Kevin Kearney
November 4, 2001
Core Humanities
Paper Assignment #8
Luke’s Significance in the Scriptures
If I were lucky enough to lecture students on Luke’s Gospel, simply discussing
the factual aspect of his writings would not do him, nor Jesus, any justice. Along with it
being a great depiction of Jesus’ life from his conception until his resurrection, Luke’s
Gospel teaches lessons Jesus used through His teachings to better educate His followers
of what it takes to eventually be a part of God’s kingdom. Such information would be
seemingly too broad to understand within the confines of a book, however Luke
masterfully combines all of these facts into one story with numerous lessons, leaving it as
a difficult task for an educator to select which aspects of it to cover.
The third Gospel, written by Luke, presents The Son of Man through a human
form as Jesus. Jesus’ life on Earth could be broken down into three parts: Jesus’ birth,
Jesus’ preaching, and Jesus’ death and resurrection. These three aspects of His life are the
vocal points for what modern day Theologians seem to focus on in their own teaching, so
it would be nonsensical for me to refrain from using them within my own. It must
also be acknowledged that much of what Jesus endured through His lifetime teaches a
point so after discussing the actual happenings of a particular event, it is necessary to
discuss its intentions for us.
Concerning Jesus’ birth, I would teach students how His birth had both simil-
rities and differences to our own. Mary went through pregnancy carrying a fetus for nine
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months, as women always have, though she was never actually impregnated. The Angel
Gabriel visited Mary to bear some unexpected news, telling her that, “…you have found
favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son” (CSB 99).
Mary was a virgin, although God gave her the power to conceive a child. This amazing
occurrence was only the beginning of what would become a storied lifetime of miracles,
teachings, and Jesus’ notoriety in the world.
Students should be exposed to the chronological developments in Jesus’ life and
preaching. At the age of twelve, Jesus was found by His parents in the synagogue
sermonizing about God’s realm to all of the priests. Years later, Jesus was baptized by
John, with a voice coming from the heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I
am well pleased” (CSB 104). One must understand that at this point, Jesus is ready to go
into His ministry in Galilee. Jesus began to spread His Father’s message, as well as
heal the sick; Just His touch would be enough to cure even the most fatal disease. Jesus
would then gather twelve men whom wished to follow Him, labeled ‘The Disciples’.
Jesus would go on to attract huge crowds of people wishing to listen to Him speak. Often
times, He would do so in parables, or a story with a moral, to emphasize a certain point
pertaining to God. As His popularity among the common person started to grow, so did
the council’s hatred for Him as they felt threatened by Jesus’ powers. Jesus knew His
capture was in His future, so He had planned a final feast with His Disciples. Jesus said,
“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you I shall
not eat it again until there is fulfillment in the King of God” (CSB 139). Jesus also goes
on to say that two of the Disciples would betray Him. Sure enough, Peter would deny
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even knowing Jesus to avoid imprisonment, and Judas’ betrayal for some money
led Jesus to getting caught while praying in the garden. As defiant as these two are to
Jesus, He still forgives them. Jesus is eventually taken before Pilate to await a
sentencing. Pilate finds Jesus to be innocent, but the crowd’s negative feelings for Him
are so strong that Pilate has to sentence Jesus to death. Put through torture, Jesus is
ultimately hung on a cross left for death, speaking his last word, “Father, into your hands
I commenced my spirit” (CSB 143).
After the fact of his death, I would reveal to my students the mystique in Jesus’
return. Jesus’ body was buried in a cave, although when women from Galilee had
returned days later with spices and oils for Jesus, they would only discover an empty
cave. Angels would later tell these women that Jesus was still alive. While two Disciples
were discussing the events of the past few days, Jesus had approached them and walked
with them. Their eyes could not recognize Jesus until he later broke bread before them
which opened minds to the fact that Jesus was still alive. Jesus quickly vanished, though
the Disciples would proceed to gather everyone together in Jerusalem for prayer. It is
here that Jesus visited them all. He said, “…everything about me in the law of Moses and
in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled” (CSB 145). As is written in the Bible, Jesus
completed the predictions. He then opened their mind to the understanding of the
Scriptures so that they were left with the knowledge to educate people of God for years to
come. The Disciples walked Jesus outside, and He rose up to heaven.
Jesus’ life left one universally important message behind: Love your neighbor as
you would love yourself, thus you must forgive others as you would want to be forgiven.
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Living by these two things, Jesus strives to spread God’s word so that people will see that
hatred-filled and unforgiving people will not be invited to the Kingdom of God. I would
tell my students that whenever an attempted act of mine is in question, I will revert back
to this to determine whether or not God would approve.
The third Gospel, written by Luke, is a detailed description of Jesus’ life on Earth.
Covering so much area in terms of stories and lessons, it is difficult to narrow down the
important points or to focus on certain aspects. If I were an educator and had to teach this
to students, like I have just done, I would break down Jesus’ life into three parts: Jesus’
birth, Jesus’ preaching, and Jesus’ death and resurrection. I would hit upon the topics
which I have already mentioned, and reflect on the significance of each. Discovering the
lessons presented before a reader and beginning to think more like God is the greatest
achievement one could receive from Luke’s Gospel.
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