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Last modified: March, 2002

Galilean Ministry in Luke

Luke, like Matthew, begins with the birth story, recounting that the births of both Jesus and John had been foretold and announced by an angel.  Structurally, Luke begins with the birth and early childhood of Jesus, records his ministry in Galilee emphasizing his identity, then follows Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem, echoing structure within Mark.  At this point, Luke focuses on Jesus’ universal misssion, his ministry and passion.

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

11       and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

11 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

11 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

11 His mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

11 He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

11 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

and lifted up the lowly;

11 he has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.

11 He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

11 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

Mary returns from the Judean hillside country where Elizabeth and priest Zechariah lived to Nazareth.  The story continues in chapter one with the birth of John, neighbors gathering around and celebrating with Elizabeth this mercy shown to her barren womb, the wonder and talk of the event growing with the sudden ability of Zechariah, struck mute since the angel’s visit, to praise God.  From his birth then, John is wondered at and proclaimed for greatness: 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea.  66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.  Already expecting a Messiah, the people listen as Zechariah suggests to them that John will be the prophet to precede the Messiah:

67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

11 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.

11 He has raised up a mighty savior  for us

in the house of his servant David,

11 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

11 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

11 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,

and has remembered his holy covenant,

the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,

to grant us  74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,  75 in holiness and righteousness

before him all our days.

11 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

11 to give knowledge of salvation to his people

by the forgiveness of their sins.

11 By the tender mercy of our God,

the dawn from on high will break upon  us,

11 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

In keeping with Hebrew precedent, Zechariah proclaims Jesus as the expected, much-anticipated Messiah:

             69              He has raised up a mighty savior for us

in the house of his servant David,

70  as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

Zechariah’s proclamation shows him well versed in the prophetic utterances of his people:

            1.67–79:  The “Benedictus,” so called from the first word in the Latin translation.   69:  A mighty savior, one who will bring salvation; see Psalm 18.1–3; Psalm 92.10–11; Psalm 132.17–18.   76:  Malachi 4.5; Luke 7.26.   77:  Mark 1.4.   78:  Malachi 4.2; Ephesians 5.14. The dawn will be when God fulfills his purpose to bless humankind.   79:  Isaiah 9.2; Matthew 4.16; Luke 4.18.   80:  These words cover a period of approximately thirty years. The day he appeared publicly, Luke 3.2; Luke 3.3.

He recalls, of course, what the angel of the Lord has promised:

16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.  17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

True to his stated purpose, the writer of Luke sets out to write an orderly account concerning John the Baptist and Jesus, and when Acts is accepted as the second book written by Luke, the orderly account includes Paul and early Christianity. The author  apparently reorders pieces and bits of what has been said about Jesus and his life, following Mark closely. He portrays Jesus as greater than John, greater also than Paul and preceding Paul in universal mission. He explains that  the birth of both John and Jesus had been foretold; Luke links the births of both John and Jesus to Jewish tradition. He describes the role of Jesus, however, as a mission to universal humankind; Jesus is “son of Adam.” Zechariah understands the Hebrew tradition well, for he performs in the temple in the tradition of his ancestors, in the priestly order of Abijah.  His wife Elizabeth is a descendant of Aaron.  Zechariah, interpreting what has been told to him, identifies the role of his son to be the one who comes before to make ready his people’s hearts for the coming of the Lord. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary and announces the good news that she has found favor with God and will bear a son and call him Jesus. She has this news further affirmed when she visits Elizabeth and learns of her glad condition; Elizabeth tells her,

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?  44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.

Elizabeth immediately acknowledges that the child she carries is only a forerunner of the child Mary carries within her womb.  Mary becomes the mediation between the Hebrew tradition with its expected Messiah and the new age. In an orderly accounting, chapter one tells of the birth of John the Baptist followed by Zechariah’s prophecy.  Events are carefully balanced: Mary’s “Magnificant” announcing God’s mercy to Israel parallels Zechariah’s prophecy fulfilled. Chapter one then tucks thirty years into one sentence:  The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel. Chapter three reiterates this point of thirty years: 23 Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. One is left to imagine the childhood of Jesus, and early literature creates infancy stories for us. Was Jesus always possessed with an uncanny sense of love and justice? Was he always aware of the mission of bringing about the Kingdom of God? That his mind was early directed to spiritual matters speaks well for his parents’ regard for the sacred.

