Did God Say That?
Currently at Liberty we are in a sermon series in Luke’s gospel. I have found it to be such a rewarding study, and I am seeing so many details in the text that I hadn’t picked up on before. It is becoming abundantly obvious to me what a masterful storyteller Luke was and the intentional way in which he wove his narrative together helps me appreciate all the more who Jesus was and is and what he did during his earthly ministry. One aspect of this has to do with chronology and the fact that while Luke may be telling an orderly account theologically, it is not necessarily an orderly account according to what happened in what order.
We see examples of this in Luke 4 such as when Jesus is in Nazareth and Capernaum. While Luke presents Jesus’ sermon in Nazareth (Vv. 16-30) before his miracle in Capernaum (Vv. 31-37) it seems likely that Matthew and Mark who have the order reversed are more chronologically accurate. Again, Luke records Jesus visiting Simon Peter’s house (Vv. 38-41) before he calls him to be a disciple (5:1-11) though the opposite order makes somewhat more sense from a strictly chronological perspective.
And so, all along, as I have been preaching on these texts I have said, “Luke changed the order,” or “Luke is making a theological point by presenting these events in the order he does.” Which raises the question, What about inspiration and what about the Holy Spirit? Is God OK with Luke playing fast and loose with history? Or is perhaps God even telling Luke, “Hey this isn’t how it actually happened, but write it anyways.”
This all raises bigger questions about what inspiration really means. Did the Holy Spirit “stand” over the biblical authors directing the words and phrases that they would use? Or were the ideas and truths inspired but vocabulary and syntax left up to the human authors? My short answer (and it is a short answer where a much longer one could be discussed) is that while there are certainly times when it seems clear that God was providing the wording; “The word of the Lord came to me…” etc. Much more frequently, the personality and “voice” of the human author comes through so clearly it would seem that God was playing a rather “hands-off” role. Inspiring the authors, yes, but also allowing them to tell the story in their own voice.
So, when it comes to Luke, each time I say, “Luke is messing with the chronology” I would have no problem saying equally truthfully, “God is telling this story out of chronological order” but maybe it would be more accurate to say, “God is OK with Luke’s choice here.” I believe this statement incorporates both the divine mind inspiring Luke and Luke making some stylistic decisions for himself. This kind of thing gets really fun when we get to Luke 5:19 where I believe Luke intentionally includes an untrue detail! (If you’ve read this far and are curious, ask me, I’d love to discuss!)
But here’s why all this matters. God used the human authors to tell his story. But he didn’t employ them merely as scribes, he chose them according to their gifts, abilities, and their unique personalities! God wanted a doctor to tell his story. But he also wanted a fisherman, and a Pharisee, and a….whoever wrote Hebrews. And God wants us. Not to change and become like the preacher on TV, or our pastor, or that famous missionary from the 1800’s we just read a biography about. He wants us and our unique personalities to tell his story our way. And to trust that as we do, he will use it for his glory!