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Studio "B" Transcripts Themes from the Bible Book Called Luke
Dr. Ash is a Professor of Bible at Abilene Christian University. He was interviewed recently for KNLS by Larry Bradshaw of Abilene radio station KACU. In this series of lessons, Dr. Ash introduced our listeners to the New Testament book called Luke. Luke is one of the four "Gospel" books that relate the life and message of Jesus Christ. Dr. Ash's comments follow. Please note the copyright notice at the bottom of this page. You may now jump to one of the following:
The Book of Luke: An Introduction Larry: Well, greeting. My name is Larry Bradshaw, and we'll be looking at some of the themes in the book of Luke in the New Testament in the next few days. Our special guest for this series is Dr. Tony Ash, who is a professor of Bible at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, TX, USA. Welcome to the program, Tony. Tony: Thank you, Larry. Larry: Dr. Ash, you have taught for many years, what 35 years? Tony: Yes, 35 years. Larry: And you have taught college students in the US and one of the special courses that you teach in addition to many other is the book of Luke. Tell our listeners a little bit about the book of Luke and how that fits into the New Testament and to the Bible itself. Tony: Sometimes people are puzzled about why there are 4 gospels. They wonder why there isn't just one officially sanctioned story of Jesus, but each gospel writer is telling the story of Jesus with special interests in mind. Each writer is thinking about the people who are going to read the gospel, generally Christian people, and what their needs are, and so from the information that he knows about Jesus, he tells the story in such a way that it will mean something to the people who are going to read it. Luke wrote his gospel several decades after the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. And he is the only gospel writer who tells us how he went about the process of writing. If you look at the gospel, the first four verses of the first chapter tell us several things about what Luke did as he wrote. They tell us that others had also compiled accounts of the life of Jesus, we don't know what all those accounts were, although most scholars believe that the gospel of Mark was written earlier than Luke, and that Luke knew the gospel of Mark and used it as a resource in his own writing. he also says that the things that he is going to write in his gospel came from those who from the beginning were eye witnesses of the Word, so that the story he tells goes back to those that experienced it first hand. And so Luke tells us that he has been doing the research, the way he says it is, he has followed all things closely for some time, so I think he may have interviewed some of the major characters of whom he writes, especially Mary, the mother of Jesus, and he's writing an orderly account. That means that he has a plan in mind. To understand what the plan is, we need to read the gospel and figure that out for ourselves, but he has a plan in mind. He is writing to a man named Theophilus, who probably represents cultured Greek readers. He calls him "most excellent", which is a term that indicates a person of some honor or some significance. he is writing so that Theophilus can know the truth about the things that he has been taught, so probably he is telling this Theophilus, who is a Gentile, the story of Jesus in a more complete way, probably to give him a better account than the bits and fragments he may have had previously. Now Luke is not only writing to Theophilus, but he also intends that this gospel be read by a church, or perhaps by several churches in an area, we are not sure exactly where he lived. And as he selects from the materials available to him, from the gospel of Mark and from any interview he conducted and from general Christian knowledge and perhaps from other collections of sayings of Jesus, he includes those things that may mean something to his readers. Probably his writing for example to Gentiles, and he is telling those Gentile Christians that the Jewish background from which Jesus came is also their background, that the Gentile churches are not separated from the Jewish background. Ass he writes then, he tells us a number of things that no other gospel writer tells us. He apparently has a good bit of information that no other gospel writer has. Larry: Dr. Ash, you mentioned there were 4 gospels, and those were Matthew, Mark, and John. Some people might wonder why we need 4 different gospels? Why isn't one account of Jesus' life and death and resurrection sufficient? Tony: Well of course each gospel tells that basic story of life, death and resurrection, but the teachings of Jesus and the person of Jesus are emphasized in different ways. Matthew is writing to Jews, so he wants to emphasize that Jesus is the Jewish king. John wants to emphasize the importance of trust in Jesus, for salvation. Mark is writing to Romans, and he emphasizes the power and the action of Jesus, because that appeals to Romans. So it is a matter of selecting the material and presenting it in a way that will fit the needs and appeal to the interests of each audience. Larry: What do we know about this man Luke? Tony: We know very little about him. He is mentioned only three times in the New Testament. We know that he was with Paul when Paul was in prison. We are pretty sure that he was a Gentile because he is distinguished from those of the circumcision, who would be Jews. We know he was a doctor. That's about it, as far as the New Testament is concerned. The evident that he wrote the gospel comes from later church history. Larry: Do you see evidence in his writing of the fact that he was a physician? Does that show up in his writing? Tony: Some people say yes, some people say no. We will be talking in the next few days about some of the important themes that we discern from the gospel of Luke, sort of like a detective story. We are going to talk about how he shows us Jesus. We are going to talk about God's love for