It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, He breathed His last. Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.” And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts. And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things. And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God; this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
Luke 23:44-56
I gave you this segment early in the last Gem 1272 in case you had had enough of the pondering on “They crucified Him there” and wanted to move on. If you have been following Gems for a while you will know that the changes each writer makes are the distinctives they want to communicate to us. Where they have departed from the standard story is where their emphasis lies. What is fascinating with this passage is that all four gospel writers have rearranged or added to the material their own particular emphasis. You will greatly improve your ability to understand the purpose of each Gospel writer if you harmonize the passage in all accounts available and pay attention to the differences between them. This portion of the Gospel account is more standard, but when it comes to the post resurrection segments it is fascinating because there is so much variation. There is less common material there and more unique sections for each writer. It will help you immensely to do the colouring in order to pick out that which is unique to each writer. Following that put each of the Gospel accounts together to determine what happened and the order in which it happened. After you have gained a greater understanding of the flow of events then go back and ponder the specific elements of Luke’s account. I have told you about this approach before. I am repeating it because there have been a number of people who have just joined the Gems.
- Shared
- Uniquely Matthew
- Uniquely Mark
- Uniquely Luke
- Uniquely John
Using the colour schema above highlight the elements that stay the same in yellow, while the changes and differences, new material and additions from each writer are coloured in the appropriate colour. But remember we are concentrating on what Luke has to say by comparing his account with the others to determine those elements which are uniquely Luke. By comparing Luke’s account with the others we gain a clearer picture of what Luke had to say. It is a little like the approach CSI investigators take with eyewitness testimony. They take the witnesses aside one by one and interview them then afterward put their testimony together in order to piece together the whole story. They essentially do that to bring to light any witness whose testimony doesn’t fit the facts to determine who is lying. We don’t have suspect these Gospels are lying, but it does shed light on where each Gospel writer gives a unique perspective on the events in general.
We will look at the significant things in the next Gem.
Jesus is a way of life, not just a Sunday thing.
Anon
Try and fail… But don’t fail to try!
Rick Godwin
It always seems impossible until it’s done.
Nelson Mandela
When people are determined they can overcome anything.
Nelson Mandela
If What You Hold In Your Hand Is Not Enough To Be Your Harvest, Make It Your Seed.
Mathias Grehn