📜 [EN] Brief summary of Lecture 3

Jesus the Master Communicator: Questions, Propositions, and Story

This session explores how Jesus communicates in Luke 10 with the lawyer who “tests” Him. We examine Jesus’ movement from text to propositions to story; why He begins in the listener’s area of expertise; how compassion shapes His method; and why narrative reaches the human heart in ways propositions alone cannot. The goal is to form teachers and preachers who can think propositionally, speak narratively, and embody the message with Christlike compassion.

Jesus’ Conversational Method in Luke 10

• Answering a question with a question. Jesus responds to “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” by asking, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” Questions draw the other person out, reveal motives, and invite ownership under Scripture.
• Meeting the listener in their strength. By directing the discussion to the Law, Jesus places the conversation inside the lawyer’s domain of expertise. This is audience-centred and respectful.
• Compassion as communicative posture. Jesus could ignore, ridicule, or rebuke. Instead He chooses to honour, listen, and engage—an act of empathy. Effective communication is an act of neighbour-love.

Starting with the Text and Propositions

Jesus begins with the text (“What is written…?”) and invites interpretation (“How do you read it?”). The lawyer models a high-text, propositional summary:

• Two propositions that summarise Torah: Love God with all your being; love your neighbour.
• Veracity and sufficiency: Jesus affirms both the truthfulness (“You have answered correctly”) and the sufficiency (“Do this and you will live”) of the summary.

Propositions are valuable: they distil vast material, offer clarity, and serve the intellect. Yet—on their own—they may not reach the heart that must be transformed for obedience.

From Propositions to Story

When the lawyer presses, “And who is my neighbour?”, Jesus does not deliver a dictionary definition. He shifts genres and tells a story—the Good Samaritan. The move from proposition to narrative is not a retreat from truth but a deepening of its reach, addressing imagination, affections, and action.

Why Story Is Powerful

• Imagination: Story invites listeners to enter another world, watch choices unfold, and envision new possibilities for their own lives.
• Embodied response: Narrative can be felt in the body—vulnerability, awkwardness, compassion—creating a visceral connection that pure abstraction rarely produces.
• Expectation and surprise: Stories play with what audiences assume will happen; Jesus’ choice of a Samaritan as the hero subverts expectations and disarms prejudice.
• Cultural identity: Stories shape people groups. Whoever controls the stories often shapes the culture (seen today in social media’s power to promote and to question narratives).
• Layers of meaning: Propositions reduce; stories can carry multiple, simultaneous meanings without losing integrity.

Layers of Meaning in the Good Samaritan

• Illustration level: A vivid picture of “love your neighbour” in action—see, feel, and practice mercy.
• Embodiment level: Jesus Himself embodies the story in real time; He shows compassion to a “man in need” (the lawyer) even as He tells of a man who shows compassion.
• National story level: For a Jewish expert in the Law, the imagery echoes Israel’s story (e.g., the wounded/abandoned one whom God passes by and has compassion on). Jesus engages the listener’s communal memory and identity.
• Personal story level: We recognise ourselves in the beaten, stripped, abandoned traveller. The story reads our lives and invites us to receive mercy.
• Christological level: Jesus is the compassionate “Samaritan” who comes to us—and, in a deeper sense, the One beaten and left outside the city, prefiguring the cross. The parable foreshadows the gospel.

What Master Communicators Learn from Jesus

• Ask discerning questions. Questions surface assumptions, reveal motives, and lead listeners to articulate truth.
• Begin where your listener is strong. Honour your audience by entering their frame of reference before inviting them into a transformed one.
• Affirm what is true and sufficient. Name and celebrate truth when you hear it; clarity builds trust.
• Move from mind to heart. Use well-formed propositions and well-told stories so people can understand and want to obey.
• Embody your message. Let your life match your words; communication is credibility enacted.

Practices for Preaching and Teaching

• Design sermons with both modes. Pair crisp, accurate propositions with a central, well-crafted narrative (biblical or contemporary) that carries the truth to the heart.
• Craft questions, not just points. Include formative questions that listeners can carry into small groups, homes, and personal reflection.
• Slow down in the text. Name the scene’s emotions (shame, pain, vulnerability) so hearers can feel the passage.
• Address identity and community. Be aware of the stories shaping your people; retell the gospel story to re-form identity.
• Preach for obedience. Always land with lived application: “Go and do likewise.”

Summary

• Jesus models audience-centred, compassionate communication: He starts with text, honours propositions, and then deploys story to reach the heart.
• Propositions offer clarity and sufficiency; stories supply imagination, embodiment, cultural resonance, and layered meaning.
• The Good Samaritan operates on multiple levels—illustrative, embodied, national, personal, and Christological—culminating in the gospel.
• Faithful communicators ask wise questions, affirm truth, tell transformative stories, and embody their message in love.