all men that's pointed out in the gospel of Luke, and especially interesting to Luke is the theme of God's care for the poor, and the responsibility of those who have wealth. We will be looking at some other themes that are more important in Luke than in any other gospel. They are important in every gospel, but more so in Luke. Larry: Now normally, when people study the book of Luke from the New Testament, do they take a chronological approach to the life of Jesus? Do they begin with the announcement of his birth and go through the resurrection? What's the normal way to study the book of Luke? Tony: I think that's the normal way, to go from chapter one to chapter 24, but along the way, it's fascinating to see these special interests that pop up again and again. And to compare Luke with Mark, say, which was his source, and to see what things he emphasized, more than Mark or less than Mark. Larry: In our program tomorrow, we'll examine one of these them. Tony: I want to talk tomorrow about the way Luke brings Jesus before the reader and shows the authority, the power, that Jesus possessed. Larry: We'll look forward to that. Would you like to return to the top of the page, or perhaps you would like to return to the Studio "B" transcript page, or to the list of ALL transcripts? Larry: Dr. Ash, how well are today's college students acquainted with the book of Luke? Tony: Well, very few are that well acquainted when they come into the course. We hope they are much better acquainted when they leave the course, some are and some are not! Larry: I know you are the primary teacher of the book of Luke at this university. Is that your favorite of the gospels? Tony: I think so. A number of years ago, about 30 years ago, I was asked to write a commentary on Luke, and this stirred my interest, and I've been studying ever since, learning new things about the gospel because it really is a fascinating work. Larry: What does Luke think of Jesus? When you look at the writings in his book, what's his approach, or how does he go about defining this man, Jesus? Tony: In any gospel, of course, the first thing you look for is what the gospel says about Jesus. Luke is showing us Jesus as the perfect man who brings God's love for all people, even for those people who are normally looked down upon by society. There is a special section in the gospel of Luke that begins in chapter 4 and verse 31 and goes through chapter 6 and verse 11 which I think in particular is Luke's way of bringing Jesus before the reader and letting us know who Jesus is, and in essence asking the reader to make a decision about whether this man is worth considering. I think of Luke as being like the author of a drama or a play where in the beginning of the play, he brings his major character on stage and tells us something about him so that we can form an opinion. So as I read through those chapters, and of course we invite all of the listeners to read them for themselves, chapter 4, verse 31 through chapter 6, verse 11, it just follows a story about Jesus in his home synagogue in Nazareth, which is saying some very important things about the work that Jesus has come to do. Now I find 8 ways in these few verses that the authority or power of Jesus is shown, and my students know they need to know all 8 of them. Let me mention some of them. You look at verse 32 of chapter 4, Jesus goes out and he begins to teach in a synagogue, the Jewish meeting place in a little lakeside town called Capernaum. They are amazed at his teaching because he teaches with authority. I get the impression from that that Jesus teaches in such a way that he expects you to believe it because he says it! He doesn't have to get alot of sources to support his point of view. You either believe him or you don't believe him. He is that kind of teacher. Larry: Do you thing that was a factor of his delivery or the content of what he said? Tony: I think it's the content and the surety with which he said it, as if to say, "this is the truth, and you believe it or don't believe it!" We also see Jesus here as a worker of miracles. We see a couple of kinds of miracles. One is the healing of people who are sick. In verse 38 of chapter 4, we have Simon's mother-in-law (Simon is the same as Peter) who is healed of the fever. But not only is the fever taken away, apparently the cause of the fever is taken away, she doesn't recover slowly, she gets right up and fixes a meal for them. Then later in verse 40, we're told about a number of people who are healed, and in chapter 5, we're told about a man with leprosy who's healed, in verse 12. Leprosy is a terrible, terrible disease, actually the term covers what we think of as Hanson's disease, but also a number of other skin diseases. And then later on, he heals a paralyzed man, gives him the power to walk. He also apparently has the power to control nature, because in the first 11 verses of chapter 5, he goes out with some professional fishermen, Simon is one of them, James and John, and he tells them to fish at a time of day when fish are not normally caught, and they do and they catch so many fish that they have to get another boat to put the fish in and they almost sink both of the boats. A remarkable story, with all of the detail about how many fish they caught. I'm sure they ate fish for a long time! Larry: You mentioned yesterday that Luke was a physician and so maybe that's noteworthy that he would pick out those instances of healing because certainly that would be of interest to him. Tony: Well, it is interesting that in the story of Simon's mother, we are told that she had a high fever, back in chapter 4 and verse 38. Luke is the only one who says that. I don't know if that means anything or not, maybe he said 104 degrees or something like that! Larry: Now you mentioned this issue of him controlling nature. And this of course goes to the very nature of Jesus. Some people believe that Jesus was both God and man. Some believe that he laid aside his deity while he was here on earth. What is Luke's view of the nature of Jesus? Tony: You are a master at asking