Chapter two recounts in an orderly way the birth of Jesus, followed by the announcement to the shepherds and their acknowledgment of the Messiah:

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:  11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 

The account then moves quickly to Jesus’ circumcision in Jewish tradition and to his being named Jeshua. Luke fills in somewhat the elapsed thirty years, giving his readers the only biblical account of the childhood of Jesus.  Jesus, at twelve, is presented in the temple as Mary and Joseph’s first-born male “designated as holy to the Lord.”  Simeon, who has been promised he will not die before seeing the consolation, the Messiah, confirms Jesus as this expected salvation:

for my eyes have seen your salvation,

11 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

11 a light for revelation to the Gentiles

and for glory to your people Israel.”

Who Jesus is Anna further acknowledges:

            36 There was also a prophet, Anna † the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,  37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day.  38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child  to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke then quickly summarizes the childhood:

    The Return to Nazareth

39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.  40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover.  42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival.  43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.  44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends.  45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.  46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.  48 When his parents † saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”  49 He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” †  50 But they did not understand what he said to them.  51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, † and in divine and human favor.

At the end of chapter two, Luke recounts for his readers the fulfillment of prophecy in John and Jesus, explains their connections, and details some of the early life of Jesus. Luke himself does not explain the many references to Jewish prophecy in the accounts given to him, but a Jewish audience would pick them out immediately.  A Gentile audience would hear a clear narrative without allusions.

But who is Jesus? The mature John the Baptist acknowledges Jesus as the one for whom he is preparing hearts:

15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, †  16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with † the Holy Spirit and fire.  17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Here, John warns his followers about the social injustices of the age and reminds them to live responsibly:

10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”  11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”  12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”  13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”  14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

According to Luke,  Jesus comes to John, is baptized, and confirmed to be the Son of God:

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,  22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; † with you I am well pleased.” 

For those arguments concerning when Jesus became the Son of God, one needs only to recall the many witnesses: Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Simeon, Anna, the shepherds, and, of course, the prophecies within the Jewish holy writings.  Luke, apparently aware that the question of who Jesus is has already raised much controversy, takes pains to explain his genealogy:

Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son (as was thought) of Joseph son of Heli,  24 son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph,  25 son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai,  26 son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda,  27 son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,  son of Neri,  28 son of

21       Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er,  29 son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi,  30 son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim,  31 son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David,  32 son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Sala, † son of Nahshon,  33 son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni,  son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah,  34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor,  35 son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah,  36 son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech,  37 son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan,  38 son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.

His father is thought to be Joseph, although apparently, some doubt has been raised about this. Who he is, Luke declares, is “son of Adam, son of God.”  The uncapitalized “son,” in this case, clearly contrasts to the affirmation at his baptism that Jesus is “Son” of God.  Luke links Jesus to the original creation. Matthew, one recalls, links Jesus to Abraham and David, the Jewish lineage.  Luke clearly presents Jesus’ human lineage. Luke’s account portrays universal son-ship of God. This is not entirely surprising since Luke has indicated he’s giving an orderly account of everything he has heard and found within his own investigation:

1 Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us,  2 just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,  3 I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first,  to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,  4 so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.

One has to imagine that Luke knows the controversies surrounding Jesus and who he is—whether he is the Messiah expected by the Jews, what the real events of his birth and early life were, who people say he is, and what his actions have indicated about him. He clearly indicates he is using accounts by eyewitnesses and servants of the word as well as his own investigations.  Traditionally, too, Luke writes for a Gentile audience. Note, though, that Luke dedicates himself to getting to the “truth” and to events “fulfilled.”

With the identity of Jesus clearly established as “son of God,” Luke returns to record the wilderness temptation before the public Galilean ministry begins. He shows Jesus tempted with the ordinary and practical: food, safety, power; Jesus demonstrates, however, his commitment to spiritual rather than practical needs:

14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.  15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

His reputation grows quickly and spreads; when he returns to Nazareth, though, continuing a teaching  like what he has been doing elsewhere, his enraged townspeople seek to kill him:

28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage.  29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.

