Reading the Gospels Together

How do you end a Gospel? – Part 3

We have also noticed that Luke has built his gospel on the foundation he inherited from Mark’s gospel. But we have noted that Luke is much freer in his use of Mark. In many ways Luke has re-written Mark’s gospel and in the process he has changed the tone of what is said. Luke has not always agreed with Mark. Luke has a much more favorable regard for Jewish people – there are many in his gospel beginning with Elizabeth and Zechariah and ending with Joseph of Arimathea who have been waiting expectantly for the visitation of God to his people. These faithful Jewish people have been sprinkled throughout Luke’s gospel. Of course Luke is also aware of Jewish people, particularly religious leaders, who have opposed Jesus. But, for Luke, they are not the true picture of Judaism – those who welcome the visitation of God to his people are. Luke has also provided his readers with a far more positive regard for the Temple in Jerusalem, and for Jerusalem as a city. It is clear in Mark’s gospel that he thinks that the Temple must be destroyed and that Jerusalem is the city of rejection and death. Luke does not share Mark’s skepticism regarding the Temple and Jerusalem. And Luke does not share Mark’s dark and foreboding story of the whole world being plunged into darkness. Mark has told a story in which everyone has failed – even the women at the tomb. Jesus dies alone and abandoned – and Mark’s readers are left to wonder if even God has abandoned Jesus. Luke is aware of the weakness of the followers of Jesus and the struggle of being a disciple. But, the disciples do not abandon Jesus in the end – they are present at the crucifixion even if it is from a distance. And Jesus does not cry out in abandonment as he dies. Instead Jesus dies with the assurance that he commends his spirit to God. Jesus dies as the innocent one. Luke does not hesitate to provide his readers with a “happy ending” to the story. Jesus is raised and appears bodily to his disciples. Jesus helps them, and us, to recognize that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die and be raised from the dead to fulfill the scripture. And in the end the disciples are in Jerusalem and in the Temple rejoicing and praising God. They are the true expression of Judaism. Luke would not have thought of Christianity as a new religion but the true expression of Judaism.

We might ask ourselves why Luke has made all these changes to Mark’s story. Likely it is because Luke has had in mind the second volume he will write – the book of Acts. In the book of Acts the Jewish people do receive the Messiah. The followers of Jesus are centered in Jerusalem and in the Temple. They are to begin from this center moving from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and finally to the ends of the earth. The story in the book of Acts demands a story that sees another picture of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the disciples.

In a way Luke’s gospel doesn’t really end – it moves right into the book of Acts as one continual story. Luke ends his gospel, then, by preparing for the book of Acts. The disciples remain in Jerusalem waiting to receive power from on high. Luke previews his second volume by telling of the ascension which will be the first major story in Acts. In the first five verses of Acts Luke recaps his gospel. Like Matthew, Luke is concerned about how to speak of the presence of Jesus once bodily resurrection appearances have come to an end. Luke solves this issue in a different way from Matthew. Matthew ended by telling his readers that Jesus remains “down here” with them always. Luke tells his readers that the risen Jesus ascends “up there” at the right hand of God, the place of power, and then returns in the form of the Holy Spirit in the story of Pentecost.

Was Luke successful in the ending of his gospel? Without the book of Acts we might say that Luke’s gospel is unfinished too. When we realize that his ending paves the way for the book of Acts it is a fitting ending. Luke and Acts belong together and Luke’s ending clearly makes that connection.