difficult questions! The gospel of John is going to emphasize Jesus' deity more, but Luke, I think, is showing Jesus as human. Many people argue that Luke is showing Jesus as the perfect man, what men would be if they were all they should be. So I would say that Luke basically is showing Jesus as a man, totally committed to God who is given power by God to do these remarkable things. That is not to deny that he is deity, that's just saying that Luke's emphasis is on his humanity. Larry: So when Luke mentions instances such as the fishing, that is confirmation of God working through Jesus, showing his power? Tony: Yes, that's right. Let me mention one of two other things that show the authority of Jesus in this section. One of them is the fact that Jesus says that he is the Lord of the Sabbath, and maybe the most important of all is a story in chapter five, beginning in verse 17 where he heals a paralyzed man as a sign that he has power to forgive sins. That is critical, I think. It's saying that the healing of the body is a symptom of the deeper healing that Jesus can bring, and he says in chapter five, verse 20 and verse 32, "I came to call sinners to repentance, to forgiveness". Larry: So Luke is obviously concerned not only with the healing of the body, but the healing of the spiritual, or soul. Tony: Deeply concerned about salvation, and the forgiveness of sins. Would you like to return to the top of the page, or perhaps you would like to return to the Studio "B" transcript page, or to the list of ALL transcripts? Larry: Dr. Ash, we are looking at some of the themes from the book of Luke, and one of the themes that you told us about was Luke's emphasis on the kind of people that Jesus was able to relate to. Tony: We are going to meet alot of people in the gospel of Luke who were rejected by the society of that day, or who were looked upon as being in the very lowest ranks of society, people who might not be cared for by other people. Luke wants to emphasize the fact that God, as he works through Jesus, is deeply concerned about those people. Actually those people are very often more willing to listen to God than other people are because they understand what kind of people they are and what needs they have. Larry: Was there a sort of caste system in that day, where one socio-economic group had trouble relating to another group? Tony: Well I suppose in nearly every culture there are those people who are seen as not being quite as good as other people, people whose lives do not fit the standards of the society, and so you always will have something of that. In the time of Jesus, and later in the time of Luke, you have people that are looked down upon, especially by religious people. There are alot of stories in the gospel of Luke about people that I would designate as sinners who the religious leaders might tend to avoid. Peter, or Simon Peter when he is called by Jesus, in the story in chapter 5, verses 1-11, says when Jesus helps them catch a great number of fish, "Get away from me, I'm a sinful man!" That's chapter 5 and verse 8. Jesus won't let him go. Jesus has work for Simon, so he sees something there that other people wouldn't see. Later in that same chapter, in chapter 5 and verse 17, a paralyzed man is brought to Jesus to be healed and they have to let him down through the roof of the house - they break a hole because they can't get in because the crowds are so great. Jesus, to the surprise of the people there says, "Man, your sins are forgiven you!" Obviously this is another sinner that God is concerned about, but we meet some other people as well. We meet a woman in chapter 7, in a story that begins in verse 36, who only Luke tells us about, who is called the sinner. Perhaps she was a prostitute. She comes into a meal in the house of a Pharisee, not invited of course, and a shock to the Pharisee. Jesus is that story demonstrates that God is concerned for her, God is willing to forgive her no matter how bad she has been, if she is willing to trust in God for forgiveness. Larry; It would even be unusual in those times for a man of any stature to speak to a woman. A woman had very little status in that society, so this showed something when Jesus took time to speak to this woman. Tony: There are a number of stories in Luke where he, more than any other gospel, shows Jesus' concern about women and their spiritual needs. Some of the great people in Luke who are great examples to people are women! Anna, in chapter 2, is a marvelous woman who spends all of her time in the temple praying. Most people wouldn't point Anna out as a great example, and Mary and Elizabeth, there are others in the gospel as well. Larry: You said back at the very beginning of the series, there are some scholars who think that Luke may have interviewed Mary. Do you think this might be responsible for the fact that he emphasizes more than the other gospels the role of women and how they related to Jesus? Tony: I'm not sure if the interview with Mary caused him to emphasize women, or if he already decided that women played a very important role and then interviewed Mary. It's difficult to say, but there are a number of women, both in the gospel and in Luke's other work, the book of the Acts of the Apostles, which emphasize godly women, and some who are not so godly as well. Larry: What conclusion do you think that Luke draws from the fact that Jesus has a number of relationships of encounters with women along the way? Tony: I think it's showing that their spiritual impulses, their spiritual needs, are as strong as men, and one should not overlook the need of the women for God and their devotion to God, as well. so I think these things are important in a society where, as you have suggested, women are not always regarded as highly as they should be. Larry: Do you think that most women view the book of Luke as their favorite of the four gospels? Tony: I wouldn't be a bit surprised, because they are able to see the love that Jesus had for all mankind, men and women alike. Larry: How about children - does the book of Luke say anything about the