4.
In the gospel of Luke, there are a couple of important themes, agendas and concerns. Some of these are how he traced back the ancestry of Jesus, that God wants to forgive people who have sinned, and that prayer is important. The gospel of Luke describes the history of Christianity. In Luke, there is concern of poverty and wealth. An agenda we see in Luke is to show how Satan is trying to get in the way of God’s plan for people.
We can see that Luke traces back the ancestry of Jesus through Jesus being the son of Joseph and Mary and uses their family lines to trace back to see that Jesus is related to God. “Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph… the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God (Luke 3:23-38).”
We also see in Luke, that God wants to forgive sinners. We see in Luke 7:48-50 when it says, “When Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” This shows that by having faith, you will be forgiven. There are other places in Luke that also show forgiveness of sin. When Jesus eats with the tax collectors and sinners in Luke 5, he says that he is calling them to repentance. This shows that he isn’t ashamed or mad at them but wants to help them.
In Luke, Jesus teaches about prayer and is seen praying many times. This idea of prayer shown over and over again shows its importance. We see Jesus praying in Luke 3:21 when he is baptized along with other people, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened.” We also see prayer in Luke 5:16, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” There are many other accounts of prayer in Luke which is different from Matthew because prayer is only mentioned once. Prayer is a big part of Christianity and many other religions as well.
In Luke, there are concerns because there are differences in Luke and other books of the Bible. For example, the prayer difference in Luke and Matthew. There is also a difference in when Jesus became Christ. In Luke, it says that he was Christ at birth but that contradicts Acts where it says he became Christ during the second coming. Some scholars say that these differences could be due to the scribes, the ones who wrote or copied the books. The Bible is written by many different authors at many different times which can cause dissimilarities. If the author didn’t witness the events firsthand, there can also be some information changed in translation.
We see Satan’s agenda in Luke to try and distract believers. We see Satan’s distractions in servants, disciples, religious leaders and Judas. Luke 22 shows us that Satan entered Judas and then he goes to betray him by handing him over. Satan tries to distract believers and test their faith but Jesus shows that it is possible to resist temptation. Luke 22:40 says “On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” This shows that by praying, God can help you overcome the temptation.
There is a recurrence of poverty in Luke. Jesus is helpful and is shown to be on the side of the poor. In Luke 4:18 it says “the Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” This shows that he is compassionate to the poor and wants to help everyone, not just the wealthy.
There are also mentions of wealth. Jesus doesn’t hate the wealthy, but he says “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.” I think this means that by being greedy, you will not be totally fulfilled. Only God can truly satisfy you, wealth is just superficial.
There are many themes, concerns, and agendas in Luke. We see Jesus as compassionate and caring in Luke. Also, Jesus’ ancestry is traced back. We also see the importance of prayer and forgiveness in Luke. Some themes in Luke are carried throughout the whole bible as well.
5.
The synoptic Gospels are Matthew, Mark and Luke. John is different from these in many ways. The story of Jesus is different in John than in the synoptic gospels. Some of the differences are that John leaves out major events that the other books have, John adds material that isn’t written in the synoptic gospels, and different lengths of Jesus’ ministry.
In John, there is a lot of information left out of it that is in the synoptic gospels. One thing left out is the temptation of Jesus. In Matthew, Mark and Luke, there is a story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. This story isn’t mentioned in John but seems to be an important story in the life of Christ. Also, John doesn’t talk about how Jesus casted out demons
John is also different because it adds events that the synoptic gospels do not have. John 2-4 talks about Jesus’ early ministries in Galilee and it is only found in John. Some of these stories are memorable like when Jesus turned water into wine and when Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman. Another included story is in John 11. In John 11, Jesus raises a man named Lazarus from the dead. This isn’t included in any of the synoptic gospels. There are many that would wonder why such an important event would not be included in all Gospels. Theologians research and draw conclusions. Timing and what was going on at the time and location from where the Gospel of John was written compared to other Gospels.
In John, Jesus does ministry for about four years. In the synoptic gospels, it shows Jesus doing work for only one year. This difference is because the synoptic gospels does not include the time of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. To some these differences seem like an expected occurrence, much like if two friends wrote a biography of someone's life. Their proximity and time of life they had the most experiences with them would influence their story.
The way the different books start is also different. The synoptic gospels start by talking about Jesus but in John it starts talking about before Jesus was born. The point of view is also different. Both the synoptic gospels and John are written in third person point of view, but John is writing as if the events are happened and he’s reflecting on them. The synoptic gospels are written as if they were at the events describing them. In John 2:17 it says, “His disciples remembered that it was written.” This you can see that it was remembered and not happening at the moment.
John was written after the synoptic gospels, but it is not known if he knew about them. Matthew and Luke knew about Mark and they used it to help write theirs. That is why they are so similar and referred to as the synoptic gospels. The dates the gospels were written can help explain why they may or may not have known about each other. It isn’t known exactly when John was written, but the circumstances of where and when it was written can explain why it is different.
Some scholars believe that the differences could be due to the purpose of the gospels. John was written to describe Jesus as a person and not just God's son. John shows God's glory through Jesus’ acts. John 1:14 says “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” This shows that Jesus is coming to show us God's glory.
The synoptic gospels and John all tell the story of Jesus, but it is evident that John is unlike the other three. The context is different, and it contains stories the other gospels do not. It also leaves out important events that the synoptic gospels mention. The time at which each gospel was written could have something to do with the differences, but no one is sure. John explains Jesus as a person more clearly than the synoptic gospels.