Luke 2 Report

Luke 2 Report

Phenomenology refers to studies about consciousness frameworks as experienced from a first-person perspective. The central objective of the philosophy is direct description and investigation of phenomena as it is consciously experienced without any theoretical frameworks about causal explanations and is also free from presuppositions and preconceptions (Arnette, 2017). As a discipline, it is related but distinct from other major disciplines in philosophy, including epistemology, ontology, ethics, and logic. Further, hermeneutics refers to the methodology of interpretation of philosophical and biblical texts. Accordingly, phenomenology and hermeneutics can be used to explore the lived experiences of being in a relationship with Jesus during Christ’s time on earth, as reported in the Gospel of Luke. The account provides Christ’s portrayal, his deeds during his ministry, and the significance of Luke’s account.

In Luke ‘s perspective, Jesus is portrayed as an enormously powerful figure as he plays a variety of roles, including benefactor, savior, healer, and prophet. At the onset, Jesus comes to the scene straight from the Old Testament as prophet Isaiah (Attridge, 1998). Jesus displays many powers to validate his God-given authority, including that of forgiving sins (Luke 5:20). Luke’s understanding of Christ is the cornerstone of his theology through the various titles he gives Jesus, including Messiah, Son of Man, Son of God, and Lord, among others. Luke might have taken witness accounts when writing about the events and miracles of Jesus Christ since he explains that he investigated “all parts carefully” (Luke 1:1). Moreover, he seems to have been persuaded by all the facts he gathered. He portrays Jesus as the perfect man and the son of God. Jesus is also entirely devoted to all people, including the weak since he is the most humble man ever to live and displays servitude at all times. He also has the authority to provide peace to everyone (Luke 7:50) and power over nature (Luke 8:24). Luke also provides details about the family friends of Jesus in his earthly life and the political culture during his lifetime. Throughout the book of Luke, we see him stressing about the humanity of Jesus, probably because Luke was a doctor.

During his ministry, Jesus travels, teaches, preaches, and offers hope to the discouraged and desperate. He also sought the faithful and obedient such as the Roman soldier who pleaded to have his servants healed (Luke 7:7). During his extensive ministry, Jesus also made a lot of enemies. For instance, religious leaders often tried to kill him or trick him. Despite the constant conflict with Romans, he asserts the importance of obeying secular authority. Finally, one of his disciples betrays him. He is quickly sentenced by a hateful and dishonest court and convicted to death by crucifixion. Despite being killed, he arose after three days, just like he had raised others throughout his ministry. According to Luke, the leading personalities in Jesus’s life were his parents Joesph and Mary, John the Baptist, the Twelve Disciples, Herod the Great, Pilate, and Jewish religious leaders.

Luke’s account provides many significant lessons and essential facts about Jesus. Moreover, Luke’s Gospel has survived archaeological, historical, and geographical scrutiny for the last two millennia (“Allaboutjesuschrist”). Luke’s Gospel establishes Jesus as the Messiah that had been prophesied in the Old Testament. The Gospel also proves Jesus’ claim that he is the son of God. Luke also proves that Jesus has authority over everything on earth, including nature (Luke 9:12), death (Luke 7:11-15), overcoming evil (Luke 11:14), forgiving sins (Luke 7:48) and giving people eternal life (23:43). Further, Luke provides a first-hand account of Jesus’ resurrections after crucifixion by the Romans. Unlike other Gospel accounts, Luke’s writings have a varying focus on the portrayal of  Christ, whereby he reveals that Christ was meant to redeem all humanity as opposed to Jews only. Further, salvation is for the marginalized in society (Swindoll, 2017). For instance, the lineage of Christ is traced beyond Abraham to Adam. Additionally, Luke’s account of Christ’s life is addressed to a believer called Theophilus and possesses a format that would appeal to learned gentile and other non-Jew believers (Luke 1: 3-4). The historical justification Christ’s life on earth was not to prove that whether christ’s events and ministry did happen, rather it was meant to encourage faith and meaning to everything that had happened.

Overall, phenomenology, as a philosophical discipline, provides a source of all value and meanings concerning the living experiences of humans. Biblical phenomenology can be used to explore the lived experiences of being in a relationship with Jesus during Christ’s time on earth as reported in the Gospel of Luke. Luke ‘s perspective, Jesus is portrayed as a powerful prophetic figure from the old testament and plays a variety of roles, including benefactor, savior, healer, and prophet. Throughout his ministry, Jesus travels preaches and offers hope to the discouraged and desperate. The historical justification of  Christ’s life on earth, is meant to encourage faith and meaning to Christ’s work and provide motivation for all believers.

References

AllAboutJesusChrist. (2005, May 24). Gospel Of Luke. AllAboutJesusChrist.org. https://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/gospel-of-luke.htm

Arnett, R. C. (2017). Phenomenology. The International Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118901731.iecrm0186

Attridge, H. W. (1998). The Story Of The Storytellers – The Gospel Of Luke | From Jesus To Christ | FRONTLINE | PBS. PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/luke.html

Swindoll, C. (2017). Luke. Insight for Living – Chuck Swindoll’s Bible-teaching Via Articles, Books, Videos, Streaming, and Audio Products – Insight for Living Ministries. https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-gospels/luke

The Bible