Salvation as social reintegration in Jesus' healing miracles in Luke's gospel

Abstract

Jesus demonstrated the arrival of the kingdom of God through his mighty works of miracles. The miracles also show Jesus' concern for all people. There are no ethnical, social or gender barriers to God's care. Most importantly, Jesus' healing miracles, which integrate people back into society as a whole, reveal God's care for the whole person. In the First Chapter I shall give an overview of the Gospel according to Luke, giving weight to the aspect of salvation. In the Second Chapter I shall focus on two healing miracles, the healing of the hemorrhaging woman (Luke 8, 40-48) and the healing of the crippled woman (Lk 13, 10-17). These two miracles portray God's salvific love as reintegration into society. In the Third Chapter I shall explore the salvific aspect of the chosen miracles and relate them to Luke's general theme of God's mercy.