1. The Gospels
Acts of the Apostles
Paul’s Letters
Other Letters
Revelation
A Walkthru’ of the New Testament
Lesson 4: Luke: Son of Man Seeks and Saves
2. Matthew: God’s
Kingdom on Earth
Mark: Christ, Chief
Cornerstone
Luke: Son of Man
Seeks and Saves
John: Life to the Full
3. Introduction
The Son of Man
Came to Seek
And to Save
The Lost
Discussion
6. This book was written to record an
accurate account “so that you may
know the exact truth” (1:4), of the
life of Jesus Christ as the perfect
Savior of the world.
7. Luke was a Greek doctor who
Wrote the book around 59-61 A.D.
Was the only Greek writer in the New
Testament
Accompanied Paul on mission journeys, as
described in the book of Acts, which Luke
also wrote.
8. The emphasis of Luke is:
Parables. It contains more than
any other Gospel (19 total).
"Son of Man" which is used 80
times.
To present Jesus for everyone
9. Luke emphasizes that Jesus values character
vs. background race or nationality.
Jesus sends out the 70 (72 in some versions) .
In the Jewish Torah, 70 refers to all nations of
the earth. In Greek it is 72.
Traces geneology to Adam as opposed to
Abraham (Matthew)
Certain Instances of Christ reaching non Jews
are talked of only in Luke
Highlights instances of Jesus reaching Jews as
well eg. Zacchaeus
10. He entered Jericho and was passing
through. 2 And behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and
was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who
Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he
could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So
he ran on ahead and climbed up into a
sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to
pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the
place, he looked up and said to
him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I
must stay at your house today.” - Luke 19
11. 6 So he hurried and came down and received
him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they
all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest
of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus
stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the
half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I
have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore
it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today
salvation has come to this house, since he also
is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man
came to seek and to save the lost.” - Luke 19
12. Occurs more times in Luke than any other
Gospel (80 times)
The term beautifully depicts Christ’s
combined deity and humanity
It describes him as fully God yet fully man
Occurs in Daniel, Acts (Stephen’s speech),
Gospels and Revelation
13. Jesus reaches out to anyone who needed and
sought him.. Jews and non Jews alike.
He sets out a new relationship protocol – that
“My mother and my brothers are these who
hear God's Message and obey it.“ Luke 8:21
Luke also covers many details not otherwise
covered in other gospels particularly in his
choice and communication with the various
people.
14. Jesus, as a man seeks
one individual
through the milling
crowds
16. In Luke alone we find:
The parables of the Good Samaritan
the Publican and the Pharisee (praying)
The rich man and Lazarus
the lost coin
The prodigal son
The unjust steward
The rich fool (build greater barns)
Incident of Zacchaeus
The conversation with the thief on the cross
Jesus applauding Mary’s (Martha’s sister) better choice
And many more…
Do we see a pattern in Jesus’ choices on who he came to seek as in
the previous slide?
17. Christ takes the
initiative
With his disciples
With those outside
his kingdom
He goes the extra mile
to reach them
He is never too busy
to personally connect
18. 58And Jesus said to him,
"The foxes have holes
and the birds of the air
have nests, but the Son
of Man has nowhere to
lay His head." 59And He
said to another, "Follow
Me." But he said, "Lord,
permit me first to go and
bury my father."60But He
said to him, "Allow the
dead to bury their own
dead; Luke 9:57-60
19. Are we going outside
our comfort zones, to
seek and connect with
those who need God,
who can only reach
God through us?
20. If we are not prepared
to go outside our
comfort zone what can
we infer from Luke
9:57-60?
22. He transforms lives
He associates with even rejects
He assigned women a position as co-
labourers (Luke 10:42)
No one is excluded
Not only does he reach out, he saves and
gives hope of eternal life.
23. The biggest and primary act
of salvation is through his
death
23“Lord, someone asked Hi
m, “will only a
few” people be
saved? Jesus
answered, 24“Make every
effort to enter through the
narrow door. For many, I
tell you, will try to enter
and will not be able. Luke
13
24. The paralytic through roof was second in command
to Caesar, who was leading the procession of the
widow of Nain’s son and probably invited Christ. Both
these men where huge witnesses for Christ and
played a role through the ages in many ways
including preserving the library of Bible writings
(when Nero was destroying the data) among other
things.[1]
The forgiven adulteress was again a highly influential
lady who built a church which exists even today
known as “the Church of the forgiving Lord”.[1]
The disciples (men and women) were the little band
who brought Christ to the world
25. They were touched by
Christ, they touched
others for Christ. Their
influence benefitted
generations.
26. When God blesses us,
it is with full faith that
we in turn go the extra
mile to share the
blessing to others
Have we fully
leveraged His
blessings?
27. Luke emphasized that Jesus reached:
Everyone – irrespective of caste, creed,
gender, religion
Those who sincerely knew and acknowledged
their need for Him
Every lost hope, lost credibility, lost status,
lost life, etc. .most of all, lost fellowship with
God.
