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Luke 9:51-19:57: The Ethics of Christ

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 found lacking in that faith - even if one claims to be a servant of God. We must persevere. It would be incongruent and unethical to claim to serve the Lord and yet be found derelict in our duties to serve Him.

We must also be humble. We acknowledge that it is God who is the ultimate authority. We obtain nothing of any significance on our own. The Kingdom is of God’s making, not ours. In the Kingdom, we will therefore not exalt ourselves above anyone else. We will be humble.

We will experience the joy that comes from extending mercy. Mercy is one of the key ethical values of the Kingdom. God has shown such mercy to us that it is unthinkable that we would ever be able to even come close to repaying Him. Luke expresses,through these parables, that since this is the case we should go and extend mercy to others and rejoice when others experience that same mercy: such is the Kingdom of God
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