The Gospels of Matthew and Luke

563 Words2 Pages

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke

Matthew chapter five is a sermon by Jesus. It tells us what perspective we ought to have in dealings with each other and with our attitude. Those who are weak shall be strong, and those who mourn shall be comforted tell of positive actions or humility being rewarded. Jesus goes through a list of these, exalting the poor and the weak. Mt. 5:17-20 is between the first section of what actions are righteous and before the section of what seem to be his own version of commandments relative to the law. It says that all shall be done and judged through and by him. So he gave a perspective on the humble and then judged the law. He tells people to be righteous and then tells them the manner in which to achieve righteousness. It included removing anything from your life that brought you away from Christ. If your eyes were causing you temptation to sin, poke them out. All you do ought to be done in Christ and to glorify God the Father, so whatever didn't achieve those things were not to be done and one should do whatever necessary to stop them.

Matthew characterized Jesus in his gospel as such:

He is announced by the narrator as Jesus as Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. This is not as strong, or divine, as Mark's announcement calling Jesus as Christ, Son of God. Matthew does later note Jesus as Son of God. Matthew uses other's response to Jesus; his evaluated point of view; Jesus' titles and attributes; and His deeds and words to characterize him. Matthew's Jesus is a very complex character. In chapter two the Magi see him as the King of the Jews. Later, John calls Him "one mightier". The centurion sees Christ as a person of authority as seen in chapter eight, and Jesus called...

... middle of paper ...

...oss, He is said to hand his spirit over to God. This shows God's presence and acceptance of the event. Luke saw Jesus' death as a triumph over death in the resurrection.

All four Gospels held that Jesus was innocent. Luke, however, pushes the envelope further than the others do. Luke held that Roman authorities agreed that Jesus was innocent. These authorities included Pilate, Herod, and the centurion. The thief on the cross even testified to Jesus' innocence in Luke's gospel. Luke also does not give the exact charges of Christ when He was brought before Pilate. He gives an example of a hanus charge, which the reader knows Jesus is not guilty of. Luke's gospel places much of the blame on the Jews, who were the people bringing Jesus to trial and consistently harassing Paul. One would get the impression from Luke's Gospel that the Jews crucified Jesus.

Open Document