Session 12: The Gospel of Luke Bible Study in Plain English By Bill Huebsch Session Twelve: The Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke: A travelogue? The Gospel of Luke is an excellent travel book, giving the details of Jesus journeys. The author of Luke s Gospel and the author of Acts of the Apostles is the same writer. In Luke, the entire Gospel moves geographically from Nazareth and Galilee (which are both in the north) southward to Jerusalem. Then from Jerusalem, Acts moves out to the world! The author of Luke stresses the humanity of Jesus. To do this, it begins with a long story about Jesus conception and birth. This Gospel shows a merciful Jesus, one who loves the poor and downtrodden. It has a special emphasis on prayer and on sharing meals together. In the end, the author of Luke makes it clear that the compassion of Christ is meant for the entire world. Slowly scan this Gospel, noticing the main stories told by the author. Which of these is most meaningful to you? Which are your favorites? Many of them are very familiar to us. Excitement in the air! Even the air in Nazareth seemed to buzz with excitement. The synagogue was crowded with people wanting to hear Jesus. He had become very popular since his last visit home. Some may have simply wondered what all the fuss over him was about. Others may have begun to believe in his mission. All of them had known him as a boy growing up in this town. They might even have remembered the temple incident. What is the so-called temple incident about which we re talking here? Read Luke 2:41-52 for the answer. The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 1
Map The incident we are about to read occurs in Nazareth, Jesus hometown. Find this on a map and keep the map handy as we travel through Luke. Jesus moment. Jesus stood to read and was handed the scroll containing the words of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the appointed passage. And then he read those immortal words. One can almost hear the crowd grow more and more silent as he read. W hat were the exciting words which Jesus read from Isaiah that day? Read Luke 4:18-19 to find out. W rite that passage in the space below. Not finished yet. Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone present was now looking at him intently. You could have heard a pin drop in the silence. But he wasn t quite finished. He said something else, even more exciting! What did he say? Read Luke 4:21 to find out. What does this mean? How was Jesus describing his mission? How is that mission continued today? The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 2
The option for the poor. Luke presents a portrait of Jesus as a man who was concerned for the poor and the outcast. It s in Luke that we find the story of Zacchaeus, for example. Here, too, we find the poor Lazarus begging for food from a rich man who would give him nothing. And this is the Gospel in which we hear Mary sing a hymn of joy, echoing Hannah of old, extolling God s love for the poor. W hat is the message contained within Mary s prayer? Read Luke 1:46-55 for the answer. Choose five or six lines of this prayer and copy them into the space here. Share your choice with your group, reading it aloud slowly, savoring each line. Remember the prayer of Hannah that we saw in 1 Samuel? How does Mary s prayer echo Hannah s? Read 1 Samuel 2:1-10 to see the interesting parallel. What do you think God is up to here? Why would God take a stand for the poor in a world where power and wealth go hand-in-hand? How does this message touch your own life today? What does it mean in terms of how you live every day? Women, too! In the story of Jesus conception and birth in the first two chapters of The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 3
Luke, it is women who play all the major parts. The leading lady is certainly Mary. And the co-star is her cousin, Elizabeth. In Luke, women travel with him on his busy itinerary. And in Luke, it is clear that Jesus work was financed by women! How do we know where Jesus got his money? Read Luke 8:1-3 for the answer. And the rejected. It s hard to read the Gospel of Luke and not realize that Jesus message is for those who need healing. And for the hearers of this word in the first century, this was brand new thinking - just as it is for many people today! And who are those who need healing? First the outcast, then the sick, and finally, the public sinners. Read Luke 5:12-16 to see how outcasts were included! Then in 5:17-26, the sick are called. And finally in 5:27-32 a sinner is called to be a full time apostle! The lepers in Luke symbolize all the outcast of that day. Who are today s lepers? The paralytic symbolized the physically and emotionally ill. W ho are today s paralytics? And Levi, the tax collector, is a symbol of all those whom we reject because we judge them to be more sinful than us, or lower in their social standing. W ho are today s Levi s? Forgiveness. Of all the gifts which Jesus gave in his teaching, perhaps the greatest is a new understanding of forgiveness and reconciliation. One of the most powerful parables in the entire Gospel deals with this theme. It s the story of someone who had recklessly hurt the ones he most loved. Happens all the time, doesn t it? A single word, or a more profound The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 4