way that Jesus relates to children? Tony: Well, just one or two passages, one in chapter 9, and one in chapter 22, but I wouldn't see this as a great emphasis, although Luke does tell us a little bit about Jesus as a baby, and tells us the only story about Jesus from the time he was about 2 until he was about 30, and that is the story about Jesus when he was 12 in the end of chapter 2, and something about what a 12 year old ought to be. Larry: Of course, at Christmastime, children all over the world turn to the book of Luke for their scripture telling about the coming of the Messiah in the form of a baby in a manger. Do the other gospels emphasize this to the extent that Luke does? Tony: The gospel of Matthew does, only Matthew and Luke, but Matthew and Luke tell entirely different stories - the details they give - Matthew tells about the wise men, Luke talks about the shepherds. You never have the wise men and the shepherds there at the same time. Larry: This took place over a period of months. Any other ideas from the book of Luke on how Jesus related to different kinds of people? Tony: He was concerned about the poor, he was concerned about the Samaritans whom the Jews looked down upon, he was concerned about Gentiles, and other groups as well. Would you like to return to the top of the page, or perhaps you would like to return to the Studio "B" transcript page, or to the list of ALL transcripts? Larry: What do you think the university students gain from an indepth exposure to the book of Luke? Tony: Well, obviously the first thing is to become better acquainted with Jesus and to understand what the basic material is, but one would hope also that they learn in a way that influences the way they live. That they take the teachings of Jesus seriously and follow them as well as just knowing what the book says. Larry: So this is not just an intellectual exercise, as where we gain lots of facts about the book of Luke and about this man called Jesus? There are some application principles, do you try to draw those for the students or do you let them arrive at their own applications? Tony: Of course, this is a university course, it's not preaching in church, but at the same time, I don't think we've done what Luke intended unless somehow our lives are touched by what he has to say, so we do some of that. Larry: Now you mentioned that the theme we were going to examine today had to do with the fact of being a disciple. What does the word disciple mean? Tony: The basic meaning of the word 'disciple' means a learner, or a follower. There is a verse in Luke, chapter 6 and verse 40 which says a disciple or learner or follower tries to be like his master. To be a disciple of Jesus is to try to be the kind of person who lives like Jesus lived. Obviously we can't do the miracles that Jesus did, but we can live the kind of life that he lived. That's what a disciple is. Larry: How important do you think the discipleship is to Luke as an author? How much emphasis does he place on that? Tony: I think it's very important to understand that to follow Jesus is more important that anything else that people can do. As people decide what things are really important in their lives, to Luke, following Jesus comes at the very top of the list because, what's more important than God? Since Jesus is God among us, what's more important than listening to and following Jesus? Larry: What are some of the ways that Luke encourages us to be a disciple or a follower of Jesus? Tony: Well, let me mention a few texts in Luke in which Jesus is talking to those in his own day, which I think says something about how serious people should be. In Luke, chapter 5 and verse 11, Jesus has called Simon, or Simon Peter, and James and John to come with him to catch men. The text says that they left everything and followed Him. That's an interesting statement, because if you look at the other gospels, Matthew and Mark, though they do talk about following Jesus, neither of them says they left everything. That's a clue, and when we read down in chapter 5, verse 27, where a tax collector named Levi is called to follow Jesus, we are told the same thing about him. In verse 28, we're told he left everything. So to me that's a hint that Luke is saying if you follow Jesus, you are willing to give up anything if necessary to follow Him. Larry: Now when your students discuss this text, I'm sure they ask you what that means, to leave everything? Does that mean to abandon your family, does that mean to give up your job, what are the implications of that statement, to leave everything? Tony: What it means is that if anything comes between you and your relationship to God, you are willing to give that up. It's not saying that one must leave one's family. Obviously one should love one's family. It's not saying that one should become poor. There are examples in Luke, chapter 19, for example of Zacchaeus, a rich man, who followed Jesus. But it is saying that the disciple, if necessary to follow Jesus, would be willing to give up anything. Larry: So for example, if a person were addicted to alcohol, that could be an impediment or barrier to a total relationship to Jesus. Tony: Yes, alcohol becomes really a kind of god, doesn't it? It rules our lives. Or drugs, the same way, or money. Luke has alot to say about that. Larry: So anything that would get in the way of our commitment to Jesus would be suspect and something we would need to deal with. Tony: Even family - there's a passage in chapter 14, verse 26 where using very strong language, Jesus says you must hate father and mother, brother, sister, and so on. he doesn't mean hate, in the sense of the opposite of love,but he means that they must not be more important that God. Larry: So being a disciple is number one in your list of priorities, and anything else which gets in that position of being number one, we must deal with. What are some of the other things that he talks about as the cost of being a disciple, or the terms of being a disciple, or follower? Tony: Well, one of the strongest statements, and it's a bit frightening, where