Has anyone noticed that the gospel of Luke paints a picture of a much closer relationship between the Lord and His disciples than the other two synoptic gospels do?
Here are some examples. Pay special attention to the underlined parts of these scriptures for a revealing truth. I will post the same account from each gospel:
Matthew 4
18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him.
21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him
Mark 1
16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18At once they left their nets and followed him.
19When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Luke 5
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
With all of the similarities, only Luke tells us the disciples "left everything" to follow the Lord. The other two gospels simply tell us they left specific things left behind.
This type of theme is clear and consistent all throughout the book of Luke. I will post just a few more examples, but there are many that could be shown.
Matthew 9
9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
Mark 2
14As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
Luke 5
27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
In this case, Matthew and Mark don't mention Matthew leaving anything behind. However, Luke, again, mentions leaving everything.
Let's look at an interesting difference pertaining to what happened just after the transfiguration:
Matthew 17
9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
Mark 9
9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Luke 9
37The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.
Luke has two differences that we notice here, but the primary one I want to focus on for now is the fact that Luke specifies to us that the Lord spent an extra night on that mountain with His disciples. The other two gospels give no indication that they spent the night together on the mountain.
Another example consistent with this theme:
Matthew 26
28This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 14
24"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them.
Luke 22
20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
In Matthew and Mark, His blood is poured out for many. In Luke, His blood is poured out for the disciples.
Another interesting observation. After the Passover meal (and just before the crucifixion process was about to begin), we see the Lord telling His disciples in Matthew and Mark that they will all fall away.
Matthew 26
30When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
31Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: " 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' 32But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
Mark 14
26When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
27"You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written: " 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' 28But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
You can go ahead and read the Luke account in your bible, and you will see that He does not tell them that they will fall away.
Going further, we see:
Matthew 26
55At that time Jesus said to the crowd, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Mark 14
48"Am I leading a rebellion," said Jesus, "that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled." 50Then everyone deserted him and fled.
By now, it should come as no surprise to anyone reading this that Luke does not mention the disciples deserting Him.
Luke 22
52Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns."
Nowhere in the Luke account of the Lord being arrested is it mentioned that the disciples deserted Him.
Here is another interesting difference to take into account. This pertains to the time in which the disciples realized that the Lord had risen.
Matthew 28
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Mark 16
15He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
Luke 24
49I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
In Matthew and Mark, He instructs them to "go," but in Luke, He instructs them to "stay." Also, only Luke mentions the disciples receiving what the Father promised, and only Luke mentions the disciples being "clothed with power from on high."
One more thing I would like to mention (although, there are so many - maybe dozens more - similar differences that I could point out.):
Only in Luke do we see it mentioned that:
Luke 24
45Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
This statement is found nowhere in Matthew or Mark.
So, the question is, why do we see Luke's recollection of these events differing from the other two gospels in such a way that it paints a far closer relationship between the Lord and His disciples than do the other two gospels?
Why, in Luke ONLY:
-do the disciples "leave everything?"
-did He spend an extra night with the disciples on the mount of transfiguration?
-did He tell the disciples His blood was to be poured out for them, as opposed to "many?"
-did He NOT tell the disciples that they would desert Him?
-is it not mentioned that the disciples deserted Him?
-did He tell the disciples that they were to stay in the city until clothed with power from on high?
-is it mentioned that He opened their minds to understand the scriptures?
If anyone is interested in more of these differences, I will be happy to list more. I assure you, there are many more differences such as this, and they all fit the theme that we have seen here.
So, what is Luke trying to tell us here?