Jesus' Counseling Methodologies In Luke

At age 12 in the temple, Jesus already portrays what seems to be the basic foundation for much of His ministry. Luke describes Him as listening and asking questions. Later on in His official public ministry, Jesus adds to this the preaching of the Word. In chapter 4:43, He explicitly states that his purpose was to preach the kingdom of God. Alongside of these methods, Jesus prays often, and fasts also to maintain His relationship with His Father, as well as to pray for those to whom He was ministering.

Those to whom Jesus reaches out are most often the down-and-out of society: simple fishermen, despised tax collectors, and publicly known sinners. He does so with much compassion, knowing their temporal needs, but specifically pointing them to the spiritual blessings that He offers which are pictured in the daily needs He provides and special healing that he gives.

He also often speaks in plain parables, using word pictures that any commoner of that time would easily understand, most often using agrarian images that fit well in the society of that day. These word pictures speak powerfully into the lives of the people; using contemporary metaphors today is also an effective way to connect people to the realities of God.
In all his teaching, Jesus is certain to address the issues of the heart. He lays out specifically in Luke 6:43-45 that fruit good or evil that is revealed in the life of a person demonstrates the state of that person’s heart, good or evil.

These truths were not spoken only to the down-and-out, the commoners of that time. Jesus also directly addresses the religious leaders of his day. In this, He shows that He is not afraid of rebuking those who need rebuke, on of calling a spade a spade. He speaks the truth in love, and demonstrates what He commands in chapter 12 that one ought to fear God rather than man.

In all of this, Jesus refuses none who come to Him, but rather heals, provides, comforts, and restores those who express their need of Him. He marvels at the faith of some, while rebuking others of their little faith. Thus, He models compassion, encourages the godly, and is firm with those who need correction. He instructs His followers to likewise show mercy, and to treat others with a servant-like attitude.