he talks about carrying the cross. In chapter 9, just after his disciples realize that he is the king, or the Christ, he says if you are going to follow me, you must take up the cross and then he adds the word, 'daily'. Now crucifixion is a terrible, terrible death. And he is saying if you are crucified and die, and somehow came to life, you'd do it all over again the next day. Now very few Christians have died because of their faith, but he is saying that if that faith called upon you even to give your life, even to give it in a terrible way, you would do it. Larry: There are perhaps many of our listeners who feel a kind of persecution for their beliefs. Is that something that they can be proud of, something that they can grow in their faith having experienced? What would Luke say about that? Tony: There's a verse in chapter 6, verse 22, "Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold your reward is great in heaven, for so their fathers did to the prophets." Larry: So Luke is telling us to look beyond the immediate problems, the immediate pain, and realize that there is a spiritual, or heavenly goal, which makes it all worthwhile. Tony: And that one is loved by God, regardless. Would you like to return to the top of the page, or perhaps you would like to return to the Studio "B" transcript page, or to the list of ALL transcripts? Larry: One of the themes you talked about finding in the book of Luke was Jesus' love for others. I noticed in my examination in I John, which is also in the New Testament, in chapter 3, John says, "This is the message you heard from the beginning. We should love one another." John must agree with Luke on the importance of loving one another because that's something that you find frequently in the book of Luke. Tony: And they all agree with Jesus who tells us about God's love for all men. John also says 'God is love'. So love is at the very center of things, love is the key basic element - it is the very nature of God, and to ignore that is to ignore the nature of God. Larry: Of the 4 gospels, which ones emphasize do you think more than the others the importance of the centrality of love in Jesus' ministry? Tony: The gospel of John talks a great deal about love, it's the mark of the follower of Jesus, and the gospel of Matthew does as well. Luke, as he talks about God's love, is emphasizing that Go loves people that otherwise might not be noticed as we pointed out in a previous broadcast. Luke does talk a great deal about love. Let me say a word about love because love is one of these words that means many, many, many things. In the Bible, it generally means the love that God has for us and that we are to reflect that same love for others. Which means that we make a decision, that we are going to seek the good of other people. It isn't necessarily a feeling, but it's a decision that no matter who those people are, we are going to care for them and seek their good just as much as God does himself. Luke says in chapter 6 that God loves the ungrateful and selfish. Not an easy thing for us to do, but that is the basic call of Christian people, to love even those. Larry: There are different ideas, as you suggested, when you used the word 'love'. When somebody thinks of romantic love between a man and a woman, another might emphasize family love. What exactly does Jesus mean when he talks about love, or does he use love in all of these instances? Tony: There is a greek word that's used. The noun form is called 'agape', and the verb form is similar, it's a bit different. This kind of love is the decision to do good for others even if they are undeserving, even if they are unattractive, even if they will not repay, because that's the way God loves us. Larry: It's easy to love someone who loves us back. Tony: Yes, and Jesus talks about that in chapter 6. He says, "If you love those that love you, that's a natural thing." But that's not what Jesus is calling for. In that 6th chapter, beginning in verse 20, in what we call The Sermon on the Plain, or The Sermon on the Level Place, he talks about loving enemies. He says the reason we love enemies is because God loves His enemies. Every human being, at some point in life, is God's enemy. But God continues to love us just the same. Jesus says to His disciples, Love your enemies, which is extremely hard to do, but it's the very essence of what Jesus is teaching. Larry: Who are some of the other people, the unattractive or the undesirable that you mentioned that Jesus was able to demonstrate a love for, that Luke talks about? Tony: We talked about some of these people in a previous talk. The Samaritans, for example, who lived up in the central part of Palestine were looked down upon by the Jews, but Jesus showed love for them, and if fact, he even showed a Samaritan for an example of the kind of love you should have in the story of the Good Samaritan, which is in chapter 10, beginning in verse 25. That story is interesting because it begins with Jesus saying to a lawyer who is questioning him, 'You should love God with all of your being, and love your neighbor as yourself.' And the lawyer asks Jesus, 'Who is my neighbor?' So what the lawyer is trying to do here is to say some people will be my neighbors, and I love them, but other people are not my neighbors, and I don't need to love them. So Jesus tells a story to demonstrate that anybody who needs your help is your neighbor, and the hero in that story is a Samaritan, which probably would make some Jews cringe, but the Samaritan is the good guy in that story. Larry: I guess the modern day application of Jesus' teaching here would include loving people of different races and different cultures, people who are very much unlike we are. Tony: That's right, and people who are at a different place economically. One of the things that Luke emphasizes is that God loves the poor. There are alot of things in Luke about the poor, blessings on the poor, preaching the gospel to the poor, and the poor people seem to be very responsive to what Jesus has to say, so Luke emphasizes this as well. Larry: So