The Genius of the Gospel of Luke

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The genius of Luke’s Gospel is frequently overlooked by those who simply breeze through it or assume it is saying the same thing as Matthew and Mark. In fact, it is strikingly different. What especially matters are not so much the contradictions one finds, but the larger picture. Luke has radically edited Mark’s account in places to create a new portrait of Jesus. In this episode we see how he did it and what the end result is. Among other things, when you look carefully at the details of Luke’s account, you find that, unlike the other Gospels, here Jesus does not suffer during his passion and his death does not bring an atonement for sins. These are not minor differences. Why would Luke change the story so significantly?
This week, Bart addresses:
-What do we know about who wrote Luke and when?
-In broad terms, how does it relate to the other Gospels?
-Mark depicts Jesus as the son of God who has to die for the sins of others, but that no one recognizes him and Matthew portrays him as a distinctly Jewish Messiah come in fulfilment of the Jewish Scriptures. Does Luke agree with these views, or is it completely different?
-Do we have examples of Luke’s concern with Gentiles?
-Why would Luke make a passion without suffering?
-How can we explain Luke’s removal of atonement?
-How does Luke combine all of these different features to support his own theological message?
-What does this say about how we ought to read the Gospels? Should we take them all as parts of the same story, or as different stories?