The Gospel of Luke

The third of the four canonical gospels is the Gospel of Luke. It explains Jesus Christ's beginnings, life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension. This essay seeks to clarify the meaning of Jesus as portrayed in the Luke Gospel, the significance of the Messiah, how the Chalcedon Council settled the question of Jesus' identity, and the connection between Jesus and the Roman Empire.

Luke claims that Jesus is the Son of Man who came to both seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). According to the Gospel, Jesus not only came to save the lost people but also to save that which is lost. To follow Jesus required one to devote everything that one has to him or nothing at all. Jesus taught his disciples that following him meant embracing self-denial as well as the cross (Luke 9:23).

Question 2

The word Messiah according to Collins Messianic Expectation comes from the verb Masah which means anoint or smear. The word, therefore, means the anointed one and does not point to an eschatological figure (Luke 2:1-20). Anointing means that one had oil poured on his or her head. This claim was shocking to many people as the Messiah was thought to come from the royal line of David who to many was not taken to as a god. What many people failed to understand was that there was a special relationship between David and God.

Question 4

The council of Chalcedon tried to resolve the debate concerning the identity of Jesus by writing a statement of faith to offer unity as well as understanding for the church (Barnes, 23). The council was successful as it made it clear that Christ was complete in Godhead as well as in humanness. This meant truly God and truly Human.

Question 5

There is a relationship between Jesus and the Roman Empire as the life of Jesus started in central and north Palestine which was a region under the Roman control. The spread of Christianity was made simple by the efficiency of the Roman Empire. However, most of Christianity principles were highly misunderstood while the membership of the sect was sometimes dangerous (Van Bekkum, 12). For the first time in the Roman Empire, Christianity was made legal where Christians were allowed to openly worship.

Work Cited

Barnes, Timothy D. "The Council of Chalcedon." (2008): 524-527.

The Luke Gospel NKJV

Van Bekkum, Wout Jac. "Jewish messianic expectations in the age of Heraclius." The Reign of Heraclius (610–641): Crisis and Confrontation (2002): 95-112.