And set a benchmark that everyone is our
neighbour (Good Samaritan – Luke 10)
28. The Pharisees charged
that Jesus was "a
glutton and a
drunkard, a friend of
tax collectors and
sinners" (Luke 7:34).
29. We often ask the
question – what about
those who have never
heard Christ?
What are we doing about
them?
Even today, Christ is
reaching out to them. He
is looking for labourers
to go out into the
harvest
30.
31. Jesus could restore in a way no one else could.
Eg. Widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7).
Distinguished soldier marched for final
military honours
Embalmed – i.e. no organs - heart, brains,
eyes Blood drained and body filled with fluid.
Jesus restored non existent organs and gave
him life
Ref:Dr. Ron Charles
32. Are we ready, to follow
Christ, to truly seek
out the lost for their
salvation???
33. Christ has blessed us in many ways. Are we
using the blessing to bless others? Please
share.
What are some challenges in “seeking” out
the lost outside our known territories. How
can we overcome them?
Share some ways in which we are/ can “seek”
out the lost, and help them to receive Christ’s
salvation outside our comfort zone.
After the introductory chapters, Luke follows the outline of events as they are recorded in the Gospel of Mark. However, he does not follow Mark's narrative as closely as Matthew does. Occasionally, he leaves out some material and substitutes an item of his own. For example, he substitutes an illustration of Jesus' preaching in the synagogue at Nazareth in place of Jesus' proclamation at the beginning of his Galilean ministry.
Luke includes a considerable number of Jesus' teachings that are not recorded in the other Gospels. If he and Matthew both used the same source Q, evidently Luke used more material from it than did Matthew. Each of these parables and stories illustrates what Luke regards as an essential characteristic of Jesus' work. Cliffsnotes.com
Jesus was not trying to raise opposition to the Roman government, nor was he lacking in sympathy or understanding of those whom the Jews regarded as foreigners. He places the highest value on good character regardless of a person's race or nationality. For example, although many Jews looked with disfavor on the Samaritans, Luke emphasizes that of the ten lepers whom Jesus healed, only the one who was a Samaritan expressed his gratitude for what Jesus had done. And again in the parable of the man who fell among thieves on the road to Jericho, a Samaritan befriended the man and saw to it that he was given proper care.
Throughout his gospel, Luke emphasizes the fact that Jesus was a friend not only to Jews but to Samaritans and to so-called outcasts from different races and nationalities. Chapters 9–18 are often referred to as Luke's "long insertion," for in them he departs from the sequence of events in Mark and introduces a section that includes much of the most valued portions of Jesus' teachings. Here, we have a report of Jesus sending out the "seventy" to carry the message of the kingdom to different places. The number "seventy" is especially significant: In the Jewish Torah, the number refers to all the nations of the earth. Luke wants to make it clear that Jesus' mission is for all humankind and not just for the Jews. In the story that describes the conversation between Jesus and Zacchaeus, we have the statement "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." And in the introductory chapters of the gospel where Luke, like Matthew, traces the genealogy of Jesus, we find the same emphasis on the universality of Jesus' mission. Matthew traces the ancestry back to Abraham, who is regarded as the father of the Hebrew people; Luke traces it back to Adam, the father of all humanity.
Daniel 7:13-14, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
The lonely, rejected, true seekers, people willing to do things out of their comfort zones (Marys). Jesus singles them out, spends time with them, Endorses them, brings them to salvation. They covered people of every background, nation, etc.
While we emphasize seeking Christ, the first seeker was, in fact Christ – who is searching for hearts which are true – from every race, language, religion, culture – and he reaches out to them
Jesus worked tirelessly, continuously outside his comfort zone, to reach them. The parable of the lost coin, sheep, prodigal’s son indicates just how close “seeking” is to Jesus’ heart.
Mary “choosing the better part” (Luke 10:42) instead of working in the kitchen
Interesting pattern we observe is that those who were healed by Christ lived for Christ.. Many lives saved were lives which in turn were transformed enough to glorify Christ and extend his kingdom.
Tax collectors were considered among the most corrupt people.
Dr. Ron Charles gives the following background of the widow of Nain’s son. He was embalmed as an honoured soldier and being marched with full military honours lead by a senior Roman executive who happened to be the same paralytic Jesus saved. This executive invited Jesus to join this elite procession to a specific location where he would be honoured. It is then that Jesus sees the widow and has compassion. He raises this part body and restores all organs including missing ones and blood. This man later becomes the librarian and saves many writings on Jesus. The paralytic had earlier come to see if Jesus was the awaited messiah when had an arrow shot through him paralysing him. He continues the journey and is healed. By the time he goes back to report that Jesus is indeed the Christ, Christ is crucified. He, along with the young soldiers are ardent perpetuators of the gospel and their impact runs through generations.