The Gospel According To LukeSample

Jesus’ Teaching and Miracles: Luke 4:31 – 7:17

In this section, Luke demonstrated that Jesus really was the Messiah because he was fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-2. Jesus provided freedom from an evil spirit in Luke 4:31-36. He healed many other people in 4:38-42. And he called the disciples Peter, James, and John in Luke 5:1-11.

And we find a similar pattern in the verses that follow, where the healings of the leper in 5:12-15, and the paralytic in 5:17-26 are followed by the calling of the disciple Levi or Matthew in 5:27-32.

The same sort of pattern is repeated in the next verses, too. But instead of healings, Luke recorded Jesus’ teachings. In 5:33-39, Jesus taught that his physical presence ought to end fasting and bring rejoicing. In 6:1-11, Jesus taught that the Sabbath is for healing and saving lives. And in 6:12-16, he selected twelve of his many disciples to become his special apostles, who were assigned the task of establishing a new order for Israel. 

Through these miracles and teachings, Jesus demonstrated that he really was the Messiah prophesied by Isaiah, because he brought the Lord’s favor in the form of freedom, healing, and release from oppression.

Next, Luke reported a fairly lengthy sermon that Jesus delivered in Luke 6:17-49. This sermon is often referred to as Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, and it has many similarities to his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7. 

In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus emphasized the same great reversal that Isaiah had prophesied. The poor will be blessed. The hungry will be satisfied. Those who weep will laugh. And God will bless those who are helpless. But the good news also went a step further. Jesus called those who are blessed to follow him and to live by the standards and values of God’s kingdom, which are often very different from earthly standards. For example, he called them to love strangers and even their enemies, in contrast to worldly values which tell us to be wary of strangers and to hate our enemies. So, the message of the kingdom is not just one of blessing, but also one of ethical responsibility.

After the Sermon on the Plain, Luke concluded this section with still more evidences that Jesus was fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy. Jesus healed a centurion’s servant in Luke 7:1-10. And in 7:11-16, he even raised the dead son of a widow at Nain.