Luke as the Gospel of Prayer
Jesus is shown in Luke as a praying Messiah. Jesus not only teaches about prayer in several unique parables like the one of the unjust judge in 18:1-8 and material in 11:5-8, but Jesus is seen praying in Luke more than all three other Gospels combined, beginning with His baptism in 3:21.
•Jesus was praying after His baptism when the heavens opened (3:21).
•After the cure of the leper Jesus withdrew to the wilderness and prayed (5:16). The parallel in Mark has Jesus praying only once but in Luke 5:16 it was Jesus’ custom.
•Jesus spent all night on the hills in prayer before He chose the Twelve (6:12-16).
•Jesus was praying alone when He asked the disciples “Who do the people say I am?” (9:18-22).
•Eight days later He took Peter, James and John and went up on the mountain to pray (9:28) and while praying He was transfigured (9:29).
•Jesus prayed for Simon that his faith might not fail (22:32).
• Only Luke tells us that Jesus prayed for His crucifiers (23:34) and committed His spirit into the hands of Father (23:46). Prayer is a common activity done by the main characters in Acts as well (Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; etc.).
Not only does Luke’s Christology thus emphasize the piety of Jesus and his followers in their frequent prayer life, but Luke goes much further to connect Jesus’ prayer to important decisions made in the course of the gospel and in Jesus’ ongoing care for his disciples after he is gone. Jesus chooses the twelve as a result of prayer for instance, and prays that Peter’s faith not fail which is crucial in light of the significance of Peter’s role in the Church. There is another aspect to prayer and this is prayer in the context of repentance and forgiveness—an aspect of Jesus’ teaching seen far more often in Luke than in all other three gospels combined.
•Jesus was praying after His baptism when the heavens opened (3:21).
•After the cure of the leper Jesus withdrew to the wilderness and prayed (5:16). The parallel in Mark has Jesus praying only once but in Luke 5:16 it was Jesus’ custom.
•Jesus spent all night on the hills in prayer before He chose the Twelve (6:12-16).
•Jesus was praying alone when He asked the disciples “Who do the people say I am?” (9:18-22).
•Eight days later He took Peter, James and John and went up on the mountain to pray (9:28) and while praying He was transfigured (9:29).
•Jesus prayed for Simon that his faith might not fail (22:32).
• Only Luke tells us that Jesus prayed for His crucifiers (23:34) and committed His spirit into the hands of Father (23:46). Prayer is a common activity done by the main characters in Acts as well (Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; etc.).
Not only does Luke’s Christology thus emphasize the piety of Jesus and his followers in their frequent prayer life, but Luke goes much further to connect Jesus’ prayer to important decisions made in the course of the gospel and in Jesus’ ongoing care for his disciples after he is gone. Jesus chooses the twelve as a result of prayer for instance, and prays that Peter’s faith not fail which is crucial in light of the significance of Peter’s role in the Church. There is another aspect to prayer and this is prayer in the context of repentance and forgiveness—an aspect of Jesus’ teaching seen far more often in Luke than in all other three gospels combined.
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