With reference to three different incidents discuss the attitude of Jesus towards outcasts as presented in Luke's Gospel?
Salma Aftab
Outcasts
With reference to three different incidents discuss the attitude of Jesus towards outcasts as presented in Luke’s Gospel?
Jewish religion and culture created many distinctions in society and there were many categories of people who were considered as outcasts, such as, lepers, Romans, foreigners, the sick and the poor. People who belonged to any of these categories were considered “unclean” and therefore were avoided. Jesus consistently breaks these conventions and interacts with outcasts. Jesus demonstrates equality and compassion whilst dealing with outcasts.
In Luke 16:19-31, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The Rich Man gave the beggar nothing, not even the scraps from the table passed over by those who had plenty. This lack of generosity certainly had its consequences in the afterlife. His misuse of his riches has excluded him from eternal reward. He has enjoyed his 'reward' on earth in full, spending it all on himself, with no care for the beggar at his gate. Riches may have been a gift from God, a reward even, but even the Torah would reveal that the responsibility to be generous came with power and money. However, Jeremias has pointed out that Jesus' audience may well have associated the rich man in His parable with tax collector, so the Rich Man in Jesus' story ending up in torment, separated from the good, would not, perhaps have been surprising. On the other hand, it's important to appreciate that from a Jewish perspective, many of Jesus' listeners would perceive Lazarus as a sinner because of his miserable position, which was a judgement from God. Hence the sequel must have been wholly unexpected by the audience." Jesus' listeners would have been shocked to learn that Lazarus was spending the afterlife in the intimate company of the great patriarch Abraham. He has enjoyed a complete reversal of fortune as suggested by Hendrikesen, after all the Rich man had several opportunities to help the beggar ut did not do so. It is also suggested by Drury that the Rich Man may, perhaps, have been of the Sadducee party. The Sadducees, a small but powerful group within Judaism, from whose ranks the top officials in the Temple. This elite often were the richest and the most powerful people who believed in preserving their traditions and would have kept In Luke 10:25-35 we have the Parable of the Good Samaritan, one of the most famous stories of Jesus and outcasts. The parable itself talks of how a man is beaten and robbed and left for dead by the roadside. A priest and a Levite walk by, ignoring him. The only one who stops and helps is a Samaritan. The Jews hated Samaritans at this time, and they wouldn't have liked that teaching. Jesus was saying that our neighbours might be the people we least expect.
