Missing the Point of Salvation Part 2

Part One

Let’s take a look at several more stories from Luke.

First, Luke 7:36-50.

Jesus tells Simon that the explanation for the woman’s radical/over the top/scandalous behavior is that she understands what it means to be forgiven and he doesn’t. She has a radical response to the radical love of God.

What really interests me are the final words Jesus speaks to the woman.

“Your faith has saved you, go in peace.”

This is a salvation story.

The Hebrew concept behind the world “peace” is “shalom,” which is more than an absence of conflict. It’s wholeness.

To live in a state of shalom is to be in harmony with God and with your neighbors and with the world around you.

When Jesus says “Go in peace,” he saying way more than just “have a nice day.”

Jesus treats her and speaks to her as one who is embraced by God and therefore must be embraced by all who embrace his vision of what the Kingdom of God is like.

Jesus not only forgives the woman of her sins, he restores her to her community.

Next, look at Luke 8:26-39.

Jesus liberates a man from a hoard of demons and sends them into a herd of pigs. Verse 36 says, “Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured.” The Greek word that is translated “cured” can also be translated “saved.”

This too is a story of salvation.

When the just-saved man tries to follow him, Jesus sends him back to his people, back to the community from whom he has been isolated.

Jesus not only liberates the man, he restores him to his community.

Finally, let’s look at Luke 8:40-56.

When the woman touches his cloak, she is healed. In verse 48, Jesus says, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in shalom.” “Healed” in this verse can also be translated as “saved.”

Once again, another salvation story.

By calling her out after her attempt at being healed anonymously, Jesus is making her salvation a public event.

He not only heals her, he restores her to her community.

A final salvation story emerges when Jesus tells Jairus in verse 50, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed (saved).”

After Jesus raises the little girl from the dead, he tells her parents to give her something to eat. I used to think this was because being dead makes a person hungry. I’ve been living in Luke’s gospel long enough now to see that the sharing of food is never just about nourishment. It’s about inclusion/restoration into a family/community.

In Luke 15, after the lost son comes home, his father throws a party. When challenged by the older brother, the father tells him that this is what one does when a parent gets back a child who was dead.

Four salvation stories. They all have something in common beyond the fact that each person is “saved” by Jesus.

Read Part 3