Reflections...

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 14th December 2008 by the Rev. Kwok Nai Wang. The scripture readings that day were Isaiah 42:1-9 and Luke 4:16-21.


Most Churches and Christians to-day consider evangelizing or preaching the gospel to the not-yet-believers is their most important task. In other words, evangelization or to be exact proselytization has become synonymous with church growth in members. We no longer care as much whether the Christian Gospel is rightly understood and preached.

Hence in the series of sermons for this Advent Season, we shall re-examine what on earth is the Christian Gospel through the eyes of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John.

This Sunday we are on the Gospel according to Luke.

Luke’s and Matthew’s Gospels are similar in that they followed straightly the chronological order of Mark: first, they recorded Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, then the ministry on the way to Jerusalem, and finally in and around Jerusalem. That is why these three gospels are titled the Synoptics i.e. looking at Jesus’ ministry from the same perspective.

Undoubtedly, the earliest Gospel of Mark served as the backbone to both Matthew and Luke. More than half of the contents of Mark are found in Luke and about 90% of Mark are in Matthew. In recording Jesus’ teaching both Matthew and Mark used the “Q” source (“Q” or Quelle in German means source). Other than these two sources. Matthew had its own source titled “M”. And Luke had its own source titled “L”.

But Matthew and Luke differ in many other ways. Matthew was written mainly for Jewish Christians; Luke was written for Non-Jewish Christians. That is why in giving us Jesus’ ancestry, Matthew emphasized on Jesus was the Son of Abraham and David; two of the most important Jewish fathers, while Jesus’ genealogy in Luke traced back to Adam who was the first man in general God created.

Matthew described Jesus as the “Messiah” as prophesized by the ancient prophets; while Luke chose the word “Kurios”, a very general term for non-Jews, for Jesus.

So Luke was known as the Universal Gospel, the Gospel for everyone. However, if it stays that way, it can easily become abstract and hollow. In Peanuts: one time Lucy told Charlie Brown, “I love everyone in the world, except you”. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone, at the same time it is especially for the marginalized, the people who are being excluded, neglected, suppressed, discriminated against, and forgotten. Thus, when Jesus began his ministry in Galilee, according to Luke, Jesus specifically opened the Bible in the synagme and read from Isaiah 61:1-2:

“The spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)

Indeed Jesus came for the poor, for the people in bondage, for people who cannot see and for the people who are oppressed. In Luke’s central section, i.e. 9:51 to 18:14, we see clearly how Jesus looked after the poor, the marginalized and the less fortunate.

First the women. In the Eastern world, especially the Jewish society, women had little or even no social status. During the census as recorded in Numbers, only men were counted (1:1-2). Even Paul admonished women to cover their head when they preached and prayed (I Cor 11:2-16). It is difficult to recognize a person when her head is fully covered. To me, this is a symbol of degrading a woman to a non-person. In Luke we see the important role women played. In the first chapter of Luke, the stars were two women, Elizabeth, John the Baptizer’s mother and Mary, the holy mother of Jesus. Both of them had accomplished great things and changed the course of human history.

According to Luke, Jesus especially cared for the women in need. For example, he restored the son of a widow of Nain to life (7:11-17); he raised Jairus’ daughter to life (8:49-56); healed a woman with a hemorrhage (8:43-48); cured a crippled woman on Sabbath (13:10-17). After Jesus’ resurrection, he first appeared to his woman followers (24:10, 24). Moreover, Jesus often used women as examples to his followers. For instance, Mary and Martha as the prime examples of serving God and serving people (10:38-42); the two parables of a woman’s persistence to find her lost coin (15:8-10); and the persistence of an importunate woman in asking for what she needed (18:1-8); as well as the widow’s mite offering (21:1-4) as examples of the Christian behavior.

Second, the Samaritans or the non-Jews. The Jews were extremely hostile to the Samaritans since the days they conquered the land of Canaan. In fact the Jews considered them as God’s chosen or the Holy people that they did not think highly of the gentiles or the non-Jews. But Jesus, though a devout Jew, had none of this. In fact he often lifted the point that the Jews should learn from the Samaritans. In the parable of the Good Samaritan (10:35-37), not the priest, nor the Levite, but a Samaritan who took great care of the one who fell into the bandits’ hands. Jesus had this to say when he finished the parable, “go and do the same yourself” (10:37b). It was a Samaritan, a person despised by the Jews who proved to be a “neighbour” to the man in dire need.

When Jesus cured ten persons with skin-disease, only one who came back to thank Jesus (17:11-19), he was a Samaritan! When Jesus and his disciples found a Samaritan village inhospitable to them, two of Jesus’ disciples, John and James asked Jesus to call down fire from heaven and burn down the village, Jesus rebuked them (9:51-56).

Third, the sinners and the tax-collectors. The Jews despised also people who sinned, or who did not follow the law and their traditions and customs as well as the tax-collectors who worked for the Roman government. But Jesus tried to correct this attitude. In calling a tax collector, Levi, to be his disciple, he said, “I have come to call not to the upright but sinners to repentance.” (5:27-32). Jesus accepted Zacchaeus, a senior tax collector and stayed in his home (19:1-10). After Jesus cured a woman who was a sinner, lifted up the fact that the sins of this woman were forgiven because though sinful she was, she has shown such great love (7:36-50). In the parables of the lost sleep, lost coin and the prodigal son (15:1-32), Jesus concretely demonstrated to us that God is merciful and does not want to lose anyone. Even on the cross, Jesus forgave the repentant robber (23:39-43). In his teaching, Jesus pointed out the fact that the hypocritical Pharisee was less righteous than the repentant tax-collector (18:9-14).