would we say that Luke is the social gospel of the 4? Tony: I would say that Luke has a stronger social concern, in terms of looking at all levels of society than the other gospels do. Would you like to return to the top of the page, or perhaps you would like to return to the Studio "B" transcript page, or to the list of ALL transcripts? What Jesus Had To Say About Money Larry: Dr. Ash, we have identified a number of themes that are found in the book of Luke, the last time about what Jesus had to say about the poor. But this time, I'd like to know a little bit about what Jesus says about our wealth and how we go about using our resources that God gives us. What's Jesus' attitude toward wealth? Tony: As Luke tells us what Jesus says, I think Luke knows his readers probably have money that they are using selfishly and that they are forgetting about the importance of their relation to God, so he has a good deal to say about the right attitude toward wealth. We meet alot of rich people in the gospel of Luke, but we need to remember that what Jesus teaches about wealth applies to everyone, whether rich or poor, because it's not a matter of the amount that one has, but it's a matter of ones attitude toward it. In the 12th chapter, beginning in verse 13, he tells the story of a rich man who has such good crops that he has to build bigger barns to hold them, and he thinks that he has everything that he needs, because his material needs are supplied. He learns in this story that material things do not supply all of ones needs. The greatest need is to be right with God. So the man dies, and when he dies, all of those things that he stored up in the big barns are lost to him. The teaching there is that no matter what one has in terms of things in this world, if one is not right with God, if one has not made the proper provision. In the 16th chapter, there is the story in the first 9 verses of a man who has charge of the household of another, and because he is dishonest, he is fired. He is something of a rascal, he makes provisions for his future, and Jesus uses that story to say to his disciples that in the use of your material things, to do God's work, you should be wise in preparing for the future. I thin he is, among other things, meaning that you should take the things that you have, the material things you have, and use them to help the poor. There is a very powerful story in the end of that 16th chapter, beginning in verse 19, about a very rich man and a poor man who's diseased and probably dying of starvation, lying at the gate of his house. The poor man's name is Lazarus. Now the story doesn't say this, but I would expect that the rich man passes by Lazarus many times during the course of a week, or during the course of a month, and never offers him anything, never offers him any food, not even table scraps, and finally, the poor man dies. He's a godly man and goes, so to speak, to heaven, whereas when the rich man dies, he goes into torment. So the point of that story is, if you've got this world's goods in this life, you need to use them to help people who don't have them, and you need to do it, as Jesus is saying, now, while you can. Larry: You know, we talked on an earlier program about one of the themes from the book of Luke being the importance of love, and this is a direct application of that teaching because love is more than just an intellectual assent, or intellectual feeling, but it is a demonstration of ones love by helping those who are poor and in need. Now you mentioned that this in not necessarily just a problem for wealthy people, do you think that it is more of a temptation when you have large amounts of goods and money, to horde those and not want to share those with others? Tony: Since I'm not in that situation, it's a difficult question to answer. Some people make money their god. They spend their whole life making it - they've got what they need, but they want to make more. I think people who don't have much can also have the same temptation. I couldn't say who has the greater temptation. It's a matter of ones spirit. It's a matter of ones attitude. What is most important - the God who made the world or the things God made. Many people take the things God made and make them a god, and Jesus is saying that's a tragic mistake. Larry: But we can be stingy whether we are wealthy or poor, it's our attitude. Tony: Stinginess is not restricted to any economic class. Larry: What else does the book of Luke teach us about sharing our wealth or the dangers of wealth? Tony: There is a story in chapter 18 that is found in the other gospels as well. The others stories I've talked about are only in Luke, but this is a very wealthy ruler who comes to Jesus and wants eternal life, 'How do I get eternal life?' That is the big question, verse 18. He and Jesus talk about what the law of Moses and the 10 Commandments teach, but in reciting the 10 Commandments, Jesus leaves out the commandment that says 'You shall not covet'. Because he knows that's the man's problem, and so he says to the man, 'Now if you really want eternal life, sell everything you have and give it to the poor'. That's more than the man could handle. He may have given some to the poor, but he can' do that. Well, Jesus is saying if you want to conquer the control that wealth has on your life, you need to get rid of it. It's like a person who wants to stop using tobacco. The best way is just quit, as difficult as that is. The rich man doesn't do that, and so Jesus talks about how important it is to give anything up that keeps one from the kingdom of God. Now we do meet one rich man in Luke who makes the right decisions, that's in chapter 19, verse 1-10. He is a tax collector named Zaccheus. Jesus invites himself into Zaccheus' home, and when he comes in, he finds that Zaccheus is a good man. He gives half of his goods to the poor, and repays anyone he's cheated. Jesus says that salvation has come to this house. So not all of the rich men in Luke trust their money more than they should. Zaccheus uses his money in the right way. Larry: I have always