Luke, Jesus, and the City

Luke, Jesus, And the City

Despite the fact that its authorship is widely controversial and contested, the gospel of Luke is seen by scholars as being one of the most revealing biblical writings. It is not so much for its most comprehensive size, but rather for its content, which deals with the birth, life and resurrection of Jesus. However, there are certain passages that have special meaning and a well thought of role in the structure of the text as a whole. One such fragment is Chapter 9, especially the first 6 verses, that are, to a certain degree, revealing for the entire meaning of the biblical text.

Chapter 9 focuses on Jesus and His twelve apostles as they all perform miracles and try to help the people of Jerusalem. One of the first observations that can be made in connection to the central idea of the chapter is that of Jesus being portrayed in the wider environment created by the city. Throughout the gospel, He is seen in the middle of the people, performing miracles and preaching the Word of the Lord. From afar, this involvement in the actions of the community and the life of the city can be seen as a symbolic manifestation of the role Jesus has for the entire humanity. He intervenes where injustice occurs, to reinstate the sense of moral equilibrium in the society. The city can be interpreted to be the world in miniature, with good people alongside unfaithful ones. Even the gospel itself points out this separation between human, as the apostles are seen to be the faithful ones, in touch with the teachings of God, while others, those who would not receive them whole heartedly are either to be saved or to be disassociated from. (Luke, 9: 4-5)

Moreover, the city, in this passage from Luke can also be seen as a starting point for the journey of the apostles as they commence their mission of preaching. From this point-of-view, the relationship between the city and Jesus is rather close, as he symbolically places it at the origin of the Acts of the Apostles.

In addition, the passage has also a special significance for the way in which Jesus is depicted in the city. By giving the apostles the authority to heal, to preach and cure diseases, He takes into account three perspectives from which the dwellers of the city can be looked from. On the one hand, Jesus points out that the apostles can look out for the sick, therefore He thus individualizes the category of the needy people and thus He establishes a moral connection to them. The apostles must thus see to the physical need of the people; through them, Jesus himself caters for their needs. (Luke, 91:1) on the other hand, the dwellers of the city are seen from a religious perspective and in this respect, Jesus gives the apostles he authority to spread His teachings and ensure that the Word of the Lord reaches all those willing to listen. (Luke, 9:2)

Therefore, Jesus is depicted in the city surrounded by believers on the one hand, who are represented by the apostles and also by the sick, those in need of spiritual guidance and those plagued by diseases; on the other hand, He mentions the disbelievers, therefore acknowledging their existence among the people of the city and surrounding Him.

The reason for this concentration on individualizing these segments of the society is mainly related to the universality of Jesus' actions. His mission was to save humanity and to help those in need of redemption and hope. Thus, when He gives this authority to the apostles, He makes sure that His mission is carried out and that His comfort reaches all those in need.

On the whole, it can be said that the first verses of Chapter 9 (Luke, 9: 1-6) are a summary of the main ideas of the entire Gospel of Luke. Even more, it makes the connection to other passages from the Gospel while at the same time explains in a more explicit manner their meaning. This is due in fact to the comprehensive, yet concise way in which the most important ideas are expressed, ideas that had been mentioned and developed before in the biblical text.

Firstly, the focal points that are mentioned relate to the authority with which the apostles were invested by Jesus. They have been given the "power and authority over all demons." (Luke, 9: 1) This idea however is seen before in the Gospel of Luke. Thus, the theme of exorcising demons is present also in Luke 4:33-37, which presents Jesus and one of His Acts in a synagogue "And Jesus rebuked him, saying: Hold thy peace and go out of him. And when the devil had thrown him into the midst, he went out of him and hurt him not at all." (Luke, 4:35) Similarly, the idea is present in Luke 8: 26-39. In Luke 9:1, the apostles were invested with the same authority. This comes to prove that which proves that the passage can be interpreted as being a connection between different dispersed passages from the Gospel.

Secondly, Luke points out that Jesus gave the apostles the power and duty to preach the Kingdom of God. (Luke, 9:2) However, such an endeavor is mentioned before in the Gospel; the apostles themselves had accompanied Jesus in His mission of preaching "And it came to pass afterwards he traveled through the cities and towns, preaching and evangelizing the kingdom of God: and the twelve with him" (Luke, 8:1) in Chapter 9 though, He places the task of spreading the Word among believers on the apostles who must go from home to home and preach the gospel. (Luke, 9:6)