Salvogesis

Luke has been referred to as a gospel for the poor and this lengthy section of the gospel addresses a sort of egalitarianism in the impending Kingdom. Indeed, as we have seen, he refers to the ethics of money a fair amount in this portion of his gospel and it can be argued that Luke is saying that one cannot be rich in this realm and still inherit the Kingdom of God. While this may be true, it is certainly true that in order to use the money that we have been entrusted with ethically, we must not put our faith in it. Those who put their faith in their possessions cannot expect to be a part of the Kingdom of God. Luke, as reflected in the parables recorded in this section of his gospel, makes the claim that for those who are subjects of the Kingdom, it is unethical to place one’s faith in anything other than God: money, one’s religious expression, one’s own abilities, or anything else for that matter. One has to put one’s faith in God alone and one may not renounce, relinquish, or be ...

The Kingdom of God is invading the present. People, not fully understanding this, assumed that it would be fully realised in the immediate future. To address this Jesus told a parable about faithful slaves and wicked citizens (19:11-26). A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power. He gave responsibility for some of his money to his slaves and the ordered them to “Do business with these until I come back (v.13).” When he returned in his full authority (cf. v.12), he sought to find out how much they had gained through trading. One had a ten-fold increase and was rewarded with the rule of 10 cities; another with a five-fold increase was awarded 5 cities to rule; a third failed to invest the money. He instead laid the accusation before the noble that  “you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow (v.21).” The noble takes the money from the man and gives it to the one who was blessed with the 10-fold increase. This scenario is weav...

Jesus told a parable about the need to pray and not to lose heart. As recorded in Luke 18:1-8, he spoke the parable of the persistent widow. In this parable Jesus sets up the least favourable circumstances for the widow. Generally widows in 1st Century Palestine have nothing; it is implied therefore that she has no wealth with which to buy the judge’s favour. This judge to whom she is appealing also neither fears neither God nor respects people (18:2, 4). She may not appeal to him in the name of God or people: it will not influence his decision. How then does she receive justice? By persistently bothering the judge (v.5). If the ungodly give into persistence even though they do not care about God, man, or a situation in general, how much more will God “grant justice to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night (v.7)?” One should persistently engage God in prayer. When we need justice we should not grow weary but rather continue to cry out both day and night.  The story is no...

The parable of the shrewd (dishonest) manager (Luke 16:1-8) is at first a difficult one to understand. Initially it seems to almost exalt the manager’s dishonesty in obtaining favour that was lost. However, the parable is really addressing the concept of prolepsis and that the future has arrived (in this case the man’s unemployment) and he must act accordingly before it is fully realized. The manager, recognizing that he is rightfully out of work, shows mercy to the master’s tenants, hoping to gain their favour and mercy when his unemployment is fully realized. Ethically this is how we should respond. As our life (employment) here is ending and could conclude anytime, we should show mercy and make preparations for the coming (post-employment) era. “Through this parable Jesus admonishes his hearers to cast caution aside, seize the moment of opportunity and make provision for their future before God. The Kingdom of God is at hand.”[8] What about other ethical sub-themes? What about the...

In the parables about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, Jesus speaks about the idea that “…there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance (Luke 15:7).” It is a cause for celebration when one joins the kingdom. In the parable of the lost son (15:11-32) the father tells the oldest son that “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found (15:31-32).'” Ethically speaking then we should also be concerned about, show mercy towards, and also celebrate the return of those once lost to the Kingdom. More daily blogs at https://salvogesis.blogspot.ca/ More articles, sermons, and papers at www.sheepspeak.com  

Jesus extols the ethics of patience, perseverance and mercy through the parable of the fig tree (13:6-9). The man shows mercy towards the tree by not chopping it down and throwing it into the fire. He shows perseverance in giving it one more year to produce fruit. God likewise shows us mercy and as such we should extend the same to others. The Parable of the Great Feast (Luke 14:15-24), as told by Luke, is significant. It does not have the open rebellion that is represented in Matthew’s version of the story (Matthew 22:1-14). Luke does not refer to a king and his vassals but merely “someone [who] gave a great dinner and invited many (14:16).” Jesus responds to the comment recorded in v.15, “blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God (v.15)” with this parable. The parable tells of people who reject the invitation to attend the banquet and have their seats given to others instead. It is interesting that those who reject the invitation appear to be wealthy (vv.18-19) w...

Following Jesus’ utterance of ‘the Lord’s Prayer’ and in response to the disciples’ insistence that Jesus teach them to pray, he tells them a couple of parables. One is about a man who gets out of bed solely because of his neighbour’s persistence (11:5-8, cf. Luke 18:1-8); another relays how a father will not do his child harm in response to his child’s request – i.e. giving a snake for a fish or a scorpion for an egg. We must be persistent in approaching God and have faith that He will give us what is best – He will do so even more than an earthly father does for his own children (v.13). Since the Kingdom is here and will be fully realized, we must act accordingly: “ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened (vv.10-11).” We must display the ethic of perseverance in approaching the Lord with the faith that he wi...

Jesus tells a number of parables about relying on God and striving for the Kingdom that are included in the twelfth chapter of Luke. The first one (12:13-21) is in response to a demand from someone in the crowd, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me (v.13).” Jesus replies, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions (v.15)” and then he tells the crowd a parable about a rich fool. This parable is one that I have always found interesting. The man in the story seems to be planning for his retirement. He plans to store up his savings of grain and goods and ‘relax, eat, drink, be merry’ for many years to come. “But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be (v.20)?” Is this story saying that we should not save for the future? It is certainly saying that we cannot put our faith in our possessi...

In Chapter 10, Luke records Jesus as telling the famous parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37; cf. Mt 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-31) in response to a lawyer’s question about what one must do to inherit eternal life (v.25). The lawyer, when affirmed in his assertion that “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself (v.27; cf. Deut 6:5, Lev. 19:18),” asks Jesus who is his neighbour. At the conclusion of the familiar parable, Jesus responds to the question of the lawyer (v.29) with his own question: “which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers (v.36)?” The man responds that it was the one who showed him mercy (v.37).” Jesus then tells him to do likewise. Showing mercy is central to this parable and a key ethic to be displayed in the already arriving Kingdom of God. Let us consider today how each one of us can simi...

 The ethics of Jesus is a difficult topic to address. A couple of years  ago I had contemplated looking into this subject matter pertaining to Canadian  politics. I had hoped to entitle my paper “WWJV: hoW Would Jesus Vote.” I abandoned this idea for two reasons. 1) The topic of Jesus’ ethics seems much too vast to reduce to a WWJV formula, and 2) WWJV is probably not a legitimate question as Jesus is more concerned (and directly teaches about) a heavenly kingdom rather than an earthly democracy. His ethics, I submit, relate to the fact that the Kingdom of God has arrived and as such we should act appropriately. The authors of each of the gospels present a slightly different view of Jesus and have their own message. As such each of the books needs to be read independently. The Gospel of John “is above all concerned with the way the tradition is being lived in his community.”[1] “The Gospel of Matthew has traditionally and popularly been known as the Jewish Gospel;”[2] M...