Final answer:
Being a disciple in Luke's Gospel implies a deep commitment to follow and learn from Jesus, prioritize spiritual over material wealth, embrace universal love, and reach out to marginalized individuals in society. It is a transformative journey that encompasses more than just religious observance and involves a profound lifestyle change.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Luke's Gospel, being a disciple means committing oneself to follow Jesus, seeking to learn from His teachings, and spreading His message of salvation to others. This message emphasized forgiveness, and compassion irrespective of social rank, and offered an open invitation to all humans to receive God’s salvation. Jesus’s disciples referred to as apostles, demonstrated this through actions such as leaving their occupations, participating in his ministry, and inviting people from all walks of life, including those considered social outcasts, to learn from Jesus.
Discipleship in Luke is depicted as a transformative journey that goes beyond religious observance and requires a radical commitment to live in accordance with Jesus’s example. It involves prioritizing spiritual riches over material wealth, associating with marginalized individuals, and embodying universal love as taught by Christ.
The example given in the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus calls Levi to follow him and Levi responds by hosting Jesus and his disciples alongside tax collectors and notorious sinners, shows discipleship as an acceptance of Jesus’s mission, which includes outreach to those marginalized by society. The act of following Jesus comes with the cost of leaving behind one’s former life but promises a deeper fulfillment through service and love.