodigal Son, which Jesus directs toward the Pharisees and scribes who complained about how Jesus welcomed and ate with sinners. • A father has two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance from his father while his father is still alive. The father gives the younger son his inheritance and the younger son leaves home, wastes the inheritance, returns home, and is forgiven. The older son, who always obeyed his father, gets angry that his father has forgiven the younger son. (Matthew 15) • Who is the sinner now?

14. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • The older son, even though he listens to his father, is the sinner now since he is angry at his younger brother and refuses to forgive him too or love him. • Jesus is teaching the Pharisees that all people are invited to the Kingdom and even the repentant sinners are welcomed back by God. • If the Pharisees want to be part of this Kingdom then, they too must accept the invitiation and forgive sinners. • All repentant sinners will be welcomed back home to God.

15. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • The Israelities, who were awaiting their Messiah to come, also were awaiting for God to renew His spirit amongst the Israelities. • The Holy Spirit is with and guides Jesus throughout His ministry on Earth. • Whenever God the Father sends out His Son, so too does He always send the Holy Spirit with them. • Both the Son and the Holy Spirit have the same inseparable mission: to bring us back to God. • The Holy Spirit, in the beginning of Luke, comes to Mary at the Annunciation, and at the end of the Gospel, the Apostles are waiting for the Holy Spirit to come to them at Pentecost. • Between those 2 events, Luke tells his audience the Holy Spirit is with Jesus at two other significant times: at Jesus’ Baptism and when Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee and he reads in the synagogue from Scripture (Luke 4)

16. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Luke is showing the important role the Holy Spirit plays in both the life of Jesus Christ, as well as the lives of the Apostles in the early Church s they preached, even in the face of persecution. • The Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus during those moments of prayer, when he is “talking” with God the Father, showing the intimate connection among the three person of the Trinity.

17. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • If you read the entire Gospel of Luke, one interesting event that Jesus and His disciples do a lot of is eating, or sharing a meal. • The banquet, the shared meal, foreshadows the Heavenly banquet to which all people, Jew and Gentile alike, are invited to. • The sign that the Kingdom of God is coming in the Gospel of Luke is Jesus’ meals with sinners. • The repentance and forgiveness of sinners in Luke’s Gospel, with Jesus then eating with them, shows Jesus calls all to dine with Him, in this life and the next. • Jesus, even at the Last Supper, tells his Apostles, that He has “eagerly desired to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer, for, I tell you, I shall not eat it [again] until there is fulfillment in the Kingdom of God. (Luke 22)

18. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Jesus offers the bread and wine to God and changes them into His Body and Blood, offering salvation to all people by His giving of His entire life. • Jesus tells His Apostles, “do this in memory of me,” thus establishing the eschatological meal, (eschatological meaning “the end of time”) onEarth. • This meal is what Jesus will share with all people in Heaven at the end of time, when the fullness of the Kingdom of God is established.

19. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Christ’s life was a continual teaching of others, whether it be his miracles, teachings, gestures, love for others, acceptance of the cross, etc. • Jesus’ Resurrection is the actualization and fulfillment of all these events in Jesus’ life. • Luke depicts Jesus, in His Passion narrative, as actively involved in His mission to invite sinners into the Kingdom of God and makes the Kingdom visible by miraculous acts of power, even during His Passion. • The story of Jesus’ Passion still remains the same, from Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial, to Pontius Pilate’s trial, and the crucifixion. • Jesus’ Passion account remains the same, but Luke does add some details that focus on Jesus’ compassion and gentleness to all people.

20. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Luke refrains from speaking about how the disciples abandoned Jesus after the Last Supper and during His Passion. • Luke also portrays the Sanhedrin’s condemnation of Jesus as less reprehensible since they condemn Jesus for not denying that He is the Son of God (they did not bring false witness against Him on purpose like other Gospels). • Luke, however, does not lessen Jesus’s suffering, to the point that Luke mentions Jesus sweats blood. • However, Jesus is constantly thinking of others and is trying to teach them by every action He takes.

21. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • During Jesus’ betrayal and arrest, Jesus shows His compassion for all people, even those who have come to arrest Him. • One of Jesus’ disciples cut off a high priest’s servants ear as they try to defend Jesus, yet Jesus touches the servants ear and heals him. • Jesus shows compassion to all people, once again, as He bears His cross and sees women crying for Him and tells them to be more concerned about their own wellbeing more than His. • Jesus says to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children.”

22. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Jesus, as He is hanging on the cross, even continues to seek out all lost people and bring them back to God. • Jesus is crucified with two thieves, one that reviles Jesus, another who defends Jesus. • The criminal that defends Jesus says to Him, “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” • Jesus responds, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” • Jesus is calling all people, women, children, criminals, enemies, etc. to be part of His “Paradise.”

23. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Luke has Jesus using the word “paradise” instead of “my kingdom” for a reason when Jesus speaks to the criminal on the cross. • Luke is teaching that by Jesus’ death, Jesus is reversing the sinful state of human beings that resulted in their being separated from the Paradise of the Garden of Eden and being with God. • Jesus, even at the last moment of His life on Earth, is teaching us all when he forgives the Roman soldiers who crucified Him by saying, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” • Jesus dies with full trust in God that He has completed His mission to forgive all humanity and invite all to the Kingdom of God by saying, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

24. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke

25. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Luke, like the other Synoptic Gospels, has the same post- Resurrection accounts for the most part, i.e. the empty tomb narrative and narratives about Jesus’ post- Resurrection appearances. • However, some of Luke’s post- Resurrection narratives are unique to his Gospel, primarily since Luke continues with his theme that all people are offered forgiveness and invited to the Kingdom. • One way Luke portrays this message clearly is by the telling of a story about Jesus, post- Resurrection, sharing a meal with two disciples in Emmaus. • Two disciples are on a road to the city Emmaus, and Jesus joins them (the disciples do not recognize Him, which is a common theme in post- Resurrection appearance stories).

26. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • Jesus explains to the saddened disciples that the Messiah had to die. • As the three men enter Emmaus, the two disciples invited the stranger (Jesus), to eat with them. • Jesus is then said to have “took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them,” an allusion to the Last Supper meal. • With this event, the disciples have their opens opened to the fact that the stranger is in fact Jesus, the one they believed in. • Christ was present in this story: • When the two disciples gathered in His name • As the stranger who explained Scripture (the living Word) • Christ was present in the Eucharist

27. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • The two disciples eventually go back to Jerusalem and tell others that Jesus was made known to them “in the breaking of bread,” a shared meal. • When Jesus appears to the Apostles in Jerusalem, they think Jesus is a ghost, until He shows them His hands and feet. • Jesus even asks for something to eat, showing that this was truly Jesus in bodily form. • Jesus commissions the Apostles to go out into the world and bear witness to everything they saw, heard, and encountered when they were with Jesus, especially the topic that all people’s sins are forgiven.

28. Part 4: The Gospel of Luke • After this encounter with Christ, the Apostles go to the temple and praise God for everything they encountered along the way with Jesus. • Luke’s Gospel, which opens with Zechariah offering a sacrifice to God in the temple, now ends with the Apostles offering praise to God in the temple for the sacrifice of not an animal, but that of His Son, Jesus Christ. • The Apostles now must go forth, and make disciples of all nations.