If you’ve ever flipped through the pages of the Gospels of
Matthew, Mark, and Luke and been struck by their similarities, you’re not
alone. These three Gospels are often referred to as the Synoptic (“seen
together”) Gospels on account of their shared vocabulary, stories, and
narrative framework. In light of their many similarities, it's all the more
striking when these Gospels differ from one another.
This week’s passage is a
case in point. When compared to Matthew and Mark’s versions of Jesus’ visit to
and rejection from his hometown of Nazareth, Luke’s account stands out for two
reasons.
First, he has placed this story earlier in the chronology of Jesus’
ministry than the other Gospels do. Whereas Matthew and Mark place this story
after Jesus has performed numerous miracles in Capernaum and elsewhere, Luke
pushes the narrative nearer to the front of his Gospel, giving it greater
prominence.
Second, Luke expands on the version of the same story found in Mark
and Matthew, adding the reading from Isaiah and the references to the former
prophets Elijah and Elisha.
Why might Luke have made these changes? One
suggestion is that by placing this story earlier in his Gospel, Luke has
provided a sort of “thesis statement” for his Gospel. The passage Jesus reads
from Isaiah 61 is a virtual job description for Luke’s Jesus, who—even more
than the Jesus we encounter in Matthew and Mark—is especially concerned with
the poor, the afflicted, and the oppressed.
Likewise, by expanding the
narrative and including the stories of Elijah and Elisha providing aid not to
their fellow Israelites but to a widow in Sidon and a leper in Syria, Luke is
emphasizing another one of his favorite themes: that Jesus came not solely for
Israel but for all of humankind. |
