How does Luke present the cost and demands of discipleship, and his distinctive concern for the poor, women and outcasts?
Discipleship and the poor in Luke: the cost and demands of discipleship, the use of wealth and the danger of riches, the place of women, and Jesus's concern for the poor, sinners and outcasts.
A CCEA AS 1 guide to discipleship and the poor in Luke. Covers the cost and demands of discipleship, the right use of wealth and the dangers of riches, the prominence of women, and Jesus's distinctive concern for the poor, tax collectors, sinners and social outcasts.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
You need to explain Luke's teaching on discipleship, including its cost and demands, the right use of wealth and the danger of riches, the prominence of women, and Jesus's distinctive concern for the poor, sinners and outcasts, and then evaluate Luke's attitude to wealth. This is the social heart of Luke's Gospel, the theme the infancy narratives and the Nazareth manifesto announced.
The cost and demands of discipleship
The use of wealth and the danger of riches
The place of women
The poor, sinners and outcasts
Luke's Jesus deliberately seeks out the marginalised. He welcomes and eats with tax collectors and sinners, provoking the complaint that gives rise to the parables of the lost (Luke 15); he commends the tax collector rather than the Pharisee in the temple (Luke 18:9 to 14); he heals the leper and the bent woman; and he tells the despised Samaritan, not the priest or Levite, as the model of love (Luke 10:25 to 37). This concern enacts the Magnificat's reversal and the Nazareth manifesto's "good news to the poor".
Evaluating Luke on wealth
A model evaluation paragraph might run: "It is easy to read Luke as hostile to wealth: no other Gospel so insistently warns of the danger of riches, from the woe on the rich and the rich fool to the rich man tormented while Lazarus is comforted, and the blunt demand that the rich ruler sell everything. Yet a closer reading shows that Luke condemns the love and hoarding of wealth and the neglect of the poor it produces, rather than possessions in themselves: Zacchaeus is not told to give away everything but is commended for generous restitution and almsgiving, and wealthy women fund the mission without rebuke. The judgement, therefore, is that Luke is not simply negative about wealth but is radically demanding about its use: riches are spiritually dangerous and create obligations to the poor, so the charge of being 'too negative' overstates a teaching that is really about generosity and justice rather than poverty for its own sake."
Try this
Q1. What daily demand does Jesus make of disciples in Luke 9:23? [2 marks]
- Cue. To deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow him.
Q2. Explain Luke's teaching on the danger of riches using two examples. [6 marks]
- Cue. The rich fool stores treasure for himself but dies; the rich man ignores Lazarus and is punished; both show riches as spiritually dangerous and creating obligations to the poor.
Q3. "Luke's concern for the poor is the most distinctive feature of his Gospel." Discuss. [12 marks]
- Cue. Weigh the prominence of the poor, women and outcasts and the theme of reversal against other distinctive features (the Spirit, prayer, universal salvation), and reach a judgement.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of CCEA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
CCEA AS 1 201812 marksExplain Luke's teaching on the cost and demands of discipleship.Show worked answer →
An AO1 question, so reward accurate exposition of the demands Jesus makes
of his followers.
The demands. Explain the call to deny oneself and take up the cross daily
(Luke 9:23), to put following Jesus before family and possessions (Luke
14:26 to 33), and to count the cost like a builder or a king going to war.
Wealth. A strong answer links discipleship to Luke's teaching on wealth:
the call to the rich ruler to sell everything, the danger of riches, and
the example of Zacchaeus, who gives half his goods to the poor.
Accurate use of the relevant passages reaches the top band.
CCEA AS 1 202012 marksComment on the view that Luke is too negative about wealth.Show worked answer →
An AO2 evaluation question, so argue both sides and judge.
Supporting the claim. Luke repeatedly warns against riches (the rich fool,
the rich man and Lazarus, "woe to you who are rich"), which can seem a blanket
condemnation of wealth.
Challenging the claim. Luke condemns the misuse of wealth and trust in it,
not wealth itself; wealthy supporters fund Jesus's mission, and Zacchaeus is
commended for generous, just use of his money.
A judgement that Luke condemns the love and hoarding of wealth rather than
possessions as such, so "too negative" overstates it, reaches the higher
bands.
Related dot points
- The background to Luke's Gospel: authorship, date, audience and purpose, the prologue, the relationship to Acts, and the infancy narratives that introduce Luke's distinctive themes.
A CCEA AS 1 guide to the background of Luke's Gospel and the infancy narratives. Covers authorship, date, audience and purpose, the prologue, the link with Acts, and how the birth narratives of John and Jesus introduce Luke's themes of joy, the Spirit, the poor and salvation for all.
- The identity of Jesus in Luke: the titles (Son of God, Son of Man, Christ, Lord, Saviour, prophet), the baptism and temptation, and the Nazareth manifesto as the programme of his ministry.
A CCEA AS 1 guide to the identity of Jesus in Luke. Covers the main titles (Son of God, Son of Man, Christ, Lord, Saviour and prophet), the baptism and the temptations, and the Nazareth manifesto (Luke 4) that sets out the programme of Jesus's ministry to the poor and outcast.
- Parables and miracles in Luke: the nature and purpose of parables, the distinctive Lukan parables (the lost, the good Samaritan, the prodigal son), the types of miracle, and what they reveal about the kingdom and salvation.
A CCEA AS 1 guide to the parables and miracles in Luke. Covers the nature and purpose of parables, the distinctive Lukan parables (the lost sheep, coin and son, the good Samaritan), the types of miracle (healings, exorcisms, nature and raising the dead), and what they reveal about the kingdom of God and salvation.
- The passion and resurrection in Luke: the Last Supper, Gethsemane, the trials, the crucifixion with its distinctive sayings, the death of Jesus, the empty tomb and the Emmaus road, and Luke's distinctive emphases.
A CCEA AS 1 guide to the passion and resurrection in Luke. Covers the Last Supper, Gethsemane, the trials before the Sanhedrin, Pilate and Herod, the crucifixion with Luke's distinctive sayings, the death of Jesus, the empty tomb and the Emmaus road, and Luke's distinctive emphases of forgiveness and innocence.
Sources & how we know this
- CCEA GCE Religious Studies (2016) specification — CCEA (2016)