Part 3

Reversal of Fortunes

Related to both the universal message of salvation and the promise-fulfilment of Old Testament expectations, is to present Jesus’ teaching in line with the prophetic message which demands conversion. In this respect Luke’s Gospel distinctively emphasises a condemnation of the rich (those who reject the prophet because they have found their consolation in society and therefore have no need of God’s consolation) and an elevation of the poor (those who, for different reasons, have been rejected by human standards but are accepted by God). Notable among several examples are Luke’s version of the beatitudes, which declare to be blessed those who are poor, hungry and weep now, while cursed are those who are rich, full and laugh now (6:20-26). Mary’s great song of praise, the Magnificat, praises God’s work in effecting this reversal of fortunes (1:52-53). Jesus’ teaching begins in the synagogue at Nazareth by preaching “good news to the poor” (4:18) and, more than the other Gospels, Luke presents riches as a major hindrance to receiving salvation (for example 16:19-31).

Other Peripheral Groups

The poor is not the only peripheral group that concerns Luke though. He holds a special affection for the Samaritans (part of his theology that Jesus, as the Messiah, reunites the tribes of Israel). The Good Samaritan and the cleansing of the lepers both present Samaritans in a favourable light. Tax collectors and sinners are major recipients of God’s mercy (e.g. 15:1-2, 19:1-10) and women, another largely forgotten group, play a prominent role in Luke’s Gospel from the unparalleled presentation of Mary, to Elizabeth, Anna, the widow of Nain (7:11-16), the story of the woman at the house of Simon the Pharisee (7:36-50) and the detailed descriptions of the women who accompanied Jesus and the twelve from Galilee and provided for them out of their own means (8:1-3).       

Salvation Now

Linked with the notion of hearing the message of God in the tradition of the prophets, being “visited” by God, is the idea of salvation that runs through Luke. Luke is the only evangelist that refers to Jesus using the name “saviour” and while he affirms the Christian hope of eternal life in the ages to come (for example 18:30), he places greater emphasis on the effect of the encounter with the Gospel here and now. This is characterised by the use of the term “today”. Thus the shepherds are told “to you is born this day in the city of David a saviour who is Christ the Lord” (2:11), the Scripture that Jesus proclaims in the synagogue is fulfilled “today” (4:21), salvation has come to the house of Zacchaeus “today” (19:9) and the good thief will be with Jesus in paradise “today” (23:43). The theme continues in Acts when the word of God is proclaimed with urgency bringing about the conversion of many after Pentecost (e.g. Acts 2:41, “there were added that day about three thousand souls”). The evidence of salvation having arrived is found in repentance and the change of life it provokes as is seen positively in the story of Zacchaeus and negatively, when salvation was not received, in the story of the rich man and Lazarus (16:19-31).

Within the rich seam of teaching that brings God’s salvation to all, now, no matter where one stands, we can locate the much loved stories of chapter 15: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son and recall that, for Luke, the first person admitted into paradise is a convicted criminal who repented from the cross (22:43)

The Holy Spirit

While it can hardly be said that the Holy Spirit is absent from the other Gospels, the work of the Spirit receives greater emphasis in Luke. Jesus is conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit (1:35) and anointed with the Spirit (3:22; 4:1, 14, 18). It is prophesied that the Spirit will fill John the Baptist (1:15) and then his mother and father are both described as “filled with the Holy Spirit” (1:41, 67), while Simeon is inspired by the Holy Spirit to go into the Temple to see Jesus, about whom the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (2:25-27). For Luke, the Holy Spirit will be given in answer to persistent prayer (11:13). All of this points towards the work of the Holy Spirit in Acts, who gives utterance to the apostles having come down upon them at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).

Prayer and Worship

A further feature of Luke’s Gospel, which marks it out from the others, is the emphasis on prayer and worship. The Gospel begins with worship in the Temple and ends with the apostles returning to the Temple (note that Acts begins in Jerusalem with the apostles and Mary at prayer in the upper room). At major moments, Jesus is described in prayer such as at his Baptism (3:21), before he chooses the twelve (6:12), at the Transfiguration (9:28), before he questions the disciples about his identity (9:18) and before he predicts Peter’s denial (22:32). In this Gospel, and not in the others, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray and he does this by teaching them the Lord’s Prayer (11:1-2) (which is also found in Matthew, without the request from the disciples), by encouraging them to pray (e.g. 18:1, 21:36, 22:40) and by parables about prayer which are not found elsewhere (11:5-8; 18:1-8, 9-14).