Jesus’ Character in Luke

Jesus’ Character in Luke

In the Gospel of Luke, the author presents Jesus as a Messiah who identified with the disadvantaged in society more compared to the wealthy and “perfect people.” Jesus’ character that aligned towards preferring the rejected in the community regularly manifested in His works and parables. Luke presents Jesus as a compassionate, kind, and empathetic Superior Being who was humble enough to identify with the poor, sinners, and people from ethnic minorities. The above characteristics of Jesus Christ manifest most in His parables, such as that of the prodigal son, the parable of the Good Samaritan, and the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. The analysis of these parables shows how Jesus cared for people whom society shunned and how he expressed humility even though he was a divine being.

In the parable of the prodigal son in Luke, Jesus narrates how a young lastborn son asks his father for his inheritance and then goes away to waste it. The prodigal son spends his money unwisely and becomes poor within a short time. Jesus then tells the disciples that eventually, the prodigal son seeks employment in a pig farm, where he is given the responsibility of caring for pigs and sleeping and eating their food. Towards the end of the parable, Jesus says that the prodigal son remembers his father would never forsake him, and he returns home where he is warmly received. In writing Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, Luke presents Jesus as a compassionate individual who sympathizes with sinners (Attridge, n.d.). The intended message from the above parable was that Christians would always be allowed to return back to the heavenly father’s presence even when they strayed from salvation, as long as they repented genuinely. Jesus presents God as a loving father who does not penalize His children for committed sins.

Additionally, Luke writes of Jesus’ use of the parable of the Good Samaritan to advance the message of the kingdom of God. According to the parable, a Jewish tradesman is attacked by armed robbers who injure him in the process and leave him for dead. Several people pass near the hurt Jew, including religious leaders, but none helps him, except for a Good Samaritan man. Jesus says that the Good Samaritan takes the injured man, dresses his wounds, and takes him to an inn where he pays for upkeep for a long time. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke manifests Jesus’ character as identifying with the poor, such as the injured man who was robbed of everything by highway robbers. Jesus teaches the importance of compassion for people who are rejected by everyone, using the example of other persons refusing to help the injured Jew except for the Samaritan (Harris, 2015). Jesus also teaches the disciples and Christians today that He values everyone despite their backgrounds. The Good Samaritan was from an ethnic minority that was not considered religious, but Jesus presented him as a keen observer of Moses Law and as an individual having better character than Jews.

Lastly, Jesus used the parable of the rich man and Lazarus to teach the disciples that God valued character more than worldly wealth. According to the parable, Lazarus, a poor man, always ate crumbs from the tables of a rich man who wore fine clothes and lived in a magnificent house. The rich man refused to help Lazarus when alive, and when the two characters died, Lazarus went to heaven, and the rich man went to hell. Jesus taught the disciples that God valued kindness and the use of earthly possessions to help the poor over using material wealth for self-gain  (Harris, 2015). Overall, Luke presented Jesus as a humble and compassionate Messiah who identified with the isolated and poor people in society.

References

Attridge, H. W. (n.d.). The Gospel of Luke. Frontline. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/luke.html

Harris, S. L. (2015). The New Testament: A student’s introduction (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

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Jesus’ Character in Luke

Much of the material that appears only in Luke’s Gospel highlights Jesus’ concern for women, the poor, and social outcasts. The parables unique to his account – such as the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, and Lazarus and the rich man – all seem to emphasize some unexpected reversals of society’s accepted norms.

What view of Jesus’ character and teaching do you think Luke wishes to promote?