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Lesson OneLuke–John: The Gospel According to Luke and John5 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TwoJesus and John: Two Miracle Births5 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson ThreeWho IS This Man?: The Beginning of Jesus' Ministry5 Activities1 Assessment
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Course Wrap-UpCourse Completion1 Activity1 Assessment
Participants 4
Discussion Questions
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After learning about the gospel of John, why do you think he chose to focus the first half of his book on seven miracles or signs from Jesus? How did this help John accomplish his purpose that was discussed in the lesson?
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6 Replies
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John understood his audience–groups who understood that Jesus is God, but who were conflicted in comprehending Jesus as a human. By focusing on the miracles of Jesus, John is combining both of these attributes of Jesus: He is God and is able to perform miracles. He is also man who recognizes and addresses struggles of humans who deal with consequences of sin.
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John focuses on the deity of Jesus through telling us about the miraculous power He has to heal the sick, open blind eyes, restore damaged limbs on the people and raise the dead. Because of those types of miracles and more, Jesus can and does forgive sins, as was presented in the story of the man who Jesus forgave his sins and then when challenged by the religious leaders of the time as to His authority to do so, He heals the man in their presence.
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The miracles proved Jesus came from God. He wrote the Gospel so that we would believe Jesus is the Christ and we would have life in his name.
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By emphasizing Jesus’s miraculous works, John convinces the reader that Jesus is more than just a man. John provides example after example in order to secure in the reader’s mind that Jesus is more than just a magician or a holy man. Since his purpose was to show that Jesus was the Christ and in fact God, John uses these seven miracles to serve as evidence of Jesus’s divinity.
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In order to work through why John’s first half focuses on the miracles and signs of Jesus, I find it helpful to identify his purpose statement that is declared in the body of his book. It is found in John 20:31 . He says here that he has written this book “that you may know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that in believing you may have life in his name.” The other piece that stuck out to me when reflecting on his decision to focus on the miracles and signs was when Blomberg suggests that John is intentional about not repeating in his writing what he believes early Christians had already taught well in generations of the past. In connection to his purpose, he is showing that to know Christ as the Son of God is to know him by his miracles and signs. These are things that can only be taught following Christ’s life and ministry and could not have been known through previous teachings. As the reader experiences the explanation of the miracles (each more amazing than the last), this is a powerful testimony to his work and ministry that demonstrates that he was not only flesh, but truly divine in nature.
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Dr. Blomberg says, “Luke clearly seems to have been a Gentile.” What significance do you see in this? How might this have affected how Luke’s gospel was written and how it was received at the time it was written?
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6 Replies
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By Luke being a Gentile and writing to Gentiles, he was able to focus less on the traditions of the Jewish lifestyle and more on how the Good News is available to all. After all, the theme: to seek and save did not include a qualifier. I’m certain Gentiles gravitated to Luke’s Gospel more so than one of the Gospels which relied heavily on Jewish customs.
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By being a Gentile, Luke would present a Gospel that would be less influenced by Jewish background, thought and culture than the other Gospel writers. Also by being a Gentile, Luke could relate the story of Christ in a way that would appeal to the Greco-Roman intellectual mindset.
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If Luke was a Gentile then he would understand the struggles and beliefs specific to Gentiles. Therefore, Luke’s gospel would reflect this.
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I think it is so important that this perspective was included for the sake of outsiders both in biblical times and now. Today, just as representation in media and cultural conversations are important, it is important that more diverse voices share in the authorship of scripture. This likely gave an access point to the gospel for those uncertain if they were welcome in a Judeo-centric movement. For Luke, I can see this being his moment to welcome in and reassure non-jews like himself. It is a signal flair to the Gentile world which said, “You are welcome. These are the facts and you can trust me because I am like you.” I see this as significant for today, as well. We see the early church, then, as a movement of unprecedented welcome, after which we ought to model the church of today.
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It is tremendously significant that Luke was a Gentile. Through his own life experience, he would know what other Gentiles’ experiences would have looked like at this time, particularly when it comes to feeling like the outcast, the poor, or the “less than.” This is more than likely why he chooses to focus on some stories that other gospel writers did not such as the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin and the parables of the rich fool and rich man and Lazarus. Demonstrating that Jesus had this love for the underdogs of the world would be something that moves the hearts of the Gentiles tremendously as they would see him as a loving Savior for ALL. Also, Luke loves to share stories (according to Blomberg, he writes about Jesus teaching parables twice as much in his book than the others) and he is also the first Christian historian. Having an accurate historical layout would also be appealing to the Gentiles.