Introduction to the New Testament – Class 3

Tonight we discussed the Gospel of Luke. I didn't read Luke, but instead attended a proclamation of the Gospel in the oral tradition. This presentation was the result of the hard work, dedication, and Christian commitment of two men, Michael Reardon and Patrick Lane. Michael Reardon, a native of Anaconda, Montana, proclaimed the complete text of the Gospel, and Patrick Lane, a native of Morrill, Nebraska, acted as Director, Musician and Lighting Artist. Filled with a desire to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they have given over 1000 performances in cities throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Republic of China, Europe, and Israel.

The plan of the Gospel of Luke, which follows Mark's outline as a rule, was written for a Roman audience and uses titles for Jesus, like Lord and Savior. The narrative is controlled and edited to bring in teaching and parables, and to omit episodes that would not interest Luke's non-Jewish readers. The originality of Luke is in his religious mentality: he is the faithful recorder of Christ's loving-kindness, he emphasizes the necessity for prayers, and he is the only one of the synoptic authors to give the Holy Spirit the prominence which we find in Paul and in the Acts of the Apostles. These qualities, combined with joy in God and gratitude for God’s gifts fill the third gospel, and are the ones that make Luke's achievement the warm and human account that it is.

The third gospel's distinguishing quality is due to the attractive personality of its author, which shines through all his work. Luke is at once a most gifted writer and a man of marked sensibility. He set to work in his own way with an eye to exact information and orderly narrative, but respect for his sources, together with his method of juxtaposing them, meant that even Luke was not in a position to arrange his traditional material in a more chronological way than Matthew or Mark. Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it (Luke 11:28)!

This Gospel invites us, who have "ears to hear," to listen deeply to what the heart is also hearing. The news is good! Enjoy, reflect, ponder, listen. Whenever the Word of the Lord is heard, it is heard as though for the first time; always new, always alive, always filled with power, delight, healing and wonder. Those who hear the Word are as essential a part of the Word as those who speak the Word. All are one in the Word that unites them, just as all are one in the Word that became flesh. This Gospel is the Good News of our salvation. Jesus is both its messenger and its message.