action, the hurt is there and can t be taken back. But Jesus teaches that forgiveness is more powerful than any offense. Read Luke 15:11-32 for this touching story. Share how this story touches your own hearts. What then should we do? This was the question which the crowds asked John the Baptist in Luke 3:10. John sets the stage for the arrival of the Messiah. He preaches repentance. He is so strong in his preaching that the crowds ask him for explicit advice. What kind of reform is needed? John is specific. He discusses various walks of life: the well-to-do, taxcollectors and soldiers. He tells each how they should reform certain practices in their lives in order to welcome the Messiah: share with others, be fair, do not bully. The peoples expectation of a Messiah which is expressed in Luke 3:15 must be met by actual life-practices that flow from faith. Read Luke 3:16-17 to get a picture of this. Fire can burn one and provide another with light. Water can drown one and nourish another. They are powerful symbols of both destruction and life. Clearly, the stage is set for vast changes in the world. But the change to which John the Baptist points is first and foremost internal. The behavior he seeks to influence by his preaching to the wealthy, the tax-collectors, and the soldiers cannot take place without a change of heart. How has your own heart been changed by knowing Jesus? Hearts burning and enlightened, lives enriched and flooded by the Holy Spirit we are also called to change the inner spaces of ourselves so that our world might, in turn, be transformed. Dining in God s Kingdom! Throughout the Gospel of Luke, right up to the very end, the Reign of God is presented to us as something within our grasp. And what must we do to have it? Well, apparently, all we have to do is dine with Jesus. That s right. In Luke s Gospel, there are ten great banquets, one better than the next. Jesus loves to party! Perhaps the eleventh is the one you will have tonight in your house! The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 5
What are these ten meals in Luke? Have your Bibles open. Turn to each of the stories listed below but, instead of reading it, scan it and tell the story in your own words. Then tell about one experience from your own life which reflects the meals of Jesus. [For example, #2 below is about welcoming someone to the table, regardless their past offenses. When you have been able to forgive and forget and sit down at table with someone who has hurt you?] The meal Where to find it What it might mean 1. A great banquet in Levi s house 5:27-39 Meals are the context in which conversion and reconciliation occurs. 2. A great dinner at the home of Simon the Pharisee 3. Nourishment of thousands with bread in Bethsaida 4. At home with Martha 5. Lunch with a Pharisee 6. A Sabbath meal with a leader of the Pharisees 7. Supper with good, old Zacchaeus 8. The Lord s own last supper 9. At Emmaus in the breaking of the bread 10. With the community of his followers in Jerusalem 7:36-50 Meals are a time for us to welcome one another without regard to past sinfulness. 9:10-17 Everyone is invited to our shared meals; and Jesus is the host. 10:38-42 A simple meal is enough; the important thing is to savor the presence of Jesus. 11:37-54 The important thing is not external appearances - whether at table or in religious observances - but the quality of our interior lives. 14:1-24 Meals are a time where everyone is treated with equal dignity! It s not about the menu. It s about who we invite into our hearts - and homes! 19:1-10 Having Jesus spirit at our table means having salvation there, too! 22:14-38 In this summary meal, we see that once again, Christ is the host at our table. We are all his guests. 24:13-35 Whenever we dine in solidarity with one another, we can expect an appearance of the Risen Lord. 24:36-53 All our meals foreshadow our membership in the full assembly of the church, where Jesus is also present and we are sent. 11. In your house Peace be with you, Jesus told The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 6
The meal Where to find it What it might mean tonight them when they gathered after the Resurrection. And peace will be upon our household, too, when we dine in God s kingdom. People who read theology, or who study the Bible, or who get involved in church ministry of one kind or another, whether full time or volunteer, tend to think that all this churchy activity somehow leads them to the Reign of God. But in fact, the main activity that does that seems to be eating and drinking! So talk this over. In the context in which you live, in your household, how can meals become more significant? Without adding churchy elements (None are necessary - the eating and drinking together is the activity of the church!) how can daily meals become more central to your life? Do not be afraid. In chapter 5, verse 10, Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people. These guys were fishermen and they had been hard at it all night. Peter was the leader, and he knew about fishing. So when Jesus invites him to go out deeper and cast his nets one more time, he had good reason to doubt. He knew what he was doing. But nonetheless he responds in faith and obedience. Stunned by the miraculous haul so many fish that the boat is sinking Peter can hardly talk. Imagine! Peter, of all people, is speechless! He signals his partners in the other boats to help. Then Peter falls at Jesus feet to give him honor and declare how sinful he is. We re that same way. We re just like Peter. We know how sinful we are and we believe Jesus could never be calling us. But how are you being called, regardless our sinfulness? Sacred Pause There can be no doubt about the life-changing attraction of Jesus. For Peter and the others to drop everything, give up an entire way of life and livelihood to follow, means that Jesus and his words are utterly powerful, demanding and fulfilling. Conclude your study. The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 7
Take a moment to tell each other what new insights into faith you gained in this study. Then conclude with a brief prayer of thanksgiving. The Bible Study in Plain English Version 2.0 2014 The Pastoral Center Page 8