Luke particularly used Peter as an illustration about how Jesus looked upon the sinners. Peter knew that he was a sinner (“Lord, leave me, I am a sinner”, said Peter, 5:8); but Jesus called him to be the first disciple. After Jesus was arrested, Peter denied he had anything to do with Jesus (22:54-64), but Jesus forgave Peter. Peter was the first to encounter Jesus among Jesus’ disciples after Jesus’ resurrection. Indeed everyone of us is a sinner. But as Martin Luther suggested, we are all forgiven sinners.

Fourth, the Poor. In Mary’s magnificat, it is stated, “He has filled the starving with good things, sent the rich away empty” (1:53). Jesus did not despise the rich, but he merely pointed out the danger of being rich. Riches can blind us, just like the parable of the rich fool in 12:16-21, the rich man thought that all he needed was to store his possessions instead of planning how to use them. Jesus taught his disciples that “life does not consist in possession, even when someone has more than he needs” (12:15). That explains why later, Jesus had this to say, “How hard it is for those who have riches to make their way into the Kingdom of God.” (18:24-25). Therefore Jesus admonished them to “sell your possessions and give to those in need”. (12:33). Later Jesus also taught his followers to be concerned for the poor. “when you give a lunch or dinner, invite the poor” (14:13 and 21) . Finally in the parable of a rich man and another poor man called Lazarus (16:19-31), in the judgment Lazarus was looked upon more favorably than the rich man, because the rich man cared only for himself in has earthly life.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone, especially for the poor, the weak and the socially marginalized. Who are these people in Hong Kong to-day? How can we preach the Gospel to them?

Like other gospels, Luke also gave his perspective on the meaning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Luke’s Gospel is about the “connectedness” of Life. First, Luke took great pain to show that Jesus fully identified with the socially marginalized and deprived, hoping that these people who were neglected or even rejected would once again be accepted by society.

Second, as Luke was presumably a physician, he emphasized a great deal on Jesus’ healing stories, a total of 16 (5 of them are not found in other gospels). These 5, included the healing of centurion’s son, 7:2-10; raising to life a widow’s son in Nain, 7:11-17; healing a crippled woman on Sabbath, 13:10-17; healing a dropsical man on another Sabbath, 14:1-6; and healing 10 lepers, 17:11-19).

Sickness breaks down life. Sickness signifies a deviation from the wholeness of life, personally as well as socially. Sickness had prevented Peter’s mother-in-law to attend to Jesus. In Jesus’ time, lepers had to live outside the city.

Thirdly, according to Luke, Jesus did not only connect people physically and socially; but more importantly, spiritually – i.e. with God as well. That explains why in all the 4 gospels, Luke was the one which emphasized on people’s focus on God by praising God. Just in the first 2 chapters of Luke, we found angels praising God during the annunciation about Jesus’ birth (1:31-33); Elizabeth’s praise in her visitation to Mary (1:42-45), Mary’s song or the magnificat (1:46-55); Zechariah’s praise after John the Baptist was born (1:67-79); angels’ praise, “Gloria in Excelsis” at the birth of Jesus (2:13-14); Simeon’s praise or Nunc Dimittis (2:29-32) as well as prophetess Anna’s praise (2:38) when they have witnessed to Jesus’ birth: a total of seven “praise to God” or “Te Deum”.

These people who offered their praise had one thing in common. They confessed humbly God was their God.

Humility is one attitude which is essential to our faith in God. Luke particularly gave us the account that Jesus was born in a manger and that the simple folks of shepherds were the first to receive the good news about Jesus’ birth. (2:1-14).

Human beings are not God. We are finite beings. In order to live meaningfully and purposefully, we must recognize and accept personally that we have to rely on God, or to be precise, God’s Spirit or the Holy Spirit. Again, in the first two chapters of Luke, it was related especially Elizabeth and Zechariah as well as Mary and Joseph did the humanely impossible thing because of God’s Spirit. Throughout Jesus’ life, God’s Spirit was with him (1:14). In the final commission of his disciples. Jesus promised to them the power of the Holy Spirit.

In receiving the Holy Spirit, all we need is to pray to God. When we pray, God will give us the Holy Spirit (11:13). Prayer had a very important place in Luke.

Jesus was connected with God because he prayed incessantly. Therefore he had the power to preach the Gospel, to teach and to perform miracles. In facing mounting pressure, Jesus withdrew to the wilderness to pray (5:16); before he chose his disciples, Jesus prayed (6:12); when his disciples confessed who he was, Jesus was praying (9:18); in his transfiguration on a mountain, Jesus was praying (9:28); before he physically left his disciples, Jesus prayed for them (22:31-34); when he had to decide on his fate, Jesus was praying in Gethsemane (22: 39-42). It was in his final agony in facing the cross Jesus revealed to us the real meaning of prayer, “Not mine, but your will be done.” (22:41ff).

When we pray, how often do we just ask or even demand God to follow our selfish wishes. But true prayer is not like this. The real meaning and purpose of prayer lies in Jesus’ prayer. We pray in order that we can and will follow God’s will!

So according to Luke, this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is neither a gospel for only the self nor is it exclusively for only a segment of people, the rich, the powerful and the privileged. Rather it is the Gospel for everyone. Also this Gospel is about the relationship between me and others as well as between me-others and God. May we live by this Gospel – the Gospel truly of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.