Luke portrays Jesus as the Son of God, Son of Man, Messiah, and the Lord similar to what is seen in the other Gospels. Luke also shows Jesus as a teacher who educates the people how to follow God’s will. In Luke’s gospel he focuses on several themes that are helpful in shaping who Jesus was and the significance of some of the teachings and miracles he performed during his life. Some of the main focuses of Luke’s Gospel are Jesus’ divinity, emphasis on prayer, compassion, and innocence. Luke emphasizes that the Holy Spirit is working within Jesus in order to fulfill God’s will. There are several verses in which Luke writes about the Holy Spirit leading and guiding Jesus. In Luke chapter four it states “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit…Led by …show more content…
Jesus is compassionate and forgiving to his followers and to those who do not follow him. Luke shares the story of the Prodigal Son. The youngest son is ungrateful and uses his money for sinful activities, even though the son does terrible things his father loves him unconditionally. (Luke 15:11–32). Luke adds this parable of the Prodigal son to show Jesus’ compassion and forgiveness to the sinners and believers who ask for forgiveness. The Jesus that Luke portrays pays attention to issues and needs of his people such as economic and social needs. There are many instances where Jesus helps others, however here are just a few examples of Jesus being compassionate to the sinners and those in need. Jesus welcomes “tax-gatherers and other bad characters” to eat with him at his table and he refuses to think of one person being better or more deserving than the other. (Luke 7:29–34; 15:1–2). Tax-gatherers is a catchall phrase referring to the great mass of people in ancient Palestine who were socially and religiously unacceptable because they did not or could not keep the Torah’s requirements. (Harris 216). This invitation to eat with Jesus demonstrates that Jesus will take in anyone who is willing to listen to him and learn from him. Jesus does not discriminate against anyone and wants to help everyone who needs it. In the parable of the great banquet Luke talks about