The Lukean Jesus is incredibly unique in comparison to the Jesus illustrated in the Gospels of Mark and of Matthew. As "savior of the world," a divine prophet, Jesus is additionally responsible for portraying himself as a teacher, a philosopher, a social critic, and a social reformer. Jesus’s identity as the divine prophet is something he carries with him from birth, throughout his life, and into his death[1]. In his teachings, Jesus heavily emphasizes that in the end (which is not immanent[2]), God will reward those who have lived and served him righteously. Like we have been learning this week, in antiquity and honor/shame societies, an individual receives honor when he/or she gives away their wealth to those in need. Jesus blesses not only the oppressed; he also “castigate the rich and the oppressor[3]” by saying “Blessed are the weepers, they shall laugh…Woe to the laughing ones, for you shall weep[4]”. Jesus obviously is trying to confront many of the social ills of his time through the preaching of God’s salvation, yet Luke attempts to narrate how this salvation was rejected by many of the Jewish people, which is how Jesus’s message reached the non-Jews and Gentiles. The primary conflict in the Gospel of Luke is between Jesus and the religious authorities that are consistently portrayed in stark contrast to Jesus himself. This tension is ultimately culminated on the cross as Jesus is representative of a martyr. Nevertheless, Luke notes that everything happening to Jesus and how God’s message of salvation is changing is in accordance to the divine plan, and thus the ‘end’ will not immediately occur after Jesus’s death. Out of all the Gospels we have read this far, Luke's includes many more stories which I think help emphasize the main themes and messages of Jesus.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Blog (4) Allegra Hartman
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