identified with Zaccheus because the Bible says that he was a short man, and he had trouble seeing over the crowd. He had to climb up in a tree in order to see Jesus. He has always been a hero of mine, because, as you know, I'm not very tall! Would you like to return to the top of the page, or perhaps you would like to return to the Studio "B" transcript page, or to the list of ALL transcripts? Larry: In the book of Luke, we have a number of themes which we have examined in this series, but today we are going to focus on the theme of 'joy'. What does that word 'joy' imply? Tony: Some people think of joy as jumping up and down and celebrating, but I believe that Luke has a deeper meaning in mind. I would define joy as 'the understanding that everything is going to be alright...finally. There may be some difficulties along the way, but a person who has given their life to God has the understanding that when the final word is said, it is going to be happiness of the sort that we can't imagine here. It is that underlying assumption that everything is going to work out well, because God is in control. I believe a Christian is able to take that assumption and bring it into the difficult situations in life and say, 'even though these situations are difficult, I know that these are not the final word about life. Larry: Does Jesus talk more in the book of Luke about the joys of this life or about the joys of heavenly life? Tony: He talks about both, I think. He has a number of places where he talks about the final kingdom under the image of a great banquet, or under the image of people who sit on a throne, this sort of idea, so you do have that. But you also have the sense of joy in this life. An interesting thing in Luke is when you begin to examine the places where you have 'joy' words, 'joy' or 'gladness' or rejoice'. They always have to do with whatever God has done in bringing Jesus to earth and what Jesus is doing for us. It's not joy because we've made more money or because we won an athletic contest, or because a child is born, but joy because of what God has done, because of salvation. Larry: Let's look then at the book of Luke and what he tells us about joy. What are some of the scriptures that come to mind? Tony: The first place that we see it is in chapter 1, verse 14 where an angel has appeared to the priest Zechariah, and told him that, though he and his wife are too old to have children, by the power of God they are going to have a child. Elizabeth is going to become pregnant. And the angel says, in regard to that in verse 14, 'You will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth.' Now Luke has a way, when he wants us to get a point, of repeating it several times, so he uses three words here in this one verse, Joy, and gladness, and rejoice, all three to talk about what God is doing in bringing John, and when John is born in chapter one and verse 58, neighbors come and rejoice with the mother, but I think the joy is more than just that John is born. In the 2nd chapter, Jesus is born. The first ones to be told, strangely enough, are not important people, but shepherds, who are fairly unimportant people, but Luke is emphasizing that God comes for the lowly. An angel appears to the shepherds, who must have been amazed at this, and the angel says, in chapter 2 verse 10, 'I bring you good news of a great joy, which will appear to all the people.' So you have this note that continues. In the 15th chapter, we have three stories that talk about God's love for lost people. One is about a sheep that wonders away. One is about a woman that loses a coin. The third is the well known story about the prodigal son who goes off and wastes part of his fathers fortune and then comes home. Now in the story of the sheep that's recovered in chapter 15, verses 3-7, when the man finds the sheep, he brings it back with great joy, and he goes to his friends with great joy. He got his sheep back! The text says, 'There is great rejoicing in heaven for one sinner who repents.' Since heaven is the source of all joy, I think it's rather remarkable that we are told that there is joy in heaven when one person turns to God. The same thing is said later in verse 10, where another story makes the same point. Heaven itself rejoices, so the joy on earth comes because of what God has done, and the joy in heaven comes when people accept that. Larry: People who wander away from their relationship with God, such as the prodigal son, and then discover the joy of coming home, they can truly appreciate what the word 'joy' means, having rediscovered this relationship with their family, or in the spiritual sense, with their God. Is it possible to have joy and not experience this return and still be a person of joy? Tony: There are lots of counterfeit joys that promise to give us what only God can truly give us. I think that the person who has never wondered away from God is in a state of continual joy, if they understand what it means to be related to God. Maybe those who wonder away and come back have a greater appreciation of what they've lost and regained - maybe in a way, their joy is even greater. Larry: As you were discussing there from chapter 2, it came to mind that the hymn that we sing at Christmas, 'Joy to the World' and certainly that is what the presence of Jesus in our lives has brought to those of us who are Christians, who are his disciples. We can experience that joy which God sent us in the form of His son. Would you like to return to the top of the page, or perhaps you would like to return to the Studio "B" transcript page, or to the list of ALL transcripts? Larry: Dr. Ash has identified a number of themes, which we have looked at in this series, and the final program we'll look at the idea of 'repentance'. That's another one of those words that has alot of different meanings to different people. Dr. Ash, what do you think the book of Luke means when it uses the word 'repentance'? Tony: I might start with a statement from the apostle Paul, who makes a distinction in the book of 2nd Corinthians, between two kinds of repentance. One