My CHRTC 266 Paper  

angel63198 2/15/2007 1:55 pm

Comparison of Luke 3:1-18 and Matthew and Mark The entire gospel of Mark is served as a source for Matthew and Luke. The outline of Mark also seems determinative for the other two gospels. When Matthew or Luke varies from mark’s sequence, the other follows Mark. Except in a few minor instances, Matthew and Luke do not agree against Mark in wording. Considered together, the evidence for the dependence of Matthew and Luke on Mark is difficult to refute.( An introduction to the Bible p246) It is the notion that Matthew and Luke share a second common source besides Mark, the Q source. More than one third of Matthew and one forth of Luke consist of material they share in common that is absent from Mark. Although it is possible that Matthew used Luke as a source, or voice versa. The common material consists largely of sayings of Jesus such as Mt 6 and Lk 11. The high degree of verbal agreement between Matthew and Luke in Q sections makes it likely that Q was a written , Furthermore, long passages are paralleled in all three gospels. ecause of their significant agreement in content and outline, Matthew, Mark, and Luke came to be called the synoptic gospels. Luke 3:1-2 are his own materials, which vary from Mark’s and Matthew’s. Just as the beginning chapter started with a long periodic sentence, Luck began chapter three with an introduction of the historical background. Jesus’ birth takes place during the reign of Caesar Augustus(2:1), and John the Baptist’s preaching is dated during the imperial rule of Tiberius Caesar, various civil subordinates, and religious functions(3:1-2). A repeated synchronism is pointed out in Luke 3:2, that is, “the existence of two high priests Annas and Caiaphas in the same time period; this indicates an universal implications of the Roman Empire (from my pastor)”. Luke casts the call of John the Baptist in the form of an Old Testament prophetic calls “A voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.”( 3:2) and extends the quotation. This is standard Old Testament language in which God commissions a new prophet as his spokesman and messenger. Matthew (3:1-3) Unlike Luke, Matthew says nothing of the Baptist's origins and does not make him a relative of Jesus. (3:1) Here Matthew takes up the order of Jesus' ministry found in the gospel of Mark, beginning with the preparatory preaching of John the Baptist (3:2). Matthew (3:3) says “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near”, the Baptist calls for a change of heart and conduct, a turning of one's life from rebellion to obedience towards God. The kingdom of heaven is at hand: "heaven" (literally, "the heavens") is a substitute for the name "God" that was avoided by devout Jews of the time out of reverence. The expression "the kingdom of heaven" occurs only in the gospel of Matthew. It means the effective rule of God over his people. In its fullness it includes not only human obedience to God's word, but the triumph of God over physical evils, supremely over death. In the expectation found in Jewish apocalyptic, the kingdom was to be ushered in by a judgment in which sinners would be condemned and perish, an expectation shared by the Baptist. This was modified in Christian understanding where the kingdom was seen as being established in stages, culminating with the parousia of Jesus. (Online bible study sources). (Mark1:1-4)Mark began his gospel with announcing the good news of Jesus, son of God’s birth(Mark 3:1), which links to Genesis 1:1 , “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.?” (Mark 1:2-3)Although Mark attributes the prophecy to Isaiah, the text is a combination of Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3; Exodus 23:20; cf Matthew 11:10; Luke 7:27. John's ministry is seen as God's prelude to the saving mission of his Son. “The way of the Lord: this prophecy of Deutero-Isaiah concerning the end of the Babylonian exile is here applied to the coming of Jesus; John the Baptist is to prepare the way for him.” This configuration of the first three verses of Mark’s gospel in this manner gives emphasis to two important considerations. First ,it makes clear that he beginning of the good new of the gospel is the appe4rence of John the Baptist, who is God’s messenger, Christ’s forerunner, the fulfillment of two prophecies, one of the Isaiah’s and one of Malachi’s, and the proclaimer of a new Exodus, a new way out of the wilderness and into God’s freedom. Second the verses are set out, as they should be, as Hebrew poetry because they are quotations from the oracles of prophets which record the words of God himself. The poetic form serves to give the proper emphasis and solemnity to this important passage which introduces the gospel and summarizes John’s mission.