Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 76:1 (NA 2025)
Article: The Ethics Of Valuing Others In The Gospel According To Luke
Author: Peter W. Gosnell

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The Ethics Of Valuing Others In The Gospel According To Luke

Peter W. Gosnell

Professor Emeritus of Religion
Muskingum University
[email protected]

Abstract

The Gospel according to Luke is well known for its moral teaching confronting prevailing attitudes about social standing and wealth. The Gospel does more, ethically. This study considers Luke’s portrait of Jesus in its entirety. It aims to show how the Gospel’s ubiquitous reversal moments and its kingdom orientation fuel a persistent challenge against people overvaluing themselves and devaluing others, with Jesus setting the pattern for proper valuation. Out of that emerges the strong concern always to treat people fully as people, regardless of who they are or what they have done. That sets the stage for all sorts of personal, and even community, ethical decision making. Activity that advances the full humanity of others is good; that which dehumanises is evil. These kinds of ethical reasoning patterns stem from divine programme, not divine command.

1. Introduction

Readers of the Gospel according to Luke have long recognised its moral concerns. Issues often mentioned include the Gospel’s emphases on wealth and possessions,1 and with those its bold challenge to social status, sometimes associated with Roman power and patronage.2 Closely related is its regard for social justice, especially exhibited in the programmatic declaration of Luke 4:18–19

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in which Jesus announces ‘good news to the poor … release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, [freedom to] the oppressed … the year of the Lord’s favour.’3

Luke does more, ethically, than offer a moral agenda on specific, identifiable topics. The Gospel also fosters a rationale that makes its presentation of Jesus useful for issues not explicitly addressed by its moral teachings. Identifying and describing morally instructive material are important to probing Luke’s ethics. So is learning how to distinguish good and evil based on the writing’s reasoning patterns.4 Doing that helps clarify why, according to Luke, championing the poor is good, why a life focused on property accumulation is wrong, or why care for the socially marginalised matters beyond appeals to specific words and deeds of Jesus.

2. Some Initial Thoughts On Methodology

This exploration in Luke prioritises liter...