kind is where we are sorry that something happened because we got caught, or because it had some difficulties for us, but paul says the kind of repentance that the Bible wants us to practice is the kind that comes because we are sorry we have done a wrong against God, and we are trying to get it corrected. He calls that 'godly repentance'. The British writer, C.S. Lewis, who has been deceased now for several decades, says that repentance is just a word to describe what it means to turn toward God. A person has been moving away from God, and he turns toward God, that's what's called repentance. Larry: So this might be described as the thrust of ones life? Tony: Yes, it could mean giving up of certain things that are inappropriate, that are contrary to God's nature. It means practicing certain things, like love, and other things that we've talked about which are in harmony with God. But it's to acknowledge that God rules ones life and that one is going to live for God rather than live for self. larry: Way down deep inside of us, there is this kind of gnawing feeling sometimes that we are out of that relationship with God. That we need to be doing the right thing. Do you think this is God prompting us to turn in his direction. Is that where that feeling originates? Tony: I think that's quite possible. Many people feel that we have a sort of inborn sense of right and wrong, and that this is given to us by nature, that we tend to be selfish, but there is, as you say, something within us that says, 'Wait a minute, this is not the way one is supposed to act.' Alot of things that Jesus said about the way we should live are things that, perhaps, people knew already. Although some may not have been, like loving ones enemies, we might not do that naturally. Larry: Doesn't come easily anyway. What about the book o Luke, what does it tell us about the importance of repenting, or turning toward toward God? Tony: It begins, I think, with the person who prepared the way for Jesus, John the Baptist. We read about him in chapter 3. John was a fiery character. I do not think John began his sermons with a humorous saying. He appeared by the river Jordan and he began preaching and said to the people, 'You'd better repent.' And repentance isn't just being sorry for what you've done. Repentance means that you bear fruit, you do something, in order to repent. And he said, 'You're not going to be right with God because you are children of Abraham; you are right with God because you turned to God.' In verses 10 through 14 of chapter 3, a passage that only Luke has, John tells the people what to do to repent. He says to the crowds that they need to share with those who are in need. If you have two coats, give to someone who has none. If you have food, share your food. He says to the tax collectors, they need to be honest in collecting taxes, and not try to collect more than is appropriate. He says to the soldiers they need to quit robbing people by forcing them to pay money because they are afraid of the soldiers. So this is a pretty clear picture of what is was for those people to straighten their lives out. Larry: This teaching was so dramatic, and so challenging that verse 15 says some of the listeners began to wonder if John might be Jesus, might be the Christ. Tony: John was a very impressive character, but John made it very clear that one came after him that was much, much greater than he was. John said, 'I'm not even good enough to take off his sandals!' An interesting illustration. Larry: So John introduces the theme of repentance in the book of Luke. What does Jesus say about repentance? Tony: Maybe the clearest passage where Jesus speaks of this is in chapter 13, where some people come to Jesus and note that some folks in Galilee have been killed by Pilot, and they wonder if these people were killed because they were great sinners. Jesus says, 'No.' But then he becomes very personal and says, 'Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.' Jesus doesn't always tell people what they want to hear, but he tells people what they need. He gives them two choices, repent...perish. Someone says, 'I don't want to perish.' Jesus says, 'Then you need to repent!' If someone says, 'I don't want to repent.' Then Jesus says, 'The other option is to perish!' There is no third choice given there. And perish implies death and ultimate, final separation from God, with all that that involves. You are separated from God, you are separated from love, you are separated from joy, you are separated from any sense of meaning, all of that is lost! Larry: Do you think that Jesus is discussing the process of making oneself right with God, and this is an essential step, or does it go beyond that? Is repentance something that takes place daily in the life of a Christian? Tony: Yes, I think it has to be a constant process in ones life. We should never assume that God accepts us only if we repent perfectly, because none of us can. There is a great deal of mercy. It is a life direction. It is the decision to live for God, then if we make mistakes, we're sorry, and we try to do better, but we want to live for God. Larry: Does repentance come in the form of a statement, an action, a prayer, how does one go about repenting? Tony: I think it comes in terms of all of this. One is constantly reminded of what it means to follow Jesus. It begins, I think, in ones heart, ones mental determination, and then it works in prayer, asking God to help us, and then in various actions that are the kind of actions that Jesus engaged in. Would you like to return to the top of the page, or perhaps you would like to return to the Studio "B" transcript page, or to the list of ALL transcripts? The New Life Station is pleased to provide transcripts online for a number of KNLS programs. Please note that all scripts are the property of World Christian Broadcasting and/or SeedSower Productions. They are provided here for your personal enjoyment only and may not be disseminated in any fashion without prior written permission.
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