Introduction to the Gospels
Professor Jon Weatherly
Jonathan Cooper (Box #291)
November 4, 2010.*


Fuel to Share
The dirt flies. A tail twitches. Like a squirrel finding acorns in the field, a person can unearth nuggets of truth from Scripture. In Luke, a search unearths a number of meaningful repetitions.i From the start to the end, Luke emphasizes the roles of women and the Holy Spirit.
The start of Luke highlights the role of women. In the first chapter, a woman was the first person to learn of Immanuel's coming. Moreover, the woman believed (pisteusasa) the message of the angel about her Son (1:45) in contrast to the man who had not believed (ouk episteusas) the message of the angel about his son (1:20). After a series of extraordinary events, the narrator turns the attention to Mary who "treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." (2:19) Thereafter, Simeon sees Jesus in the temple and speaks to Mary (not to Joseph) in 2:34, and, in 2:37, God spoke through a widow.
Women, "Widow,"ii and feminine proper names appear often in the narrative as Jesus taught, cared for women, and was cared for by women. In His teaching, Jesus mentions the widow of Zarephath (4:25), describes the success of a persistent widow (18:3,5), denounces the Pharisees' mistreatment of widows (20:47), and elevates the small gift of one widow (21:2,3); as Martha was busily distracted with preparations for the upcoming meal, her sister Mary "sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching" (10:39). In addition to including women in His teaching's content and audience, Jesus included women in His miracles. For example, Jesus resurrects a widow's son (7:11-17) and heals a woman from her bleeding (8:43). Sometimes, the women also cared for Jesus. Later in the same chapter, a woman - who was in the city a sinner - washed Jesus' dirty feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed them with expensive perfume. As a result of her love and faith, the woman received forgiveness for her sins (7:47-48). In the beginning of the following chapter, Luke mentions that Jesus was teaching and that "...with him...[were] some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary... and Joanna... and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means." (Luke 8:1b-3) Women play an important role throughout the narrative - being included in His teaching, receiving care from Him and giving care to Him.
At the end of His ministry, the women are again the first to hear the message of the resurrection from the angels (24:4-7). Furthermore, the women appear to believe the message of the resurrection in contrast to the men who did not believe the message of the resurrection. As Luke 24:10-11 reads, "Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but... they did not believe them."
In addition to highlighting the role of women, Luke highlights the role of the Holy Spirit throughout the narrative. In the beginning, the angel promises that John will be filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb (1:15). A few verses later, the angel promises that Jesus will be conceived by the Holy Spirit (1:35). Then, the Holy Spirit fills or was upon - and, presumably, speaks through - zechariah's wife (1:41), Zechariah (1:67), and Simeon (1:25). Throughout Jesus' ministry, the presence of the Holy Spirit empowers Jesus to preach the good news - including the good news of the Holy Spirit's coming. After Jesus' baptism, "...Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness..." (Luke 4:1) After the temptation, "Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside." (4:14) A few verses after 4:14, the same word for power (dunamis)iii is seen as the agency of His casting out of demons (4:36; cf. Matthew 12:24,28,31-32). In the next chapter, "...the power [dunamis]iv of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick." (5:17; cf. 6:19; 8:46)
The presence of this Power supported His proclamation of a message: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor..." (4:18). It seems that a crowd of disciples proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah because of the demonstration of the Holy Spirit's power; as Jesus approaches Jerusalem, "...[they] began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles [dunamesi]v they had seen: 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!'" (19:37-38). Within the message that the Holy Spirit supported was the promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (11:13)
At the end of the book, the disciples - both women and men - are promised the Holy Spirit's power. In 24:49, Jesus says, "And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power (dunamin)vi from on high." This power seems to come in support of their proclamation of His message (24:46-48; c.f. Acts 1:8 and 1 Corinthians 2:4) - as the Holy Spirit had come to support Jesus' message.
Like a squirrel, a person can find truths from the landscape of Scripture. In Luke, there is an emphasis on the importance of the roles of the Holy Spirit and women. A person can store these acorns away for the future, allowing for food for oneself and for others.


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End Notes
* Transcribed in early April 2015. Spelling and grammatical corrections on 4/16/2015.
i. Other acorns exist - such as the concepts surrounding "house" (oikos), a word which appears in Luke more often than its combined appearances in Mark and Matthew and the concepts surrounding "heart" (kardia), which, appearing 22 times, plays a prominent role throughout the narrative (e.g. Luke 1:17; 6:45; 12:46; 24:32,38).
ii. xaera appears in Luke 2:37; 4:25,26; 7:12; 18:3; 18:5; 20:47; 21:2,3) . All Greek references are based on the Tischendorf text made available at GreatTreasures.org.
iii. dunamis appears in Luke 1:17; 1:35; 4:14; 4:36; 5:17; 6:19; 8:46; 9:1; 10:13; 10:19; 19:37; 21:26; 21:27; 22:69; 24:49 according to the Tischendorf tet available at GreatTreasures.org.
iv. Ibid.
v. Ibid.
vi. A form of the word dunamis. See above.