(John the Baptist) (Luke 3:3-6) Luck verses 3 and 4 are equivalent to Mark, verses 5 and 6 are from his own; Mark, Matthew and Luke all include this quotation “prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight.” This quotation from Isaiah 40:3 is quoted more fully in Luke, following the Greek Septuagint translation with which Luke was familiar: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's salvation." In his prophetic role John is one who proclaims a baptism of repentance (Luke 3:3) and who preaches “good news to the people” (3:1 preparing them for the prophetic Messiah who is to come after him. He calls for a specific ritual action of washing that symbolizes a change in behavior. (The following explanations are from my church pastor) The Greek term metanoia, translated as “repentance”, literally means a change of mind. Guilt can beat a person down. Guilt can be explained away, but forgiveness is the only real antidote. Repentance is more than sorrow for getting caught or for doing something wrong. Repentance is an actual change of mind, an action, a step away from a sinful pattern or habit or act. A change in thinking is necessary to bring about the kind of modifications in behavior that John will require of the crows, the tax collectors and the soldiers. Luke presents his theme of the universality of salvation (Luke 3:5-6). John the Baptist calls for a transformation of the landscape so that a straight royal road can be prepared for when the ruler enters into the city. (Luke 3:6) He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire: in contrast to John's baptism with water, Jesus is said to baptize with the holy Spirit and with fire. From the point of view of the early Christian community, the Spirit and fire must have been understood in the light of the fire symbolism of the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4); but as part of John's preaching, the Spirit and fire should be related to their purifying and refining characteristics (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Malachi 3:2-3). The salvation of God is for “all flesh”(3:6), embracing Gentiles, tax collectors and sinners. The second important word in vs. 3 is "forgiveness," Greek aphesis, which means "1. 'release' from captivity, and 2. 'pardon, cancellation' of an obligation, a punishment, or guilt,"(3:5) John declared the existence of grievous sin, the necessity of repentance, and God's offer of forgiveness. People of high station and low, he insisted, had committed sins needing forgiveness. But John didn't leave them there; he offered God's forgiveness, but he did it in a radical way, which brings us to the third important word in vs. 3. Matthew (3:4-6) is almost identical to Mark (1:5-6). The clothing of John recalls the austere dress of the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:. The expectation of the return of Elijah from heaven to prepare Israel for the final manifestation of God's kingdom was widespread, and according to Matthew this expectation was fulfilled in the Baptist's ministry. (Sunday school) However, Luke doesn’t have this part included. Luke presents the eschatological preaching of John the Baptist(7-, who urges the crowds to reform in view of the coming wrath (Luke 3, 9), and who offers the crowds certain standards for reforming social conduct (Luke 3:10-14: ethical preaching), and he kept going on, announcing the messianic preaching of John that there will be a mightier one coming after him (Luke 3:15-1. Luke (3-9) are pretty much equivalent to Matthew 3-9; this is from the Q source as it is not found in the gospel of Mark. However, Luke used the word “crows” in 3 while Matthew used “Pharisees and Sadducees”; this again indicated the theme of the universality of salvation as Luke believed that the gospels are for the whole world even the gentiles. (3) “The coming wrath” is the judgment that will bring about the destruction of unrepentant sinners.( Sunday school notes) Luke (3: 10-15) is his own material. (3:10) As John the Baptist captures his listeners’ attention, the crowds, tax collectors, and soldiers inquire: “What then should we do?”(3:10, 12, 14). This is a question about salvation, bringing either life or death. John commands: “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise”(3:11). The Greek term chiton means undergarment. Normally a peasant would have two such tunics, one for the Sabbath and the other for daily use. In Luke 3:12 the tax collectors address him as “teacher” with the Greek word for teacher, didaskolos. It was expected of rabbis, a s Jesus expected of Nicodemus(John 3:10), that they would be well-versed in heave4nly things. John’s status as a Hebrew teacher helped him win disciples, and it won respect for his vigorous message of the end of days and the coming of judgment. This is such an important and distinctive part of John’s message that we must investigate it at greater length. (John the Baptist) Luke( 3:16-1 Luke 3:16 and Matthew 3:11 are almost identical to Mark 1-8. As Luke 3:16 indicated that he will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire: in contrast to John's baptism with water, Jesus is said to baptize with the holy Spirit and with fire. “From the point of view of the early Christian community, the Spirit and fire must have been understood in the light of the fire symbolism of the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4); but as part of John's preaching, the Spirit and fire should be related to their purifying and refining characteristics (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Malachi 3:2-3).”(online Bible study source) Matthew( 3:11) also mentioned that Jesus will “ baptize you with the holy spirit and fire”, which indicates that the water baptism of John will be followed by an "immersion" of the repentant in terms of the cleansing power of the Spirit of God, and of the unrepentant in the destroying power of God's judgment. However, some see the holy Spirit and fire as synonymous, and the effect of this "baptism" as either purification or destruction. Luke 3:17 is a paraphrase to Matthew 3:12. The discrimination between the good and the bad is being compared to the procedure of separating wheat and chaff. The winnowing fan was a forklike shovel with which the threshed wheat was thrown into the air. The kernels fell to the ground; the light chaff, blown off by the wind, was gathered and burned up. (online Bible study source) Luke 3:18 is his own material.