What has he said to bring on the rage? He has read from Isaiah the following words:

the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

11 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

19  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

It is not apparently what Jesus has read from Isaiah, or even what he says upon finishing the passage, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” that angers his listeners. They actually have been amazed at his gracious words, wondering to themselves, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”  The effect seems to be surprise that one common to themselves speaks so eloquently.

Actually, controversy arises out of these people’s expecting and wanting  works: And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’ ”  The reply of Jesus, however, indicates his hometown will not be the place where he performs miracles, as he has done in Capernaum, although not reported here by Luke.  He refers to known scriptures:

11      And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.  25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land;  26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.  27 There were also many lepers  in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 

Luke now has Jesus go directly to Capernaum where he does, indeed, perform miracles.  He heals a man with an unclean spirit and his disciple Simon’s mother-in-law, who is suffering from a high fever. One might note here that the healing actions of Jesus include the possibly psychological and the physical, an unclean spirit and a fever. Wherever he goes, Jesus commits to casting out demons and healing diseases, and he gains two important admissions from these events: that he is “the Holy one of God…the “Son of God” and “the Messiah.” It’s interesting to note that both admissions are made by demons, non-material existences hostile to humans and rebellious of God. What Jesus is about, though, Luke makes clear at the end of this chapter: 43 But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.”  44 So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea. † His sole purpose is to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God.

Jesus continues his work in the synagogues of Judea.  Having introduced Simon in chapter five, Luke now gives us Jesus in a boat with Simon fishing; Jesus telling Simon where to cast his net to make the greatest haul of fish.  Simon, who has been fishing all night unsuccessfully, along with his partners James and John, sons of Zebedee, is impressed.  Acting while he has their attention, Jesus calls three disciples: Simon, James and John. Following this unusual successful catch, Jesus heals a leper and a paralytic. The leper has indicated his faith: “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” Likewise, the paralytic and his friends who carry him up and let him down through the roof have indicated their faith: “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” The leper is told to show himself to a priest, to do what Moses has commanded, and to make an offering for cleansing.  It’s clear Jesus is directing the individual to follow tradition. Even though Jesus instructs the leper to say nothing to anyone about being healed, the act brings crowds to follow him, including the Scribes and Pharisees.  These two groups immediately take Jesus for task in the case of the paralytic for telling him his sins have been forgiven, accusing Jesus of blasphemy. They apparently continue to dog Jesus’ steps and to accuse him for his acts.  When Jesus calls Levi, a hated tax collector, the Scribes and Pharisees accuse him of eating with sinners.  Jesus rebukes them quietly by saying sinners are exactly the ones humble enough to accept help.

The Scribes and Pharisees next accuse Jesus and his newly called disciples of eating and drinking instead of fasting.  While Jesus does not mention the kingdom of God specifically, he makes his purpose clear in a short parable:

“You cannot make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?  35 The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 

Both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament view marriage as an image of the relationship between God and his people. It is therefore appropriate that the prophets, Jesus, and the book of Revelation use the imagery of weddings to describe the end of time, when God will be united with his people forever (Isaiah 25.6–9; Matthew 22.1–13; Matthew 25.1–12; Revelation 18.6–10; Revelation 21.1–4).

Jesus follows the marriage parable with yet another parable clearly indicating his kingdom teaching breaks with the tradition:

He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old.  37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.  38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.  39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.’ ”

Jesus’ kingdom present now in committed hearts is “new wine… put into fresh wineskins.” Is there, perhaps, practical insight, though, in the words, “And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good”?  Could this explain, at least in part, why so many in the first century could not accept  the kingdom of God now instead of the kingdom of God  expected?  Is it any easier today to do so? The reader may recall that the Gospel of John uses both marriage and wine to convey the advent of the new age in the wedding at Cana and the turning of water into wine.  The wedding guests there remind Jesus that tradition supports consumption of the good wine first.  This reversal of patterns is similar to the last will be first and the second- or last-born supplanting the first-born.

