To me, the key differences between the gospel of Luke and the synoptic gospels largely derive from the role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life and God’s plan for the world. This idea is exemplified by significant difference between the risen Jesus remaining as a presence in the church (Mark and Mathew) and the promise of Jesus sending the Holy Spirit’s companionship (Luke [24:48]). In addition, Jesus is a spirit- an empowered servant whose work here on earth will appeal to Isaiah’s prophecies calling for prophetic justice (Isaiah [61:1-2]) without being predicative of the specific prophetic events like in Matthew [1:22-23] or Matthew [2:5]. I believe the tone of the Holy Spirit disseminating justice leads to compassion for the poor and great
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The idea that Jesus is a “workaholic” arises from his ceaseless mission to serve others. This service is urgent and precedes regardless of the human notion of convenience of time or place. For example, Jesus provides ministry and nourishment to the 5,000 (Luke [9:11]), serves and washes the feet of His disciples (John [13:14-15]), meets with potential followers such as Nicodemus at night (John [3:1-21]), and travels to preach in cities throughout the region (Luke [4:42-44]). The followers of Jesus are asked to take up their cross and follow Jesus. This has created an ethical complication of adopting this “workaholic” ethic in serving others and in prayer to God with persistence (Luke [11:9], Thessalonians [1:3]). But does it really call us to be a “workaholic?” My answer is yes, the Oxford English Dictionary defines persistence as “the continued or prolonged existence or occurrence; duration; continuance.” Therefore, how can an activity be done with persistence (serving others or prayer) and not require the follower to be a “workaholic”? Further evidence of Jesus as a “workaholic” is demonstrated by His repeated healing, preaching and working on the Sabbath, the day of rest according to the third commandment. However, ethical complications arise when we view Jesus supporting a “workaholic” servant attitude for us when Jesus scolds Martha for her tireless work in lieu of listening to Jesus (like Mary) in all of the synoptic gospels (Matthew [8:14-15]/ Mark [1:29-31]/ Luke [10:38-24]). Martha was following Jesus’ example by persistently working to serve others (Jesus and His disciples), so why were her actions perceived differently? Spencer believes this difference is derived from the motives of the actions. Whenever Jesus is portrayed as a “workaholic”, He is serving God’s divine will. In contrast, Martha was
The idea that Jesus is a “workaholic” arises from his ceaseless mission to serve others. This service is urgent and precedes regardless of the human notion of convenience of time or place. For example, Jesus provides ministry and nourishment to the 5,000 (Luke [9:11]), serves and washes the feet of His disciples (John [13:14-15]), meets with potential followers such as Nicodemus at night (John [3:1-21]), and travels to preach in cities throughout the region (Luke [4:42-44]). The followers of Jesus are asked to take up their cross and follow Jesus. This has created an ethical complication of adopting this “workaholic” ethic in serving others and in prayer to God with persistence (Luke [11:9], Thessalonians [1:3]). But does it really call us to be a “workaholic?” My answer is yes, the Oxford English Dictionary defines persistence as “the continued or prolonged existence or occurrence; duration; continuance.” Therefore, how can an activity be done with persistence (serving others or prayer) and not require the follower to be a “workaholic”? Further evidence of Jesus as a “workaholic” is demonstrated by His repeated healing, preaching and working on the Sabbath, the day of rest according to the third commandment. However, ethical complications arise when we view Jesus supporting a “workaholic” servant attitude for us when Jesus scolds Martha for her tireless work in lieu of listening to Jesus (like Mary) in all of the synoptic gospels (Matthew [8:14-15]/ Mark [1:29-31]/ Luke [10:38-24]). Martha was following Jesus’ example by persistently working to serve others (Jesus and His disciples), so why were her actions perceived differently? Spencer believes this difference is derived from the motives of the actions. Whenever Jesus is portrayed as a “workaholic”, He is serving God’s divine will. In contrast, Martha was