Essay on "Forgiveness of the Gospel of Luke"

Essay 5 pages (1684 words) Sources: 8 Style: Harvard

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Forgiveness of the Gopsel of Luke

Luke 23:24

The Gospel of Luke

Author Controversy

Single Biblical Accounts

Primary Perspective

Forgiveness

Times in Bible

Focus of the Prayer for Forgiveness,

Concluding Thoughts

The Forgiveness Jesus Offers

Sustenance that Fuels Healing and Love

Recount of Thesis Statement

FORGIVENESS OF THE GOPSEL OF LUKE

"…Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…"

Jesus (Luke 23:34a).

The only recorded account of Jesus praying for those who crucified Him occurs in Luke's gospel, noted in Luke 23:34a, the verse introducing this paper (Profile: The…, 2008). In the article, "Christ-like Love and Forgiveness: A Biblical Foundation for Counseling Practice," Robert K. Cheong, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Frederick A. DiBlasio (2207), University of Maryland, Baltimore, argue that forgiveness cannot be rightly understood apart from love, just as love cannot be understood correctly apart from forgiveness. Cheong and DiBlasio explain that given sin's reality of sin in each human relationship, from a psychological perspective, "one cannot love another without forgiveness. Second, from a biblical and theological perspective, God's love and forgiveness are inextricably connected all throughout Scripture, and are seen with converging brilliance in the cross of Christ" (Cheong & DiBlasio, Conclusion section). In light of this consideration, this paper asserts that Jesus' prayer recorded in Luke 23:34a: "…Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…," not only serves as the ultimate example of forgiveness, it portrays God's love, inherent in forgiveness, as a guide for those who follow Christ.

The Gospel of Luke

The Gospel of Luke, the first part of a two-volume work, which includes the Acts of the Apostles, appears to have been written during the time the Gospel of Matthew was written by Matthew (Profile: The…, 2008). Charles H. Talbert (2002) asserts in the book, Reading Luke: A literary and theological commentary, that internal evidence contends that Luke wrote the third gospel by this name. Early external data, on the other hand, indicates that Luke, a companion of the fall, recorded in a book the gospel preached by Paul, "says the blue promote the gospel was not an apostle but a companion of Paul" (Talbert, p. 1). Most scholars date the Gospel of Luke to AD 80-100.

Although controversy exists regarding the author of Luke, according to Bill Bright (2006) in"10 Basic Steps to Christian Maturity" Luke, a physician, wrote the Gospel of Luke, reportedly the most comprehensive of the Gospels, to the Greeks, considered a cultured people. "Luke, an educated Greek himself, knew his readers would be captivated by Jesus as the perfect Man, an idea prevalent in Greek mythology" (Bright, Lesson 3 section). The text recorded in the Gospel of Luke most likely originated around the Aegean Sea or in Asia Minor. Luke relates the most detailed description of Christ's birth and also relates more prayers that Jesus prayed than are recorded in the other Gospels.

In addition to the focus for this paper, Jesus praying for forgiveness for His crucifiers, the following other there accounts are only recorded in Luke's Gospel:

1. Jesus healing the servant's ear that Peter severed during the scuffle at Jesus' arrest [22:51].

2. Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate becoming improbable friends after being in Jesus'

presence [23:12].

3. One of those crucified with Jesus expressing faith in Him [23:39-43] (Profile: The…,

2008).

The primary perspective Luke presents about Jesus is that He is the one Who brings shalom. Along with peace, Luke reports that Jesus brings healing, reconciliation, wholeness, and most of all - forgiveness (Profile: The…, 2008).

Forgiveness

The word "forgiveness" only occurs seven times in seven verses in the King James version (KJV) of the Bible. The Greek word for forgive,, which includes the meaning "to let go, give up a debt, forgive, to remit" (Blue Letter Bible, 2009, Dictionary and Word Search section), occurs 56 times in 48 verses in the KJV. Seven of those instances are noted in the Gospel of Luke. In Luke, as throughout the Bible, Jesus depicts the One who brings authentic peace. Luke's Gospel mirrors Jesus as surrounded by an aura of healing and reconciliation that impacts each person who comes into contact with Him.

Joseph B. Tyson (2005), Professor Emeritus, Southern Methodist University, asserts in the publication, ". . . denn sie wissen nicht, was sie tun': Zur Rezeption der Furbitte Jesu am Kreuz (Lk 23, 34a) in der antiken judisch-christlichen Kontroverse," the Lucan reference regarding Jesus prayer for forgiveness refers to the Roman soldiers and the Roman governor; maintaining that none of these men knew what they were doing. The focus of the prayer for forgiveness, albeit, "is not on the object of the intercession but on Jesus' love of enemies and the unconditional forgiveness of God. In uttering this prayer, Jesus stands fully within the biblical-Jewish tradition" (Tyson, ¶ 2). Jesus also stands steadfast in His love for His enemies as he mirrors God's graciousness in forgiving.

In the book, The way according to Luke: Hearing the whole story of Luke-Acts, Paul Borgman (2006) purports that God's forgiveness constitutes a release from sins. "Such release includes the matter of debt, of what is owed…. Whatever obligations we might think are owed us are to be forgiven. Followers are to do good to their neighbor [s], 'forgiving' any return of the favor" (Borgman 2006, p. 113). Those following God's way; following Christ's example, freely offering to those who offend them what typically would be considered by the other individual a debt that had to be repaid. Forgiveness that Jesus teaches by example in Luke 23:34a constitutes the canceling out of that debt; giving without expecting something in return.

Concluding Thoughts

In the article, "Interpreting the Scriptures Together: Seeking the Visible Unity of the Church, Beverly Roberts Gaventa (2007), Professor of New Testament Literature and Exegesis at Princeton NJ, encourages those who study excerpts such as Luke 23: 34a, to consider that God's action in Jesus Christ does merely recount a single historical incident, but includes, receptions and contexts to inform the thinking of those living in other times and cultures. Gaventa explains that an ecumenical hermeneutic depicts "a hermeneutic that interprets scripture in the service of God's horizon…" (¶ 38). Along with anticipating that Scripture will speak some new word and searching to see what God is doing in the text, those reading the Scriptures need to also bring to their reading "that sense of praise, gratitude, and wonder that is the rightful stance of the created being toward the Creator" (Ibid.). In examining as Luke 23: 34a, this searching of the Scripture as Gaventa suggests becomes an adventure on to embark open with gratitude and expectation. This researcher perceives Jesus prayer for forgiveness for those who crucified Him, not only to depict a prayer Christians are to follow when praying for those who offend them, but also poignantly portrays the forgiveness Jesus offers for those in their sin, who like the Roman soldiers, do not know what they do in their sin.

William Augustus Jones (2007), the long-time pastor of Bethany Baptist Church, Brooklyn, New York, a noted preachers and revivalists of the Twentieth Century, challenges the myth that forgiveness is not completed or finished until or unless the forgiver forgets. In the article, "An Anatomy of forgiveness. The African-American pulpit," Jones argues with perceptions such as: Why don't we just forgive and forget? Or I may forgive him, but I will never forget what he did. "To forgive is not to forget….[One has] to remember in order to know that…[they] have forgiven" (¶ 13). . If people do not remember what they have forgiven, they will not know that they have forgiven. Jones stressed that people do not forget what they forgave, however, they do drop it or let it go.

In the article, "High-calorie spirituality," Melinda Berry (2006)… READ MORE

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