Wine was a staple of life (Sirach 39.26), as the formula “grain, wine, and oil” shows (Deuteronomy 11.14; Joel 1.10). It was a source of pleasure for both humans (Ecclesiastes 10.19; Sirach 31.27–28; Sirach 32.5–6; Sirach 40.20) and the gods (Judges 9.13) and was thus a regular component of ritual (Exodus 29.40; Leviticus 23.13). Wine was a divine gift (Deuteronomy 7.13; Psalm 104.15; Hosea 2.8) and would be provided abundantly in the end time (Jeremiah 31.12; Joel 3.18; Amos 9.13–14).

One could argue that much of Luke’s chapter six concerns outward piety rather than a heart committed in action.  Consider the very last section of chapter six:

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?  47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.  48 That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that

house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. †  49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.”

For Jesus, the kingdom of God requires hearing and acting; the one who hears and acts is the wise person who builds a house laid on the foundation of rock.  Jesus acts, for example, when his disciples are hungry: he condones their plucking and eating grain even though it’s the Sabbath.  The Pharisees  immediately, however, ask if what they are doing is lawful on the Sabbath.  Knowing their religiosity, Jesus couches his answer in their own traditions: remember David? When he and his companions were hungry, he actually entered into the temple and ate the bread of the presence, lawful only for the priests, and gave some to his companions.  He then reminded them, “The son of man is lord of the Sabbath” (5). The issue of the Sabbath, and action over creed and ritual, continues thematically when Luke reports Jesus as choosing to cure the withered right hand of a man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees, watching and waiting, determine that Sabbath rules have been violated.  Jesus asks them an obvious but far from easy question: is it lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath?  To destroy life or to save it? (11).  Of course, the Pharisees are filled with fury to have their logic exploded. Matthew (12), Mark (3), and Luke all agree that the result of doing good results in the Pharisees’ plotting against Jesus to destroy him.

Luke reveals that prior to calling his disciples, Jesus spends a night alone on a mountain in prayer; Matthew says simply he withdraws, but a crowd follows him.  Mark, also, says Jesus withdraws, but to the sea, and a great multitude follows him. In Matthew, the reader will recall that Jesus makes clear to the Pharisees that actions reveal both Beelzebub and God. ”28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Mark records this in chapter three, verse twenty-six. In Matthew, Jesus penetrates outward ritual and piety to see the actual spiritual state, and he tells the Pharisees that the only blasphemy unforgiven will be that of rejecting the Holy Spirit, also similarly stated in Mark. Who Jesus is has already been asked in Matthew: "Can this be the Son of David?" (12)   Matthew shows clearly that Jesus’ actions suggest to the following crowd that he is the Messiah:

17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

18 "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

19 He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will any one hear his voice in the streets;

20 he will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick, till he brings justice to victory;

21 and in his name will the Gentiles hope."

Jesus next chooses his twelve disciples from among disciples, whom he calls apostles; in Mark, the disciples are already in place, for they are asked to prepare a boat for Jesus, yet Mark in the same chapter at verse thirteen, also, has Jesus calling the twelve from a mountain.

14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew,  15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot,  16 and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Both Matthew and Luke agree that Jesus begins to teach the crowds after he has called his disciples. In Matthew, Jesus teaches from a mountain; in Luke, the place is level. Jesus teaches and  heals, the crowd from Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre and Sidon pressing in to touch him for the power flowing from him.  Jesus preaches to them on the plain many of the same teachings in Matthew’s sermon on the mount, adding new teachings, some without parallel such as 24-26:

11 “But woe to you who are rich,

for you have received your consolation.

11 “Woe to you who are full now,

for you will be hungry.

“Woe to you who are laughing now,

for you will mourn and weep.

26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

Luke as consummate storyteller simply parallels:

“Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

11 “Blessed are you who are hungry now,

for you will be filled.

“Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

21  “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you † on account of the Son of Man.

Finally, in chapter six, matching sayings with actions for Jesus means going beyond what the law simply requires.  The law says love your neighbor; Jesus says, love your enemy, and do good to those that hate you (11). Do unto others as you would have them do onto you: the measure you give is likely to be the measure you get; why not then measure always in a “running over”? (37). Can the blind guide the blind? (39).  Disciples are not above the teacher: anyone who is qualified can teach (40). Can the person with a log in his eye see to take the speck out of a neighbor’s eye (42)?

