Day 79 – December 13, 2023: Luke 7-12

We find ourselves in the meat of Luke with all sorts of great stories that we have heard before. There is a lot that is familiar, but there is also quite a bit that I don’t remember ever reading before. Let me highlight some of that Scripture which was unfamiliar to me. Luke doesn’t include the beheading of John the Baptist, but does have Herod perplexed because people are saying that Jesus is the resurrected John. We have the very familiar, and the singular, story of the good Samaritan. We have the story of Mary and Martha without the resurrection of their brother Lazarus which only takes place in John.

To start it all off we have the resurrection of the widow’s son which I had not remembered reading before. It is quite a story with a man in a casket who is being carried out and Jesus has compassion on a widow who is left with no one, and inevitably would have descended into destitution, being raised from the dead. The work of Jesus is underscored by his sympathy and his love for the people. In Luke you find a Jesus who absolutely loves people and will be swayed and affected by the plight of those who are in need. I see it more here in Luke than in any other Gospel.