The kingdom of God reveals by Jesus matches sayings with actions.  Jesus’ entire purpose defines itself in realizing God’s kingdom on earth; to achieve this, righteousness and justice must reign.  As long as sayings go unmatched by deeds, as long as what is said is not practiced, individuals show themselves guilty of surface religion, outward piety, and attitudes of setting themselves up as better than others. The ultimate test of words, in fact, must be action: 

43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit;  44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.  45 The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

In Luke, the teachings end with emphasis upon action and a parable:

46 "Why do you call me `Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?

47 Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:

48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

49 But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."

In Capernaum (chapter seven), Jesus continues to act in ways that draw criticism from the religious establishment.  First, he interacts with a Gentile, and following this, he dares even to touch the dead and risk becoming unclean. In the first case, he does so because he sees genuine faith enacted:

9 When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

And in the second example, he acts out of compassion for a woman grieving the death of her only son:

He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town.  13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”  14 Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!”

When John questions whether Jesus is the one to come (the Messiah), Jesus tells his messengers to tell John to consider his works:

“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.  23 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

Jesus does answer, though, John’s question, referencing Hebrew scripture in Malachi, when he speaks to the crowd; Jesus’ answer clearly tells the people they have found in John a prophet in the wilderness.

27 This is the one about whom it is written,

‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way before you.’

As far as who John is, of those born of women no one is greater; the least, though, in the kingdom of God is greater. Only on earth, temporally, will one ascribe "greatest" to human beings; in the kingdom of God, such puny greatness will not be recognized. This justice of God, the followers of John and those who had been baptized by him, as well as many of society’s undesirables, the tax collectors, acknowledge. The religious pious, however, have rejected John:

30 But by refusing to be baptized by him, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves.)

Matthew makes clear the point that acceptance makes all the difference:

  13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John;

14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.

As for differences in the way John announces his purpose and mission and the way Jesus conducts his, Jesus tells the people, they whine like children, wanting to control outcomes: we played the flute, but no one danced; we wailed, but you didn’t weep. They complain John is a demon because he doesn’t eat or drink wine; Jesus and his disciples, on the other hand, who eat and drink, they accuse of gluttony and drunkenness, complaining they eat with tax collectors and sinners (33, 34).   In the end of chapter seven, the Pharisee invites Jesus to his house, neglecting the common and expected giving of water to wash his feet.  The woman the Pharisees have labeled “sinful” has, however, anointed his feet with an expensive ointment and, more importantly, has acted in faith.  Jesus next explains to his host that this woman has illustrated her love for him:

41 “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, † and the other fifty.  42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?”  43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus † said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

As a result of her faith, Jesus tells the woman her sins are forgiven and calls forth the question of who Jesus is that he can forgive sins. The point often not considered is that the person listening to the repentant is the one given responsibility to extend mercy.

Never in Luke does one forget that Luke’s true accounting of the events and stories surrounding Jesus evidence Jesus as being human, son of Adam, as well as his being God’s presence in human form: his actions support fulfillment of the Messiah among us. A right reading of Luke shows clearly that Jesus undertakes a universal and Gentile mission.

In chapter eight, Jesus continues both to teach and to enact those teachings: he calms a storm, heals a demoniac and a hemorrhagic woman, and revives a young girl from recent death.  Committed to his mission, Jesus is followed by a group of women:

8 Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him,  2 as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,  3 and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them † out of their resources.

This glimpse of Jesus’ inclusion of women is important as action effacing the rigid social separations of his day. No parallel passage exists in the other three gospel accounts. Remember, Jesus associates with the poor, with sinners, with women; he robustly teaches, eating and drinking; he dares to touch the leper, the dead.  This is the righteousness and justice proclaimed in the Jewish faith but seldom achieved in its ritual piety. Matching his words with actions, Jesus behaves compassionately: calming extreme fears, daring to walk into the tombs to rescue the demoniac, and  calming the weeping and wailing bereaved by restoring life.

 Jesus is ever the realist in his understanding that many will reject rather than follow him. Only some seed of all that is sown will produce:

    5 “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.  6 Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture.  7 Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it.  8 Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.”

  The light of genuine faith will not be hidden:

16 “No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lamp stand, so that those who enter may see the light.  17 For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. 

Further, faith will be rewarded:

18 Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.

In God’s kingdom, too, one will not appeal to succession and blood ties: