READING LUKE

Reading Luke
A Literary and Theological Commentary
Revised Edition

Charles H. Talbert
Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc.
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Charles H. Talbert

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Reading Luke: a literary and theological commentary/

Charles H. Talbert
p. cm. (Reading the New Testament Series)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Bible. N. T. Luke—Commentaries.
I. Title.
BS25953.53.T35 2002
226.4'07–dc21 2002015658
Contents

Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
Getting Ready to Read the Gospel 1
Making a Beginning (1:1-4) 7

Prophecies of Future Greatness (Luke 1:5–4:15)

Introduction 15
Jesus, God’s Act (1:26-38) 19
Mary, Ideal Believer and Social Paradigm (1:39-56) 25
John, Prototype of the Christian Evangelist
(1:14-17, 57-80; 3:1-20; 7:24-35) 29
Good News of a Great Joy (2:1-20) 33
The Unredeemed Firstborn (2:21-52) 37
Spiritual Power from Answered Prayer (3:21-22, 15-17) 41
Victory in Spiritual Warfare (4:1-13; 3:23-38; 4:14-15) 47

Anointed with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:16–9:50)

Introduction 53
For the Whole Person, in the Whole World (4:16-30) 57
Called and Commissioned (4:31–5:11) 61
The Difference Jesus Makes (5:12–6: 11) 65
Transcending the Times (6:12-49) 71
Jesus and Other Religious Traditions (7:1-10, 11-17) 81
Confirmed Forgiveness (7:36-50, 18-35) 87
The Ministries of Women (8:1-21) 93
Universal Power and Vested Interests (8:22–9:6) 99
The Dark Night of the “Not Yet” (9:7-50) 107
vi Contents

Guidance on the Way (Luke 9:51–19:44)

Introduction 117
The Costs of Discipleship (9:51–10:24) 121
On Loving God and the Neighbor (10:25-42) 127
Prayer: For What and Why? (11:1-13) 135
Healing in Biblical Perspective (11:14-36) 143
Polemic and Self-definition (11:37-54) 149
Profession, Possessions, Preparedness, and Repentance (12:1–13:9) 157
Kingdom Signs, Predictions, and Warnings (13:10-35) 165
Mealtime Controversies (14:1-35) 171
The Response of Elder Brothers (15:1-32) 179
The Use and Misuse of Wealth (16:1-31) 185
The Possibility of an Impossible Demand (17:1-10) 191
Eschatology: Present and Future (17:11–18:8) 195
Will the Son of Man Find Faith? (18:9–19:10) 201
Forecasts of Temporal and Final Reckoning (19:11-46) 209

Martyrdom and Vindication (Luke 19:45–24:53)

Introduction 219
Tested in the Temple (19:45–21:4; 2:1-7) 223
On Persecution and Perseverance (21:5-38) 231
Mealtime Farewells (22:1-38) 235
A Model for Martyrs (22:39–23:25) 241
Innocent and Obedient (23:26-56a) 249
Victory, Presence, and Mission (23:56b–24:53) 257

Appendix A: The Fulfillment of Prophecy in Luke-Acts 265

Appendix B: Miracle in Luke-Acts 273
Works Cited 279
To T. Robert Mullinax
In friendship
Author’s Preface

The following pages offer a revised, expanded, and updated edition of

Reading Luke to upper level undergraduates, seminarians, pastors, and other
interested parties who desire a fresh reading of the Third Gospel. In some
respects this is a new book; in other ways, it retains the character, flavor, and
perspective of the first edition. It is my hope that this version will be as
helpful to its readers now as the first edition was a generation ago.
The work of revision was largely done while I was on sabbatical leave
from Baylor University and serving as the Catholic Biblical Association’s
Visiting Professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome during the
spring semester, 2001. The graciousness of the Rector, Robert O’Toole, S.J;
the Dean, Stephen Pisano, S.J.; the Director of the library, Henry Bertels,
S.J.; and their colleagues, the wonderful library facilities, and the challenging
students made my time both enjoyable and exciting. My academic efforts
were also supported by my life at the Lay Institute of Foyer Unitas, whose
able director, Dr. Donna Orsuto, helped make that community a home away
from home for me.
Finally, without the sacrifices made by my wife, Betty, who added my
duties at home to her own in spite of her heavy responsibilities as Director of
Spiritual Formation at Truett Seminary, the sabbatical semester in Rome
could never have been possible. True friend, I am indebted to you, in this as
in so many other ways.

Charles H. Talbert
Rome, Easter 2001
Acknowledgements

Quotations from the Bible are taken from the Revised Standard Version
unless otherwise specified. A quote from the Gospel of Hebrews comes from
Gospel Parallels (RSV). Quotations from the early church fathers are from
The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Citations from Greek and Roman authors are
found in the Loeb Classical Library. Material from Jewish sources normally
comes from James H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 2
vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1983–1985); Florentino Garcia Martinez, The
Dead Sea Scrolls Translated, 2d ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996); and
Herbert Danby, The Mishnah (Oxford: Clarendon, 1934).
Getting Ready to Read the Gospel

Every reading of a Gospel is from a particular angle of vision. It is imperative

at the outset, therefore, to understand the perspective assumed in this
commentary. The following paragraphs are devoted to this end.

(1) Who was the author of Luke? If one works only with the internal
evidence of the Third Gospel, one concludes the author is a Greek-speaking
Christian who declines to identify himself/herself by name. If one credits
early external data, then one identifies the author as Luke, a companion of
Paul. Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3.1.1) says Luke, a companion of Paul,
recorded in a book the gospel preached by Paul. Tertullian (Against Marcion
4.2) says the Luke who wrote the gospel was not an apostle but a companion
of Paul. The Muratorian Fragment indicates Luke, a physician and associate
of Paul, as author. The Old Gospel Prologues name Luke, a Syrian of
Antioch, a doctor and follower of Paul, as the author who wrote in the
regions of Achaia. The earliest papyrus manuscript of the Third Gospel, P75
dated to the early third century, has the title “Gospel according to Luke.”
Most New Testament scholars today, however, privilege internal evidence
and so speak of an anonymous author.

(2) When was the Third Gospel written? If Acts is part of the story begun by
the Third Gospel, then Luke could not have been written either before Paul’s
imprisonment in Acts 28 (AD 60–62?) or before his martyrdom hinted at in
Acts 20:25 (AD 64?). If, as most scholars think, Luke echoes the destruction
of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70 (Luke 13:35a; 19:41-44; 21:6, 20-24;
23:29-31), then the Third Gospel must be after AD 70. By mid-second
century, Marcion had made a mutilated form of Luke the centerpiece of his
Pauline canon. Also by that time, Justin Martyr quotes the Third Gospel
(e.g., Dialogue 76.6—Luke 10:19; Dialogue 103.8—Luke 22:44; Dialogue
105.5—Luke 23:46). Most scholars, therefore, date the Gospel AD 80–100.
2 Getting Ready to Read the Gospel

(3) What exactly is Luke? The prologue (1:1-4) says it is a di∑g∑sis (account).
The second-century rhetorician Theon defines di∑g∑sis as “an expository
account of things which happened or might have happened.” Cicero (De
Inv. 1.19.27) defines the Latin equivalent in virtually the same way. “A narra-
tive is a setting forth of things as done or as might have been done.” The
problem with this category is that it is as broad as the modern terms
“account” and “narrative.” In antiquity the Letter of Aristeas, for example,
bears the title di∑g∑sis. A narrative/account could encompass a letter of sorts,
a novel, a history, or a biography—maybe more. The evangelist’s category
does not help us much. Attempts to be more precise than Luke is have led to
a variety of suggestions: Luke-Acts is a history (Sterling); it is a biography
(Talbert 1977); it is an epic (Bonz); Luke is a biography and Acts is either a
historical monograph (Strecker, 191) or a novel (Pervo). None of these
suggestions for the genre of Luke-Acts as a whole has been compelling
enough to command a decisive following among scholars. It is necessary,
therefore, to state up front the position assumed in this commentary.
This commentary works with the hypothesis that all of the canonical
Gospels are ancient biographies (Burridge), a position with broad consensus.
For the sake of argument, we may leave the question of the genre of Acts in
abeyance for the moment. The significance of this suggestion about genre is
that Luke’s narrative/account is focused on Jesus; christology is the fore-
ground of the Third Gospel. The evangelist’s aim is to say who Jesus was and
is. Acts 1:1-2 specifically states that this first volume dealt with what Jesus
began to do and teach. The background for Jesus’ story is the divine plan,
but it is just that: background.

(4) To whom was Luke addressed? In 1992 I wrote these words that clarify
my position here:

Traditional redaction criticism took its cue from the study of the Pauline
letters. Just as a Pauline letter can be properly understood only if one can
specify the particular problem(s) in the church that evoked its writing, so,
it is assumed, grasping a gospel’s meaning is contingent upon one’s being
able to determine the specific problem(s) in the community from which it
comes and to which it was written as a response. The gospels, like the
Pauline letters, are occasional literature best interpreted as arguments
addressed to specific pressing problems in the immediate community at the
time of writing. (Talbert 1992b, 229-30)
Getting Ready to Read the Gospel 3

The traditional answer, therefore, has been that Luke-Acts was written for
the Lukan community. A steady stream of scholarly criticism, however, has
eroded the redaction critical assumption that Luke was written for a specific
church (e.g., Allison; Moxnes; Riches; Lentz, 172; Bauckham). It does not
seem likely that Luke-Acts was written for a single Lukan community in a
particular locale. Its target audience may have been simply Gentile Christians
in the Mediterranean world (Plummer, xxxiv) or even non-Christian
Gentiles as well (Moule, 167; Lentz, 171). Even if it were written in a
specific community, it would not likely have been designed for that locale
only. Hermas (Vision 2.4.3) indicates that in the time Luke was written, even
if one copy of a Christian writing was designed for a church in a local area,
other copies would be sent to sister churches all over for their edification.

(5) Why was Luke written? Again, my language from 1992 helps to explain
my position:

By 1982 I had begun to question the redactional critical assumption that

the canonical gospels were occasional literature analogous to Paul’s letters.
Foundation documents like the canonical gospels (and Acts) seemed more
analogous to systematic theology, albeit in narrative form. That is, they
attempt to set forth the Christian position not only in light of problems
present and pressing, but also real but past, and real but potential. Such
narrative theology tells the story of the community’s founder (and in Acts,
of the early church) in a way that expresses the values of the group in a
balanced way, not just in response to one or more immediate issues that
clamor for attention in the community’s present. . . . Luke-Acts offers a
balanced presentation of the Christian position in narrative form. (Talbert
1992b, 230)

There is one qualification to add to this previously stated position. In Luke

1:4 the author says he is writing that his readers may have certainty (asphalia)
about the Christian story. This is one of eight uses of asphalia or its cognates
in Luke-Acts (asphaleian—1:4; Acts 5:23; asphales—Acts 21:34; 22:30;
25:26; asphaløs—Acts 2:36; 16:23; esphalisatø— Acts 16:24). Of these seven
uses outside the prologue, only Acts 2:36 seems in any way relevant to Luke
1:4. There Peter concludes his sermon at Pentecost with the statement, “Let
all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly (asphaløs, with certainty) that
God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
The certainty that Jesus is now the Messiah rests upon his having been
raised/having ascended/having been exalted.
4 Getting Ready to Read the Gospel

Attempts at legitimation by religious groups were the norm in antiquity.

According to Berger and Luckman, legitimation is a process that is carried
out often in the second and third generations after a social institution’s
origins. Legitimation is the collection of ways in which an institution is justi-
fied to its members. Techniques include showing that the movement is the
manifestation of something that has existed already for a very long time. If
we allow for the fact that legitimation techniques may possibly also appeal to
persons outside the group as well as those inside it, then this is an appro-
priate way of looking at Luke-Acts. Certainly both the Third Gospel and the
Acts attempt to show how the Jesus movement is linked to and is derivative
of ancient Israel and its scriptures. Robert Brawley, moreover, has gathered
together a list of legitimation techniques used by the author of Acts to
undergird Paul’s authority. He also notes that Luke uses many of the same
devices in his portrayal of Jesus in the Third Gospel. They include but are
not limited to fulfillment of prophecy, miracles, martyrdom, a divine
commission (4:18-21), heavenly authorization (3:22; 9:35), avoidance of
seeking personal gain (4:1-13; 23:35, 37, 39), being a childhood prodigy
(2:41-52). The Third Gospel, then, is a biography written to provide
certainty (to insiders and/or outsiders) by telling the story using numerous
legitimation techniques.

(6) How should one read a gospel? First, one needs to do a close reading of
the text. Werner Kelber’s words are still to the point:

(E)ach gospel represents an intricately designed religious universe, with

plot and character development, retrospective and prospective devices,
linear and concentric patterning, and a continuous line of thematic cross-
references and narrative interlockings. The art of interpretation consists in
analyzing the complexities of the narrative construction and to compre-
hend [sic] individual parts in connection with the total architecture. (14)

This close reading will involve taking Acts into account when reading the
Gospel and the Gospel into account when reading Acts (Tuckett, 75). It will
also involve reading Luke alongside of the other Gospels to see each evange-
list’s distinctive development of the material. This may, but need not, involve
a specific source theory. Comparison of the similarities and differences
among the Gospels informs one’s reading whether one is assumed to be the
source of another or whether they are assumed to be independent, parallel
accounts. Second, one needs to consider how the authorial audience would
have heard what Luke wrote. This involves knowing something about the
Getting Ready to Read the Gospel 5

presupposition pool of Luke’s Mediterranean audience at the end of the first

or beginning of the second century (Rabinowitz; Jauss). A close reading
together with a concern for Luke’s authorial audience will yield good fruit in
reading the Third Gospel. Let us begin!
Making a Beginning
Luke 1:1-4

Genre studies show that much can be learned about a text first by seeing how
it participates in a given genre and secondly by noting how it differs from the
genre. This certainly is true of Luke’s preface in 1:1-4.
We begin with an examination of the components of ancient prefaces.
Although not all are exactly alike, there are a significant number that corre-
spond to one another in remarkable ways. In these prefaces taken from
history and biography there are seven components, all or most of which
appear regularly.
(1) There is often a statement about the author’s predecessors, usually
about their inadequacies. Diodorus Siculus writes, “A study of my predeces-
sors in this field has inspired me with the strongest feelings of approval for
their purpose. At the same time, I hardly feel that the full possibilities of
instruction inherent in it have been realized in their works.” Philo writes in
his Life of Moses, “Greek men of letters have refused to treat him as worthy of
memory, possibly out of envy, and also because in many cases the ordinances
of the legislators of the different states are opposed to his.” Luke 1:1 contains
this component also: “many have undertaken to compile a narrative.” If
there is any criticism of his predecessors implied, it is muted. It may very
well be that his predecessors encouraged the evangelist to write by their
example. If we take epeidep∑r as causal, then “inasmuch as” would mean
“because,” and Luke would be using the work of previous writers positively
to justify his own venture. The absence of explicit critical comments about
his predecessors sets Luke apart from most Greco-Roman prefaces.
(2) A preface usually tells the work’s subject matter. Polybius writes,

The events which he has chosen as his subject are sufficiently extraordinary
in themselves to arouse and stimulate the interest of every reader, young or
old. What mind . . . could feel no curiosity to learn the process by which
8 Making a Beginning

almost the whole world fell under the undisputed ascendency of Rome
within a period of less than fifty-three years.

Philo, Life of Moses, states, “I purpose to write the life of Moses.” Luke’s “the
things which have been accomplished among us” reflects this component. In
view of the strong emphasis in Luke-Acts on the fulfillment of prophecy (see
Appendix A), peplerophoremenon should most likely be translated “fulfilled”
instead of accomplished (cf. also Col 4:17 with 2 Tim 4:5): the things about
which his predecessors wrote and now Luke also (1:3) writes are things
which are the fulfillment of prophecy.
(3) There is customarily some statement about an author’s qualifications
for writing: either knowledge of the subject due to being an eyewitness, or
his having good sources, or having the linguistic ability to handle the
primary materials. Diodorus Siculus writes,

My home is Agyrium in Sicily, and my intercourse with the Latin-speaking

settlers in the island has given me a thorough command of the Latin
language, so that I have been able to derive accurate information of all the
transactions of the Roman dominion from the national records, which
have been preserved from an early date.

In his Life of Moses, Philo says, “I will . . . tell the story of Moses as I have
learned it, both from the sacred books . . . and from some of the elders of the
nation; for I always interwove what I was told with what I read, and thus
believed myself to have a closer knowledge than others of his life’s history.”
Luke 1: 1-4 tells both about the sources of the author’s material and about
his own care in working. The source of what has been delivered (as tradi-
tion—cf. 1 Cor 15:3; 11:23) to us who live after the first generation (cf. Heb
2:3; Eusebius H.E. 3:39) is “those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses
(cf. Acts 1:21 22; 10:37; 11:15; 13:31; i.e., the apostles) and ministers of the
word” (cf. Acts 6:4; 26:16; i.e., people like the Seven and Paul). Four terms
characterize the author’s description of his care in working. The term
parakolouthekoti should be translated “investigated” (as in Demosthenes, De
Cor. 53) instead of “followed” as in the RSV: “All things” in the origins of
Christianity have been investigated—”accurately” and “from the first.” The
evangelist sets forth his credentials, as was the Mediterranean custom. One
who has read widely in Mediterranean literature knows, however, that claims
of reliability cannot be taken at face value. Lucian, in his How To Write
History 29, complains that those who have never set foot outside their city
begin with such words as, “Ears are less trustworthy than eyes. I write then
Luke 1:1-4 9

what I have seen, not what I have heard.” In spite of claims to historical
accuracy in the letter of Aristeas’s preface, what follows is largely fiction. A
reader must evaluate such claims in terms of the accuracy of the narrative
that follows.
(4) A statement of the plan, arrangement, or table of contents of the
work is a normal part of prefaces in antiquity. Diodorus writes,

My first six volumes contain transactions and legends previous to the

Trojan War. . . . In the eleven volumes that follow I have recorded the
general transactions of the world from the Trojan War to the death of
Alexander; while in the succeeding twenty-three volumes I have found
room for all transactions between that date and the commencement of the
Celto-Roman War.

Philo uses a secondary preface to begin the second volume of Life of Moses
and says, “The former treatise dealt with the birth and nurture of Moses; also
with his education and career as a ruler . . .; also with the works which he
performed . . .; further with the troubles which he successfully surmounted.
. . . The present treatise is concerned with matters allied and consequent to
these.” In 1:3 Luke gives his plan: it will be an “orderly account,” which
obviously does not refer to a chronological scheme of arrangement given the
subsequent narrative. That an orderly account need not be chronologically
arranged is evident from Suetonius’s statement in his “Life of Augustus” 9: “I
shall now take up its various phases one by one, not in chronological order,
but by classes, to make the account clearer and more intelligible.”
Furthermore, when Ovid, Metamorphoses 7:520, says he will not ramble but
present things in their order, he means his work will be organized.
(5) A comment about the purpose of the writing was an inevitable
component of an ancient preface. Dionysus of Halicarnassus writes, “My
subject . . . is to eradicate these erroneous suppositions from the public mind
and to implant the truth in their place in treating of the founders of Rome
and of her early institutions and transactions.” He continues, “It is my hope
that the discovery of the truth may induce a proper appreciation of Rome in
the minds of my readers.” Philo says in Life of Moses, “I hope to bring the
story of this greatest and most perfect of men to the knowledge of such as
deserve not to remain in ignorance of it; for, while the fame of the laws
which he left behind him has traveled throughout the civilized world and
reached the ends of the earth, the man himself as he really was is known to
few.” The third evangelist sets forth his purpose at the beginning of 1:4: “that
you have certainty” (“know the truth”). This stated purpose presupposes
10 Making a Beginning

either doubts about Christianity or perversions of it. If the readers of Luke-

Acts were non-Christians, the narrative would be designed to provide what
was necessary for them to come to faith. If the readers were already
Christians, the narrative would provide what was necessary either for their
certainty so they would remain Christians, or for their proper Christian
stance so they would represent what was truly Christian in their lives.
(6) Sometimes the author’s name is given. Thucydides’ History begins,
“Thucydides of Athens has written the history of the war between the
Peloponnesians and the Athenians.” This component is missing from the
Lukan preface.
(7) Sometimes the official addressee of the work is named. Josephus,
Against Apion, writes, “I suppose that, by my books of the Antiquities of the
Jews, most excellent Epaphroditus, I have made it evident to those who
peruse them, that our Jewish nation is of very great antiquity.” The identity
of “most excellent Theophilus” is unknown, the Lukan preface telling us
only that he has been informed of the things relating to Christian origins. As
in Acts 18:25, Romams 2:18, 1 Corinthians 14:19, Galatians 6:6, katechethes
(informed—v. 4) may very well refer to Christian instruction of converts. If
so the official addressee was a Christian. This need not be the case, however.
Luke 1:1-4 fits nicely into the genre of ancient prefaces, containing six
of the seven components widely found in prefaces of histories and biogra-
phies. Certain characteristics of ancient prefaces also need to be noted. (1)
The style was often highly rhetorical. This is certainly true of 1:1-4. The
preface is one sentence that falls into two halves, each with three members or
cola. The sense of each of the first three members stands in a corresponding
relation to the sense of the latter three: (a) “many” in opposition to “also to
me”; (b) “to compile a narrative” parallel to “to write an account”; (c) eyewit-
ness tradition echoed in the “certainty” in v. 4 (Blass, ch. 2). (2) The style
was often in marked contrast to that of the rest of the document. This is
certainly true for Luke where the excellent Greek of 1:1-4 stands in marked
contrast with the semitizing style of 1:5ff. The exalted style of 1:1-4 simply
conforms to cultural expectations for a rhetorical beginning. The same can
also be said for 1:5ff. with its semitizing style, as it was a cultural expectation
that a narrative would reflect the style of the people described. (3) The
length was sometimes out of proportion to the body of the work. This
prompted Lucian, in his How To Write History 23, to satirize many prefaces
as “the head of a Colossos of Rhodes on the body of a dwarf.” The Lukan
preface is by contrast a model of brevity. (4) The subjects treated were some-
times quite alien to the contents of the main work. Only a careful reading of
the gospel and Acts can determine whether the narrative in fact is aimed at
Luke 1:1-4 11

giving certainty or causing one to know the truth as opposed to error. (5)
When a writing contained more than one volume or book, a secondary
preface was often used (e.g., Philo, Life of Moses 2; Josephus, Against Apion,
has a preface to the whole work at the beginning of book 1 and a brief reca-
pitulation at the beginning of book 2. Cf. also Ant. 13: 1). Acts 1:1-2
functions as such a secondary preface: “In the first book, O Theophilus, I
have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach . . . .”
When one recognizes that 1:1-4 belongs to the genre of ancient prefaces,
while at the same time differing from them in some regards, certain infer-
ences can be made. (1) Regarding genre. Since prefaces were used for many
different genres in antiquity, this preface cannot be used to deduce the genre
of Luke-Acts. For example, Galen (De libris propriis 2) complains that
someone had taken some of his medical works, added a preface, and had
begun reading them as his own, not Galen’s. Or, the Epistle of Aristeas 1:1-
12 has a preface that is remarkably like that in Luke. Moreover, when the
Lukan preface is studied in the context of other ancient prefaces, its affinities
are not with historical prefaces but with prefaces of other types of writings,
including biographies (Alexander; Robbins). (2) Regarding historicity. Since
extravagant claims of accuracy often accompanied fictitious accounts, we
cannot determine the historical accuracy of Luke-Acts from claims made in
the preface. (3) Regarding purpose. Since the topics treated in a preface
sometimes differed from those dealt with in the subsequent narrative, the
preface’s statement about purpose cannot guarantee the aim of what follows.
It is, however, worth testing in one’s reading of Luke-Acts whether the narra-
tive was written so someone might know the truth about Christian origins.
Truth could, of course, be understood either in the sense of accurate infor-
mation or in the sense of certainty about Christianity.
Prophecies of Future Greatness
Luke 1:5–4:15
Introduction

Following the preface of 1:1-4, 1:5–4:15 comprises the first major unit in
the third gospel, which is followed by the formal opening of Jesus’ public
ministry, the frontispiece (4:16-30). Luke 1:5–4:15 depicts the life of Jesus
prior to his public career and constitutes a coherent unit within the gospel.
Two strands of evidence make this clear.
The first strand is the literary organization of the unit, which consists of
three episodes dealing with John the Baptist and Jesus. Episode one, 1:5-38,
involves the annunciations of the births of John and Jesus. The material
focusing on John the Baptist (1:5-25) corresponds to that of Jesus’ story
(1:26-38). Luke 1:39-56 serves as a transition from the two annunciations of
episode one to episode two, the narratives about the births and early lives of
John and Jesus (1:57–2:52); the section focusing on the Baptist (1:57-80)
again corresponds to the material dealing with Jesus (2:1-52). Episode three,
3:1–4:15, also treats John and Jesus in corresponding ways: 3:1-20 treats the
adult ministry of the prophet John; 3:21–4:15 presents the prelude to Jesus’
public career. Each of these three episodes is built around a series of corre-
spondences between the story of John and of Jesus that reflects the Lukan
artistry; each is concerned to portray Jesus’ superiority over John the Baptist.
In all three episodes John is depicted as a prophet (1:16-17; 1:76; 3:1-6), not
the Messiah (3:15ff.), whereas Jesus is pictured in all three as the Davidic
Messiah (1:32-33; 1:69; 2:4, 11; 3:23-38) and Son of God (1:35, 2:49;
3:22). The artistry and the internal coherence argue for the treatment of
1:5–4:15 as a single thought unit in the narrative.
The second strand is the literary genre. In Mediterranean antiquity there
was, in biographical writing, a genre constituted by an account of the
prepublic career of a great person. In this convention one found an account
of the hero’s career, before the public activity was begun, that included mate-
rial on family background, perhaps a reference to a miraculous conception,
along with omens and other predictions of future greatness, including child-
16 Introduction

hood prodigies. A representative example of this genre may be found in

Suetonius’s Lives of the Twelve Caesars, in his biography of Augustus.
In the “Life of Augustus” there is one section (94) set aside for “an
account of the omens which occurred before he was born, on the very day of
his birth, and afterwards.” In this unit one finds fourteen omens: (a) portents
interpreted by predictions (6 of 14 items) that belong in the same general
category as 1:41-45; (b) dreams (3 of 14 items)—e.g., a man dreamed of the
savior of the Roman people, then on meeting Augustus for the first time,
declared he was the boy about whom he had dreamed (cf. 2:25-35); (c)
prophecies (2 of 14 items)—verbal anticipations of the child’s greatness and
destiny (cf. the prophecies of Luke 1–3); (d) childhood prodigies (2 of 14
items), which claim such childhood exploits were regarded as omens of the
youth’s destiny (cf. 2:41-51; 4:1-13); (e) reference to a miraculous concep-
tion by Apollo (1 of 14 items), though the treatment of Augustus’s family
belongs to another section of the narrative about his prepublic life. The main
thrust of the material in the genre of the prepublic life of a great person was
on anticipations of the hero’s destiny. It is certainly the case in this example
from Suetonius.
In 1:5–4:15 one finds also that the thrust of the material is on anticipa-
tions of Jesus’ destiny. These anticipations are given in various forms. (1)
There are two angelophanies: (a) 1:26-38, the angel Gabriel comes to Mary
not only to announce the miraculous conception but also to tell of the child’s
destiny; (b) 2:8-20, an angel appears to the shepherds in the field
announcing the birth of one who will be a savior, Christ the Lord. (2) There
are four prophecies: (a) 1:67-79 is a prophecy by Zechariah when he was
filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 67); (b) 2:25-35 gives the prophecy of Simeon,
to whom it had been revealed that he should not taste death before he had
seen the Lord’s Christ (v. 26); (c) 2:36-38 tells of the prophetess Anna, who
spoke of Jesus “to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (v.
38); (d) 3:16-17 gives John the Baptist’s messianic preaching, in which he
prophecies the coming of the mightier one. (3) Closely related to the series
of four prophecies is 1:41-45, which consists of a portent followed by a
prophetic interpretation. (4) Luke 3:21-22 has similarities to 1:41-45. It too
has a prophetic event followed by a verbal interpretation. The descent of the
Holy Spirit in the form of a dove upon Jesus would be regarded as a
prophetic event by Mediterranean readers. The voice from heaven, the bath
qol, was the interpretation of its prophetic meaning. (5) Both 2:41-51 and
4:1-13 display the young Jesus as a prodigy whose wisdom astounds the
rabbis and defeats the devil. (6) The genealogy of 3:23-38 traces Jesus’
lineage through David, through the father of the human race, Adam, to
Introduction 17

God. When a Greco-Roman reader confronted 1:5–4:15, it would be recog-

nized as a conventional mode of expression, belonging to the genre of an
account of the prepublic career of a great person. That it fits into a widely
used genre of biographical writing in Mediterranean antiquity is the second
argument for its being taken as a coherent unit in the gospel.
If 1:5–4:15 belongs to this genre, how does it function in the gospel?
The clue is the function of the genre in ancient biography. Suetonius’s “Life
of Augustus” again offers a representative statement when we are told,

Having reached this point, it will not be out of place to add an account of
the omens which occurred before he was born, on the very day of his birth,
and afterwards, from which it was possible to anticipate and perceive his
future greatness and uninterrupted good fortune. (94, my italics)

The genre functioned as a foreshadowing of the character of the public

career of the biographical subject. If this was the purpose of the genre in the
Greco-Roman biographies, this is how a reader/hearer of Luke would most
probably have taken the material of a similar nature in 1:5–4:15. The first
section of the gospel, then, should be read as anticipation/prophecy/fore-
shadowing of the future career of Jesus. This material would
foretell/foreshadow the type of person Jesus would be in his public ministry,
which in Luke’s narrative begins at 4:16 (Talbert 1980; cf. McGaughy).
Given this, the reader should expect to find introduced in the section many
themes that will be developed later in Luke-Acts. Also given this genre at the
very beginning of Luke, the Mediterranean auditor would be influenced to
think of this document as a biography.
Jesus, God’s Act
Luke 1:26-38

Luke 1:26-38 is the second half of the first episode (1:5-38), which portrays
the annunciations of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. The two halves
closely correspond to one another because the core of both is a theophanic
birth announcement like those found in the OT.
In the Jewish Scriptures there is a stereotyped pattern for theophanies.
When the purpose is to announce a birth (e.g., Gen 16; 17; Judg 13), the
pattern is slightly altered to accommodate this objective. Components of the
theophanic birth announcement pattern include: (1) God/the angel appears
(Gen 16:7; 17:1; Judg 13:3)—cf. Luke 1:11, 26; (2) the immediate reaction
of the person (Gen 17:3)—cf. Luke 1:12, 29; (3) the name of the person
(Gen 16:8; 17:5)—cf. Luke 1:13, 28, 30; (4) reassurance (Gen 17:4ff.)—cf.
Luke 1:13, 30 (note in Gen 15:1; 21:17; 26:24; 46:3; Judg 6:23, the reassur-
ance is “Fear not”); (5) announcement of the birth (Gen 16:11; 17:16, 19;
Judg 13:3)—cf. Luke 1:13, 31; (6) the name to be given (Gen 16:11;
17:19)—cf. Luke 1:13, 31; (7) a prediction of the child’s future destiny (Gen
16:12; 17:19, 21; Judg 13:5)—cf. Luke 1:14-17, 32-33; (8) an objection
(Gen 17:17-18)—cf. Luke 1:18, 34 (note Gen 15:8, “How am I to know?”
and Judg 6:15, “How can I deliver Israel?”); (9) a sign or reassurance (Gen
17:21b; cf. also Gen 15:9, 17; Judg 6:17ff.)—cf. Luke 1:19-20, 35 36; (10)
the response (Gen 16:13; cf. also 17:23; 26:25; 35:14; Judg 6:24)—cf. Luke
1:22-23, 38. Luke’s two annunciations in 1:5-38 correspond to this stereo-
typed pattern (Wood; Alter).
In such a form the emphasis is not on the parent(s), but on the child as
the fulfillment of the divine promise. So in 1:26-38, where the birth of Jesus
is announced in the typical OT pattern, the emphasis is not on Mary but on
Jesus. The christological thrust of episode one has two foci. The first focus is
on Jesus’ relation to John the Baptist. The paralleling of the two annuncia-
tions conveys continuity between Jesus and John in salvation history. The
attempt to establish continuity between Jesus/the church on the one hand
20 Jesus, God’s Act

and Israel on the other is a major concern of Luke-Acts. It is no surprise to

find it foreshadowed here in the links between the annunciations of the
births of Elizabeth’s son and Mary’s son. At the same time the evangelist
wants to demonstrate the superiority of Jesus over John. Whereas John will
go before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (v. 17), Jesus will “reign
over the house of Jacob forever” as the Davidic king (vv. 32-33). Again, since
this superiority of Jesus over John is a theme that recurs in the third gospel,
it is no surprise to meet the anticipation of it here.
The second focus of Luke’s christological concern in this section is on
the unusual character of Jesus’ conception. Verses 32-33 proclaim he will be
the Davidic Messiah, explaining why v. 31 specified his name would be Jesus
(“Yahweh saves”). Verse 35 indicates how this will come to pass: he will be
conceived of the Holy Spirit. It is because of his conception by the Holy
Spirit that Jesus is Son of God (note the “therefore”). Since Son of God is
used for Adam in 3:38, and for the risen Christ in Acts 13:33, this title in
Luke-Acts may be employed for one who lives because of God’s direct,
creative intervention.
It is important to clarify what is not being said here. Luke does not
address the issues that arose later in church history, such as (a) virginitas in
partu (a miraculous birth of the child; i.e., giving birth with Mary’s physical
organs remaining intact) and (b) virginitas post partum (the perpetual
virginity of Mary). With Matthew, Luke speaks only of Mary’s virginitas ante
partum (virginity before giving birth; i.e., she conceived Jesus without the
involvement of a man): Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit
(1:35). It is by virtue of this miraculous conception in the womb of the
virgin Mary that Jesus is the Son of God.
The miraculous conception, or virgin birth as it is usually called, has
functioned theologically in various ways in Christian history. Three examples
illustrate this. (a) In the second century, Ignatius of Antioch confronts a
docetic problem. Faced with a denial of Jesus’ humanity, Ignatius places most
of his emphasis on the birth of Jesus as a sign of his humanity (Eph 7:2;
18:2; Ign Trall 9:1; Ign Smyrn 1:1). The first witness after Matthew and
Luke to the virgin birth, then, appeals to Jesus’ birth of the virgin Mary as
evidence of his real humanity. (b) Augustine is the source from which a
dominant interpretation of Jesus’ virgin birth entered medieval Christianity.
For Augustine, all people are sinful and need Christ’s redemption. We have
all inherited original sin that has been passed to us by means of sexual prop-
agation. In order for Christ to be Savior from sin, he must be sinless. For
him to be sinless he must not inherit Adam’s sin as the rest of us have and do.
For this to be so Jesus could not obtain his human nature by means of sexual
Luke 1:26-38 21

procreation. Hence the conception by the Holy Spirit is the means by which
Jesus avoided the taint of original sin and could be the sinless Savior of all.
(c) Protestant Orthodoxy saw the indisputable proof of the truth of
Christianity in the miracles of Jesus and in the fulfillment of biblical
prophecy in Jesus’ career. Understanding the virgin birth as a biological
miracle and as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14, these Christians understood the
virginal conception as the proof of Jesus’ divinity and thereby of the truth of
Christianity. Their watchword became, If you deny the virgin birth as a
biological miracle, you deny the divinity of Christ (von Campenhausen;
Boslooper). Given the various ways the miraculous conception has func-
tioned theologically in Christian history, how does it function for Luke?
To discern the function of the miraculous conception in Lukan thought,
it is necessary to note two things. In the first place, the function of the genre
of the prepublic career of a famous person to which 1:5–4:15 belongs (see
the introduction to Luke 1:5–4:15) was to answer the question, how are we
to explain the hero’s later life? In the gospel, as in other Greco-Roman
biographies, a miraculous conception story functioned to explain the hero’s
later greatness: Jesus was what he was because he was divinely begotten.
In the second place, one must be aware of the Christology employed by
Luke-Acts. Even before Paul three different christologies circulated in the
early churches: two-foci, exaltation, and epiphany (Fuller). Whereas the
Gospel of John tells the story of Jesus in terms of an epiphany, Luke-Acts
employs an exaltation Christology: Jesus in his earthly life is the descendent
of David and heir to the promises of the Jewish Scriptures. By virtue of his
resurrection he is raised to the exalted status of God’s Son with power. In the
present he rules from heaven as Lord over all, intervening on behalf of his
people to deliver and protect them. A diagram would look like this:

Exaltation Christology functioned to express the church’s experience of Jesus

Christ in a twofold way: as the present Lord who rules from heaven, and as
the historical figure whose story is normative for us. How is it that Christ
can function in these two ways? In this schema the explanation for Christ’s
present reign from heaven is his resurrection from the dead; the explanation
22 Jesus, God’s Act

for his unique earthly life is his miraculous conception. Christology and
genre agree. Jesus’ earthly life was what it was because of his miraculous
birth.
In antiquity a number of options existed for speaking about one’s
origins. Five come immediately to mind. (1) Normally a person was said to
be born of a human father and a human mother. For example, Matthew 1:6
says “David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.” Solomon had a
human father and a human mother. (2) Sometimes in antiquity we hear that
one is without father and without mother. In the Apocalypse of Abraham
17, for example, God is addressed:

Eternal One, Mighty One, Holy El, God autocrat

Self-originate, incorruptible, immaculate,
Unbegotten, spotless, immortal,
Self-perfected, self-devised,
Without mother, without father, ungenerated.

God has neither father nor mother because God is eternal. He had no origin
just as he will have no end. It was also in these terms that Melchizedek was
described in Hebrews 7:3. (3) At other times a figure was said to have a
divine father and a divine mother. For example, Horus was the son of Isis
and Osiris (Aristides 12). (4) On occasion a figure was said to have a divine
mother and a human father. For example, Persephone was the daughter of
the goddess Demeter and the mortal Iasion (Odyssey 5.125-28); Aeneas was
the son of the goddess Venus and a mortal (Ovid, Metamorphoses 14.125-
28). (5) At other times one was said to have come from a divine father and a
human mother. For example, Dionysius was believed to be the son of Zeus
and the human Semele (Diodorus Siculus 4.2.1-4; Ovid, Metamorphoses
3.259-318); Hercules was the son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene
(Diodorus Siculus 4.9.1); and Asclepios was the son of Apollo and the
human Coronis (Dionysius Siculus 4.71.1). When this option was
described, the conception could be said to be by means of a mystic breath
(Aeschylus, Suppliants 17-19), or by the power of a god (Plutarch, Moralia
9.114-19), or by means of the spirit of a god (Plutarch, Numa 4).
The first option was obviously not what Luke wanted to say about Jesus:
John maybe, but not Jesus. Jesus was not born of autonomous human
creativity. The second option did not fit either. It would have eliminated the
human element altogether. The third option proved no better. In it God is
understood as sexual and creation comes by divine sexual acts. The fourth
also would not work. Here God is the world and salvation comes when a
Luke 1:26-38 23

human catalyst develops the divine possibilities inherent in the world. Only
the fifth option truly expressed Luke’s Christian convictions. God is other
than the world but acts directly in it. The one born partakes of both the
divine and human spheres. Such a life is due to human submission to the
divine will. (Talbert 1994) For Luke, only a virgin birth was an adequate
explanation of Jesus’ origins.
It was theologically important to begin with the virgin birth because
exaltation Christology was subject to perversion by those of a legalistic bent.
“He was obedient unto death; wherefore God highly exalted him” could
easily be understood to say it was Jesus’ merit that caused his exaltation.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach and heal” could be interpreted
to mean that because Jesus was more righteous, more prudent, and more
wise than anyone else, he was anointed with the Holy Spirit at baptism to
carry on God’s work. If Jesus’ earthly life could be understood in terms of
merit, however, then so could the lives of his followers. The result would be
the very type of problem Paul opposed in Galatia. In an exaltation schema,
then, it was theologically important to begin with a miraculous conception.
In that way any interpretation of the earthly life of Jesus and of his followers
in terms of merit would be excluded. The greatness of Jesus’ life was not a
human achievement, but the result of divine intervention. Jesus’ career was
not the result of the perfection of human striving and effort; only God could
produce a life like his. Jesus was God’s act. As Luther put it, “Just as God in
the beginning of creation made the world out of nothing, so His manner of
working continues unchanged” (Pelikan, 21.299). If we are to view the
miraculous conception of Jesus as Luke viewed it, we must see it as an affir-
mation of God’s grace that excludes all human merit.
Mary, Ideal Believer
and Social Paradigm
Luke 1:39-56

Luke 1:39-56 is a transition between episode one, the annunciations of John

and Jesus (1:5-38), and episode two, the births and early lives of the Baptist
and Mary’s son (1:57–2:52), and consists of two hymns (vv. 42-45; vv. 46-
55) joined by a narrative introduction (vv. 39-41) and conclusion (v. 56).
The first hymn, that of Elizabeth (vv. 42-45), eulogizes Mary as an ideal
believer; the second, Mary’s (vv. 46-55), clarifies the links between what God
has done for one individual and what he will do for the structures of society
at large.
Elizabeth’s hymn has a narrative introduction, vv. 39-41, that sets the
stage for what follows. When Mary visits Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s babe leaps in
her womb. Here, as in Genesis 25:21-23, the story of Rebekah’s children, the
idea is that the movement of the unborn babe foreshadows his future lot and
that of Jesus. The hymn itself (vv. 41b-45) offers twofold congratulations to
Mary (“Blessed are you,” v. 42; “Blessed is she,” v. 45). Each expression of
congratulations is followed by the grounds for Mary’s being blessed. First,
Mary is to be congratulated because her child will be the Lord (v. 43), as
evidenced by the unborn babe’s leaping for joy in Elizabeth’s womb (v. 44).
Even in the womb John recognizes the messianic Lord. This prenatal cogni-
tion attests the fulfillment of Gabriel’s prophecy to Mary in 1:31-33, 35.
Second, Mary is to be congratulated because of her response to God’s word
(v. 45): “Blessed (makaria) is she who believed that there would be a fulfill-
ment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (1:45). Mary hears and
believes God’s word. Here Luke foreshadows in capsule form his distinctive
understanding of Mary that runs throughout his narrative: Mary is the
model disciple.
(1) In 1:38 Mary is depicted as a believer for whom God’s word is
enough: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according
to your word.” Augustine caught the Lukan intent when he said that Mary,
full of faith, conceived Christ first in her heart before conceiving him in her
26 Mary, Ideal Believer and Social Paradigm

womb (Sermon 215.4). Her belief led to an absolute self-surrender to the

divine purpose.
(2) Luke 8:19-21, the climax of a unit beginning at 8:1, carries on the
same theme. The distinctive Lukan point of view can best be seen when 8:1-
21 is compared with its Markan counterpart, Mark 3:19b-35, a unit that
begins (v. 21) and ends (vv. 31-35) with references to Jesus’ family. Very
likely v. 21 and vv. 31-35 originally belonged together. In their Markan
context they function to indicate that Jesus’ family, no less than the scribes
who came down from Jerusalem (3:22), do not understand or believe.
Consequently, 3:31-35 speaks negatively of Jesus’ human family, distin-
guishing them from his true, eschatological family. This true family is
composed of those who do the will of God, which by implication Jesus’
natural family does not do. In Luke, however, Jesus’ mother and brothers are
not outsiders (8:19; Mark 3:31); the controversy context is abandoned by
Luke, the parable of the sower (Mark 4:3 8) is moved to the beginning of the
unit (8:4-8), and its interpretation (8:11-15) ends with the comment about
the good soil being “those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest
and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience” (v. 15), and 8:21
becomes a commendation of Jesus’ natural family for meeting the criterion
for inclusion in the eschatological family of God—”My mother and brothers
are those who hear the word of God and do it.” Mary, in the third gospel,
belongs to the good soil, as do Jesus’ brothers. (Contrast John 7:1-9, which
indicates that Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him prior to Easter.)
(3) In 11:27-28, and only in Luke, the physical fact of Mary’s mother-
hood is said to give no special status in Jesus’ eyes. Rather than deserving
congratulations because her womb bore Jesus and her breasts nourished him,
Mary’s status is due to her proper response to God’s word.
(4) Acts 1:14 shows continuity between the pre- and post-Easter
community of Jesus’ disciples. Mary’s presence indicates her place in the
primitive church at the time of Pentecost. The evangelist has thereby
portrayed Mary as a “disciple” from the time of Jesus’ conception to
Pentecost.
(5) The positive picture of Mary and Jesus’ natural family in the narra-
tive helps to explain 4:24. Whereas Mark 6:4 has Jesus say about his
rejection in Nazareth, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own
country, and among his own kin, and in his own house,” The version in 4:24
simply says, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own
country.” Any note of rejection on the part of Jesus’ family is removed; Mary
especially stands as a true believer (Brown; Bearsley; Wicks).
Luke 1:39-56 27

Regarding Mary’s significance for the church, the evangelist portrays her
as the prototype of the Christian believer: she hears God’s word, holds it fast
in an honest and good heart (2:19; 2:51), and brings forth fruit with
patience. Here foreshadowed in the virgin mother is the Lukan under-
standing of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus; she hears God’s word,
believes it, and surrenders herself totally to it: “Let it be to me according to
your word” (1:38). If we are to view Mary as Luke did, then we must see her
as a model for disciples. This Marian model holds not self-knowledge or
insight but self-surrender or abandonment to God’s will to be the essence of
discipleship.
Verses 46-55 are a hymn of Mary, as the overwhelming weight of textual
evidence and the structure of the section demand, and not of Elizabeth, as a
few old Latin witnesses claim. The hymn contains two stanzas that praise
God for his mercy: vv. 46-50 and vv. 51-55. Verses 49-50 and vv. 54-55 both
refer to God’s mercy and signal the end of their respective stanzas.
Stanza one of Mary’s song speaks of God’s mighty act for one woman
only: the emphasis is on the gracious initiative of God. The virgin sings of
nothing except her low estate (v. 46) and the grace of God that was upon her
far above any merit of hers (vv. 49-50). If Elizabeth’s hymn focuses on Mary
as a model of faith (v. 45), Mary’s own song of praise focuses its first stanza
on God’s grace for her, a grace to which she responded in faith.
Stanza two of the Magnificat expands the horizon to speak of God’s
social revolution through eschatological reversal. In both stanzas God’s
surprising concern for the lowly is revealed. God’s regard for one humble
woman becomes the sign of his eschatological act for the world. In the one
small event the greater event lies hidden (Tannehill 1974). In Luke’s under-
standing God’s social revolution, like the conception of Jesus, is not the
perfection of the human by human striving but the result of the divine
breaking into history. The reference is eschatological and refers to the Last
Day.
The third evangelist here foreshadows his views about the relation
between Christ and human culture. On the one hand, it is certainly not
Luke’s view that there is an identity between God’s will for human life and
cultural realities. Stanza two of Mary’s song proclaims God will ultimately
overturn the values and structures of this world’s culture. For this evangelist
Christ cannot be identified with culture. On the other hand, Luke is no
advocate of social action to transform culture, in the sense that we know
such action today. Jesus did not go to the top (to Caesar or Pilate) to get
things changed; nor did he go to the left (to the Zealots). He went instead to
the poor and sinners, offering forgiveness and deliverance and calling them
28 Mary, Ideal Believer and Social Paradigm

into a community whose life was to embody God’s will. Only God, from
Luke’s perspective, is able to achieve a just society in the Last Day. In the
meantime the evangelist presents Jesus and his church not as having a social
ethic for society at large but as trying to have one in their own life together.
In the Lukan mind the first duty of the church is to be the church, to be a
community that, through the way its members deal with one another,
demonstrates to the world what social relations directed by God are. So
understood, Jesus and the disciples fulfill their social responsibility not by
being one more power block among others but by being an example, a
creative minority, a witness to God’s mercy. “The church therefore does not
fulfill her social responsibility by attacking directly the social structures of
society, but by being itself it indirectly has a tremendous significance for the
ethical form of society.” This statement by a contemporary Christian ethicist
accurately reflects the Lukan view (Hauerwas 1974, 212). In Luke-Acts Jesus
and his church do not attempt to change society at large by attacking it
directly by whatever means—violent or nonviolent—but by subverting its
values as they live communally out of God’s will before the world (Hauerwas
1977, 262). The ultimate transformation of society’s structures generally
awaits the kingdom of God at the eschaton.
Mary’s song reflects her confidence in this ultimate victory of God and
the reversal of human values. Following prophetic precedent, vv. 51-55 use
verbs in a past tense to describe future acts of God. That God has acted for
Mary in the present gives such an assurance he will act in the future for the
world, this ultimate intervention can be spoken of as though it were already
accomplished. This is similar to Romans 8:28-30 where Paul speaks not only
of predestination and justification as past but also of the Christians’ glorifi-
cation, a future event, because he is so certain of its reality. To read the
Magnificat in terms of Lukan thought, therefore, is to see an individual’s
(i.e., Mary’s) experience of God’s grace as prototypical of the way God will
ultimately deal with the world at large.
For Luke it is the same God who acts redemptively for an individual and
for society at large. It is the same God who acted in the past, who acts in the
present, and who will act in the future. If it is the same God, then his acting
partakes of the same character: gracious intervention to create anew.
John, Prototype
of the Christian Evangelist
Luke 1:14-17, 57-80; 3:1-20; 7:24-35

The first three passages are from the three episodes of 1:5–4:15; the fourth is
from the Galilean ministry (4:16–9:50). Luke 1:14-17 is the prediction
about John’s future role made by the angel in the context of his birth annun-
ciation in episode one (1:5-38). Luke 1:57-80 is part of episode two
(1:57–2:52) and deals with the birth and early life of John the Baptist. It
corresponds very closely with the account of Jesus’ birth and early life in 2:1-
52. The core of 1:57-80 is the Benedictus (1:67-79), the prophecy of
Zechariah about John’s future role. Luke 3:1-20 also focuses on the Baptist:
his person (vv. 1-6), his mission (vv. 7-17), and a summary of the end of his
career (vv. 18-20). Luke 7:24-35 gives Jesus’ words concerning John in the
context of the Galilean ministry. If the first two passages present prophecies
about John’s future role, the last two offer examples of the fulfillment of
those prophecies in John’s career and Jesus’ assessment of it. Taken together
these four units give the Lukan understanding of John the Baptist.
The distinctiveness of this picture of the Baptist can best be seen in the
context of the understanding of John in the Gospel of Mark and in the
fourth gospel. In Mark, John the Baptist is viewed as Elijah who is to come
first to restore all things. This can be seen in 1:6 where the Baptist’s attire is
similar to that of the prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8), and in 9:11-13 where the
identification with Elijah is explicitly made. Mark 9:13 also states that John,
Elijah redivivus, suffered and was martyred, a reference to 6:14-29 (cf.
Pseudo-Philo Biblical Antiquities 48.1; Rev 11:4-13, which may enshrine a
Jewish tradition). In this way John’s fate anticipates that of Jesus. In the
fourth gospel, John the Baptist explicitly denies he is the Christ (1:20), or
Elijah (1:21), or the prophet (1:21). Nor is he the forerunner, for the Word
was before John (1:15, 30). Rather the Baptist is portrayed as a witness (1:7,
8, 32, 34), the voice of Isaiah 40:3 that cried, “Make straight the way of the
Lord” (1:23). How is the Baptist portrayed in the third gospel?
30 John, Prototype of the Christian Evangelist

Luke 1:14-17, the angel’s prophecy to Zechariah, clarifies several things

about John. (1) He will be a prophetic figure “filled with the Holy Spirit,
even from his mother’s womb,” who will work in “the spirit and power of
Elijah.” (2) He will go before the Lord. (3) He will “make ready for the Lord
a people prepared.”
A hymn attributed to the Spirit-filled Zechariah (1:68-79; esp. v. 67)
makes essentially the same prediction about John in its second stanza. The
Benedictus falls into two parts: vv. 68-75, 76-79. Part one is a blessing of
God (cf. 2 Cor 1:3-4; Eph 1:3-14). The reasons God is praised are two. First,
he has been faithful to his promise to David (cf. 2 Sam 7:11b-16) by raising
up a Davidic king (vv. 68b-70; cf. 1:32-33; 2:4). The result of this is Israel’s
salvation from her enemies (v. 71). Second, God has also been faithful to his
promise to Abraham (Gen 12:1-2, 15; cf. Luke 1:55; Rom 4). This will allow
God’s people to serve him all of their days without fear (vv. 72-75). In vv.
68-75, then, Jesus is understood as the fulfillment both of God’s promise to
Abraham and of his promise to David. It is this faithfulness of God to his
word that elicits Zechariah’s praise (cf. 2 Cor 1:18-20). Part two is a predic-
tion concerning John the Baptist’s future work. (1) He will “be called the
prophet of the Most High.” (2) He will “go before the Lord.” (3) He will
prepare the way of the Lord (cf. Mal 3:1; 4:5-6). Zechariah’s prophecy agrees
in its content with that of the angel of the Lord (1:16-17). These prophecies
have their fulfillment in the narrative at 3:1-6; 7:26-27.
Luke 3:1-6 begins with an involved system of dating, followed by the
statement “the word of the Lord came to John the son of Zechariah in the
wilderness.” The style echoes the introductions to the OT prophets (cf. Jer
1). This is followed by an extended quotation from Isaiah 40:3-5 in 3:4-6.
This quotation designates John as the “voice of one crying in the wilderness”
that was to precede God’s great eschatological deliverance. Thereby Luke is
saying that John is a prophet, but not just a prophet: he is the eschatological
voice in the wilderness who prepares the way of the Lord (1:76b; 3:4b).
Likewise, in 7:26-27, Jesus says the Baptist is a prophet and more: he is the
one who will prepare the way.
Taken together, what picture of the Baptist do these passages give? John
the Baptist is portrayed as the forerunner of the Messiah, who goes in the
spirit and power of Elijah, who is the epitome of the Spirit-filled prophet,
mighty in word and deed. The Baptist is not Elijah—hence the description
of his garments is omitted at Luke 3:16 because of their association with
Elijah—but is merely endowed with the same Spirit and power as Elijah
(1:17). John is a prophetic figure (1:76a; 3:1-2; 7:26), the forerunner of the
Luke 1:14-17, 57-80; 3:1-20; 7:24-35 31

Lord (1:17; 1:76b; 3:4; 7:27), who preaches repentance and forgiveness as a
prelude to the coming salvation (1:77; 3:3, 6).
It has been suggested by Walter Wink (113-14) that John the Baptist
was used typologically by the church to set forth its conception of its own
role in “preparing the way of the Lord.” For example, John’s suffering as
Elijah-incognito in Mark serves as an example to the persecuted Christians
in Rome (17); the Baptist in the fourth gospel is “made the normative image
of the Christian preacher, apostle and missionary, the perfect prototype of
the true evangelist, whose one goal is self-effacement before Christ” (105). In
this light it is interesting to note that the Lukan picture of John as a
prophetic figure who goes before the Lord preaching repentance and forgive-
ness as a prelude to the coming salvation looks very much like the picture of
Peter and John in Acts 3, especially vv. 19ff.
One way Luke views Christian existence is in prophetic terms. The OT
prophets were those on whom the Spirit came, giving them a knowledge
both of the secrets of human hearts and of the divine council’s decrees. Thus
empowered they spoke for God to prepare his people for the Day of the
Lord. These prophets provided one category for the evangelist to use in
conceptualizing the Christian experience between Pentecost and parousia.
Christians were people on whom the Spirit had come. Consequently they
prophesied (Acts 2:16-18). Their prophetic word sought the repentance of
the people before the Lord’s coming (Acts 2:38-39; 3:19-26). The Christian
community, then, in Luke’s view, is a prophetic community. By its very exis-
tence it prepares the way of the Lord by going before him to call people to
repentance. If Mary is portrayed as a true believer, John the Baptist is drawn
in terms of the true Christian evangelist: in 3:18 John is said to preach the
good news to the people.
If John is portrayed as the prototype of the Spirit-filled Christian evan-
gelist, what does he preach and for what does he hope? This model for
Christian witnesses preaches Jesus and an ethical lifestyle. Luke 3:15-17 says
the Baptist preached Jesus as the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit
and fire (cf. Acts 2:1ff.); 3:7-9 points to the necessity of bearing fruit (cf.
6:43-45; 13:6-9; 20:9-18). The meaning of this is clarified in 3:10-14: it
means the refusal to hoard or to acquire more possessions than are necessary
(cf. 12:13-21; 16:19-31). He witnesses so that “all flesh shall see the salvation
of God” (3:6). The similarities between John’s good news (3:18) and the
message both of Jesus and the later church are clear. In his message as well as
in the goal and source of his strength, John the Baptist in Luke-Acts func-
tions as the prototype of the Christian evangelist.
Good News of a Great Joy
Luke 2:1-20

Luke 2:1-20 is a large unit within 2:1-52, the half of episode two
(1:57–2:52) dealing with Jesus’ birth and early life. It is composed of two
parts: (a) 2:1-7, which is a narrative about Jesus’ birth, and (b) 2:8-20, which
falls into the same annunciation pattern we have encountered in 1:5-25 and
1:26-38. The two parts are joined by certain formal links. On the one hand,
there is the recurrence of “the city of David” (2:4, 11) and “swaddling clothes
. . . in a manger” (2:7, 12). On the other hand, each participates in a
prophecy-fulfillment schema. Luke 2:1-7 speaks of the geographical site of
Jesus’ birth (the city of David, Bethlehem) and the family from which Jesus
came (Joseph was of the house and lineage of David). Both facts are allusions
to prophecy; though it is not made explicit by the evangelist, most likely to
Micah 5:2:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Who are little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you shall come forth for me
One who is to be ruler in Israel.

Being born of the lineage of David in the city of David means Jesus is Christ
the Lord (2:11). This, of course, fulfills the angelic prophecy made to Mary
in 1:32-33: “the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.”
Luke 2:8-20 also is built around a prophecy-fulfillment schema. When the
angel appears to the shepherds to announce the birth of a Savior, a sign is
given: “You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a
manger” (v. 12). This prediction is fulfilled when the shepherds go to
Bethlehem and find it as the angel had said (vv. 16, 7). Taken together, 2:1-
7 and 2:8-20 function to acclaim the birth of the Davidic Messiah: a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord (v. 11). This, says the angelic messenger, is “good
news of a great joy” (v. 10).
34 Good News of a Great Joy

What is good news about Jesus’ birth? Why should it be regarded as a

great joy? Two items of background information serve as a bridge to our
answers. (1) In the Mediterranean world the birthday of a ruler was some-
times celebrated with a proclamation of the benefits of his birth. An
inscription found at Priene, celebrating the birthday of Augustus in 9 BC,
reads in part, “Providence . . . has brought into the world Augustus and filled
him with a hero’s soul for the benefit of mankind. A Savior for us and our
descendents, he will make wars to cease and order all things well. The
epiphany of Caesar has brought to fulfillment past hopes and dreams”
(Danker, 24). Here Augustus fulfills ancient hopes and brings peace. These
benefits are proclaimed on his birthday. (2) In biblical literature heavenly
choirs sometimes celebrate future events as though they were already fact
(e.g., Rev 5:9-10; 11:17-18; 18:2-3; 19:1-2, 6-8); their song proclaims the
benefits that are to ensue: 2:13-14 employs such a heavenly choir. A multi-
tude of heavenly host sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace
among men with whom he is pleased” (v. 14; 1QH 4.32-33; 11.9). The one
who has fulfilled the ancient hopes expressed in the prophecies of Scripture
is acclaimed as one whose birth will bring glory to God and peace to people
on earth. Like Augustus, Jesus has on his birthday a proclamation of the
benefits of his birth.
Is the peace that Jesus’ birth is said to bring the same as that claimed for
Augustus? In the Jewish culture from which Christianity came, peace
(shalom in Hebrew; eir∑n∑ in Greek) meant basically wholeness, the normal
state of life that corresponds to the will of God. Such wholeness would char-
acterize the basic relations of life: (a) the relation of persons and God, (b) the
relation of persons with one another, (c) the relation of persons with the
natural world, and (d) one’s relation with oneself. This wholeness meant
well-being in contrast to evil in any form. It was the gift of God. Given
human sin, however, this wholeness was lost. Peace, then, became an escha-
tological hope (Zech 9:9-10) and the messianic figure the prince of peace
(Isa 9:6).
In the NT, peace reflects these Jewish roots. It refers, therefore, both to
the normal state of life in line with God’s will and to the eschatological salva-
tion. As such it involves wholeness in the relation with God (e.g., Rom 5:1;
Col 1:20; Eph 2:14, 17), wholeness in the relation of people with one
another (e.g., Mark 9:50; 1 Cor 7:15; Eph 2:14-17; 4:3), wholeness in the
relation to the physical world (e.g., Mark 5:34), and wholeness in one’s rela-
tion with oneself (Rom 8:6; 15:13; Gal 5:22; Phil 4:7; Col 3:15; John
14:27).
Luke 2:1-20 35

Luke-Acts, with one exception, reflects this context. The messianic salva-
tion is described as the way of peace (1:79). Jesus Christ is said to have
preached the good news of peace (Acts 10:36). This peace associated with
God’s acts in Jesus involves recovered wholeness in the relation of a person
with God (e.g., Luke 7:50), wholeness in the relation with the physical world
(8:48), and wholeness in the relations among persons (e.g., Acts 9:31). The
absence of any reference to peace with oneself is not surprising in Luke-Acts
both because of the evangelist’s focus on the visible and external realities of
life, and because the Scriptures on which Luke is so dependent have little
concern with peace as an inward feeling. For Jesus’ birth to be connected
with the recovery of peace, therefore, was a matter of great joy, meaning the
restoration of wholeness to life in every area: with God, with others, with the
physical world. It is this peace about which the heavenly choir sings at 2:14.
For whom is this peace promised? Verse 14 says it is for either “men of
good will” or “men of favor” (anthrøpois eudokias). The latter translation,
which has the better support, means persons upon whom divine favor rests.
The gospel mentions two occasions when recipients of divine favor are spec-
ified. In the first instance, Jesus, after his baptism, is addressed as “my
beloved Son, in [whom] I take delight (eudøkesa): Jesus is the object of divine
favor. In the second, 12:32, Jesus says to his disciples, “Fear not, little flock,
for it is your Father’s good pleasure (eudøkesen) to give you the kingdom”:
here Jesus’ disciples are the objects of divine favor. Hence, it is among Jesus
and his disciples that there is peace among humans. Here is where the whole-
ness of the basic relations of life is being recovered as a result of Jesus’ birth
and lordship. This is cause for joy.
This good news, moreover, is for “all the people” (v. 10), outcast as well
as in-group. In Luke’s time shepherds were often considered outside the law.
Their testimony was considered invalid because of their reputation for
dishonesty (b. Sanhedrin 25b). Yet it was to such as these the angel
announced the good news of the Savior’s birth (2:8-11). This can only be
regarded as a foreshadowing of the subsequent theme of God’s grace shown
to sinners that runs throughout Luke. The messianic Lord is the friend of
sinners (e.g., 5:29-32; 7:36-50; 10:30-37; 15:1-2; 17:11-19; 19:1-10). It is
to sinners Jesus promises good news (e.g., 18:9-14; 15:11-32). The news that
Jesus’ birth signals the benefit of peace is intended for all the people. This is
cause for great joy.
The angelic choir not only sang about the recovery of wholeness among
the disciples of Jesus, a benefit available to all, but it also spoke of glory to
God being a benefit of Jesus’ birth and rule as Lord. Psalm 85:8-9, just as
Luke 2:14, connects God’s being glorified with peace among his people.
36 Good News of a Great Joy

How is this to be understood? Since peace is God’s gift, it reflects to God’s

credit that wholeness is being recovered among human beings. The recovery
of wholeness in human relationships, which is due to God’s acts in Jesus,
reflects honor to God. In other words, what is good for human beings glori-
fies God; what glorifies God is good for human beings. Glorifying God and
recovering human wholeness are not mutually exclusive: they are an indissol-
uble whole. When the angels sang of the benefits of Jesus’ lordship, they sang
both “glory to God” and “peace to men”—one song, heralding a dual benefit
of Messiah’s birth. That is good news of a great joy.
The Unredeemed Firstborn
Luke 2:21-52

Luke 2:21-52 is the second large unit in 2:1-52, the half of episode two
(1:57–2:52) focusing on Jesus’ birth and early life. The events of vv. 21-52
are joined by the theme of obedience to the Jewish law and certain pious
customs of the Jews. (1) Luke 2:21 describes Jesus’ circumcision on the
eighth day in obedience to Leviticus 12:3. (2) Luke 2:22-24 telescopes at
least two traditional Jewish practices prescribed by the law. Verses 22a, 24
reflect the practice of the purification of the mother after childbirth,
following the directives of Leviticus 12:6, 8. That Jesus’ mother offered birds
for her purification indicates she was poor (cf. Lev 12:8): Jesus came from
the poor. Verses 22b, 23, however, echo Exodus 13:2, 12, 13, 15 where it is
said the firstborn belongs to God and must be redeemed (cf. Mishna,
Bekhoroth, 8). The actions of Jesus’ parents at this point are “according to the
custom of the law” (2:27): “And when they had performed everything
according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee” (2:39). (3) Luke
2:41 says Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the
Passover. This was doubtless in obedience to Exodus 23:14-17; 34:23;
Deuteronomy 16:16, which specified that every male was to go to Jerusalem
at Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles each year. Though the law said
nothing about women, some apparently made the pilgrimage in biblical
times (1 Sam 1:7; 2:19) and Hillel prescribed that they also should go to
Passover. (4) Luke 2:42 indicates that Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem was according
to custom. This was probably in preparation for his entrance into religious
responsibility that, according to Pirke Aboth 5:21, came at age thirteen. (5)
Luke 2:51 says Jesus “went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was
obedient to them.” The boy Jesus fulfilled the commandment to honor one’s
father and mother (Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16). In 2:21-52 the evangelist
depicts both Jesus’ parents and the young Jesus as obedient to the prescrip-
tions of the law: this thread ties the section together.
38 The Unredeemed Firstborn

The thread of obedience to the law is also theologically important in

2:21-52. Jesus, who as a boy was obedient to the law, came from a family for
whom obedience was an unargued assumption of life. In this, Jesus’ family
fulfilled the Jewish ideal that believed the family’s functions to include prop-
agating the race, satisfying emotional needs in beneficent ways, and
perpetuating religious experience. The third function was stated in a proverb:
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not
depart from it” (Prov 22:6). It was in a family whose unargued assumption
was obedience to the law that Jesus at twelve was depicted as taking on
himself the yoke of the kingdom of heaven (v. 42). His subsequent obedi-
ence to his parents (v. 51) came from a desire consciously committed to do
God’s will (Eph 6:2-3).
As part of the general context of the obedience by the family of Jesus to
the law, we note that the model disciple, Mary, dedicates her child to God.
Luke 2:22-24 falls into an ABB’A’ pattern: vv. 22a and 24 (cf. Lev 12:8),
which deal with the purification of the mother after childbirth, being A and
A’; vv. 22b and 23, which deal with the redemption of the firstborn, being B
and B’. The prescription of Exodus 13:2 concerning the firstborn son was
literally fulfilled in the case of Jesus, the firstborn (Luke 2:7), who was not
ransomed (Exod 13:13; Num 3:47; 18:16). Contrary to normal custom,
Jesus was dedicated to God and remained his property (Reicke, 100). Early
Christian art demonstrates that Gentile Christians were aware of the OT law
regarding the redemption of the firstborn and that they devoted significant
energy to reflection on the matter (Hornik and Parsons, 33, n. 10). The
closest parallel to this emphasis is found in 1 Samuel 1–2, where Hannah
gives Samuel, at his birth, to the Lord for as long as the child lives.
Consequently, Samuel lives in the presence of Eli at the tent of meeting. If
Jesus, in a similar manner, was dedicated to God and not redeemed, he
belonged to God permanently. This would explain the reason Jesus would
not understand why his parents did not know where to find him in
Jerusalem (2:48-49): since he was God’s he could be expected to be in his
Father’s house, as in the case of Samuel. At the plot level of the narrative, the
boy Jesus made a personal identification with the decisions his parents had
made about him at his birth. In 2:21-52, family influence and personal deci-
sion combined to make the young Jesus what he was.
Luke’s twelve-year-old Jesus was not only obedient to God’s will, he was
also possessed of spiritual discernment beyond what was normal. The story
in 2:41-51 about Jesus in the temple depicts the lad as God’s Son (v. 49) who
is characterized by unusual wisdom in understanding the law. The story is
enclosed within an inclusion that speaks about Jesus’ wisdom (2:40 and
Luke 2:21-52 39

2:52; cf. Sir 45:1), the centerpiece of its concentric surface structure (de
Jonge).

A Mary, Joseph, and Jesus go to Jerusalem (41-42)

B Jesus stays in Jerusalem, which is not noticed (43)
C His parents seek and find him (44-46a)
D Jesus among the teachers (46-47)
C’ His parents, annoyed, reproach him (48)
B’ Jesus’ reaction, which is not understood (49-50)
A’ Mary, Joseph, and Jesus return to Nazareth (51a)

The centerpiece and the frame agree: Jesus is the wise one. In antiquity it was
a convention to depict a significant figure as a child prodigy (e.g., Moses
[Philo, Life of Moses 1.20-24]; Samuel [Josephus, Antiquities 5.348];
Solomon [LXX 1 Kgs 2:12]; Epicurus [Diogenes Laertius 10.14]). The story
portrays Jesus as God’s Son who is the wise interpreter of Scripture. This is a
motif found elsewhere in the narrative of Luke-Acts (e.g., Luke 4:1-13; 4:16-
21; 7:26-27; 10:25-28; 20:17-18; 20:37-38; 20:41-44; 24:25-27, 32;
24:44-47). Especially important is Luke 24 where the evangelist depicts the
risen Christ as the one who interprets Scripture for the disciples and opens
their minds to understand its meaning.
Luke’s portrayal of the youthful Jesus as a person of unusual discern-
ment, within a section that emphasizes the obedience of both Jesus’ family
and the lad, is theologically significant. Religious understanding, insight into
God’s will, develops in the context of religious submission and obedience.
The Johannine Jesus says, “If any man’s will is to do his will, he shall know
whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own
authority” (John 7:17). This statement can be expanded into a general rule
of thumb: the discernment of spiritual truth—God’s will—comes only after
a willingness to do it, if and when it is known. In the realm of spiritual
insight—including an understanding of the religious significance of
Scripture—one does not know God’s will and then decide whether to do it.
Rather one wills to be obedient to God’s will first and then, and only then,
discerns what it is. Jesus, who as a youth was a precocious interpreter of
Scripture (God’s will), was such only within the context of a conscious
acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of heaven and a personal identifica-
tion with his parents’ dedication of him to God as a baby: discernment
followed commitment.
40 The Unredeemed Firstborn

The way the evangelist has spoken about Jesus as a youth is only possible
for one who assumes the real humanity of Jesus. (1) “And the child grew and
became strong” (v. 40a); “Jesus increased in stature” (v. 52—cf. 19:3, where
the term is used of Zacchaeus who is small of stature). This is the way one
talks about someone who has a human body; Hebrews 2:14 puts it this way:
“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise
partook of the same nature.” In Christian history the tendency to deny the
truly human body of Jesus has been called Gnosticism. (2) “And Jesus
increased [made progress] in wisdom” (v. 52). This is the way one talks about
someone who has a truly human mind. Hebrews implies the same thing:
“Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect” (2:17); “one
who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning”
(4:15). Since there is no way Jesus could have been tempted as we are unless
he had limited knowledge within the confines of a human mind, as we do,
Hebrews joins Luke in affirming Jesus’ humanity in the mental sphere. In
Christian history the tendency to deny the truly human mind of Jesus has
been called Apollinarianism, after Apollinaris, bishop of Laodicea (c. AD
390), who held that Jesus had the body and soul of a man but that the
reasoning mind in him was the eternal Logos. (3) “Jesus increased in favor
with God and other humans” (v. 52). This is the type of language one uses
for someone who develops both religiously and socially. Hebrews speaks of
the same reality: he was made “perfect through suffering” (2:10); “Although
he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered” (5:8). This,
moreover, is something Jesus shared with Samuel: 1 Samuel 2:26 reads,
“Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with
the LORD and with other humans.” It was Marcion in church history who
said Christ appeared in Palestine a full-grown man. For Luke, Jesus grew and
developed—in body, in mind, religiously, and socially. Jesus is truly human.
Only thereby can he be the pioneer of salvation, a legitimate model of
Christian existence.
Spiritual Power from Answered Prayer
Luke 3:21-22, 15-17

Luke 3:21-22, 15-17 comes in the subsection 3:1–4:15, episode three in

1:5–4:15—vv. 21-22 are usually referred to as the baptism of Jesus by John;
vv. 15-17 give a sample of the Baptist’s preaching about the Coming One.
The distinctive Lukan perspective in vv. 21-22 can be seen more clearly
if set in the context of the understanding of Jesus’ baptism in the other
gospels. (1) Matthew 3:13-17 contains two verses (14-15) found nowhere
else in the canonical tradition that determine the first evangelist’s major
emphasis. It appears the evangelist is defending Jesus against the charge that
he was a sinner, as evidenced by his submission to John’s baptism of repen-
tance for the remission of sins (cf. Matt 3:2, 6, 8). In this Matthew would be
struggling with the same type of problem reflected in the Gospel according
to the Hebrews (in Jerome, Against Pelagius, 3:2):

The mother of the Lord and his brothers said to him, “John the Baptist
baptizes for the forgiveness of sins; let us go and be baptized by him.” But
he said to them “In what have I sinned that I should go and be baptized by
him? Unless, perhaps, what I have just said is a sin of ignorance.”

There is none of this in the Lukan account. (2) According to John 1:31-34
the descent of the Spirit on Jesus—presumably at his baptism—functioned
to let the Baptist know Jesus’ identity so John could reveal him to Israel.
Again there is nothing like this in the third gospel. (3) Mark sees Jesus’
baptism with the accompanying descent of the Holy Spirit as an empow-
ering of the Son of God for his battle with Satan and the demonic powers
(cf. Mark 3:22-27). The Lukan perspective is closer to Mark 1:9-11 than to
either Matthew or John. But although both Luke and Mark see the Spirit’s
descent in terms of empowering, their perspectives are by no means iden-
tical. Luke sees Jesus’ ministry in terms of the role of the Servant of the Lord
in Deutero-Isaiah (cf. 4:16-21) and separates the empowering from the event
42 Spiritual Power from Answered Prayer

of baptism while connecting it explicitly with prayer. The details of the

Lukan perspective must now be examined.
Luke 3:21-22, which mentions Jesus’ baptism only as a backdrop, is a
prayer-scene consisting of a vision and an interpretative audition. The evan-
gelist has turned a narrative about Jesus’ baptism into an episode of prayer.
Luke places great emphasis on the prayer life of Jesus (e.g., 3:21; 5:16; 6:12;
9:18, 28-29; 11:1; 22:32, 39-46; 23:34, 46). It is characteristic of the evan-
gelist to have prayer accompanied by visions and auditions. For example,
9:28-36 mentions that while Jesus was praying, a heavenly apparition
occurred—Moses and Elijah appeared—and an interpretative audition
followed: “This is my Son” (cf. Acts 10; 12:5ff.; 1:14 plus 2:1ff.; Luke 22:39-
46; 1:10ff.).
In 3:21-22, after his baptism and while Jesus is praying, there is a heav-
enly apparition: the Holy Spirit descends in bodily form as a dove upon him.
To Greco-Roman hearers of Luke’s narrative this would evoke echoes of the
Roman use of the flight of birds of omen to discern the decrees of fate. For
example, Plutarch, in describing how Numa was chosen king after Romulus,
tells how Numa insisted that before he assumed the kingship his authority
must first be ratified by heaven. So the chief of the augurs turned the veiled
head of Numa toward the south, while he, standing behind him with his
right hand on his head, prayed aloud and turned his eyes in all directions to
observe whatever birds or other omens might be sent from the gods. When
the proper birds approached, Numa put on his royal robes and was received
as the “most beloved of the gods.” In such a thought-world the Lukan narra-
tive would be viewed as an omen of Jesus’ status. Exactly what that status was
can be discerned from the bird involved, a dove, and the interpreting voice
from heaven.
In Mediterranean antiquity the dove was symbolic of “the beneficence of
divinity in love, the loving character of divine life itself ” (Goodenough,
8.40-41). For the Holy Spirit to come to Jesus in the form of a dove would
say to Mediterranean hearers that Jesus was beloved of God. That this is
Luke’s intent can be seen from the interpretation offered of the event by the
voice from heaven: “You are my Son, my beloved, in you I am well pleased.”
This is an adaptation of Isaiah 42:1, in words very near to those found in
Matthew 12:18. This passage speaks about God’s servant on whom God has
put his Spirit: God’s beloved is given God’s Holy Spirit.
The context of 3:21-22 shows that the descent of the Spirit is not the
moment at which Jesus becomes Son of God: he was that by virtue of his
conception by the Holy Spirit (1:35; cf. 3:23). Rather the post-baptismal gift
of the Holy Spirit is interpreted as Jesus’ anointing for ministry as God’s
Luke 3:21-22, 15-17 43

servant, an equipping of him for his task. Luke 4:16-21, the formal opening
of Jesus’ ministry in the third gospel, has Jesus read from Isaiah: “The Spirit
of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to
the poor.” Then, after returning the scroll, Jesus sat down and said, “Today
this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The reference is, of course,
to the baptism-prayer scene with its descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus (cf.
Acts 4:27; 10:38). This depiction of the descent of the Spirit on Jesus as an
anointing for ministry is in line with the Lukan understanding of the Holy
Spirit generally as the empowering for ministry (cf. Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8).
A further point is that the Holy Spirit comes in response to prayer. In
3:21-22 the evangelist is interested not in what happened at the baptism but
rather what happened after the baptism while Jesus was at prayer. It is a
Lukan theme that the Holy Spirit is given in response to prayer (Luke 11:13;
Acts 1:14 with 2:1-4; 2:21 with 2:39; 4:23-31; 8:15-17; cf. 22:16), but not
necessarily in or through baptism (e.g., Acts 8:14-17; 10:44-48; 19:5-6).
Here God’s beloved Servant-Son is empowered for the upcoming ministry by
the gift of the Spirit in response to prayer.
It is noteworthy that in the plot of the gospel Jesus found it necessary to
receive an empowering for ministry before he embarked on his public career.
He had been conceived by the Holy Spirit; he had been dedicated to God by
his parents as a baby; he had personally identified with his parents’ decisions
about him and consciously assumed the yoke of the kingdom. Yet none of
these could substitute for the necessary anointing-empowering given him
when he prayed after his baptism. What is needed for adequate ministry in
the Lukan understanding is a prior empowering by God’s Spirit. This was
true for Jesus and for his disciples in Acts (cf. Acts 1:8, where the promise is
that the apostles will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon
them, and then they will be witnesses). If this is what is needed, how can it
be gotten?
In 3:15-17 v. 16 points to Jesus as the one who will baptize with the
Holy Spirit and with fire. Although the historical John was no Christian
preacher and did not identify the Coming One with Jesus, but rather, as v.
17 indicates, as a heavenly judge who would come at the End Time, the
evangelist thinks otherwise. John the Baptist, here in 3:16, speaks of Jesus as
the baptizer with the Holy Spirit and fire and understands it in terms of the
event in Acts 2:1-4. The Baptist is made to anticipate an event that, from
Luke’s perspective, had happened and continued to happen (Acts 2:1-4;
4:31; 8:14-17; 10:44-48; 11:15-18; 19:1-7). The empowering of disciples is
a gift of the exalted Christ (Acts 2:33).
44 Spiritual Power from Answered Prayer

The same emphasis is implicit in Luke 3:21-22. There is a remarkable

correspondence in both content and sequence between the events and
persons found in Luke and Acts (Talbert 1974, 15-23). Among these corre-
spondences are the baptism of Jesus followed by prayer and the descent of
the Holy Spirit in a physical form, which is paralleled by the prayer of the
disciples (Acts 1:14) as they await their baptism in the Holy Spirit, which
then occurs with accompanying physical manifestations (2:1-13). For Luke
the baptism-prayer scene in Jesus’ career is prototypical for his disciples’
experience. Just as the Holy Spirit had come on Jesus after the baptism of
repentance and in response to his prayer to empower him for his work, so
the Spirit that the risen Lord has poured out (Acts 2:33) is given to his disci-
ples, after prayer, to empower them for their mission. The one who was
anointed by the Holy Spirit in 3:21-22 has become, by virtue of his exalta-
tion, the one who pours out the Spirit, baptizing his followers with the Holy
Spirit and fire. It is this baptism that empowers disciples for their ministry.
To what kind of experience is the evangelist referring when he speaks
about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire? What are the evidences of this
experience that Luke gives in the Acts of the Apostles? On the one hand, the
gift of the Spirit is connected with power to be a witness (1:8; 2:1-42; 4:29-
31; 6:10; 9:17-22; passim). It is, moreover, an indispensable power. The
disciples are not to venture forth until they have received the promise (Acts
1:8; Luke 24:49). On the other hand, the presence of the Spirit is often
connected with unusual phenomena like speaking in tongues and proph-
esying (2:4; 10:46; 19:6) when experienced initially, and with miraculous
occurrences among those who have had the experience (3; 5:12-16; cf. 5:32;
8:5-7; passim). From Luke’s point of view the initial experience sometimes
happens before water baptism (10:44-48), sometimes in close proximity with
water baptism (19:5-6), and sometimes after water baptism (8:14-17). In the
Lukan mind, the experience could not be reduced to a predictable formula
(cf. John 3:8). This is a bit different from Paul who located the experience of
the Holy Spirit in its demonstrable effects in the context of proclamation
(Gal 3:1-5; 1 Cor 2:1-5; 1 Thess 1:5). Since theology usually follows experi-
ence, this would be normal for the apostle who had experienced conversion,
call to apostleship, and empowering for ministry as a unity. At the end of the
first century people experienced the empowering of the Spirit at various
times, which explains the variety in Acts. It is also important to be aware that
Luke-Acts focuses on the externals of religious experience, like visions, audi-
tions, tongues, miracles. Given this general tendency, when the author
speaks about the gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts, he is not talking about the
secret inner work of God that convicts and converts, but rather about the
Luke 3:21-22, 15-17 45

moment of the Spirit’s release in external manifestations. It was this release of

the Spirit, in answer to prayer, sometimes accompanied by unusual
phenomena, empowering people for ministry, that Luke called the baptism
of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, the one who was himself anointed with the Holy
Spirit to empower him for his earthly ministry, now exalted at the right hand
of God, is the source of this empowering experience among his followers
(Acts 2:33).
Victory in Spiritual Warfare
Luke 4:1-13; 3:23-38; 4:14-15

Luke 3:23-38, 4:1-13, and 4:14-15 belong to episode three (3:1–4:15) of

1:5–4:15. Together with the baptism narrative (3:21-22), they constitute the
Jesus half of the episode that corresponds loosely to the material about John
the Baptist in 3:1-20. The baptism, the genealogy, and the temptation are
linked formally by the repetition of the expression “Son of God” (3:22; 3:38;
4:3, 9); the baptism, temptation, and concluding summary are formally
connected by references to the Holy Spirit (3:22; 4:1; 4:14). If one reads the
temptation story aright, therefore, it will be heard in the context of
3:21–4:15.
There are at least three different ways of understanding Jesus’ tempta-
tions in the NT. (1) In Mark 1:12-13 the temptation functions in an
explanatory way. It is the moment at which the bearer of the Spirit bound
the strong man so his goods could be plundered (Mark 3:27). The story
explains how Jesus in his public ministry could have such power over the
demons. (2) When Hebrews 4:15 speaks of Jesus as “one who in every
respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning,” it is said in the
interest of encouragement. To know our great High Priest has been through
what we are undergoing and hence is sympathetic with us is a great encour-
agement to draw near to him with our petitions. (3) In Luke 4:1-13 it
functions in an exemplary way: “We may be certain that the story was . . .
told for its exemplary features in order to encourage Christians facing temp-
tations and to indicate to them how to recognize and overcome it”
(Marshall, 166).
One should note just who is being tempted. The context (3:22) makes it
clear that he is the Spirit-empowered Servant of God (cf. Isa 42:1). The
empowering by the Holy Spirit does not keep Jesus from being tempted: it
enables him to be victorious in the midst of temptation.
The victory Jesus won was, in the first instance, by his wise use of the
Scriptures (cf. 2:41-51 and 24:25 27). In each of the three temptations, Jesus
48 Victory in Spiritual Warfare

responded to the devil’s approach with a quotation from Deuteronomy. In v.

4 he used Deuteronomy 8:3; in v. 8 he drew on 6:13; and in v. 12 Jesus
employed 6:16. Moreover, he knew the appropriate, as opposed to the
satanic, use of Scripture, rejecting the devil’s interpretation in vv. 10-11 of
Psalm 91:11-12. The devil, in effect, said to him that the promises of God in
Scripture applied to anyone, at any time and place, regardless of circum-
stances, if that person would only claim them. Jesus refused to claim the
promise. It was not appropriate for the moment. Discernment was needed to
know which particular promise to claim at a given moment. In the third
gospel this does not come from dialectical skill in scriptural argument.
Jesus’ victory over temptation by means of his correct use of Scripture
was because of his heavenly resource, the Holy Spirit, the source of his
discernment. At 3:21-22 Jesus had been anointed (empowered) by the Spirit
for his ministry. In 4:1-2 a literal translation might read, “Jesus, full of the
Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was being led by the Spirit in the
wilderness for forty days as he was being tempted by the devil.” This is
significantly different from both Mark 1:12 (“And immediately the Spirit
cast him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days
being tempted by Satan.”) and Matthew 4:1 (“Then Jesus was led up into
the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.”). Unlike the other
two evangelists, Luke makes certain the reader knows that during the time
Jesus was being tempted, he was being led by the Spirit. Having been
empowered by the Spirit, Jesus returns full of the Spirit and in that power
deals with the devil in the wilderness. From the evangelist’s perspective, Jesus
is victorious in temptation because the empowering of the Holy Spirit
enables him to hear Scripture’s word addressed to his immediate needs.
Luke’s point here is similar to that made by the Pauline school, near the
time of the gospel, in Ephesians 6. In the parenetic section of the epistle (chs.
4–6), toward the end, is an exhortation to put on the whole armor of God
that one may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (6:11). The list of
spiritual equipment necessary to emerge victorious from the struggle against
the spiritual hosts of wickedness (6:12) is climaxed by the injunction, “And
take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (6:17b). The
word of God (which would include the Scriptures) is the weapon, but the
sword is wielded by the Holy Spirit. We find, then, a similar point being
made at the end of the first century by the Pauline school in epistolary form
and by the evangelist in his gospel narrative. Victory in spiritual warfare, for
Christ as well as the Christian, comes from a Spirit-enabled hearing and use
of the Scriptures.
Luke 4:1-13; 3:23-38; 4:14-15 49

The victory of Jesus over temptation, while exemplary, goes beyond

mere example. The one who won the victory was both the second Adam and
the culmination of all that God had been doing in the history of Israel. (1)
The genealogy speaks of Jesus as the culmination of Israel’s history (3:23-38).
The link with Abraham (v. 34) would speak of the continuity of Jesus with
God’s ancient promises (cf. 1:55; 1:73). The link with David (v. 31) would
serve to legitimate Jesus’ claim to the Davidic kingship (cf. 1:27; 1:32; 1:69;
2:4; 3:11). Since Luke’s genealogy proceeds from David to his third son,
Nathan (2 Sam 5:14; 1 Chr 3:5; 14:4), and from him, through a series of
unknown names, to Shealtiel and Zerubbabel and thence again through a
series of unknown names to Joseph, it likely links Jesus with the prophets. A
minority Jewish tradition erroneously held that David’s son Nathan was also
the prophet and that the Messiah would descend from this nonroyal line
(Johnson, 240-47). This descent from David through Nathan, if understood
in terms of this particular Jewish tradition, would tie Jesus to the prophetic
tradition (cf. 4:24; 9:8; 7:11-17; 24:19; Acts 7:52; 3:22, for Jesus as a
prophet). The very location of the genealogy may reinforce its links between
Jesus and the prophetic tradition. Just as Moses’ genealogy in Exodus 6:14-
25 comes after his call and just before he begins his mission of leading the
tribes out of Egypt, so Jesus’ genealogy is found after the ratification of his
Sonship by God (3:21-22) and just before the official opening of his
Galilean ministry (4:16-30). This would be an appropriate location for one
who was viewed as the prophet like Moses (Acts 3:22; 7:52). In many ways
then, Jesus was the culmination of Israel’s history.
(2) The genealogy also alludes to Jesus as the second Adam. Like many
Greco-Roman genealogies that traced a family back to a hero or a god,
Luke’s line of descent for Jesus runs through seventy-seven names to Adam
and through him to God. The genealogy ends with the affirmation that
Adam is the Son of God. This conditions the way one understands Jesus as
Son of God in 4:3, 9. Just as Adam was Son of God, that is, a direct creation
of God, so is Jesus Son of God, because he too is a direct creation of God
(1:35). Read in this way, the genealogy evokes the concept of Jesus as the
second Adam.
Luke 4:1-13 must be read against the background of Jesus as the culmi-
nation of all that God had been doing in the history of Israel and as the
second Adam. Unlike Mark 1:12-13, this section uses a long form of Jesus’
temptations. Like Matthew 4:1-11, the third evangelist’s story involves three
specific temptations: stones to bread, worshiping the devil, and casting
himself off the temple. Luke differs with Matthew, however, on the order of
the temptations. Whereas Matthew gives the three temptations in the order
50 Victory in Spiritual Warfare

of bread, pinnacle of the temple, and worship Satan, Luke reverses the order
of the last two. The explanations that fit best with the immediate context are
those that see Jesus’ three temptations in terms either of the threefold temp-
tation of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:6 (the tree was good for food, a delight
to the eyes, and was desired to make one wise) which is echoed in 1 John
2:16 (lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life), or of the temptations of
Israel in the wilderness. Psalm 106 gives the temptation of Israel in the same
order as in Luke’s narrative (food, false worship, putting the Lord to the test),
an order also found in 1 Corinthians 10:6-9. The temptations of Jesus
thereby become antitypical of the experience of Israel in the wilderness and
of the original pair in the garden: whereas those who came before fell, Jesus,
as the second Adam and the true culmination of Israel’s heritage, shows the
way to victory, reversing Adam’s fall and Israel’s sin. The tests might also
suggest to the Hellenistic auditor the threefold category of vice: love of plea-
sure, love of possession, and love of glory (Dio Chrysostom, Orations 4.84).
Thanks to the power of God’s Spirit, Jesus has become the first of a new
humanity, the leader of the faithful among the people of God. Because he
has won the victory and has poured out the Spirit (Acts 2:33), his followers
have the possibility of similar victory in their spiritual warfare.
The experience of temptation undergone by Jesus did not deplete his
spiritual resources: he emerged with spiritual power. The narrative of the
temptation, 4:1-13, is enclosed in an envelope (4:1a, 14): in 4:1a “Jesus full
of the Holy Spirit returned”; language echoed in 4:14: “Jesus returned in the
power of the Spirit.” By means of this stylistic device the evangelist makes
clear that the anointed Son, who went through his temptations while being
led by the Spirit, emerged from the trials not only victorious over the enemy
but also in no way depleted in his spiritual power. With a note of power
(4:14) Jesus emerges from his wilderness struggles and comes into Galilee
(4:14-15). The Galilean ministry (4:16–9:50), even more than the wilder-
ness trials (4:1-13), will be the scene of the Spirit’s might manifested through
the one who is beloved of God.
Anointed with the Holy Spirit
Luke 4:16–9:50
Introduction

The second large unit in the gospel is 4:16–9:50: before it is 1:5–4:15, the
account of the prepublic career of Jesus; at 9:51 a new departure occurs,
where Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem. The material in 4:16–9:50 is held
together largely by its geographical orientation: at 4:14 Jesus returns to
Galilee and, except at 8:20 when he and his disciples cross the lake to the
country of the Gerasenes, “which is opposite Galilee,” the scene is Galilee.
Indications in Matthew and Mark that would otherwise locate Jesus outside
Galilee are missing (e.g., Matt 16:13 // Mark 8:27 mentions Caesarea
Philippi, but not Luke 9: 18; Mark 9:30 says Jesus had passed through
Galilee, but not Luke 9:43b). The third evangelist believes the mission to the
Gentiles comes after Pentecost. He therefore treats 4:16–9:50 as Jesus’
mission to Israel, with one exception. This geographical orientation of the
material, however, does not prevent the evangelist from foreshadowing in the
events of Jesus’ early career the things that were to happen later in church
history.
As to the theological function of 4:16–9:50, there are two main
concerns in this section of the gospel. In the first place, he wants to speak
about one stage of Jesus’ way. Two strands of evidence give our clue. (1) By
almost unanimous consent of scholars, the speeches of Acts reflect the mind
of the author of Luke-Acts. If so, then they should indicate something of the
way the evangelist understood Galilee in the life of Jesus. Acts 10:34-43, of
all the speeches, contains the most detail relevant to our concerns. This
speech, attributed to Peter, speaks of (a) the time of the ministry (after the
baptism that John preached—v. 37; before the ministry elsewhere—v. 37);
(b) the content of the ministry (preaching good news—v. 36; doing good,
healing all who were oppressed by the devil—v. 38); (c) the basis for this
ministry (God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power—
v. 38); (d) the witnesses of this ministry (“we are witnesses to all that he
did”—v. 39). These basic points found here in one speech are scattered in
54 Introduction

other speeches in Acts: for example, 13:16-41, a speech attributed to Paul,

mentions the time of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee (“before his coming John
preached a baptism of repentance”—v. 24) and the witnesses (“those who
came up with him from Galilee are now his witnesses”—v. 31); the prayer of
4:24-30 refers to Jesus’ anointing (v. 27); finally, Peter’s speech in 1:15-22
speaks of the witnesses and of the relation of Jesus’ ministry to the Baptist’s
(“One of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the
Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of
John”—vv. 21-22a).
(2) A second hint as to the meaning of the Galilean ministry of Jesus is
the frontispiece to the gospel (4:16-30), which is also the introduction for
the Galilean section. In the Lukan version of Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth we
find two emphases. First, the nature of Jesus’ ministry is described. Its
content is preaching good news to the poor (vv. 18-19) and setting at liberty
those that are oppressed (v. 18). Its basis is the anointing of Jesus with the
Holy Spirit (v. 18). This much agrees with the picture of the Galilean
ministry gained from the speeches of Acts. Second, 4:16-30 describes the
results of Jesus’ ministry. There is both a rejection of Jesus by his own people
and a hint of a wider mission to all kinds of people (vv. 23-24, 25-27).
Though the speeches of Acts refer only to Jesus’ rejection in connection with
Jerusalem, that the evangelist intended this rejection, as well as the hint of a
wider mission, to apply to Galilee, may be seen if we note a similar passage,
Luke 7:18-30: Jesus’ ministry of healing and preaching is rejected by the
Jewish leaders, but is accepted by the people and tax collectors (vv. 29-30).
Taken together, the speeches of Acts and the frontispiece of the gospel give a
reasonably clear sketch of what the evangelist intended to say about this stage
of Jesus’ career.
The Galilean ministry of Jesus takes place after John the Baptist’s work
has been completed (3:18-20). It is a period of preaching and healing.
Almost from the first there are Galilean witnesses present (4:31–5:11;
6:12ff.; 8:1-3; 9:1-6), the same people who will later view the passion events
in Jerusalem. The basis for all Jesus does and says is his anointing with the
Spirit of the Lord (3:21-22; 4:16ff.). The portrait of Jesus in this section is of
one who is empowered with the Holy Spirit. This empowering divides those
Jesus meets into two groups: those who recognize God in Jesus’ work and
words and those who do not. In 4:16–9:50 the evangelist speaks about one
stage of Jesus’ way. In this phase of his career, Jesus is the one who is
anointed-empowered by the Holy Spirit and his activity demonstrates the
kingly power of God. The accent is on power.
Introduction 55

In the second place, Luke also wants to foreshadow in Jesus’ career

certain facets of the later church’s life. The evangelist writes his gospel with
the thought in mind of the church and the progress of its mission in Acts: in
the ministry of Jesus the later ministry of the church is foreshadowed. One
example should suffice. The tradition found in Luke 7:1-10 is also found in
Matthew 8:5-13. In Luke’s version, vv. 3-6a are distinctive. Thereby it
becomes a story of a pious centurion who sends others to secure assistance
for him. The point of the tradition as it stands in Luke is the centurion’s faith
as contrasted with Israel’s lack of faith (v. 9). This tradition, as adapted, is
remarkably like the Cornelius episode in Acts 10. It would seem the evange-
list has introduced into Jesus’ Galilean ministry a character like Cornelius so
that Jesus’ favorable attitude toward such a man and his faith foreshadows
the attitude of the later church toward believing Gentiles. The Spirit-
anointed Jesus in Galilee functions as a prototype of the behavior that
characterizes the Spirit-empowered disciples in Acts. The dominant emphasis
on the power of Jesus and the subordinate theme of the mission of the gospel
to all peoples cannot be missed by an attentive reader of 4:16–9:50.
For the Whole Person,
in the Whole World
Luke 4:16-30

Luke 4:16-30 presents the distinctive Lukan form of the rejection of Jesus by
his “own country” (Mark 6:1; Matt 13:53) or “Nazareth” (Luke 4:16);
Matthew 13:53-58 and Mark 6:1-6 relate the incident in much the same
way, though they differ on its exact context. In the first gospel the incident
ends a collection of seven parables (13:1-52); in the second gospel it
completes a cycle of four miracles (4:35–5:43). In both, the rejection scene
happens well along in the Galilean ministry. Luke, however, tells the story in
a long and very different way and places it at the beginning of Jesus’ public
ministry. This seems awkward in light of 4:23, which assumes 4:31-44. By so
locating it, the evangelist indicates that in his story this scene does not
simply relate one event among others but has programmatic significance for
the whole (cf. Acts 13:13-52, a scene at the beginning of Paul’s missionary
work that is typical of what repeatedly happened).
The clue to the meaning of 4:16-30 is the unit’s literary pattern
(Combrink). The unit is enclosed in an inclusion: in 4:16a, b Jesus “came to
Nazareth” and “entered into the synagogue”; in 4:30 he was “passing
through” the crowd and was “going away.” Within the inclusion the passage
falls into an ABA’B’ pattern. In A and A’ Jesus is speaking a word; in B and
B’ the crowd is reacting to that word. A, the initial word, deals with the form
of Jesus’ ministry and is found in 4:16c-21, which falls into two parts: (1)
the reading (16c-19) and (2) the teaching (20-21). The reading (16c-19) is
itself a symmetrically organized unit:

A He stood up to read (16c)

B there was given to him (17a)
C opening the book (17b)
D Isa 61:1f., plus 58:6 (18-19)
C’ closing the book (20a)
B’ he gave it back to the attendant (20b)
A’ he sat down (20c)
58 For the Whole Person, in the Whole World

Furthermore, the quotation (d) is a combination of Isaiah 61:1-2; 58:6:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me (Isa 61)
to preach (euaggelisasthai) good news to the poor (Isa 61)
to proclaim release (aphesin) to the captives (Isa 61)
and sight to the blind (Isa 61)
to set at liberty (aphesei) the oppressed (Isa 58:6)
to preach (keruxai) the acceptable year of the Lord (Isa 61).

In the teaching (vv. 20-21) Jesus proclaims that he has fulfilled this
Scripture. The anointing with the Spirit is, of course, a reference to 3:21-22.
In 4:1, 14 the evangelist has taken pains to make clear that the descent of the
Holy Spirit at Jesus’ baptism was the basis for a continuing endowment with
the Spirit. In this way the reader is prepared for the announcement of 4:18
that relates the Spirit to the whole of Jesus’ ministry. The Spirit has empow-
ered Jesus to preach the good news of God’s salvation (18a, 19) and to
announce the healing of the blind (18c).
What does Luke understand “proclaiming release (aphesin) to the
captives” and “setting at liberty (aphesei) the oppressed” to mean? The word
aphesis in normal Christian use means “forgiveness,” and the evangelist else-
where certainly employs the term in this way (1:77; 3:3; 24:47; Acts 2:38;
5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18). It is therefore possible for the reader to hear this
undertone in the word. The term is also used to mean “release from
captivity.” This is certainly its meaning in the context of Isaiah 61 and 58
and seems to be the dominant intent of Luke 4:18. The material that follows
(4:31-41) depicts Jesus as an exorcist and healer and then in 4:43 seems to
identify this activity with his preaching the good news of the kingdom. If so,
then its use here would refer to Jesus’ ministry of physical healing and exor-
cism. This would fit the general Lukan tendency to think of salvation as
encompassing both physical healing and inclusion in the eschatological
people of God (e.g., salvation is healing in 8:36, 48; 18:42; Acts 4:9; 14:9; it
is inclusion in the eschatological family in 8:12; 13:23; 17:19; 18:26; 19:10;
Acts 11:14; 15:1; 16:30). Given this, it seems correct to understand Luke’s
view of Jesus’ mission, as set forth in 4:18-19, to include preaching, physical
healing, and exorcism. This threefold activity, moreover, is portrayed as
continuing in the ministry of the disciples in Acts (preaching—e.g., Acts
2:14ff.; 3:12ff.; 10:34ff.; 13:16ff.; healing—e.g., Acts 3:1ff.; 9:33ff.; 9:36ff.;
14:8ff.; exorcism—e.g., Acts 16:16ff; 19:12ff.). It is this threefold form of
ministry that the empowering by the Holy Spirit produces both in Jesus and
Luke 4:16-30 59

in the disciples: the ministry of Master and disciples alike focuses on the
whole person.
In A (4:16c-21), Jesus’ word is that the prophecies of Isaiah 61 and 58
are fulfilled in him. The peoples’ response, B, is given in two parts. The first
part, v. 22a, is a statement about their reaction: “all spoke well of him, and
wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.” The
second, v. 22b, is a quotation of their words: “Is this not Joseph’s son?” The
basic issue is the intent of their response. Do the parts of this verse have the
same intent? How are they related? The best option, given what follows, is to
read 4:22 so both parts are positive responses. This is a necessity for 22a and
is natural for 22b if it is taken to mean, “Is this not a hometown boy?” Such
a question would contain within it an implicit demand: since he is “our boy,”
we can expect great things to be done for us by this Spirit-empowered
servant of God. It is this inference from his family connections made by the
people of Nazareth that prompts Jesus’ second word.
This word, A’ (4:23-27), defines the scope of his ministry and falls into
two sections. (1) The first, v. 23, interprets v. 22 negatively. In effect Jesus
says, “You are making a demand on me as a local boy to set up practice here
in Nazareth.” (2) The second section, vv. 24-27, is a multifaceted response to
this implicit demand. Both proverbial wisdom (“No prophet is acceptable in
his own country”—v. 24) and Scripture (vv. 25-26, the widow in the land of
Sidon; v. 27, Naaman the Syrian) argue against their demand. The implica-
tion of this response is that the local boy’s mission will take him away from
his hometown and that God’s benefits, promised in Isaiah 61 and 58, are
even for the Gentiles (vv. 25-26, 27; cf. Luke 7:1-17 where Jesus ministers to
a foreign military officer and a widow).
Here, of course, we meet in clear-cut fashion the concern of the evange-
list for the universalistic scope of God’s salvation in Jesus. It is a theme
already heard in the section dealing with the prepublic career of Jesus (2:31-
32; 3:6, 23-38). It is found almost immediately after 4:16-30: in 4:43, after
a series of exorcisms (4:31-41), Jesus resists those who would have kept him
from leaving them (4:43), saying, “I must preach the good news of the
kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” The
risen Lord at 24:47 tells his disciples that repentance and forgiveness of sins
must be preached in his name to all nations. The commission to go to the
end of the earth is repeated in Acts 1:8. The rest of Acts tells the story of the
evangelistic mission from Jerusalem to Rome. In Acts 10 it is the Holy Spirit
who forces Peter to move to the Gentiles. This mission, however, was already
symbolized in the sending of the Seventy (or Seventy-two) by Jesus in Luke
10:1ff. If the form of Jesus’ empowered ministry is preaching, healing, and
60 For the Whole Person, in the Whole World

exorcism, the scope of it is universal. In 4:24-27 Jesus says he must bear the
good news of the kingdom beyond the confines of those to whom he is most
closely related by geographical, cultural, and racial origin.
The reaction of the people to this second word of Jesus, B’, is found in
4:28-29: when they heard the word they tried to kill him. “It is not so much
that Jesus goes elsewhere because he is rejected as that he is rejected because
he announces that it is God’s will and his mission to go elsewhere”
(Tannehill 1972, 62). In being rejected because of his concern for a wider
mission, Jesus foreshadows the fate of his disciples in Acts (e.g., 13:44-50;
14:19; 17:4-5; 18:12; 20:3; 22:21; 28:23-29) who sometimes were abused
because of a mission to the Gentiles (22:21) and sometimes turned to the
Gentiles as a result of rejection by Jews (13:44-50; 28:23-29). This rejection
echoes an earlier hint of the same thing in Luke 2:34b. The escape of Jesus
(4:30) foreshadows the story in Acts where the gospel triumphantly survived
similar acts of hostility and rejection.
To summarize, in 4:16–30 the evangelist gives a programmatic state-
ment of Jesus’ ministry—and by extension, the ministry of the church—as
one empowered by the Holy Spirit, involving not only preaching but also
healing and exorcism, and moving outward to touch the whole world.
Called and Commissioned
Luke 4:31–5:11

This unit falls into two parts: 4:31-44; 5:1-11. (1) The first parallels Mark
1:21-38. Both gospels give (a) an account of an exorcism in Capernaum
(Mark 1:21-28; Luke 4:31-37—not in Matthew); (b) the story of the healing
of Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38-39—cf. Matt 8:14-15);
(c) a generalizing paragraph about many healings and exorcisms (Mark 1:32-
34; Luke 4:40-41—cf. Matt 8:16-17); and (d) a reference to Jesus’ departure
(Mark 1:35-38; Luke 4:42-43—not in Matthew).
The three Lukan paragraphs dealing with healing are linked together by
the verb translated “rebuke” (4:35, 39, 41), thereby enabling the treatment
of all three miracle stories as exorcisms or events involving exorcisms. This
activity brought Jesus a tremendous following (4:37, 42; 5:1-3). In response
to the desire of the people in Capernaum to keep him—as those at Nazareth
had wanted to do (4:16-30)—Jesus, as at Nazareth, indicated he was under
divine necessity (cf. dei in 4:43) to move on. Judging from the context, for
Jesus to preach the good news of the kingdom must refer to his exorcisms
(cf. 11:20).
(2) The second part of the larger thought unit, 5:1-11, furnishes the clue
to the overall intent of 4:31–5:11. One notes first of all its location: whereas
in Mark the call of Peter, James, and John comes at 1:16-20, before the exor-
cism and healings in Capernaum (1:21-34), in Luke the call comes after the
series of miracles. This placement serves two functions in the gospel.
On the one hand, Luke’s placing the call of the disciples after the series
of miracles makes the point that mighty works can be the basis for disciple-
ship. Peter, at least, must have known of Jesus’ wondrous powers sometime
prior to his call (4:38-39). Also, when Peter in 5:5 says, “at your word I will
let down the nets,” Luke understands this to be based on the authority of
Jesus’ word already established in 4:31-36. Whereas Mark 1:22 says the
people were astonished at Jesus’ teaching, “for he taught them as one who
had authority, and not as the scribes” (Matt 7:29), Luke 4:31 states they were
62 Called and Commissioned

astonished at his teaching “for his word was with authority.” There then
follows an exorcism (4:33-35) to demonstrate the authority of Jesus’ word to
which the people respond: “What is this word? For with authority and power
he commands the unclean spirits and they come out” (4:36; Mark 1:27
omits “word” and “and power”). It is this one whose word is powerful and
who has healed Simon’s mother-in-law by rebuking the fever (4:39) who
speaks to Peter in chapter 5 and to whom Peter responds in 5:5: “Master, we
toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”
For the evangelist, Peter’s initial response to Jesus is based on a prior knowl-
edge of his power in Capernaum.
“Further, the story within which the call of the first disciples is placed
(5:1-11) leaves little room for doubt that they followed Jesus because of his
wondrous power. Only after Peter, James, and John see the miraculous catch
of fish are they summoned to follow Jesus” (Achtemeier, 161). In Luke’s
schema Peter could respond to Jesus’ word to let down the nets on the basis
of what he had seen done for others, but his following Jesus came as a result
of what he had experienced done for him by Jesus: grace was experienced in
and through a miraculous deed done for him. This emphasis on miracle as a
catalyst for faith is characteristic of Luke-Acts (e.g., Acts 9:35; 9:42; 13:12;
16:30, 33; 19:17; Luke 8:2; 7:18-23). Of course Luke knew that miracle was
ambiguous (Luke 11:14-19) and that non-Christians could also perform
mighty works (Acts 8:9-11). Nevertheless, the evangelist shows an unusually
positive attitude toward miracle as a means by which faith is created. In
4:31–5:11 he makes very clear that miracle was the catalyst for Peter’s
response to Jesus.
In order to appreciate Luke’s stance, we may compare it with that of
Mark and John. The Markan view of miracle is much more negative than
Luke’s: he not only declares that miracles do not necessarily lead to faith
(e.g., 3:19b-35; 4:35–6:6) but also asserts that to confess Jesus as Christ on
the basis of his power is only partial vision and must be supplemented by the
vision of his cross (e.g., 8:14-21, 22-26, 27-30; 10:46-52). The fourth evan-
gelist has the most inclusive view of miracle in the NT: with Luke he asserts
that Jesus’ mighty works are sometimes instrumental in peoples’ believing in
him (4:53; 14:11—i.e., signs provoke faith); with Mark he knows not
everyone believes in Jesus as a result of his miracles (i.e., signs are
ambiguous—6:26; 11:46ff.; 9:16, 30, 34). John shows that in order for
people to see through the miracle to the sign (i.e., to Jesus’ identity) some
preliminary faith is sometimes present (2:11; 4:46-54; 20:30-31; 21:6-7),
but at other times is not present (2:23; 3:2; 11:45): when faith is already
there the miracles deepen it (2:11; 4:46-54; 20:30-31); when miracles evoke
Luke 4:31–5:11 63

faith or openness to faith, a further development is necessary if Jesus is to be

understood properly (e.g., ch. 3; ch. 9). This diversity within the NT reflects
the struggles to accord miracle (power) its proper place in the total scheme of
things. Although power was one component in the early Christian view of
God, it was not the central ingredient: Grace, however expressed, was. The
gospels reflect the various struggles within the communities to recognize
power as part of who God is and at the same time to set it within a structure
in which miracle was subservient to grace and balanced by moral considera-
tions (Talbert 1979).
On the other hand, Luke’s placing the call of the disciples after the series
of miracles allows Jesus some ministry and such success (4:37, 40, 42) that
he is pressed upon by the people (5:1-3). The call of Peter, James, and John
(5:10) functions, then, as Jesus’ effort to get some assistance in an overly
successful ministry. The same motif is found in Acts 11:19-26 where
Barnabas, confronted with enormous success in Antioch, enlists Paul as a
helper (cf. also Eph 4:11-12 where, if the punctuation is properly placed, the
pastors and teachers function “for the equipment of the saints for the work
of ministry”). Success creates the need for helpers (Luke 10:2).
If the location of 5:1-11 has pointed to the enlistment of the disciples,
brought about by Jesus’ miraculous activity, as a way for Jesus to deal with
his success, the form of the passage confirms what the arrangement implied
and gives clues to success for disciples involved in ministry. Confirmation
comes when we note that in its present form, 5:1-11 is not so much a call
story as it is a commissioning narrative. Call stories (e.g., Mark 1:16-20;
2:14; Luke 5:27-28) involve: (a) Jesus came; (b) he saw the person; (c) he
called; (d) the person left all and followed him. A commissioning story
includes: (a) an introduction describing the circumstances; (b) the
confrontation between the commissioner and the one to be commissioned;
(c) the commission, in which the recipient is told to undertake a specific
task; (d) a protest in which the person questions in some way the word of the
commissioner; (e) a reaction of fear, amazement, unworthiness to the pres-
ence of the august commissioner; (f ) reassurance to the individual, providing
confidence and allaying misgivings; and (g) conclusion, usually involving the
beginning of the commissioned one’s undertaking the assignment (Hubbard
1977, 187-98). Examples in Luke-Acts include Luke 24:36-53; Acts 1:1-14;
10:9-23. Luke 5:1-11 fits this form nicely: (a) introduction—5:2; (b)
confrontation—5:3; (c) commission—5:4; (d) protest—5:5; (e) reaction—
5:8-9; (f ) reassurance— 5:10b; (g) conclusion—5:11. Although there are
overtones of a call story present in v. 11, the dominant thrust is that of a
commissioning of Peter for his role of catching people (i.e., mission). The
64 Called and Commissioned

disciples are commissioned to “go fishing” in order to help Jesus with an

overly successful ministry. The merging of call and commissioning in 5:1-11
reflects the view that to be called to be a disciple is at the same time to be
commissioned as a fisher.
The use of this commissioning form also speaks about success in a
disciple’s ministry. The symbolism of the story contrasts the futility of
“fishing” with only human resources with the effectiveness of “fishing” in
obedience to Jesus’ word. The symbolism of a great catch in response to
Jesus’ word after a fruitless effort prior to Jesus’ command would fit the
Lukan view of the church’s missionary-evangelistic outreach. It was to be (a)
to all nations, but (b) the disciples were to stay in Jerusalem until they were
empowered (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8). The narrative of Acts tells the working
out of this principle: after being clothed with power from on high, the first
fishing expedition of Peter yielded three thousand converts (Acts 2:41).
“Fishing” that results in a large catch is that done in response to Jesus’ initia-
tive.
The location of the call-commissioning of Peter in time is important.
Luke 5:1-11, unlike John 21:4ff., with which it has marked similarities, is
located not after the resurrection but early in Jesus’ Galilean ministry. This
was because the Lukan view of apostleship demanded an apostle to have
been with Jesus from the first of his ministry to the time of his ascension
(Acts 1:21-22; contrast Paul who thought what was needed was to have seen
the risen Lord and received a call—1 Cor 9:1; 15:8-10; Gal 1:16). Peter,
Luke was saying by his location of the episode in time, was a disciple from
the first and so had the credentials for apostleship. Theologically, this view of
apostleship is significant as it places the church’s proclamation under the
control of the career of the pre-Easter Jesus as known through his witnesses.
The earthly Jesus is the criterion of the true proclamation, the primary check
and balance on any ministry done in Jesus’ name.
The Difference Jesus Makes
Luke 5:12–6:11

Luke 5:12–6:11 is a large thought unit bounded on the one side by

4:31–5:11 and on the other by 6:12-49. It consists of six pericopes: two
miracles stories (5:12-16; 5:17-24), a call story of the summons-response
type (5:27-28), a meal scene with table talk (5:29-39), and two Sabbath
controversies (6:1-5; 6:6-11). There are two main focal points in the mate-
rial. The first part tells where Jesus can be found; the second focuses on a
clarification and justification of the lifestyle characteristic of Jesus and his
disciples.
There is a remarkable similarity between Luke 4:31–5:11 and the first
part of this thought unit. (1) Just as 4:31–5:11 sees in Jesus’ prior activity
(miracles) the basis for his call of Peter, so 5:12-26 gives in two episodes the
kind of person who called Levi in 5:27-28. Levi’s response (v. 28) is based on
Jesus’ being one who restores social outcasts to community (5:12-14) and
forgives sinners (5:17-26). (2) Just as Jesus’ association with Peter pointed
toward “catching men” (5:10b), so Jesus’ call of Levi resulted in this new
disciple’s not only leaving everything to follow Jesus (5:28), but also his
making a great feast in his house to introduce his associates to Jesus (5:29).
In 5:29-32 Jesus is depicted as one who not only restores and forgives an
individual but as one who also associates with the many who are in need. (3)
Just as in 5:1-11 the great catch’s being possible only in obedience to Jesus’
word foreshadowed the experience of the apostolic church, so 5:29-32 fore-
shadows the experience of the church after the resurrection that learned to
associate with Gentiles who were believed to be unclean by strict Jews (Acts
10:1–11:18—note in 11:18, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted
repentance unto life”). Two Lukan touches in 5:32 make this clear. First,
note the perfect tense (el∑lutha) that means “I have come and my work
continues” (Arens, 62). That is, through his church Jesus continues to asso-
ciate with sinners. Second, note Luke’s addition of “to repentance,” laying
the groundwork even here for Acts 11:18. In all of this Luke’s concern has
66 The Difference Jesus Makes

been to show that Jesus is found in fellowship with sinners. When Jesus says,
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I
have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (5:31-32), he
indicates not only where he is to be found but also what credentials are
required for his disciples: “The church is the only fellowship in the world
where the one requirement for membership is the unworthiness of the candi-
date” (Robert Munger). Such an understanding of Jesus and his church was
strange to Greco-Roman readers. In Origen’s Against Celsus, 3.59f., Celsus,
the pagan critic of Christianity, complains that ordinarily those invited to
participate in religious solemnities are the pure who live an honorable life.
Christians, however, invite anyone who is a sinner, or foolish, or simple-
minded. In short, any unfortunate will be accepted in the kingdom of God.
By “sinner” is meant any unjust person, whether thief, or burglar, or
poisoner, or sacrilegious person, or robber of corpses. Why, says Celsus, if
you wanted an assembly of robbers, these are just the kind of people you
would call. Origen does not deny the charge but says (3.60-61) Christians
extend an invitation to sinners in order to bind up their wounds (idem,
7.60). Whereas Plato and the other wise ones of Greece are like physicians
who confine their attention to the better classes and despise the common
people, Jesus’ disciples make provision for the great mass of people. If the
Lukan Jesus is to be found in fellowship with sinners, the Lukan view of the
church is that of a fellowship composed of social outcasts restored to
community and sinners forgiven by grace who have left all to follow Jesus.
(4) Luke 5:12-32 is also analogous to 4:31–5:11 in focusing on how
Jesus reacts to unusual success. If the former section showed him enlisting
others to help, this section focuses on his withdrawal to pray. Where is Jesus
to be found? He is found not only in fellowship with sinners but also in
prayer with God. Jesus in Luke alternates between giving what he has and
retreating to be filled, between doing what he sees needs doing and with-
drawing to gain fresh vision of what should be done (3:21-22; 6:12; 9:18;
9:28f.; 11:1, passim). In this regard the evangelist depicts Jesus as a model for
disciples. A disciple is not above the Lord. Disciples of Jesus will be found
where he is: in prayer with God and in fellowship with sinners.
The second part of 5:12–6:11, which deals with the character and justi-
fication of a Christian style of life, is 5:29–6:11. This part is in two sections:
(1) 5:29-39, a banquet scene with dialogue (cf. 7:36-50; 9:10-17; 10:38-42;
11:37-54; 14:1-24; 19:1-10; 22:4-38: 24:29-32, 41-43); and (2) 6:1-11, two
Sabbath controversies. The unit is joined by the repetition of key words and
phrases: note “eat and drink” in 5:30, 33; “drinking” in 5:39; and three
different uses of the verb “to eat” in 6:1, 4. Note also that in 6:6 the evange-
Luke 5:12–6:11 67

list has added “on another sabbath,” conforming to the wording of 6:1 (“on
a sabbath”), thereby indicating he views 6:6-11 as an extension of the issue
raised in 6:1-5. Like the relation of 14:25-35 to 14:1-24, 6:1-11 is a contin-
uation of the issues raised at mealtime in 5:29-39, even though the setting
has shifted from the meal proper (cf. also 12:1, which continues the issues of
the meal scene in 11:37-54 even though the setting is now different).
The form of 5:30–6:11 is shaped by a series of charges about the lifestyle
of Jesus and his followers raised by the Pharisees, together with Jesus’
answers. (a) 5:30-32. The charge: With whom you eat and drink is problem-
atic. You associate with the wrong kind of people. Jesus’ response: The sick
are those who need me (v. 31), therefore, as host I invite sinners (v. 32). (b)
5:33-39. The charge: Eating and drinking instead of fasting often and
offering prayers is a problem; there is not enough seriousness in the style of
life of your disciples. Jesus’ response: (1) In 5:34-35 Jesus says fasting in the
presence of the proclamation of the good news (cf. 4:18-19) makes no more
sense than does fasting at a wedding feast. It is unthinkable. (2) In 5:36-38 is
a double parable. A piece of cloth from a new garment is not used to patch
an old one because, not having shrunken from being washed, the new cloth
would tear on washing, and besides, the new would not match the old (v.
36). Also, new wine is not put into old wineskins because it will burst the
old, but rather into new skins (vv. 37-38). (3) In 5:39 Jesus says that after
tasting something better (the old wine that is aged) no one desires an inferior
product (the new wine). The difficulty in interpreting 5:39 is due to our
attempt to understand “old” and “new” in the same way in v. 39 and in vv.
36-38. In v. 39 “old” should be paraphrased “good” and “new” by “inferior,”
because here “old” equals what Jesus brings—in contrast to 5:36-38—and
“new” is the inferior system of the Pharisees and Baptists. (c) 6:1-11. The
charge: When you eat is questionable; your style of life violates the Sabbath
law of Judaism (6:1-5). This flippant attitude toward the Sabbath is also
manifest in unnecessary healing on the holy day (6:6-11). Jesus’ response: In
both instances Jesus appeals to human needs taking precedence over Sabbath
law. His authority for acting in such a way is that he is the Son of Man (6:5)
who sits (22:69) or stands (Acts 7:56) at the right hand of God. He is also an
interpreter of the law whose stance is validated by the healing miracle in 6:9-
10. Anyone who does not listen to him will be cut off from the people (Acts
3:22-23). Overall, the section, 5:30–6:11, shows Jesus as a “sign that is
spoken against” (2:34).
The basic issue raised in this second section has to do with the character
and justification of the way of life of Jesus’ followers. Luke’s view of a disciple
is one who has left all to follow Jesus. Attachment to Jesus gives an inner
68 The Difference Jesus Makes

detachment from the world. Yet the disciples’ detachment from the world
did not express itself in terms of the old outer signs of what it meant to be
religious, as the Jewish culture saw it. Two early second-century documents
tell the story clearly.
(1) The Christian Epistle to Diognetus, 5, says:

For Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor
language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities
of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is
marked out by any singularity. But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian
cities, according as the lot of each of them has been determined, and
following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of
their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly
striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as
sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure
all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native
country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They pass their
days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. (ANF, 1.26-27)

From this it appears that whereas Christians were detached in spirit from
over-absorption in the world, in many ways their way of life was a part of the
surrounding culture. This caused the problem for their closest religious kin.
(2) In Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, 10, Trypho is amazed at the
Christian’s stance in the world:

But this is what we are most at loss about: that you professing to be pious,
and supposing yourselves better than others, are not in any particular sepa-
rated from them, and do not alter your mode of living from the nations, in that
you observe no festivals or sabbaths, and do not have the rite of circumci-
sion. (ANF, 1.199)

It appears the orthodox Jew had no problem with the Christians’ spirit of
detachment from the world, but with the absence of the old distinguishing
marks that set one off from the general culture, such as observance of the
Sabbath laws, regular fasts and prayers, and separation from persons who
were defiled. The question inevitably would be, Why are you Christians so
lax?
The evangelist believed attachment to Jesus brought detachment from
the world (5:28—”he left everything . . . and followed him”). At the same
time, Jesus’ disciples ignored many of the old outer signs of the religiously
devout. This did not mean, however, that inner attachment to Jesus and
Luke 5:12–6:11 69

detachment from the world failed to find outer expression in the disciples’
involvement with the world. Rather Jesus asserts that a new inner religious
reality demands a new lifestyle (5:36-39). The marks of Jesus’ followers will
not be Sabbath observance, fasting and prayers offered, and avoidance of
outcasts, but will be joy like that at a wedding (5:33-35) and an overriding
concern for human need, spiritual (5:29-32) and physical (6:1-11). Such a
way of life has the authority of Jesus behind it.
The apostle Paul captured this spirit when he wrote to the Romans:
“The kingdom of God does not mean food and drink but righteousness and
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (14:17).
Transcending the Times
Luke 6:12-49

This section has three major components: (1) 6:12-16, the choice of the
Twelve; (2) 6:17-19, the transition from the hills where the Twelve are
chosen to the plain where Jesus instructs his disciples; and (3) 6:20-49, the
Sermon on the Plain.
In Luke-Acts the apostles are primarily witnesses who guarantee the
historical continuity and authenticity of the church’s message (Acts 1:21-22):
6:12-16, then, functions to establish an apostolic guarantee for the tradition
that follows (6:20-49). In 6:20-49, Luke is saying, we have Jesus’ instruction
for disciples passed to us by the apostles who were with him (cf. 6:17—”he
came down with them”). Note that the list of the apostles’ names is repeated
in Acts 1:13 and their credentials given in 1:21-22 (they have been with
Jesus from the beginning to the Ascension).
Luke 6:17-19 functions in a twofold way. First, the unit delineates the
audience for what follows—apostles, a crowd of disciples, and a great multi-
tude of people. Second, it reaffirms the identity of the one who will be
delivering the Sermon on the Plain, the Spirit-empowered one (4:18) who
speaks of good news (4:18b) and demonstrates it in the healing of diseased
bodies and spirits (cf. 4:18c, d, e). With people present to hear and those
who will pass on the tradition at hand, the stage is set for the Sermon on the
Plain, which the evangelist says is directed to Jesus’ disciples (6:20), to “those
who hear” (6:27). “This sermon teaches not what must be done to enter the
kingdom of God, but what is expected of one who is already in the
kingdom” (Evans, 107). Although both the Sermon on the Mount in
Matthew and the Sermon on the Plain in Luke are built on four blocks of
similar material in the same relative order (Matt 5:2-12/Luke 6:20-23; Matt
5:38-48/Luke 6:27-36; Matt 7:1-5/Luke 6:37-38, 41-42; Matt 7:15-
27/Luke 6:43-49), the Lukan sermon has a perspective of its own. This point
of view can be discerned through a careful analysis of the arrangement of the
72 Transcending the Times

material in 6:20-49. (The observations on the pattern of 6:20-49 throughout

this section are influenced by Robert Morgenthaler, 1:81-83.)
The Sermon on the Plain falls into three parts determined by the
formulae of introduction: (1) 6:20, “And he lifted up his eyes on his disci-
ples, and said”; (2) 6:27, “But I say to you that hear”; and (3) 6:39, “He also
told them a parable.” The first part, 6:20-26, contains four beatitudes
balanced by four woes. This section offers congratulations and condolences
to two kinds of people. The second part, 6:27-38, focuses on the life of love,
in four thought units: (a) 6:27-28, a four-member unit—love, do good,
bless, pray; (b) 6:29-30, a four-member unit—strikes you, takes away your
cloak, begs from you, takes away your goods—followed by a summary, v. 31;
(c) 6:32-35, a four-member unit: the first three—if you love, if you do good,
if you lend—are balanced by the fourth—but love, do good, lend—and
followed by a summary, v. 36; and (d) 6:37-38a, a four-member unit: two
negatives—judge not, condemn not—balanced by two positives—forgive,
give—followed by a summary, v. 38b. The third part, 6:39-49, is a collection
of four parables: vv. 39-40, blind man; vv. 41-42, speck and log; vv. 43-45,
trees and fruit; vv. 46-49, two houses. It is concerned with principles that
should govern the lives of disciples, such as the proper use of influence. The
contrast between the two types of people (6:46-49) at the end of the Sermon
echoes the contrast (6:20-26) at the beginning. Taken together the opening
and closing contrasts serve as an inclusion around the Sermon as a whole.
Any exposition of the passage (6:20-49) must follow the leads Luke has given
in the pattern of his arrangement of the material.
The first part of the Sermon on the Plain, 6:20-26, contains four beati-
tudes and four corresponding woes. Our understanding of the Lukan intent
depends first on our grasping the functions of beatitudes and woes in antiq-
uity and second on our perception of the meaning of the key terms used
here. (a) Function. The beatitude is a specific genre both in the Greek and
Jewish worlds (e.g., Ps 1:1; Prov 8:34; Dan 12:12; Tob 13:14; Pss. of Sol.
4:23; 17:44; 18:6). Early Christians found it useful (Rom 14:22; Matt 5:3-
12; John 20:29; Rev 14:13; 16:15; 22:7). Here in Luke 6 its form consists of
makarios (blessed) followed by who is blessed and why. The beatitude does
not confer a blessing; rather it extols the good fortune accruing to someone
for some particular reason. It is not an exhortation to be or to do something;
rather it exalts or approves a person on the basis of some good fortune. It
may be paraphrased, “Congratulations to __________ because of
__________.” It celebrates someone’s success.
The beatitudes in the NT are often eschatological: they see the present
in the light of the ultimate future. They do not make their judgments on the
Luke 6:12-49 73

basis of the appearance of things in the here and now, by present outward
success. Instead, the one uttering the beatitude does so from a position
within the councils of God and with an awareness of the ultimate outcome
of history (as does a prophet, e.g., Jer 23:18, 21-22). The content of the
beatitude may be in stark contrast with the painful reality of the present.
Paradox is prominent. Congratulations are in order, no matter what the
appearances, however, because of what will ultimately be. If the present is
radically out of keeping with what will be, the beatitude may signal the
reversal of all human values (1:51-53).
The woe is also a set genre in the OT (Isa 5:8-23; 33:1; Amos 5:18; 6:1;
Hab 2:6-19), functioning as an expression of pity for those who stand under
divine judgment. It bemoans the sad plight of the person(s) in question.
Used in an eschatological context, a woe laments the plight of the person
designated, whatever appearances are in the present, because of what will
ultimately be.
Collections of beatitudes occur (e.g., Sir 25:7-10) and a combination of
woes with blessings is not uncommon (e.g., Sir 10:16-17; Tob 13:12; 1
Enoch 99; 2 Enoch 52). The functions of collections and combinations are
the same as those of individual beatitudes and woes. In Luke 6:20-26, there-
fore, the evangelist is working with a form of communication characteristic
of his milieu. In this context both beatitudes and woes are eschatological in
cast. They offer congratulations and condolences to people in the present on
the basis of what will ultimately be. They celebrate that someone’s life is a
success or lament that it is a failure because it conforms or does not conform
to what life will be like in the New Age.
(b) Meaning of key terms. The crux of the matter is whether or not
“poor,” “hunger,” and “weep” and their counterparts “rich,” “full,” and
“laugh,” are to be understood sociologically or religiously. It must be the
latter because the gospel canonizes no sociological state (cf. Lev 19:15; Sir
35:15-17). At the same time the religious meaning of the terms often derived
from an earlier sociological meaning.
“Congratulations to you poor.” The vocabulary of poverty that at first
had merely a sociological significance, over the centuries in Israel’s history
took on a spiritual meaning. In the history of Israel the economically poor
observed the spirit of Israel’s religion more faithfully than did the affluent
elite. They came to be the model of the faithful worshipers: Isaiah 29:18-19
links the poor and the meek; in Isaiah 61:1 the Massoretic text’s “preach
good tidings to the meek” is rendered “to preach to the poor” by the LXX; at
Qumran the “poor” were the ones counting worldly goods as nothing (cf.
4QPPs37, 1:8f.; 1 QH 5:13f.), the devout (cf. War Scroll); the Psalms of
74 Transcending the Times

Solomon 10:7 mention the pious and the poor in synonymous parallelism
(cf. also 5:2, 11; 15:1; 18:2). By the time of Jesus, in a Jewish context, the
poor person had become the type of one who is pleasing to God, that is, one
who recognizes his total dependence upon God. It was this connotation
Matthew aimed to make explicit by his addition of “in spirit” (5:3). That
Luke also intended “poor” to carry primarily a religious connotation may be
seen from 1:51-53, where in parallelism the “proud and mighty” are equated
with the “rich” (Tuckett, 92; Tiede, 141-42; contra Culpepper, 143-45;
Evans, 108). At the same time the evangelist recognized the “poor” reli-
giously (the powerless who are totally dependent on God) to be oftentimes
“poor” economically (cf. 1:45; 2:24). Correspondingly, Luke’s lament over
the plight of the rich in 6:24, “O the tragedy of you rich people,” refers in
the first instance to a religious situation. Religiously, the rich are those who
trust in their riches (cf. 1 Enoch 94:8-9: “Woe to you, you rich, for you have
trusted in your riches.”) and ignore God and neighbor (cf. Luke 12:16-21;
16:19-25). For Luke “the problem is not possessions as such, but the failure
to use them properly. Those who do not use even what little they have, like
the pathetic servant who hid the money he was given by his master (Luke
19:20-27) are as blameworthy as those who use what they have for selfish
purposes, without thought for others” (Juel, 35). Part of the good news the
anointed servant preaches to the poor (Luke 4:18) is that those who are
powerless and trust wholly in God are to be celebrated as the successful;
those who live with the illusion they are self-sufficient are to be lamented as
failures. That disciples had difficulty seeing life from this angle is evidenced
by the epistle of James near the time of Luke.
“Congratulations to you that hunger now.” Again, the term “hunger”
has both physical and spiritual connotations in the Jewish traditions. In
passages like Psalms 132:15; 146:7; Ezekiel 34:29, the hunger is physical; in
Isaiah 55:1-2; Amos 8:11; Sirach 24:21, hunger means also a desire for spir-
itual satisfaction; in Psalm 107:9 and Isaiah 49:10, the meaning may be
either or both. It was the religious connotation that Matthew made explicit
by adding “for righteousness” (5:6). That Luke intended the spiritual conno-
tation to be dominant may be seen from 1:51-53 where the hungry are
paralleled to the lowly as opposed to the proud. It is those who are unsatis-
fied spiritually, the hungry who want more than they have, who are to be
celebrated. By analogy the lament of 6:25 over the “full” must refer to those
who are spiritually satisfied, to those unaware that “man shall not live by
bread alone” (4:4). The self-sufficient who are spiritually satisfied are to be
pitied: “O the tragedy of you that are full.”
Luke 6:12-49 75

“Congratulations to you who weep.” This is a term used frequently in

Luke to express mourning and sorrow of all kinds. Doubtless the fallen struc-
tures of life that oppress the defenseless ones are the implied cause of anguish
(cf. Ps 126:2, 5-6; Isa 60:2; 61:3; 66:10; 65:16-19; 35:10). “O the tragedy of
you that laugh now.” The verb translated “laugh” in 6:25b is used in the
LXX of an evil kind of laughter that looks down on the fate of enemies and
is in danger of becoming boastful and self-satisfied. This nuance may be
present here. If so, the lament is over those who are self-satisfied and indif-
ferent to the needs of others (Marshall, 256). Those who suffer under the
present structures are to be celebrated; those who revel in those structures are
to be pitied.
“Congratulations to those of you who are persecuted.” Persecution on
account of the Son of Man is to be celebrated. Thereby one joins the goodly
company of the prophets who have previously suffered the same fate. It is
good company to join. “O the tragedy of you who are popular.” To be well
spoken of by all in a world that rejects the Son of Man and his followers is
lamentable because it places one in the company of the false prophets of old.
It is tragic to be in such company. Here one cannot help but hear echoes of
Christian trials such as those in Acts 6–7. Note the acting out of the injunc-
tion of Luke 6:23 in Acts 5:41.
Why are the poor (powerless), whose only hope is in God, blessed? It is
because, trusting only in God, they belong to the sphere of God’s rule (v.
20b). Why, when such people hunger and weep and are persecuted, are they
to be congratulated? It is because in God’s ultimate victory they will be
favored by the structures of the New Age. The type of persons described in
6:20-23 is to be extolled because of what they have now—God himself—
and because of what they will ultimately have—support from the structures
of life in the kingdom of God. The type of persons described in the woes is
to be pitied because, trusting only in what now is, they have nothing more
for which to hope (v. 24b). Like the bad company they keep (6:26—false
prophets), they will come up short when God settles the final account (1:51-
53).
If the religious interpretation advocated in this commentary is accepted
instead of a sociological one, what happens to the option for the poor? “The
option for the poor derives . . . from the . . . biblical theme of God’s judg-
ment of covenant fidelity by the criterion of the community’s treatment of its
neediest members and from Jesus’ concerted choice to minister to the outcast
and most vulnerable” (Hamm 1990, 81, n.13). The second part of the
Sermon on the Plain, 6:27-38, contains four thought units (6:27-28, 29-31,
32-36, 37-38) devoted to an attempt by Jesus to break the pattern of reci-
76 Transcending the Times

procity in human relations among his disciples. The two initial units belong
together in describing love in terms of nonviolence.
The first (6:27-28) establishes a principle: do not reciprocate by
returning evil for evil—”Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” This is a principle
also found in Romans 12:14-21 and in 1 Peter 2:18-25 as an integral part of
the early church’s instructions for Christian living. The principle of
love/prayer for enemies is, moreover, demonstrated at least four times in
Luke-Acts (Luke 10:29-37; 23:34; Acts 7:60; 16:27ff.). The second unit
(6:29-31) gives four examples of what it would mean not to return evil for
evil (6:29-30) and then concludes with the Golden Rule (6:31). The four
examples (strikes, takes away, begs, takes away) of nonviolence are arranged
in such a way as to become illustrations of the love of the enemy mentioned
in v. 27. Here we meet Jesus’ use of the “focal instance” (Tannehill 1980,
142-44). In a focal instance the situation described is so specific it does not
provide a very useful general rule when confined to its literal sense. The
specificity is intended to shock the hearers with an extreme command, at
striking variance with the way people usually behave in such a situation, to
lead the hearer to think beyond the literal meaning of the words and to
reflect on the whole pattern of behavior that dominates life. The specific
command is not a rule of behavior that can be followed mechanically but is
intended to stimulate the imagination to draw out the implications for life as
a whole. If no one has struck me on the cheek or taken away my coat, what
would a nonviolent response to the violence I experience mean? When the
moral imagination is awakened in this way, the words have had their desired
effect. Love of the enemy means not returning evil for evil but responding to
violence by creative nonviolence. Although the golden rule is not distinctly
Christian (Homer, Odyssey 5.188-89; Isocrates, Nicokles 49.1; Seneca, On
Benefits 2.1.1; Tobit 4:15; Philo [in Eusebius, Preparation of the Gospel 8.7];
2 Enoch 61:1; Test Naphtali 1, passim), it is used here (v. 31) by the evange-
list to say one’s response to evil treatment should be motivated not by how
one is treated but by how one wants to be treated. If one acts as one wants to
be treated, one will not be involved in returning evil for evil.
If we are to judge from the narrative in Acts, the evangelist would regard
Stephen’s martyrdom (7:54-60) as an example of a situation where a disciple
prayed for those who abused him; Paul’s response to the Philippian jailer
(16:28ff.) would be an example of a Christian’s doing good to one who was,
on the surface of things, an enemy. It should be noted, however, that Luke
apparently had no qualms about advocating the use of legal resources for
one’s defense against non-Christians when these were available (16:37-39;
Luke 6:12-49 77

22:25-29; 25:10-11). He gives no indication, however, in Acts, that he

approved of one Christian’s using the law for redress of grievance against
another Christian. In this he may have agreed with Paul (1 Cor 6:1-11).
The last two units (6:32-36, 37-38) in the second section of the Sermon
on the Plain also belong together in describing love in terms of generosity.
The principle is set forth: do not show good will only to reciprocate or just
to those who can reciprocate.
In the Hellenistic age of the Mediterranean world the relation between a
benefactor and a beneficiary consisted of reciprocal obligations composed of
the gratitude of the recipient to the benefactor and a resulting obligation of
the benefactor to the beneficiary who had expressed gratitude. The ground
rules were as follows: A person showed some kindness to another. In doing
this, repayment would be expected and the benefaction would be viewed as
a loan. That a response of gratitude must be forthcoming influenced one’s
choice of the recipient of benevolence. A benefactor would help not the poor
but the well-to-do because one could expect the recompense of thanksgiving
from them. The expression of gratitude that was forthcoming then placed a
valid claim for further benefits on the original benefactor (Mott).
The unit 6:32-36 asks three questions (“If you . . ., what credit is that to
you? For even sinners . . . .”), then with present imperatives says, “But habit-
ually love your enemies, and habitually do good, and habitually lend
expecting nothing in return . . . .” Such generosity transcends the reciprocity
principle. The motive for one’s transcending that system of doing good is
found in 6:35b-36. One shows good will not to reciprocate only and not just
to those who can reciprocate because one is acting as the heavenly Father
acts. He is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. One is to be merciful as he
is merciful.
The last unit (6:37-38) gives four examples of showing kindness even to
the undeserving and then concludes with another motivation for such
behavior: “Judge not, condemn not, forgive, give.” Why? “For the measure
you give will be the measure you get back” (v. 38b). If we deny mercy to
another we short-circuit God’s mercy to us (cf. Matt 18:23-35; 2 Cor 9:6-
15).
Luke 6:27-38, then, is a two-pronged attack on reciprocity as a
governing principle in human relationships. On the one hand, people should
not return evil for evil but rather respond as they would want to be treated:
in Luke’s mind this means nonviolence in return for violence. On the other
hand, people must not restrict their good deeds either to others who have
been good to them or to those who can and will be good in return. God
shows good will to all and gives abundantly to disciples as they give to
78 Transcending the Times

others: for Luke this means generosity. A life lived by the principle of reci-
procity is too restrictive to express the love to which Jesus has called his
disciples.
The call to respond not in kind but out of kind is problematic. How is it
possible to respond nonviolently to violence done to us? How is it possible to
be generous with those who reject us? Granted the legitimacy of the prin-
ciple—love your enemies—what resources make it possible? If there are no
such resources, what good does it do to lay such a heavy burden on disciples’
backs? The narrative gives a clue as to how the evangelist would answer these
questions. Jesus’ disciples before Pentecost tended to respond in kind (e.g.,
9:52-54; 22:49-50); afterward they rejoiced “that they were counted worthy
to suffer dishonor for the name” (Acts 5:41). Only God’s own powerful pres-
ence can enable a person to respond other than in kind; only Pentecost
makes Jesus’ words anything other than an impossible ideal.
The third and final part of the Sermon on the Plain, 6:39-49, consists of
four parables (6:39-40, 41-42, 43-45, 46-49). Just as in 15:3, where the
evangelist says Jesus told a parable (singular) and followed the statement with
three parables in the remainder of the chapter, so the singular is followed
here by four stories (cf. 5:36-38). That he introduces a series with the
singular indicates the unity of the parables that follow, insofar as the evange-
list is concerned. In chapter 15 Luke told three stories about the lost, its
recovery, and the resulting joy. Here the evangelist, in vv. 39-45, is especially
concerned with the matter of Christian influence.
Influence is an issue about which Luke speaks elsewhere. In 8:16 he
visualizes a Roman-style house in which the lamp is placed in the vestibule
to furnish light for those who enter (contrast Matt 5:15 where a one-room
Palestinian house illuminated by the lamp is assumed). The point, in the
Lukan context, is that those who have made a right response to the word of
God and who belong to the family of God are to be light for those who are
entering God’s household. The character of those who are already disciples is
to illumine the way of the new converts (Carlston, 91). Acts reflects the same
idea. In 20:17-35 Luke reports a farewell speech of Paul to the Ephesian
elders in which Paul says his behavior was a guide to them about the
Christian way (vv. 33-35a). In the NT period new Christians learned the
meaning of the Christian way from observation of those who were already
Jesus’ followers. This is why Paul could speak about his converts’ imitating
him (1 Cor 4:15-17; 11:1; Phil 3:17; 2 Thess 3:7). Christian influence was a
matter about which the third evangelist was concerned.
The place of 6:39-45 in the perspective about influence is clarified when
we notice the pattern of section. It is ABA’. The central unit (B—vv. 41-42)
Luke 6:12-49 79

speaks of the need for the guide to be self-critical and personally transformed
before undertaking the tasks of the admonition to and transformation of a
fellow disciple. This does not mean that since every disciple is a sinner “he
should live and let live and be blind to moral imperfections about him. Such
a stance would give the green light to evil and spell the end of mutual admo-
nition in the community” (Danker, 89). Rather the point is that any effort at
improvement of others without taking stock of oneself is ridiculous.
The other two components (A—vv. 39-40; A’—vv. 43-45) function as
motivations for the central concern for personal transformation before
undertaking to assist others. In vv. 39-40 the motive is that since the pupil
can be no better than his teacher, the teacher must not be blind. In order to
get the desired result—improvement in the life of the other—one must
embody the newness of the Christian way. Verses 43-45 also speak of moti-
vation (cf., gar, “for” in v. 43). Personal transformation in the selfhood of the
teacher is essential because what one does and says is only an overflow from
who one is. The evangelist is saying the only way those who are already disci-
ples can function as lights in the vestibule of the household of God (8:16) is
if their own personal transformation is more basic to them than their role of
instructing others (cf. Jas 3).
The final parable (6:46-49) serves both as the end of section three (6:39-
49) and as the conclusion of the entirety of the Sermon on the Plain. Its
function (cf. Ezek 13:10-16; Aboth R. Nathan 24) is exhortation. Like James
1:21-25 it is concerned with a disciple’s doing what has been heard (cf. Matt
7:21-23; John 13:17; 1 John 2:17). Those who do what they hear are stable
in times of crisis (Luke 8:15; Ps 1); not so those who are hearers only (Luke
8:14). The gospel, just as the epistle of James, is concerned that disciples not
regard the essence of Christianity as a belief and a confession (you call me,
“Lord, Lord”) separable from a walk in the world (and not do what I tell
you). When the whole self responds totally to the one Lord, the result is an
indissoluble union between confession and walk.
Jesus and Other Religious Traditions
Luke 7:1-10, 11-17

Luke 7:1-10 (Matt 8:5-13) and 7:11-17 (only in Luke) belong together with
6:20ff. as a prelude to 7:18-23. This is made clear by an examination of
several details in 7:18-23. (1) 7:18 (different from Matt 11:12) says the disci-
ples of John told him of “all these things.” At first reading one would think
“all these things” referred to one or both of the miracles in 7:1-10, 11-17. (2)
Although 7:21 (not in Matthew) says Jesus worked miracles before John’s
disciples, the specific works of 7:21 are not exactly those of 7:22 (same as
Matt 11:5). The list of mighty works at 7:22 corresponds with those in
Isaiah 35:5; 61:1, except the Isaiah passages do not refer to lepers being
cleansed or to the dead being raised. These two items probably echo the
Elijah-Elisha traditions (cf. Luke 4:25-27 with the OT parallels). It is signif-
icant that a tradition unique to Luke, 7:11-17, the raising of a dead man,
precedes the story of 7:18-23, which refers in v. 22 to raising the dead. (3) In
7:22, after the references to the mighty works, there is “the poor have good
news preached to them.” This, of course, was not only what Jesus had
announced as his aim (4:18) but what he had explicitly done in 6:20:
“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” This would seem to
say that “all these things” of 7:18 would have been understood by the evan-
gelist to include 6:20ff., as well as 7:1-17; that is, what Jesus said as well as
what he did.
On what basis should John the Baptist believe? From Luke’s perspective
the Baptist is offered miracles and the proclamation of good news to the
poor, which are prophesied in Scripture as events of the last days. The data
by which John’s response is evoked consist of what his disciples had seen and
heard (7:22; cf. 1 John 1:3).
This pattern (an eschatological message accompanied by signs and
wonders that evoke a response to Jesus) is that which characterizes the Acts
of the Apostles (cf. 2; 3–4; 8; 10; 13; 16). From the evangelist’s point of
82 Jesus and Other Religious Traditions

view, it is the confrontation with both things seen and things heard that truly
raises the issue of Jesus’ identity.
Within the larger context the evangelist is especially interested in the
story in Luke 7:1-10 where the centurion stands as a type of a believing
Gentile. Two strands of evidence combine to make this clear. First, although
7:1-10 recounts the same basic tradition found in Matthew 8:5-13 (cf. John
4:46-54), the Lukan form of the healing is expanded by vv. 3-6. Luke’s
centurion deals with Jesus, not directly as in Matthew 8:5-7, but indirectly
through two embassies, the first consisting of elders of the Jews and the
second of friends. The Jewish embassy speaks to Jesus of the centurion’s
meritoriousness: “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our
nation, and he built us our synagogue” (7:4-5). Second, this distinctively
Lukan section is echoed in Acts 10:1-2: “At Caesarea there was a man named
Cornelius, a centurion . . . , a devout man who feared God with all his
household, gave alms liberally to the people, and prayed constantly to God.”
In the overall architectonic scheme of Luke-Acts, in which the events of Acts
parallel those in the gospel in content and sequence, these two passages
correspond. The evangelist has thereby tied these two episodes together so
7:1-10 functions as a foreshadowing of the conversion of the Gentiles. In
other words, the story of the centurion in 7:1-10 gives dominical precedent
for the mission to the Gentiles in the narrative of Acts. More precisely, 7:1-
10 gives dominical precedent for Peter’s actions in Acts 10, just as Luke
8:26-39 gives a warrant for Paul’s move outside the bounds of Jewish terri-
tory in Acts 13–28. The centurion in 7:1-10 is a type of the believing
Gentile in Jewish territory.
The centurion is, moreover, an example of one who has faith in Jesus
without having seen him: he deals with Jesus not directly but through two
embassies. He represents the Gentiles who “without having seen him . . .
love him” (1 Pet 1:8). John reflects the same concern, both in the story of the
Greeks who approach Jesus only through the disciples (12:20ff.) and in the
beatitude near the end of the gospel: “Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet believe” (20:29).
When the elders of the Jews cite the centurion’s religious credentials to
Jesus and proclaim him worthy (vv. 4-5), we meet another Lukan theme:
attitudes toward other religious traditions. At least three points on a spec-
trum need to be noted. (1) Luke believes Jesus fulfills Judaism. (2) He thinks
Jesus judges much of pagan religion. (a) Christianity is entirely opposed to
magic; that is, the use of spiritual power for personal gain (Acts 8:9ff.;
13:6ff.; 19:19). (b) Christianity undermines pagan religion motivated by
financial greed (Acts 19:23ff.). (c) Christianity calls for repentance from
Luke 7:1-10, 11-17 83

those who worship the creation rather than the Creator (Acts 17:22ff.;
14:8ff.). (3) The evangelist also believes Jesus completes pagan piety that
follows the light it has, worshiping the Creator instead of the creation and
engaging in ethical behavior. This posture is stated most explicitly in the
speech attributed to Peter in Acts 10:34-35: “Truly I perceive that God
shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and does
what is right is acceptable to him.” It is this third point that is foreshadowed
in Luke 7:1-10. It raises the question of whether or not Luke had either a
natural theology (that is, whether one could infer from either the world or
from human nature that God is) or a belief in a general revelation (that is,
God is at work in all times and places disclosing himself through the world
and in every person’s depths).
Clarification of Lukan thought on this point depends on a comparison
with that of Hellenistic Judaism, Paul, and Justin Martyr. (1) Ancient
Judaism had a natural theology of sorts. The Wisdom of Solomon asserts
(13:1-9) there is a possibility of an inference being made from the greatness
and beauty of created things to God as their Creator (v. 5); however, the
Gentiles have not made this inference (v. 1). Josephus (Antiquities 1.7.1
§154-57) gives another tradition (e.g., Genesis Rabbah 38:13) about
Abraham’s theistic inference from nature, succeeding where the Gentiles had
failed. Philo’s The Migration of Abraham, 35, also refers to the possibility of a
theistic inference being made from the order or rule seen within the human
being. In certain circles of ancient Judaism there was a natural theology that
held that any human being could, by inference, reason from either nature or
the human self to God—though, in fact, some did and some did not.
The author of Luke-Acts has something in common with Hellenistic
Judaism. In Acts 14:17, in a speech attributed to Paul and Barnabas in
Lystra, we hear that God “did not leave himself without witness, for he did
good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, satisfying your
hearts with food and gladness.” There are signs in the natural order that
witness to God. Whether or not they have been seen and acknowledged is
not mentioned explicitly. The context of the speech, however, vv. 12, 13, 18,
seems to indicate that these Gentiles have not attained a knowledge of God.
Acts 17:22-31, a speech attributed to Paul, says God the creator made
human beings “that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel
after him and find him” (17:27). Verses 29, 30a, 23, however, seem to indi-
cate that, rather than finding the Creator, the Gentiles have worshiped the
creation instead. They did not attain a knowledge of God. These two
passages seem very much like Wisdom 13:1-9. The possibility of a natural
knowledge of God is there but it has not been actualized.
84 Jesus and Other Religious Traditions

The distinctiveness of Acts 10 (and possibly Luke 7:1-10) is that here we

find a Gentile who feared God (v. 2). Cornelius had apparently realized the
possibility. It is of those Gentiles who had made the correct inference that
Peter speaks in Acts 10:34-35.
This emphasis, however, must be set alongside Acts 4:12 if we are to
understand the evangelist correctly. In 4:12 Peter says, “And there is salvation
in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by
which we must be saved.” So in the Cornelius episode of Acts 10, the
Gentile’s correct inference via natural theology must be completed by Peter’s
preaching of Jesus and by the Holy Spirit’s falling on Cornelius and his
household as a sign of their response in faith. In the theology of Luke-Acts,
Jesus is the completion of a correct response made to the witness of God
given in the natural order. When in Luke 7:1-10 the centurion is
pronounced worthy by the Jews, he is, as noted above, a foreshadowing of
the worthy centurion Cornelius of Acts 10 who, in turn, symbolizes a whole
class of people in Luke’s own time. The evangelist is thinking of virtuous and
godly pagans whose following of the light they have has been the preparation
for Christ. For such people Christ is the completion of their developing rela-
tion to God.
(2) A comparison of Lukan thought with that of Paul is also helpful in
clarifying the perspective of Luke-Acts on this matter. In Romans 1:19 the
second part of the verse clarifies the first: “For God has manifested it to
them” (v. 19b) shows that the apostle is thinking in terms of a general revela-
tion rather than a natural theology. The media of the revelation are “the
things made”; the time of the revelation is “from the creation of the world”;
and the content of the revelation is “his eternal power and deity” (1:20). In
Romans 1:21 Paul indicates the revelation was actualized, at least to the
degree that made humans responsible: “although they knew God they did
not honor him as God or give thanks to him.” There are some significant
differences, then, between the views of Paul and the third evangelist on the
matter of the Gentiles’ knowledge of God. Luke, like Hellenistic Judaism,
talks about a natural theology instead of a general revelation, about Gentiles
who do not worship the creation but acknowledge the Creator.
(3) Justin Martyr forms a final point of comparison. This church father
of the first half of the second century believed in a general revelation. He
identified the preexistent Son of God with the reason (of the Stoics) of
whom the whole human race partakes. There is, then, in Justin’s thought, a
general revelation to all people, though some distort or pervert it. If anyone
lives according to reason, however, that person is a Christian, even if usually
thought to be an atheist, as for example, Socrates (Apology 1, 46.1-4). Yet the
Luke 7:1-10, 11-17 85

general revelation is imperfect and needs to be completed by the special reve-

lation in the incarnation (Apology 11, 13). Here, as in Paul, the emphasis is
on a general revelation. Unlike Paul, Justin thinks the revelation comes not
by means of the created order but through the cosmic Christ who enlightens
every person. Like the author of Luke-Acts and Paul, Justin thinks God’s act
in Jesus is necessary to do something left undone without it (cf. also Clement
of Alexandria, Stromateis 6).
In their estimation of the religious potential of pagans, Paul is the most
pessimistic. There is just enough actualization of general revelation to make
all people responsible for their sin. Justin is the most optimistic. Some follow
the general revelation, live according to reason, and, like Socrates, can be
regarded as Christians even though they live apart from special revelation.
Luke stands between these two, in league with Hellenistic Judaism, assessing
the possibilities of the pagan religious response to God neither totally posi-
tively nor totally negatively, but nuanced. For some pagan religion Jesus is
exclusively judge; for other pagan piety Jesus is the completion of the path
already taken on the basis of natural theology. Luke 7 and Acts 10 give the
evangelist’s estimate of the latter position.
How does the evangelist understand the centurion’s piety to be
completed by Jesus? Though the Jewish elders deem the centurion “worthy”
(v. 4), the second embassy composed of friends of the Gentile makes clear
that the man considered himself unworthy (v. 6). After the confession of his
unworthiness, he expresses his absolute trust in Jesus’ authoritative word:
“Look,” he says, “I know from personal experience what the word of a
person in authority will do. A word from my superiors makes me act, just as
a word from me causes my subordinates to obey. So you just say the word
and my servant will be healed” (7:7-8). That Jesus does in fact have authority
over the created order comes clear in Luke’s narrative in 8:22-25. Here Jesus’
response is, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith” (7:9).
Whereas the elders of the Jews had pointed to the good works of the centu-
rion, Jesus praised his faith. The story, thereby, presents the centurion as a
type of pious Gentile whose relation to God is completed by a confession of
his unworthiness before Jesus and by placing his faith in Jesus’ authority.
Comparison of 7:1-10 and 5:1-11 shows that Peter, a Jew, and this
Gentile come to Jesus in the same way: (a) confession of sin or unworthiness
(5:8; 7:6), and (b) trust in Jesus’ authority (5:5, 11; 7:7-8). The same theme
is put into the mouth of Peter in his speech at the Jerusalem Council (Acts
15), where he says God “made no distinction between us and them, but
cleansed their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9). Also he says, “We believe we shall
be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will” (15:11). Paul
86 Jesus and Other Religious Traditions

had made the point earlier in Galatians 2:15-16. Whether it is a Jew whose
tradition is fulfilled or a pagan whose appropriate response to the light avail-
able is completed, the way to Jesus involves some discontinuity with the past
(hence the sense of unworthiness or sin) and a submission to a new authority
(the lordship of Jesus).
For Luke, Jesus is the ultimate revelation toward which all others point.
Whether Jesus is related to other religious traditions primarily as judge or
primarily as the fulfillment or completion depends upon the degree of
discontinuity or continuity between the other traditions and the revelation
in Jesus. Even those religious traditions with the greatest continuity to Jesus
still stand before him “unworthy” and in need of submission to his ultimate
authority.
Confirmed Forgiveness
Luke 7:36-50, 18-35

Luke 7:36-50 is a story with similarities to that of Jesus’ anointing by a

woman in Bethany found in Matthew 26:6-13 // Mark 14:3-9 // John 12:1-
8. In Matthew and Mark it is an unnamed woman, at Bethany in the house
of Simon the leper, who anoints Jesus’ head during the last week of Jesus’ life.
In the fourth gospel, it is Mary, at Bethany in the house of Mary, Martha,
and Lazarus, who anoints Jesus’ feet and wipes them with her hair at the
beginning of the last week of Jesus’ life. Here in Luke it is an unnamed
woman, in Galilee in the house of Simon the Pharisee, who washes Jesus’ feet
with her tears and dries them with her hair, who kisses his feet and anoints
them, early in the public ministry. The meaning of this distinctive Lukan
form of the tradition may be grasped if we concentrate on the context and
on the inner organization of the unit.
The context shows that the story in 7:36-50 functions as an illustration
of certain issues delineated in vv. 29-35. Immediately preceding 7:36-50 is a
large unit of material held together by the focus on John the Baptist in its
several parts (7:18-23, 24-28, 29-30, 31-35), the last two parts being linked
by a further affinity, a reference to people justifying God: “all the people and
the tax collectors justified God” (v. 29); “wisdom is justified by all her chil-
dren” (v. 35—”Wisdom” is a periphrasis for God or for the boul∑ tou theou
[purpose of God]. At first sight this use of the verb “to justify” seems strange
but Jewish usage shows it is not. In the Psalms of Solomon, dikaioun (to
justify) does not refer to a human’s justification but rather refers to God.
God’s people justify him; that is, they vindicate the sentence, judgments, and
name of God, accepting and acknowledging them to be righteous (2:16; 3:3;
4:9; 8:7, 27). The same usage is found in Psalm 51:4: “thou art justified in
thy sentence and blameless in thy judgment” (cf. also 2 Esdr 10:16; b.
Berakoth 19a). It is this same usage we encounter in Romans 3:4 that cites
Psalm 51:4, and in 1 Timothy 3:16. Both Luke 7:29 (cf. Matt 21:32) and
7:35 (// Matt 11:19) use the verb dikaioun in this way. Here the verb “justi-
88 Confirmed Forgiveness

fied” should be paraphrased “demonstrated or acknowledged to be right-

eous” (G. Schrenk, 2:213-15).
In both 7:29 and 7:35, for God to be justified means for him to be
acknowledged to be right in the positions taken in the ministries of John and
Jesus. It amounts to the acknowledgment of the divine authority of the
careers of the Baptist and Mary’s son and the acceptance of God’s will for
one’s life as stated by those two (cf. v. 30). Luke 7:29 says the tax collectors
justified God, that is, they accepted the will of God set forth by his servant
John, but the Pharisees did not. Luke 7:35 says God’s children are those who
justify him, that is, accept God’s purpose for their lives. Since the will of God
set forth in John’s ministry was summed up in his “baptism of repentance for
the forgiveness of sins” (3:3), for the evangelist to say the Pharisees rejected
God’s purpose for them is to say they did not repent and did not receive
God’s forgiveness. Since Jesus came to call sinners to repentance (5:32), to
reject him was to miss the acceptance of God that Jesus’ presence mediated
(5:17-26, 27-32). To justify God was to acknowledge the rightness of his call
in John and Jesus and to repent and be forgiven: This the people and the tax
collectors did; this the Pharisees and the lawyers did not.
The Pharisee in 7:36 is to be understood as partaking of the character of
the Pharisees in 7:29-30. The woman in vv. 37ff., like the tax collectors, had
acknowledged God’s verdict on her and had received her forgiveness from
God. The Pharisee did not accept God’s verdict on him and had not received
forgiveness in any significant way. The story in 7:36-50, then, is an illustra-
tion of those who justified God and of those who did not. In the context it is
the overt sinners (the people and tax collectors) who acknowledge the right-
ness of God’s verdict about them stated in the preaching of John and Jesus,
repent, and receive forgiveness. The covert sinners (Pharisees and lawyers) do
not accept God’s will for them, do not repent, and do not receive divine
forgiveness. In the illustrative story, “it was a sin of the flesh [Jesus] forgave,
a sin of the spirit he reproved” (Luther; so Bainton, 49). In Luke’s view,
everyone, those with covert sins of the spirit as well as those with overt sins
of the flesh, stands in need of forgiveness. Luke 7:36-50 tells a story of one
who received divine pardon and one who did not.
There are at least two crucial patterns of organization in 7:36-50.
Overall the unit falls into a chiastic pattern. After the introductory statement
in 7:36 that serves to locate the events at mealtime in a Pharisee’s house, the
story has an ABB’A’ pattern.
Luke 7:36-50, 18-35 89

A The woman’s actions toward Jesus: a display of unusual affection

(7:37-38)
B The Pharisee’s negative judgment of Jesus (7:39)
B’ Jesus’ response to Simon’s appraisal (7:40-47)
A’ Jesus’ response to the woman (7:48, 50)

A and A’ are action oriented. They focus on the woman’s display of affection
toward Jesus and on Jesus’ confirmation of her forgiveness (v. 48). B and B’
involve explanations to two questions: first, why is the woman known to be
forgiven by her display of affection and second, how can Jesus pronounce the
confirmation of her forgiveness? These questions will shape the discussion of
the passage that follows.
In the East the door of the dining room was left open so the uninvited
could pass in and out during the festivities. They were allowed to take seats
by the wall, listening to the conversation between the host and guests. When
Jesus sat at table with Simon the Pharisee, a woman of the city entered.
Instead of sitting by the wall and listening, she lavished her affection on
Jesus: (a) she wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her
head; (b) she kissed his feet; and (c) she anointed his feet with ointment (vv.
37-38). That Jesus permitted the act evoked a negative response from his
host (v. 39).
Verses 39-47 (B and B’) comprise what has been called a “Socratic inter-
rogation” and consist of four component parts: (a) question by the opponent
(v. 39); (b) counter-question (v. 42b); (c) forced answer from the opponent
(v. 43); and (d) refutation of the opponent on the basis of his forced answer
(v. 47). Originating in Hellenistic rhetoric, this form was used by both Jews
and Christians in organizing their materials (Ellis, 121).
(a) The Pharisee’s unspoken question in 7:39 is cast in the form of an
unreal condition in present time; that is, both clauses are regarded as untrue.
Jesus, it is assumed, does not know the woman. He, therefore, cannot be a
prophet. Note that the story uses this denial by Simon to affirm that Jesus is
indeed a prophet; he discerns what the Pharisee is thinking and tells a
parable (vv. 41-42a) that ends with (b) a counter-question: “Now which of
them will love him more?” (v. 42b). (c) Simon’s answer is forced: “The one, I
suppose, to whom he forgave more” (v. 43a). (d) Jesus agrees (v. 43b) and
draws an inference (vv. 44-47): “Although, Simon, you did not act discour-
teously but were correct enough as a host, you did not perform any special
acts of hospitality. This woman, however, has lavished affection on me. Why
would she do that?” Jesus answers his own question in v. 47.
90 Confirmed Forgiveness

There are two possible ways of reading v. 47. (1) “Because of her
conduct her many sins have been forgiven.” Here the sinful woman’s love is
understood as the cause of her forgiveness. (2) “Her many sins have been
forgiven, as is evidenced by her conduct.” Here the woman’s love is viewed as
the evidence of her forgiveness. The second reading is linguistically possible
(e.g., 1:22; 6:21) and is demanded by the context. The New English Bible’s
reading is to the point: “And so, I tell you, her great love proves that her
many sins have been forgiven; where little has been forgiven, little love is
shown.” Why is the woman known to be forgiven? The answer is that her
display of affection is evidence of it.
After the evangelist tells of Jesus’ acts on behalf of needy people, whether
physical or spiritual, he often relates the responses he deems appropriate.
Sometimes the response is horizontal, an ethical one (e.g., 19:8—”Behold,
Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone
of anything, I restore it fourfold.”). At other times, the response is vertical,
directed not toward other human beings but toward God (e.g., glorified
God—5:25-26; 7:16; praised God, 17:18) or, as in the story here, toward
Jesus. The evangelist sees the appropriateness of both horizontal (ethical) and
vertical (worship) responses to God’s forgiveness and healing. In 7:36-50 the
emphasis is on lavish affection shown to Jesus as a sign of one’s prior salva-
tion (v. 50), and the absence of that display is regarded as evidence of the
lack of an appropriation of forgiveness. Affection and praise lavished on Jesus
is an authentic and appropriate evidence of divine forgiveness. Their absence
is evidence of unappropriated redemption. Seeing the woman’s outburst of
love, Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven” (v. 48).
The question of those at table with Jesus shapes the next phase of the
discussion: “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” (v. 49) How is it that Jesus
can pronounce confirmation of the woman’s forgiveness? The clue is given in
v. 39, Simon’s unspoken negative judgment of Jesus: “If this man were a
prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is
touching him, for she is a sinner. Jesus knows the thoughts of Simon’s heart
and responds to them: the inference must be that Jesus is a prophet. A
prophet is one who knows not only the minds and hearts of human beings
but also the mind of God (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19ff.).
The third evangelist presents Jesus in prophetic terms on many occa-
sions. In 4:16-30 the motif begins: Jesus is the anointed prophet who is not
accepted in his own country; Luke 7:16 reports the peoples’ response to the
raising of the widow’s son at Nain was to exclaim, “A great prophet has arisen
among us” (cf. also 13:33; 24:19; Acts 3:22-23). Here the mark of a prophet
is his spiritual discernment and ability to see beneath the surface of events.
Luke 7:36-50, 18-35 91

Jesus certainly fits this category: he knows the ultimate outcome of history
(6:20-26); he discerns the thoughts of Simon (7:39ff.); he knows the mind
of God about the woman’s sins (7:48). To pronounce the forgiveness of sins
because one knows the mind of God on the matter is a prophetic act (2 Sam
12:13; Isa 40:2; cf. 4QPrNab 1-3:2-4, a fragmentary Aramaic text from
Qumran, where a Jewish exorcist remits the sins of the Babylonian king,
Nabonidus). This is doubtless how the evangelist understood a similar act of
Jesus in 5:17-26. The possibility of Jesus’ acting this way lies in his having
been anointed with the Holy Spirit (4:18-19) so he can “proclaim release to
the captives.” The fourth gospel depicts Jesus in the same way: Jesus, on
whom the Spirit has descended and remained (1:32), possesses a knowledge
of human hearts (e.g., 1:48; 2:25; 4:17-19, 39). It is of interest to note that
Jesus’ discernment of the Samaritan woman’s situation elicits the response,
“Sir, I perceive you are a prophet” (4:19). The Johannine Jesus also knows
the mind of the Father (e.g., 5:19-20; 8:28-29).
The spiritual discernment of the anointed Jesus is also a part of the
equipment of the Spirit-baptized disciples in Acts (e.g., 5:3-4; 8:23). A
similar point is made in Paul: in 1 Corinthians 2:10-12, in another connec-
tion, the apostle says Christians know the mind of God by means of the
Holy Spirit; in 1 Corinthians 12:8, speaking of some gifts of the Spirit, he
refers to “the utterance of knowledge.” This is almost certainly referring to
the type of spiritual discernment that comes from the presence of the Holy
Spirit in the life of a prophet, be he Jesus or a Christian. To use Paul’s cate-
gories, in Luke 7:39-47, 48, we find two words of knowledge uttered by
Jesus. By means of the Spirit Jesus discerns both the hearts of people and the
mind of God. In exercising this prophetic capacity of spiritual discernment,
Luke regards Jesus as prototypical for his disciples (knowledge of the mind of
God—Acts 2:14ff.; 13:1-3; 16:9-10; knowledge of the hearts of men and
women—Acts 5:1-11; 20:29-30). The empowering presence of God imparts
spiritual discernment to the prophetic community of Jesus’ disciples, the
same discernment manifest in Luke 7:36-50 by Jesus.
The Ministries of Women
Luke 8:1-21

Luke 8:1-21 is a thought unit consisting of a parable (8:4-8), a request for an

explanation of the story by the disciples (8:9-10), and the explanation of the
parable (8:11-15), to which have been added an introduction (8:1-3) and
two small units that further elucidate the theme of the parable (8:16-18, 19-
21). The key terms “hear” (8:8b, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21) and “word”
(8:11, 13, 15, 21) act as glue to join the pieces.
The introduction (vv. 1-3) serves to validate the authority of the
preaching of the church, which is referred to in the parable and its interpre-
tation (vv. 4-8, 11-15), by showing it was based on the testimony of
witnesses who were with Jesus when the kingdom of God was being
disclosed (Robinson, 136). Those who were “with him” (vv. 1b-2) belong to
two groups: (1) the Twelve and (2) the women. Both groups are designated
by the evangelist elsewhere as those who came with him from Galilee (23:49;
23:55; 24:10; Acts 1:11; 13:31). It appears to be Luke’s intention to set the
Twelve and the women alongside one another as guarantors of the facts of
the Christ event.
The evangelist pays special attention to women in his narrative of Jesus
and the early church: Luke 1:24ff., Elizabeth (only in Luke); 1:26ff., Mary
(only in Luke); 2:36ff., Anna (only in Luke); 4:38ff., Simon’s mother-in-law;
7:11ff., the widow at Nain (only in Luke); 7:36ff., the sinful woman (only in
Luke); 8:2-3, women who ministered to Jesus and his disciples (only in
Luke); 8:43ff., woman with a hemorrhage; 10:38ff., Martha and Mary (only
in Luke); 13:10ff., the crippled woman (only in Luke); 15:8-10, the parable
of the woman with a lost coin (only in Luke); 18:1-8, parable of the widow
(only in Luke); 21:1ff., the widow who gave her all; 23:49, 55, the women at
the crucifixion; 24:10-11, 22-23, the women at the tomb; Acts 1:14, the
women and Mary at prayer; 5:1ff., Sapphira; 6:1ff., the widows; 9:36ff.,
Dorcas; 12:12ff., Mary the mother of Mark and Rhoda; 16:14ff., Lydia;
16:16ff., the slave girl who is healed; 17:12, Greek women of high standing
94 The Ministries of Women

believed; 17:34, Damaris; 18:2, 18, 26, Priscilla; 21:9, Philip’s four daugh-
ters; 23:16, Paul’s sister; 25:13, Bernice.
It is interesting to note how the evangelist frequently sets women along-
side men in various ministries. We have already noted the Galilean women
alongside the Galilean men as guarantors of the facts of Jesus’ career. There
are other instances. (1) The women of Luke 8:3 “serve” (di∑konoun) just as
the men in Acts 6:2 “serve” (diakonein) tables. In this matter Luke manifests
continuity with early Christianity generally. In Romans 16:1 Phoebe is a
deaconness (diakonon). First Timothy 3:8-12 probably refers to deacon-
nesses, not to wives of deacons. Pliny’s letter to Trajan early in the second
century also mentions deaconnesses. (2) In Luke-Acts women prophesy
alongside men (Anna in Luke 2:36-38, adjacent to Simeon in 2:25-35; Acts
2:17-18 says the Spirit has been poured out on all flesh so that “your sons
and daughters shall prophesy”; Philip’s four daughters who prophesied are
mentioned alongside Agabus in Acts 21:9-11). Again Luke possesses conti-
nuity with the early church in its practice: e.g., 1 Corinthians 11:5, from the
first century, and Tertullian, Against Marcion 5:8, near AD 200. (3) Women
are listed alongside the Twelve in prayer before Pentecost in Acts 1:12-14. In
the ancient church generally, women engaged in public prayer (e.g., 1 Cor
11:4-5; 1 Tim 2:8-9; Didascalia Apostolorum 15:124). (4) Women sometimes
have church services in their houses (Acts 12:5, 12; 16:15) just as men do
(Acts 18:7). This is a practice also found in Romans 16:3-5 and Philemon 1-
2. The Cemetery of Priscilla on the Via Salaria in Rome shows that a
Christian woman of means could use her house and lands for the service of
the church. Again Luke reflects common Christian practice. (5) At least one
woman teaches, together with her husband, who is the second named, and
the one taught is a male preacher. So Priscilla and Aquila teach Apollos in
Acts 18:26. Is this is a singular reference in the New Testament?
First Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:12 seem to contradict the
Lukan narrative. Is this a case of canonical diversity or is a reinterpretation of
the two passages from the Pauline corpus necessary? (1) First Corinthians
14:33b-36 as usually interpreted contradicts both Galatians 3:27-28 and 1
Corinthians 11:5 where sexual equality is stated and practiced. The latter
text assumes that women pray and prophesy in corporate worship. The
simplest solution to the problem posed by this passage is to see it as an
instance of Paul’s use of a diatribe form. In 1 Corinthians the apostle uses the
diatribe frequently (e.g., 6:12, where “All things are lawful for me” is a claim
by Paul’s opponents and “but not all things are helpful” is the Pauline
response; 7:1b-2, where “It is well for a man not to touch a woman” comes
from Paul’s opponents, while “But because of the temptation to immorality,
Luke 8:1-21 95

each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband” is
the apostle’s rejoinder; 8:1, where “all of us possess knowledge” is from Paul’s
opponents, and “knowledge puffs up, but loves builds up” is from Paul).
Sometimes the diatribe form utilizes a double claim by opponents followed
by a double rejoinder by the apostle (e.g., 6:13a, b has not only “Food is
meant for the stomach and the stomach for food” but also “God will destroy
both the one and the other” as statements by opponents, to which Paul
makes his reply in vv. 13c-14: “the body is not meant for immorality” and
“God will raise us up by His power”). Use of a diatribe is, then, possible in 1
Corinthians 14. What would make one consider its use probable? First,
remember the contradiction between vv. 34-35 and what Paul says else-
where. Does Paul contradict himself regularly? Second, the content of vv.
34-35 is typical of cultural values of both pagans and Jews of the time.
Third, if vv. 34-35 are Paul’s reaction against women speaking in church,
then v. 36 should function as the climax of his argument and be directed to
them. It cannot. Why? In v. 37 the word monous (only ones) is masculine
plural. This could be a generic masculine and refer to men and women
together or it could refer only to men. It could not refer to women only! This
demands that v. 36 be read as a contradiction to vv. 34-35. Fourth, the
particle ∑ in v. 36 has been regarded by some linguists as expressing negation
of what comes before. If so, then it joins with the masculine monous to grant
that function to v. 36. All considered, it seems that in 14:33b-36 one has yet
another instance of a Corinthian slogan (vv. 33b-35) followed by a Pauline
rejoinder. If so, then this text does not contradict Luke’s perspective but
agrees with it.
First Timothy 2:11-12 is the second text that, on first reading, seemed to
express discontinuity with Luke’s perspective on the equality of women in
the church’s ministries. Consider, however, the historical occasion for the
Pastoral epistles. The problem that caused them to be written was the pres-
ence of heresy in the church. The technique used by the author to combat
this heresy was the principle of succession. Paul received the true tradition
from God (2 Tim 1:11-12); he passed it to Timothy (2 Tim 1:13; 2:2a); and
Timothy is to pass it on to “faithful men who will be able to teach others
also” (2 Tim 2:2b). The defense against false teaching in the Pastorals is true
teachers whose authority derives from the succession of true tradition in
which they stand. Why would the true teachers be only men? It was because
in this particular context the people most susceptible to the false teaching
were the women (2 Tim 3:6-7; cf. Euripides, Bacchae, and Josephus, War
2.561; Antiquities 20.34, 38, for the motif of women espousing “dangerous”
new religions). The people most likely to espouse the heresy should not be
96 The Ministries of Women

the church’s teachers! Placing 1 Timothy 2:11-12 alongside Acts 18:26, what
can be said? Both come from the Pauline wing of the church, in the same
geographical area, at about the same time. Yet one has a woman teaching and
another prohibits women from teaching. The explanation is that the issue is
not gender (male-female) but orthodoxy. When women taught the true
Pauline doctrine, they taught with approval; when they espoused heresy, they
were not allowed to teach. Properly understood, 1Timothy is not a universal
prohibition against women teachers. It defends only against heretical
teachers (who can, as we know, be either male or female). The Pauline corpus
stands with Luke-Acts in favoring equality in ministry for men and women.
Given these conclusions, claims that Luke distances women from prophetic
ministry and subjugates them by denying them positions of leadership
(Shaberg, 363) constitute an irresponsible misrepresentation.
The ministry of women in the narrative of Luke-Acts did not cancel
their traditional roles in society, though on occasion it did stretch them a bit.
They reflect a variety of roles in society. (1) There are single women living
with their parents (e.g., Acts 21:8-9, Philip’s four unmarried daughters). (2)
There is a businesswoman who is apparently without a husband (e.g., Lydia,
Acts 16:14-15), though with a household. (3) There is a wife who works
with her husband in the family business (e.g., Priscilla who with Aquila was
a tentmaker, Acts 18:2-3). (4) There are married women involved in moth-
erhood (e.g., Mary, the model disciple, Luke 2:1ff., 41ff.). In each case, the
women disciples used whatever role they occupied as a vehicle for the
furtherance of God’s will. Their ministries varied just as their roles in society
did, but each had a ministry within the context of her particular role.
In some cases the women’s ministry stretched the roles defined by
society. Luke 8:1-3 is a perfect example of this: It was not uncommon for
women to support rabbis and their disciples with their own money, property,
or foodstuffs (j. Horayot 48a, 1.44; Esther Rabbah 2, 3; b. Shabbath 62a; b.
Berakoth 10b; b. Babba Kamma 119a), but for a woman to leave home and
travel with a rabbi was not only unknown, it was scandalous (Witherington).
Lucian (The Runaways) mocks artisan Cynics with their scandalous women
disciples. Yet the women of 8:1-3, including Joanna, the wife of Chuza,
Herod’s steward, not only provided for Jesus and his disciples but also
accompanied them. Here the social roles were stretched but not shattered. A
generation earlier Paul had stood against the shattering of a woman’s social
role (e.g., 1 Cor 7 argues against separating from one’s spouse because of
one’s religious experience, and 11:2-16 speaks against a woman’s casting off
the symbols of her sexuality in the name of her Christian faith). It would
appear that the third evangelist is as positive toward the ministry of women
Luke 8:1-21 97

in the church as his social structure would allow. He did not, however, want
to undermine the church’s chances in Greco-Roman culture by advocating
“customs which it is not lawful for us Romans to accept and practice” (Acts
16:21).
In the ancient church there were three ways of ordering the ministry of
women: lay ministry (e.g., evangelism, praying and prophesying in church,
opening one’s home to the church); clerical ministry (e.g., the institution of
widow and of deaconness in the third century); and the ministry of the reli-
gious (e.g., in the Byzantine world and in the middle ages in the West, it is
the nuns who inherit the chief privileges of the earlier widows and deacon-
nesses: cf. Danielou). In terms of this threefold structure, one would have to
say that Luke viewed the ministry of women as a lay ministry. This, however,
is a position determined by the social structures of the world in which the
evangelist lived.
Luke 8:4-21 focuses on the matter of responses to the church’s procla-
mation. The unit begins with the parable of the sower (vv. 4-8; cf. 4 Ezra
8:41). In v. 9 the disciples ask Jesus the meaning of this particular parable,
not the parables in general as in Mark 4:10. The interpretation (vv. 11-15)
explains that the point has to do with responses to the “word of God” (Acts
6:7; 12:24; 13:49; 19:20). The question is, why did the gospel find a lasting
response in so few? Wrong responses are due to the devil (cf. Luke 22:3), to
lack of roots that makes one vulnerable in time of temptation (cf. Luke
22:40, 46; 2 Pet 3:17), and to the cares, riches, and pleasures of life (cf. Acts
5:1-11).
The right response on hearing the word is to “hold it fast in an honest
and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience” (v. 15; cf. Rom 5:3-4;
Heb 6:11-12; 12:1-3, etc.). The distinctive Lukan en hypomon∑, “with
patience,” gives the opposite of all wrong responses. It is this “hearing the
word of God and doing it” (v. 21) that characterizes the family of Jesus in
Luke-Acts (Luke 1:38, 45; Acts 1:14) and will characterize all Jesus’ disciples
(Luke 6:47; 10:37; 11:28; cf. Jas 1:22-25).
Those who have made a right response to the word of God, as Jesus’
family has done in Luke’s narrative, are to be light for those who enter the
household of God (v. 16). As mentioned above, the house assumed is a
Roman-style one in which the lamp is placed in the vestibule to furnish light
for those who enter. The perseverance of those who are already disciples will
illumine the way of new converts.
Universal Power and Vested Interests
Luke 8:22–9:6

This section is a single thought unit in the evangelist’s scheme, beginning

with a distinctive Lukan time reference: “one day” (cf. Mark 4:35; Matt
8:23). This was apparently intended to set all that follows, through 9:6,
within the framework of a day. Within these temporal boundaries the mate-
rial is held together by several interlocking devices. (1) Four miracle stories
(8:22-25; 8:26-39; 8:40-42, 49-56; 8:43-48) demonstrate Jesus’ power and
are followed by 9:1-6, a pericope in which Jesus gives power and authority to
the Twelve. (2) The four miracle stories are further linked with 9:1-6 by Jesus
leaving a place he is not welcomed (8:37), and telling his disciples about
departure from a town that does not receive them (9:5). (3) Key words play
a role in joining the four miracle stories. (a) 8:22-25, 26-39 refer to the lake
(8:22, 33) and to the boat (8:22, 37). (b) In 8:25, 35, 37, 47 (?), 50, we
encounter references to fear. (c) There is a focus on “salvation/being saved” in
8:36, 48, 50. (d) Whereas 8:42, 43 have “twelve years” in common, 8:48, 49
both contain “daughter”; 8:48, 50 refer to “faith.” Taking our clue from the
time reference in 8:22 and the various interlocking devices mentioned, we
may regard 8:22–9:6 as single unit. If so, what point is the evangelist
making?
The evangelist focuses on Jesus’ gift of his own power to disciples prior
to his sending them out to minister. A comparison of the organization of the
material in Luke with its arrangement in Matthew and Mark clarifies this
intent. (1) In Mark the four miracles in 4:35–5:43 (storm at sea; demoniac
healed; hemorrhaging woman; raising of Jairus’s daughter) are followed by
the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth (6:1-6). The point of this arrangement is
that miracles do not necessarily lead to faith. (2) In Matthew the four
miracle stories are separated, though they all come in the collection of ten
miracle stories to be found in 8–9 (Matt 8:23-27, the storm at sea; 8:28-34,
two demoniacs; 9:18-19, 23-26, the raising of Jairus’s daughter; 9:20-22, the
woman with a hemorrhage) and in the same relative order as in Mark and
100 Universal Power and Vested Interests

Luke. To understand Matthew’s intention we must reflect on the way his

gospel is organized. The core of the gospel falls into five cycles of material:
chapters (a) 3–7; (b) 8–10; (c) 11–13; (d) 14–18; (e) 19–25. Each cycle is
divided into what Jesus did, followed by what he said, with a verbal or
thematic link in each cycle. In terms of this overall scheme, chapters 8–10
constitute cycle two; chapter 10 is what Jesus says (instructions for mission-
aries) and begins with the statement that Jesus gave the Twelve “authority
over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every
infirmity” (v. 1). In 10:8 the charge is given to the Twelve: “Heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.” This teaching follows a
narrative section (chaps. 8–9) in which Jesus performs ten miracles including
the cleansing of a leper (8:2-4), the healing of all who were sick (8:16), the
casting out of demons (8:24-34), and the raising of the dead (9:18-19, 23-
25). Also, as Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom (9:35) so the disciples
are charged to do (10:7). The point of this material in the arrangement of
the gospel is that Jesus’ miracles show he has authority to give to his disci-
ples. Just as in cycle one (Matthew 3–7) Jesus did not ask his disciples for a
righteousness (chs. 5–7) he had not performed (3:14-15), so in cycle two
Jesus does not give his missionaries an authority he does not possess.
Luke’s arrangement has similarities with both Mark and Matthew. On
the one hand, in 8:22-56 the four miracles come together as in Mark
4:35–5:43. On the other hand, Luke’s unit of four miracle stories is not
followed by the rejection at Nazareth, as in Mark 6:1-6. Rather, like
Matthew 10, Luke has the miracles followed by the sending of the Twelve:
9:1-2 says Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them “power and
authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to
preach the kingdom of God and to heal.” The location of the four miracles
just prior to the sending of the Twelve seems to say that, like Matthew, the
third evangelist aimed to demonstrate the authority Jesus possessed before
telling us he gave this power and authority to the Twelve.
This makes an interesting pattern in Luke’s picture of the Galilean
ministry. In 4:31–5:11 we found four miracles climaxed by the call and
commissioning of Peter: the miracles functioned as a catalyst for Peter’s
response of faith. Now at the end of the Galilean section is another series of
four miracles followed by the sending of the Twelve: the mighty works that
precede the commissioning demonstrate the authority of the one who gives
power and authority to his emissaries.
Given the nature of Luke-Acts, one would expect to find in the narrative
of Acts events corresponding to the miracles in Luke 8:22-56. This we do
find: (a) with 8:22-25 compare Acts 27; (b) with 8:26-39 compare Acts
Luke 8:22–9:6 101

16:16ff.; (c) with 8:40-42, 49-56 compare Acts 9:36-43; and (d) with 8:43-
48 compare Acts 5:15; 19:12. In other words, in 8:22–9:6 the evangelist is
foreshadowing the experience of the power of the risen Christ in the
ministries of his apostles (“sent ones”). The power they have is not theirs but
is the power of Jesus (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8; 3:12, 16; 4:7-12): disciples of
Jesus do not minister in their own strength but in the strength of their Lord.
Note also that Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and
authority (9:1) before he sent them to preach and heal (9:2). This also fore-
shadows the experience of the church in Acts, which was to stay in Jerusalem
until clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49), to witness after the
Holy Spirit had come upon it (Acts 1:8): Jesus does not assign a task until he
has first equipped those who are to perform it.
Within 8:22–9:6 we focus on one of the miracle stories, 8:26-39,
because of its special contribution to the overall emphasis in the larger unit.
This story tells of the man who had a legion of demons. The first dimension
of meaning in this exorcism story is connected with the textual problem in
8:26. Does Jesus come to the country of the Gerasenes, Gadarenes, or
Gergesenes? The best reading is “Gerasenes” (so also for Mark 5:1, though in
Matt 8:28 Gadarenes seems the best reading). The difficulty with this is that
Gerasenes refers to the inhabitants of Gerasa, modern Jerash, some thirty
miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee. Though geographically difficult the
reading is theologically important: Gerasa was Gentile territory, as is
confirmed by the reference to the herd of swine (8:32). Here for the only
time in the gospel Jesus journeys beyond the boundaries of Jewish territory
onto pagan soil; his mission reaches to the Gentiles. Here the evangelist sees
foreshadowed the future missionary activity of the church that reaches
pagans. Salvation is for all people (cf. Luke 2:32; 3:6; 4:25-27; Acts 26:18;
note that Luke 9:1-6, like Mark 6:7-13 but unlike Matt 10:5, does not
restrict the apostles to Israel). But Luke’s point here is more than just the
universality of Jesus’ concern: it is rather the universal scope of Jesus’ power.
That is why a miracle story is used. Jesus has power over demons even in
Gentile territory. Furthermore, if the unclean spirits (8:29) that had entered
the unclean animals (8:32-33) thought that by driving the herd of swine into
the lake they could escape Jesus’ power or damage his mission, they were
mistaken. The one who cast them out is he who controls the sea also (8:22-
25). Again the emphasis is on Jesus’ universal power. This is important in the
section 8:22–9:6 because the power of Jesus is given to his “sent ones.” The
Christian missionaries, then, need fear neither the sea (Acts 27–28) nor the
power of the demonic in foreign lands (Acts 16:16ff.; 19:13ff.): Jesus’ power
is universal.
102 Universal Power and Vested Interests

A second dimension of the story’s meaning has to do with the types of

response Jesus’ universal power evokes. On the one hand, the power of Jesus
to heal produces discipleship. This theme is met again in this pericope. Luke
alone of the synoptists notes that the cured man was “sitting at the feet of
Jesus” (8:35), the posture of a disciple (cf. 10:39; 7:38; 17:16), reinforced by
the man’s desire to be “with him” (8:38). In some, Jesus’ power evokes faith.
On the other hand, there is also present in 8:26-39 the theme of the
rejection of Jesus (cf. 2:34-35; 4:28-29; 6:11). When the swine are destroyed
by drowning, the herdsmen go into the city and tell what had happened.
When the people come and find not only the man well but also the herd
gone, they ask Jesus to depart from them (8:37; note 9:5, the rejection of the
Twelve). Although the theme that Jesus’ rejection is tied to economic motives
is not explicitly present in the use of the story by Matthew and Mark, the
larger context of Luke-Acts makes it certain this was an intent of the evange-
list.
Two stories from Acts illustrate Luke’s belief that rejection of Jesus and
his representatives often comes from economic motivation. (a) Acts 19:23ff.
tells of a certain Demetrius who appealed to the economic motive in stirring
up antagonisms against Paul in Ephesus. The author takes pains to empha-
size the economic dimensions of the rejection. Verse 24 says the idol-making
enterprise “brought no little business to the craftsmen”; v. 25 has Demetrius
say, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth”; in v. 27
Demetrius warns, “There is danger . . . that this trade of ours may come into
disrepute.” After the uproar ceased Paul departed (20:1). (b) The story in
Acts that corresponds most closely to Luke 8:26-39 is found at 16:16ff. Here
Paul casts out a spirit of divination from a slave girl who had “brought her
owners much gain by soothsaying” (16:16). The author tells us in v. 19 that
“when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and
Silas and dragged them into the market place before the rulers.” The result
was a beating (v. 22), imprisonment (v. 23), and ultimately a request that
they leave the city (v. 39). The language of the request to leave is the same as
in Luke 8:37 (Acts 16:39—∑rotøn apelthein; Luke 8:37—∑rot∑sen . . .
apelthein). Given the theme of the rejection of Jesus and his gospel because
of economic motivations found elsewhere in Luke-Acts, and given the Lukan
tendency to foreshadow in the gospel what is treated explicitly in Acts, it is
virtually impossible to read 8:26-39 without hearing the evangelist saying the
troubles experienced by Christian missionaries because of the economic
vested interests threatened by their ministry were already a part of Jesus’
career. The one who has universal power is also the one whose rejection is
Luke 8:22–9:6 103

sometimes tied to the threat he poses to economic vested interests. This is

both warning and consolation to his followers.
A third dimension of meaning in the exorcism story is linked to the
conclusion of the narrative. Matthew ends his exorcism story (8:28-34) with
the request for Jesus to leave the neighborhood. Both Mark 5:1-20 and Luke
8:26-39 follow the request for Jesus to depart with a dialogue between Jesus
and the healed man. Mark 5:18 suggests the man asked to accompany Jesus
as he was getting into the boat. Luke 8:37-39, however, has Jesus leave (“he
got into the boat and returned”). Apparently after Jesus’ departure in Luke,
the healed man who had accompanied him asked “that he might be with
him.” Jesus, however, sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and
declare how much God has done for you” (v. 39). Several things emerge
from this ending.
(1) The evangelist uses the story as “a paradigm of what conversion
involves: the responsibility to evangelize” (Marshall, 341).
(2) The place of the man’s witness was in his own home country (v. 39).
(3) The means of evangelization to be employed by the man was his
personal testimony; the content of his witness was his healing by Jesus. The
significance of this can be understood only if we recognize the Lukan distinc-
tion between two types of disciples or witnesses: those who were “with him”
(cf. 8:1) and those who were not (8:38-39).
On the one hand, the evangelist is concerned to emphasize that certain
disciples (the Twelve and the Galilean women) were “with Jesus” from the
baptism of John until the time when Jesus was taken into heaven (Acts 1:21-
22). In Galilee the witnesses are assembled (Luke 5:1-11; 6:12-16; 8:1-3)
and are present with Jesus throughout his ministry, with one exception, 9:1-
6. During the absence of the Twelve, however, Luke records nothing about
Jesus’ deeds or words. The Galileans accompany Jesus to Jerusalem and there
see and hear everything: in 23:49 that circle observe the crucifixion and
death of Jesus; in 23:55 the burial of Jesus’ body was witnessed; in 24:1-11
the same women come to the tomb and do not find the body; in 24:33ff.
Jesus appears to the Eleven; and in Acts 1:11 the men witness Jesus’ ascen-
sion. These Galileans, primarily the Twelve, are those who bear witness to
Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 1:21-22). In Luke-Acts, then, the Twelve are those
who accompanied Jesus from the beginning of his ministry to the ascension.
They are the Galileans, the eyewitnesses who have sufficient knowledge of
the gospel history and its meaning because they have been with Jesus and
heard and seen all things.
In Luke’s mind these eyewitnesses control the destiny of the church.
This is seen in the theological geography of Acts where Jerusalem controls
104 Universal Power and Vested Interests

Christian missions. (a) It is from Jerusalem the universal preaching of the

gospel is to begin (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:4, 8). (b) Every new expansion of the
church in apostolic times had to receive the approval of Jerusalem (e.g., Acts
8:12, 14-15; 11:1-2, 18, 19-21,22; 15:2, 12ff.). (c) Paul’s entire ministry is
given a Jerusalem frame of reference: his conversion is authenticated by the
apostles in Jerusalem (9:27ff.); his work at Antioch is undertaken at
Barnabas’s initiative (11:25f.); his missionary commission is given by a
church that was Jerusalem-approved (13:1-3); each of his missionary jour-
neys ends at Jerusalem (15:2; 18:22; 21:17); he recognizes the validity of and
appeals to the witness of the Twelve (13:31); he refers difficult questions to
Jerusalem (15:2), accepts Jerusalem decisions (21:23-26), and appeals to
Jerusalem authority (16:5). In sum, Jerusalem controls the mission enterprise
in Acts. The meaning of this dominance is closely connected with Jerusalem
being, for Luke, the place where the Twelve reside (Acts 1:4; 8:1b; 9:27;
11:1-2; 15:2, 4; 16:4). Jerusalem control is control by the Twelve, which is
control by the true facts of gospel history. This is the significance of being
“with him.” Those who were “with him” guarantee the tradition of Jesus’
work and words. It is this true tradition about Jesus that the evangelist sees as
controlling the church’s life.
On the other hand, Luke speaks of disciples and witnesses who are not
of the Twelve. In Acts Paul represents such people. The Lukan scheme
regards Paul as an apostle (Acts 14:14) and teacher of the church, but like the
Epistle of the Apostles 31, subordinates him to the Twelve. He is a witness to
the things in which he has seen the risen Christ (Acts 26:16). In the overall
scheme of Luke-Acts, Paul, like the Gerasene man delivered from demons, is
a witness to what Jesus Christ had done in his experience but he is not one
who was “with him” in the days of his flesh. The Gerasene man was
instructed to go home and declare how much God had done for him. He
was to bear witness to God’s activity in his experience among the Gentiles, a
valid missionary enterprise because commissioned by Jesus. Because a person
was not with Jesus and the Twelve by no means allows rejection of his
ministry (cf. Luke 9:49-50)—both types were commissioned by Jesus, so
both are legitimate. Yet those who were “with him” function as a control on
those who were not.
The theological issue has to do with the relation between religious expe-
rience and tradition. The Gerasene man, like Paul in Acts, symbolizes those
Christian witnesses who evangelize from their own experiential religion.
Something has happened to them: it is due to Jesus; they invite others to let
it happen to them. Luke regards this as authentic evangelistic activity, but at
the same time, the criterion by which one may know that a given religious
Luke 8:22–9:6 105

experience is Christian is the authority of the tradition about the earthly

career of Jesus. Those who were “with him” are the source of and symbolize
that tradition. In Lukan thought there is no cleavage between experience and
tradition, between theology and devotion. The two belong together.
The Dark Night of the “Not Yet”
Luke 9:7-50

Luke 9:7-50 marks a crucial turning point in the plot of the gospel and func-
tions to conclude the Galilean ministry that began with 4:16; it also sets in
motion a new departure in the unfolding of God’s plan in the narrative of
Luke-Acts. Two questions about Jesus’ identity give focus to the passage as a
whole. (1) Herod raises the first. Luke, like Mark but unlike Matthew,
follows the pericope of the sending of the Twelve with that of Herod’s reac-
tion (Matt 14:1-2; Mark 6:14-16; Luke 9:7-9). In both Matthew 14:2 and
Mark 6:16 Herod states, in effect, that Jesus must be John the Baptist raised
from the dead. Luke 9:9, however, is different: Herod says, “John I
beheaded; but who is this?” The Galilean ministry of Jesus as depicted in
Luke raises a christological question: Who is Jesus? (2) Jesus himself raises
the second question about his identity. In order to have this question adja-
cent to the first, Luke has omitted a major unit of material found in Mark
6:45–8:26/Matthew 14:22–16:12. At the end of his association with the
disciples in Galilee, Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” (9:20). The
material that follows these two questions about Jesus’ identity gives the
answer. The section says Jesus is (a) the one who provides life-giving nour-
ishment (vv. 16-17); (b) the messiah (v. 20); (c) the chosen Son to whom all
should listen (v. 35); (d) the teacher whose works manifest God’s majesty
(43); (e) the Son of Man who will enter his glory only through suffering (vv.
22, 31; 44) (Ellis 2000, 62-63). This segment of the commentary will focus
only on the last of this list.
In 9:20ff. and 9:28ff. there is an exposition of who Jesus is. He is the one
who, through prayer, moves into a new stage of the spiritual process, a stage
that involves rejection, suffering, and death. He is also the one who calls his
disciples to participation in the same developmental process. The discussion
that follows will explore the various dimensions of this picture.
It is a Lukan concern “to show that prayer is the instrument by which
God has directed the course of holy history, both in the life of the Son of
108 The Dark Night of the “Not Yet”

Man and in the development of the Christian Church” (Trites 1978, 169).
In Acts the narrative begins with the Twelve and others at prayer (1:14) just
prior to the empowering at Pentecost (2:1ff.). The motif of prayer followed
by empowering for witness in Jerusalem recurs in 4:31. In Acts 10–11 the
prayers of Cornelius and Peter are used by God to include a Gentile house-
hold in the eschatological people of God. Acts 13:1-3, moreover, tells how
the Gentile mission of Paul grew from a context of prayer: God communi-
cates his will for new departures in his plan to servants while they are at
prayer. The same emphasis is found also in the gospel. It is in the context of
prayer that Zechariah learns he and Elizabeth will have a son who will go
before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (1:10, 13, 17). In 3:21-22
Jesus at prayer receives his anointing for ministry and is acknowledged by a
heavenly voice as God’s beloved. As a result, he begins his Galilean ministry
(4:16ff.). Luke 6:12-16 portrays Jesus at prayer before his choice of the
Twelve. Given this motif in Luke-Acts it is no surprise to find the evangelist
in Luke 9 signaling a new development in Jesus’ career by showing Jesus at
prayer (9:18ff., 28ff.).
Both references to prayer in 9:18 and 9:28-29 are distinctively Lukan
(cf. Matt 16:13 // Mark 8:27; Matt 17:1 // Mark 9:2). Both link Jesus’
prayer with his coming suffering. (1) On the one hand, 9:18 says it was “as
he was praying alone” that he asked his disciples about his identity. Peter’s
reply, “You are the Christ of God” (9:18-20), is not followed either by Jesus’
praise of Peter (as in Matt 16:17-19) or by Mark’s “And he began to teach
them” (8:31). Luke joins the command to silence with the prediction of the
passion so the command loses importance. He also omits the rebuke of Peter
(Matt 16:22-23 and Mark 8:32-33). This concentrates all the attention on
Jesus’ prediction of the passion (9:22), the fate of Jesus. Implicit within 9:18-
22 is that Jesus, while at prayer, came to the realization he must suffer, die,
and rise (cf. 24:26, 46; Acts 2:23-24). The anointed one, endued with the
power of the Holy Spirit, will enter into his final glory only after rejection,
suffering, and death. Furthermore, by putting the passion prediction (9:22)
in direct discourse (contra Matt 16:21 // Mark 8:31), Luke makes it a part of
the preceding dialogue. It becomes Jesus’ prayerful response to Peter’s confes-
sion.
(2) On the other hand, the transfiguration narrative in 9:28ff. has also
been turned into a prayer scene. Typically the evangelist depicts prayer as
associated with a heavenly apparition and a divine communication (e.g.,
3:21-22; Acts 10–11). In prayer Jesus enters the heavenly world and there is
a conversation with two heavenly residents about his departure (exodon; cf.
eisodou in Acts 13:24). Jesus’ exodus is his departure from this world, his
Luke 9:7-50 109

ascension, but this transpires through the cross and resurrection. This narra-
tive, like the previous one, makes it explicit that Luke understands Jesus to
be convinced through prayer he would die in Jerusalem.
If prayer was the medium through which Jesus came to an awareness of
God’s will for a new departure in his life, the content of that will involved
not immediate exaltation but rather rejection, suffering, death: the one who
was anointed with the Spirit would be rejected and killed. There are several
significant implications of this picture of Jesus.
In the first place, Luke depicts Jesus’ career in developmental terms. This
has already been noted at 2:40, 52, in physical, mental, social, and spiritual
areas. The focus here is on one who develops in stages of a spiritual process.
In the gospel Jesus, in his adult life, passes through three stages: (a) empow-
ering (3:21-22; 4:16ff.); (b) suffering-death (chs. 9ff.); and (c)
resurrection-glory (Luke 24). In Luke 9 there is a movement from stage (a)
to stage (b), a movement made possible by prayerful discernment.
In the second place, Jesus is one who calls his disciples to participate in
the same developmental process through which he lived. Here it is not
empowering or glory about which he speaks, but suffering death. Luke 9:23a
(“and he was saying [imperfect tense] to all”) continues the dialogue begun
at 9:18. After telling of his fate (9:22), as discerned in prayer (9:18), Jesus
speaks of the disciples’ style of life. For Luke discipleship is a continuing
experience, so in 9:23 (“If any man would come after me”) the evangelist
uses a present infinitive (erchesthai—to come) instead of the aorist (elthein—
Matt 16:24; Mark 8:34), the emphasis being on the continuing nature of the
relationship. Also Luke adds “daily” to the “take up his cross” of Matthew
16:24/Mark 8:34. Whereas Matthew and Mark have in mind the initial act,
Luke stresses that the disciple takes up the cross daily, that is, continually.
Just as the disciples had been given a share in Jesus’ power (Luke 9:1-6), so
now they are called to share his death: “If any man would come after me, let
him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (9:23).
How can it be that the Spirit-empowered Jesus must suffer? How can it
be that his empowered disciples must share the same experience? The answer
lies in the eschatology of mainline first-century Christianity, which
combined a “now” and a “not yet” (cf. Paul in 1 Cor 4; 15; Phil 3). The New
Age had broken in with the resurrection of Jesus, but the Old Age continues
until the parousia. We live in the overlap. To hold these two realities (now—
not yet) has always been among the most difficult tasks for Christian life and
thought. There is perennially the temptation to allow one to swallow the
other: either the emphasis is so focused on the powers of the New Age at
work in believers that an eschatological reservation is lost, or the focus is so
110 The Dark Night of the “Not Yet”

directed to believers’ involvement in the structures and limitations of this life

that the power of the Holy Spirit in the midst of weakness is overlooked.
The evangelist, having presented Jesus in his Galilean ministry as a
Spirit-empowered conqueror of evil, now is concerned to show that even
such a figure is subject to the limitations of this age. He is not immediately
and automatically triumphant because of the power of the Spirit unleashed
in his life in healing, exorcism, and teaching, but he will be rejected and
killed. Only on the other side of this subjection to the limitations of this age
will he enter into his final glory. The same limitations apply also to the disci-
ples. Theologically it is necessary to juxtapose “anointed with the Spirit” and
“destined to die” because to say less would be to break the delicate balance
between the “now” and the “not yet” of Christian existence.
What purpose could such suffering serve for Jesus and for his disciples?
In order to answer this question, two items of information are necessary: one
from the NT at large and one from Luke. (1) The third evangelist frames
Jesus’ earthly career within two temptation scenes (4:1-13; 23:35, 36-37,
39). As we have previously seen, the first, 4:1-13, must be read against the
background of Jesus both as the culmination of all God had been doing in
the history of Israel and as the second Adam, as shown in the genealogy of
3:23-38. The order of the temptations in 4:1-13 echoes not only the three-
fold temptation of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:6 but also the temptation of
Israel in the wilderness as given by Psalm 106: the temptations of Jesus
thereby become anti-typical of the experience of Israel in the wilderness and
of the original pair in the garden. Whereas those who came before were
disobedient, Jesus, as the second Adam and as the true culmination of Israel’s
heritage, is obedient and thereby has reversed Adam’s and Israel’s sin. This
temptation narrative thus understood has the effect of setting all that follows
in Jesus’ earthly career under the sign of his obedience. As will be seen later,
a second temptation sequence comes at 23:35, 36-37, 39. It is also a three-
fold temptation. Jesus spoke of the divine necessity of his death (9:22, 44;
18:31-33); in the garden he surrendered to the divine will even though it
meant death (23:39-46); now on the cross he faces the temptation to use
divine power for self-preservation (a power he still has—22:51). Three times
he is confronted with the demand: “Save yourself ” (23:35, 37, 39). That he
does not is his obedience unto death, the perfection of his obedience to the
Father (cf. 13:32). The Lukan frame around the public ministry of Jesus
defines Jesus’ career as the way of obedience, even unto death. Remember,
Jesus is the unredeemed firstborn.
(2) In the NT one stream of early Christian thought regarded Jesus’
death not only as an atonement for sin and as a defeat of the powers of evil
Luke 9:7-50 111

but also as Jesus’ ultimate act of obedience or faithfulness to God (e.g., Phil
2:8; Rom 5:18-19): Jesus died rather than sin. In this context Jesus’ suffering
and death were the arena in which his obedience to God was perfected.
Hebrews 2:10 says God made “the pioneer of their suffering perfect through
suffering”; “Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he
suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to
all who obey him” (5:8-9). Corresponding to this view of Christ’s suffering
and death was the belief that suffering, and death if necessary, was the arena
in which Christians wrestled with sin and, therefore, where they also had
their obedience to God developed. First Peter 4:1-2 says, “Since therefore
Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same thought, for
whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest
of the time in the flesh no longer by human passions but by the will of
God.” Hence the emphasis is on suffering as discipline (Heb 12:7ff.), as a
proof (1 Pet 4:12) or a testing (1 Pet 1:6-7) of Christian faith. The NT
speaks of a suffering endured by Christ and Christians alike, which is the
arena in which obedience to God is perfected.
It is in the context of a view of suffering that is integral to the process of
spiritual growth that Luke 9 should be understood. Jesus, through prayer,
has come to see he is about to enter a new phase of God’s plan for him. He is
moving beyond the initial stage of empowering-illumination into a dimen-
sion of life that, though still empowered, is characterized by rejection (9:22).
In this phase he will learn obedience through what he suffers (Heb 5:8-9).
His obedience to God in the face of rejection, persecution, suffering, and
finally death will signal his victory over sin (1 Pet 4:1-2).
The importance of rejection, persecution, suffering, and the threat of
death in the process of spiritual growth is that each entails the possibility of
the loss of something that the self either holds dear or is tempted to grasp:
one is threatened with the loss of economic security, of status, reputation, or
of life itself. Circumstances remove the possibility of one’s holding to any of
these finite treasures as security, and the suffering of rejection detaches one
from these real or potential false gods. That is why the stage of suffering is
called purification. One learns obedience to God alone through what is
suffered. Rejection or persecution shatters real or potential idols and allows
God to draw one to himself alone. This redemptive dimension of suffering
would not be possible without the prior stage of empowering or illumina-
tion. From the evangelist’s perspective, only as God lives within is there the
potential for suffering to be experienced as purification. The way of Jesus,
therefore, was from empowering through suffering to glory.
112 The Dark Night of the “Not Yet”

The Jesus who walked this way also called his disciples to participate in
the same developmental process, saying a disciple should “deny himself and
take up his cross daily” (9:23). Bearing the burdens of life is an unlikely
interpretation because the cross was not a burden but an instrument of
death. A condemned person carried it on the way to execution. So to “take
up [one’s] cross daily” means to live daily as a condemned person, to “deny
[one]self.” If so, then self-denial means to live the life of a condemned
person, one who has been stripped of every form of worldly security, even
physical existence. For such a one, there is nothing and no one to whom
there can be permanent attachment except the one who goes before carrying
his cross. All other attachments have been terminated by the sentence of
death, a sentence passed upon oneself.
Luke 9:24-26 consists of three sayings beginning in a similar way: v.
24—For whoever; v. 25—For what; v. 26—For whoever. These verses illu-
mine two benefits of denying oneself, taking up one’s cross, and following
Jesus. The benefits are given in negative form, as dangers to be avoided. In
vv. 24-25 Jesus speaks of a present danger to be avoided by denial of self.
One will, by holding to the old self, lose the true self or life (cf. 4:5-8). Self-
denial in a Lukan context does not mean the annihilation of one’s created
individuality and worth, as in some Eastern religions, but it means rather the
repudiation of the personality structure that absolutizes the self rather than
the Creator, so the good created self (Gen 1:31) can emerge free from the
perversions that have covered it over. It is only when one’s idolatrous attach-
ments to the created order are stripped away and the Creator exists as one’s
ultimate concern that the created self is saved.
In v. 26 Jesus speaks of a future danger to be avoided by denial of self.
The one who responds wrongly to Jesus now will face the eschatological
judge whose coming will vindicate Jesus’ earthly life and mission. Only a life
lived here and now without idolatrous attachments to the created order will
be vindicated in the New Age where God is all in all. Both in the present and
ultimately, only a life lived as a condemned person yields the meaning the
Creator intended. Upon such a way of life the empowered Jesus was now
embarking (9:22, 44, 31) and to such a way he called his empowered disci-
ples. Regardless of whether or not a disciple’s way involved the physical
martyrdom to which Jesus’ path led, it was to be lived as a condemned
person, as one stripped of all attachments other than to God. Only thereby
could the self be purified in the way God desired; only thereby could one’s
obedience to God be perfected.
Jesus closes his teaching about “rejection-suffering-death-purification”
with a reassuring promise: “But I tell you truly, there are some standing here
Luke 9:7-50 113

who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God” (v. 27). The
form of v. 27 is distinctively Lukan: Matthew 16:28 reads, “see the Son of
Man coming in his kingdom”; Mark 9:1 says, “see the kingdom of God
come with power.” Both refer to the parousia. But here Jesus says simply, “see
the kingdom of God.” In this form the reference must be to the presence of
the kingdom seen or experienced within history. Since 17:21 speaks of the
kingdom being present in Jesus’ ministry, this seems the likely meaning. That
context presents Jesus’ words about an absolute allegiance to him in which
every other attachment is stripped away. Now this same Jesus says some who
hear his words will indeed experience this kingly rule of God in their lives.
This is a word of assurance.
Guidance on the Way
Luke 9:51–19:44
Introduction

The third major section in this gospel is 9:51–19:44. The first, 1:5–4:15,
was an account of the prepublic career of Jesus; the second, 4:16–9:50, a
narrative of Jesus’ Galilean ministry. This section is within the framework of
a journey to Jerusalem (9:51, 53; 13:22, 33; 17:11; 18:31; 19:11, 28, 41,
45), though the geography cannot be satisfactorily traced: in 9:51-53 Jesus
passes through Samaria; in 10:38-42 (cf. John 12:1-3) he appears to be on
the outskirts of Jerusalem; 13:31-33 locates him either in Galilee or in Perea;
17:11 places him between Samaria and Galilee; he is at Jericho in
18:35–19:10; 19:11 locates him near Jerusalem. Today it is widely recog-
nized that this travel section is an editorial framework created by the
evangelist.
The arrangement of the journey to Jerusalem is determined by two
factors. First, there is an inclusion that holds the entire unit together. The
travel section both begins (9:51ff.) and ends (19:28ff.) with a rejection of
Jesus (by a village of the Samaritans, 9:52; by Jerusalem, 19:39-44). Second,
a chiastic pattern determines the overall arrangement of the material.

A To Jerusalem: rejection in Samaria (9:51ff.)

B Following Jesus (9:57ff.)
C How to inherit eternal life (10:25ff.)
D Prayer (11:1ff.)
E Signs of the Kingdom (11:14ff.)
F Conflict with the Pharisees (11:37ff.)
G Present faithfulness and the future
kingdom (12:35ff.)
H Healing followed by accusation
(13:10ff.)
I Exclusion from messianic
banquet/Inclusion (13:18ff.)
118 Introduction

J Prophets perish in
Jerusalem (13:31-33)
J’ Jerusalem kills the
prophets (13:34-35)
I’ Exclusion from messianic
banquet/Inclusion 4:7ff.)
H’ Healing followed by an accusation
(14:1ff.)
G’ Present faithfulness and the future
kingdom (16:1ff.)
F’ Conflict with the Pharisees (16:14ff.)
E’ Signs of the kingdom (17:11ff.)
D’ Prayer (18:1ff.)
C’ How to inherit eternal life (18:18ff.)
B’ Following Jesus (18:35ff.)
A’ To Jerusalem: rejection by Jerusalem (19:11ff.)

(Cf. Bailey, 79-82; Talbert, 51-56; Liefeld; Van Linden, 144-45). To anyone
who knows the characteristics of the narrative art of the ancient
Mediterranean world, neither the balanced form nor the otherwise loose
arrangement of material comes as any surprise (cf. Huet). Moreover, that
ancient Mediterranean people expected literary products to reflect many of
the same techniques as the visual arts may be seen in Lucian’s statement that
the historian’s task in presentation is similar to that of the sculptor (How To
Write History 53-55).
Luke 9:18-50 functions as a prelude to the journey to Jerusalem. Just as
the Galilean ministry began (4:16ff.) after Jesus in prayer received his
anointing and the attestation of a heavenly voice (3:21-22; cf. 4:18), so the
journey to Jerusalem begins (9:51ff.) after Jesus in two sessions of prayer
(9:18; 9:28-29) receives his perception of the necessity of suffering (9:22, 31,
44) and the attestation of a heavenly voice (9:35). Since the journey to
Jerusalem contains two motifs—(a) Jesus goes to his death, and (b) Jesus
instructs the disciples—the material in 9:18ff. supplies the bases for what
follows: (a) the necessity of suffering perceived in prayer and (b) the
authority for Jesus’ subsequent instruction.
The authority for the instruction of Jesus’ disciples is set forth in two
paragraphs (9:28-36; 9:37-43a). Apparently in the Lukan account of the
Transfiguration the conversation between Jesus, Elijah, and Moses was not
overheard by the three who were asleep. In 9:32 diagregoresantes could mean
either the disciples “kept awake” or “when they came awake,” the latter being
Introduction 119

the more probable. In either case it is to be inferred they were ignorant of the
conversation but saw only Jesus’ glory (9:32) and were distressed to see the
heavenly visitors slipping away from Jesus (diachørizesthai gives the sense
“while they were beginning to go away”). Peter’s response was an attempt to
hold the glory by delaying the departure of Moses and Elijah (9:33). As
though in response to the disciples’ desire to hold this glory, a cloud over-
shadows them and a voice comes from the cloud: “This is my Son, my
Chosen; listen to him” (9:35; cf. Ps 2:7; Isa 42:1; Deut 18:15): God himself
in audible voice declares Jesus’ teaching to be authoritative (cf. Acts 3:22-23).
Luke omits the discussion about the coming of Elijah found in Matt
17:9-13; Mark 9:9-13 and places immediately after the Transfiguration the
exorcism story of 9:37-43. In so doing he makes the exorcism an integral
part of the Transfiguration rather than a postlude. Furthermore, Luke’s form
of the exorcism story makes it a demonstration of Jesus’ authority rather
than, as in Matthew 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29, a teaching about the disciples’
ministry of healing. In Luke all the stress falls on the authority of Jesus, so
9:37-43 goes together with the voice from heaven (9:35) to reaffirm Jesus’
authority prior to his telling his disciples he must be delivered into the hands
of men (19:44), before he delivers his didach∑ on the way to Jerusalem
(9:51–19:44). In this way 9:18ff. functions as a basis for the travel section.
Luke 9:51–19:44 functions theologically in a number of ways. (1) The
didactic material given in the context of a journey fits Luke’s conception of
the life of faith as a pilgrimage, always on the move (cf. Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23;
22:4; 24:14, 22 where the Christian faith is designated “the Way”). This is
true for Jesus and for his followers. (2) The journey is to Jerusalem and to
Jesus’ death. It is in respect of his sufferings that Jesus is described as “going
on ahead” of the disciples (19:28). Since it is “through many tribulations
that we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22), Jesus goes before his
disciples as arch∑gos (Acts 3:15; 5:31; Heb 2:10; 12:2), that is, pioneer or
leader. (3) Some of the material prefigures the wider mission to be narrated
in Acts (e.g., the mission of the Seventy [or Seventy-two] in Luke 10 prefig-
ures the mission of Philip, Barnabas, and Paul in Acts). (4) The presence of
the Galileans throughout the travel section furnishes a guarantee for the
preservation and continuity of the tradition of Jesus after his ascension.
What we are told in 9:51–19:44 has been delivered to us by those who from
the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word (1:1-4). (5) A
discerning auditor would likely have heard the narrative of Jesus’ teaching on
the way to Jerusalem and his being taken up as analogous to that of the
Testament/Ascension of Moses in which Moses gives his final teaching while
journeying to the place where God would take him up (Evans, 160).
The Costs of Discipleship
Luke 9:51–10:24

The first major thought unit in the travel section (9:51–10:24) is linked
together by a variety of devices. In 9:52 and 10:1 Jesus sends someone before
his face prior to his arrival. This joins 9:51-62 with 10:1ff. The rejection of
Jesus by Samaritans (9:52-56) is followed by a threefold dialogue on disci-
pleship (9:57-62), the first of which echoes the Samaritan rejection. In the
second and third dialogues (vv. 60, 62), the references to the kingdom of
God are Lukan and tie this section together with 10:1ff. where vv. 9, 11
repeat distinctive Lukan references to the kingdom. The unit 10:1-24 is
joined by several interlocking devices: vv. 1, 3-4, 16 are linked by the verb
“send forth”; vv. 5-7, 8-9, 10-11 by “into whatever [house or city] you
enter”; vv. 12, 13-15 by “it will be more tolerable” (on that day or in the
judgment); vv. 17-20 are linked by the reference to the return of the Seventy
(esp. by the reference to joy in v. 17 and the twofold “to rejoice” in v. 20); vv.
21, 22 are joined by their common use of “Father” and “reveal.” As a unit,
vv. 21-22 are linked to vv. 17-20 by the time reference, “in that same hour,”
and the mention of Jesus’ rejoicing (a different word but the same idea as in
vv. 17-20). The concluding unit, vv. 23-24, is tied to what precedes by the
introduction in v. 23 (his disciples) and by the key word “hear” that ties into
10:16. In these ways the evangelist has woven 9:51–10:24 into a unified
whole.
The basic pattern of the unit is ABA’: 9:52-56 constitutes A; 10:1-24 is
A’. In both, Jesus sends out disciples to prepare for his coming; in both, the
motif of rejection is present. Luke 9:57-62 constitutes B: here the focus is on
the costs of following Jesus. Any discussion of the thought of 9:51–10:24
must take account of the Lukan patterning of the material. Luke 9:52-56
and 10:1-24, therefore, will be treated together and 9:57-62 separately.
A (9:52-56) and A’ (10:1-24) point to the Lukan theology of world
mission (2:32; 3:6; 4:25-27; 8:26ff.). On the one hand, in 9:52-56 Jesus
moves into Samaritan territory. Though he is rejected the story gives a
122 The Costs of Discipleship

warrant from the life of Jesus for the Christian mission into Samaria in Acts
8. On the other hand, 10:1-24 foreshadows the Gentile mission in Acts
13–28. (a) Luke 10:1, a verse peculiar to this gospel, mentions the Seventy
or the Seventy-two others (i.e., besides the Twelve) who are sent two by two.
This seems to be Lukan because 22:35, which is addressed to the Twelve,
echoes 10:4, seeming to imply that the material in chapter 10 was originally
addressed to the Twelve. The textual evidence is very evenly divided between
Seventy and Seventy-two. This vacillation of the manuscripts is best
explained by Genesis 10 in the Massoretic Text in which the number of the
nations of the world is seventy, whereas in the LXX the number is seventy-
two. Whatever the original reading, then, the point is the same. The number
seventy or seventy-two symbolizes all the nations of the world: the mission is
universal. (b) Luke 10 includes in its first twenty-four verses much of the
material found in Matthew’s instructions to the Twelve regarding missionary
activity in chapter 10. Luke, however, does not have the saying found in
Matthew 10:5-6: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of
the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Although the Lukan geography does indicate the mission of the Seventy was
within Jewish territory, the omission of the saying allows the number, with
its symbolism of all nations, to foreshadow the later Gentile mission. (c) The
basic architectural pattern controlling Luke-Acts is the series of correspon-
dences in content and sequence between events in the gospel and those in
Acts (Talbert 1974, 15-23). In this parallelism between the two volumes of
Luke’s work, 10:1ff. comes at just the point to make it correspond with the
missionary journeys of Paul to the Gentiles in Acts 13ff. These three strands
of evidence, taken together, indicate that Luke intended 10:1ff. to fore-
shadow the Gentile mission of the church and gives a warrant from the
career of Jesus for the Gentile mission of Paul, just as 9:52-56 gives such a
warrant for the Samaritan mission of Acts 8. Luke 9:52-56 and 10:1-24 (A
and A’), like 4:16-30 at the beginning of the Galilean ministry, focus on the
Lukan universalism at the start of the travel narrative: the gospel must be
carried to all peoples.
There is a sense in which 9:1-6, 52-56; 10:1ff. belong together as part of
a pattern in the gospel. All three speak of Jesus “sending out” disciples. Luke
9:1-6 specifies it was the Twelve who were sent, while 9:52-56 is ambiguous:
v. 52 says he sent out messengers, while v. 54’s reference to James and John
would seem to imply the Twelve are involved. In 10:1 the reference is to
seventy (or seventy-two) others, the “others” being important. More than
just the Twelve are involved in mission; indeed the mission that symbolizes
universality is not carried out by the Twelve as such. Here again we see inti-
Luke 9:51–10:24 123

mations of the narrative in Acts with its distinction between the work of the
Twelve and that of others, like Paul. Taken together, 9:1-6, 52-56; 10:1ff. lay
the foundation in the earthly life of Jesus for the commission of the risen
Christ in Acts 1:8: “You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea
and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”
Luke 9:52-56 (A) and 10:1-24 (A’) not only present the theology of
world mission, they also offer guidelines to govern missionary behavior. On
the one hand, both A and A’ contain a note of rejection following the theme
of universality. Two different responses to this rejection are mentioned. (1) In
the Samaritan episode (9:52-56), James and John ask Jesus about the possi-
bility of calling down fire from heaven on those who rejected him,
reminiscent of an Elijah episode in 2 Kings 1:10 (cf. Sir 48:3). Jesus rejects
any retaliation against his rejecters. Here is one guideline for dealing with
rejection. It is in line with early Christian instruction about disciples’
response to offending non-Christians (cf. Rom 12:18-21; 1 Pet 2:20-25;
3:16-17). (2) In the section of the mission of the Seventy (or Seventy-two),
the response to rejection is very much that of 9:5. Luke 10:10 instructs the
disciples to remove the dust from their feet as an acted parable against those
rejecting them (cf. Acts 13:51 where Paul and Barnabas “shook off the dust
from their feet” against those in Antioch of Pisidia who responded nega-
tively). This symbolic act declared those who rejected the message had no
part in the eschatological people of God. This judgment was to be made, but
retaliation was to be foregone.
On the other hand, 10:1-24 contains a number of other guidelines for
missionaries, as may be seen when the train of thought is traced. After a
universalistic note (10:1) there is a call for prayer that God will supply
laborers for the missionary work (v. 2; cf. Acts 13:1-3). The missionaries are
totally dependent on God for their protection (v. 3) and sustenance (v. 4a).
Their mission is urgent and must not be delayed (v. 4b; cf. 2 Kgs 4:29). The
missionaries are not to have any qualms about subsisting off the generosity of
others (cf. 1 Cor 9:4ff.), but are not to beg from house to house, accepting
the hospitality of one house (vv. 5-7; Acts 16:15; cf. 1 Kgs 17:15; 2 Kgs 4:8).
They are not to worry about the restrictions of the Jewish food laws but are
to eat what is set before them (v. 8: cf. 1 Cor 10:27). Proclamation of the
kingdom is to be by deed and word (v. 9; cf. 11:20). Rejection of the
missionaries makes one liable at the judgment (vv. 12, 13-15) because Jesus
is identified with them: rejection of a messenger equals rejection of Jesus (cf.
Matt 25:31-46). Furthermore, the closeness of Jesus and the Father means
that rejection of Jesus equals rejection of God (v. 16: Acts 9:5; 22:7-8; 26:9
11, 14-15; Matt 10:40). The manifestation of Jesus’ power in the work of
124 The Costs of Discipleship

the missionaries is testimony to the power of Satan being broken (v. 18; with
10:19 cf. Acts 28:1-6; 18:9-10; 27:23-24). The demonstration of power over
the demonic, however, is not to be a disciple’s major desire, because an emis-
sary of the Lord can perform mighty works in his name and still miss the
kingdom (cf. Matt 7:22; 1 Cor 9:27). One’s primary concern must be for
personal salvation (v. 20; cf. Exod 32:32; Pss 69:28; 87:4-6; 139:16; Dan
10:21; 12:1). This is a warning to the disciples to place less importance on
the miraculous. It is to those who are unlikely candidates that both the
divine power of Jesus’ name and the greater importance of having one’s name
in the book of life are revealed (v. 21). It is God who knows who his Son is
and to him the Father has given this authority that the missionaries experi-
ence (v. 22; cf. 3:21-22). Moreover, since it is the Son who knows the Father,
he is the one to make God and his will known (v. 22b; cf. 9:35). Finally,
Jesus’ disciples are to be congratulated because of what they have seen (expe-
rienced), namely, the indications in the missionaries’ power over Satan that
the time of fulfillment has come—a time that people of the past were unable
to see (experience [vv. 23 24; cf. 1 Pet 1:10-12]). From such a survey we can
see the evangelist has used this section not only to foreshadow the Gentile
mission of the church, but also to give certain instructions and guidance that
would be needed at the time the gospel was written (e.g., payment of
missionaries; eating of any food set before them; balance in one’s concern for
power in ministry and for one’s own relationship with God).
In 9:57-62 (B) the focus is upon the costs of discipleship and consists of
a threefold dialogue: a—I will follow you (vv. 57-58); b—follow me (vv. 59-
60); a’—I will follow you (vv. 61-62). Here three would-be disciples
misunderstand the nature of the commitment called for by Jesus. To each
Jesus states the stringent demands he places on those who would follow him.
In a (vv. 57-58), Jesus responds to a man’s expression of willingness to
follow him wherever he went. Having just been refused hospitality by a
Samaritan village (9:53), Jesus tells the man of the consequences of following
him: Jesus is homeless; he does not belong to a settled family (cf. Sir 36:24-
26 where one who “lodges wherever night finds him” is the unmarried man
with no home of his own); to follow Jesus wherever he goes would mean to
share the homeless lot of the Son of Man (cf. 18:28-30). To ponder the
consequences of discipleship thusly is to raise the question of the man’s
resolve.
In b, Jesus takes the initiative and says, “Follow me” (v. 59a). The
response was “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (v. 59b). Burial of
the dead was a religious duty among the Jews taking precedence over all
others. Even priests, who were not normally allowed to touch dead bodies,
Luke 9:51–10:24 125

could do so in the case of close relatives (Lev 21:1-3), so the burial of a father
was, to a Jew, the primary duty of filial piety (Tob 4:3; 6:15). An unburied
relative apparently was equivalent to the presence of a corpse in the room (b.
Berakoth 18a). Since the presence of a corpse defiled a person, it precluded
the performance of any other religious rite. Sirach 38:16 is intelligible in this
context: “My son, let your tears fall for the dead . . . . Lay out his body with
the honor due him, and do not neglect his burial.” That business, Jesus
replied, must look after itself: a disciple must go and proclaim the kingdom
of God, because discipleship comes above the highest claims of family and
one’s duty to it. (Cf. 1 Tim 5:8 where the other side of abandonment to Jesus
is spelled out: one is called upon to care for his family.)
In a’ (vv. 61-62) another says he will follow Jesus, but, like Elisha, only
after he has said farewell to those at home (cf. 1 Kgs 19:19-21). Jesus’
response is in the form of a proverb (Hesiod, Works and Days 443; Pliny,
Natural History 18.19.49): only those who can plow a straight furrow by
moving toward a mark without looking away for a moment, no matter what
the distraction, are single-minded enough for a disciple’s role that calls for
perseverance to the end (cf. Phil 3:13; Heb 12:1ff.; Matt 5:8; 13:44-46).
These three dialogues dealing with the costs of discipleship call for an
absolute detachment from property and family and for a single-minded
devotion to Jesus that perseveres to the end: “Following him is not a task
which is added to others like working a second job . . . . It is everything. It is
a solemn commitment which forces the disciples-to-be to reorder all their
other duties” (Karris 1977, 130). When disciples go out as missionaries, it is
to this type of relationship with Jesus that they are calling their hearers. It is,
moreover, to this type of relationship the missionaries themselves are called.
On Loving God and the Neighbor
Luke 10:25-42

For the evangelist the whole of 10:29-42 is an exposition, in haggadic story

form and in reverse order, of the two great love commandments of 10:27.
The story of the Good Samaritan, vv. 29-37, deals with the meaning of the
commandment to love one’s neighbor as oneself (v. 27b); the story of Martha
and Mary, vv. 38-42, interprets the injunction to love God with one’s whole
self (v. 27a). A discussion of 10:25-42 must deal with both parts of Luke’s
exposition.
At the level of Lukan theology, the Good Samaritan pericope functions
as an interpretation of the command to love one’s neighbor. The form of
10:25-37 is that of a controversy dialogue with two parallel parts (Crossan).
Part one, vv. 25-28, has four components: (1) the lawyer’s question (v. 25);
(2) Jesus’ counter-question (v. 26); (3) the lawyer’s own answer (v. 27); and
(4) Jesus’ command (v. 28). Part two, vv. 29-37, has the same four compo-
nents: (1) the lawyer’s question (v. 29); (2) Jesus’ counter-question (vv.
30-36); (3) the lawyer’s own answer (v. 37a); and (4) Jesus’ command (v.
37b). The two parts are held together by the key words “neighbor” (vv. 27,
36) and “do” (vv. 25, 28, 37). This form appears distinctly Lukan when a
comparison is made with the other synoptics.
On the one hand, 10:25-28 has parallels in Matthew 22:34-40 and
Mark 12:28-31. (a) Like Matthew, Luke says Jesus’ opponent was a lawyer,
that he came to test Jesus, and that he addressed him as Teacher. (b) Unlike
Matthew or Mark, however, the question put to Jesus (v. 25) was not about
the greatest or first commandment but about how to inherit eternal life (cf.
18:18). (c) More important, in Luke alone Jesus asks the lawyer, “What is
written in the law? How do you read?”: that is, the counter-question. (d)
Also Luke alone has the lawyer, not Jesus, give the answer (v. 27). (e) Finally,
only in Luke does Jesus respond with an appraisal and a command: “You
have answered right; do this and you will live” (v. 28). Part one of the
controversy dialogue depends upon the Lukan distinctions.
128 On Loving God and the Neighbor

On the other hand, 10:29-37 is unique to the gospel. It is generally

recognized that the parable of the Good Samaritan is confined to vv. 30-35
and that vv. 29, 36-37 are redactional, due either to Luke or to a pre-Lukan
hand that formed the two-part controversy dialogue. It is this redactional
material that makes vv. 29-37 fit the controversy dialogue model. Either the
evangelist shaped the material in this way or chose this form in preference to
another. (Note that Luke omits the Matthew-Mark version of the lawyer’s
question at the end of his gospel.)
The thrust of the double controversy dialogue can be discerned if we
examine first of all the two questions with which its two parts begin and,
secondly, the commands with which each part ends. (1) The lawyer asks
Jesus, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (v. 26). Since it is two Jews
talking and since Jews assumed that the people of God would inherit the
New Age, the import of the question is clear. The lawyer is asking what he as
an individual should do to guarantee his place in the people of God who
would inherit eternal life: “What do I do to belong to God’s people?”
Moreover, when the lawyer asks, “Who is my neighbor?” he is wanting to
know how he can spot others who belong to God’s covenant people. The
Jews interpreted “neighbor” in terms of members of the same people or reli-
gious community, that is, fellow Jews (cf. Matt 5:43). Even within the Jewish
people there was a tendency to exclude certain others from the sphere of
neighbor. For example, the Pharisees sometimes excluded the ordinary
people of the land and the Qumran Covenanters excluded the “sons of dark-
ness” (1 QS 1:10; 9:21f.). Jews generally excluded Samaritans and foreigners
from the category of neighbor. Hence the lawyer’s question was basically,
“Who belongs to the category of God’s people?”
(2) Note that both parts of the controversy dialogue end on the same
theme: “do.” Verse 29 reads, “do this [present infinitive], and you will live.”
Verse 37b says, “Go and do likewise” [present infinitive]. The language indi-
cates that the concern is with a certain type of continuing behavior. If the
two parts of the dialogue open with questions about who belongs to God’s
people, they end with commands to behave in a certain way. What is the
prescribed way of acting?
Part one has the lawyer give his view about the orientation that charac-
terized the covenant people of God: Deuteronomy 6:5, love God, and
Leviticus 19:18, love your neighbor, are joined in the lawyer’s response.
Assuming that the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs represent pre-
Christian Judaism, the two great commandments had already been linked in
Jewish thought (T. Issacher 5:2; 7:5; T. Dan 5:3). “You have answered right”
(v. 28a)—Jesus approves of this interpretation of the law—”Do this, and you
Luke 10:25-42 129

will live” (v. 28b; cf. Lev 18:5; Gal 3: 12). This accent on doing is in line
with the Lukan emphasis on “hearing the word of God and doing it” (cf.
8:21; 6:47; 3:10-14; 1:38). Loving God and loving the neighbor are the
signs of covenant loyalty that will guarantee one will live in the New Age
with the people of God.
The Lukan transition in v. 29 (cf. 16:15; 18:19-21) indicates that what
follows flows from the need to deal with the lawyer’s self-justification: “How
can I spot others who belong to God’s people so that I can love them?” In
response to this question the story of the Good Samaritan is told. After the
story Jesus asks, “Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the
man who fell among robbers?” (v. 36); that is, which man acted like one who
belonged to the covenant people of God? Which one loved? The answer
from the lawyer was inevitable: “The one who showed mercy on him” (v.
37a). The command of Jesus is the unit’s conclusion: “Go and do likewise”
(v. 37b).
The Good Samaritan narrative functions at the level of Lukan redaction
as an exemplary story. The point is that we should go and do likewise, a
commentary on what “loving the neighbor as oneself ” really means. It means
to act like the Samaritan. The focus Luke gives the parable of the Good
Samaritan is not on how Jesus acted but on what Christians of the evange-
list’s own day should do (Lambrecht). In the Lukan context this means that
people who belong to God’s covenant community show love (a) that is not
limited by the clean-unclean laws (cf. Acts 10, 15); (b) that does not limit
itself to friends but has a universal scope (cf. Luke 2:32; 3:6; 4:25-27;
10:1ff.); and (c) that does not look for recompense (cf. Luke 6:32-36). This,
of course, was the way Jesus loved.
In order to deal adequately with 10:25-37, it will be necessary to depart
from the procedure normally followed in this commentary. Whereas usually
the explanation of a unit is concerned exclusively with what the material
meant for Luke, at this point we will treat also the function of the Parable of
the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ Sitz im Leben. Before this can be done a word
is necessary about the recent interpretation of parables. (A useful summary
can be found in Perrin, 89-193.)
The modern study of the parables has shown (1) that the way a parable
is used in a gospel is not necessarily the way it originally functioned (so
Jeremias), and (2) that a parable may function either to instruct or to
provoke: that is, it may be a simile in which the lesser known is clarified by
the better known (“the kingdom of God is like”) or a metaphor in which two
not entirely comparable elements are juxtaposed resulting in a shock to the
imagination. The shock forces the listener to make a judgment on the situa-
130 On Loving God and the Neighbor

tion in the parable (so Funk, Crossan). It has been on the provocative func-
tion of the parables that the most recent interpreters have placed greatest
emphasis. The parable of the Good Samaritan makes a fine example.
Detached from its redactional setting in the controversy dialogue, the
parable consists of 10:30-35. The dissimilarity of its contents to Judaism and
of its form with early Christianity argues for its origins in Jesus’ ministry. In
order to hear the parable as the original Jewish hearers did, one must recog-
nize: First, Jews despised Samaritans, the descendents of the mixed
population that followed Assyria’s conquest of Samaria in 722 BC (2 Kgs 17).
Possessors also of a syncretistic religion, the Samaritans opposed the efforts of
Ezra and Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem and reestablish the sanctuary of
Yahweh (Ezra 4:2ff.: Neh 2:19; 4:2ff.), building a rival temple on Mount
Gerazim. Josephus (Antiquities 11.8.4 §324) says this was during the reign of
the last king of Persia (335–330 BC) but his story is suspect. This Samaritan
temple was razed by John Hyrcanus in 128 BC (Josephus, Antiquities 13.9.1
§256; War 1.2.6 §63). Josephus says it was in exasperation over the
Samaritans’ prolonged apostasy and treachery. Pompey liberated them from
the Jewish yoke in 63 BC. Enmity existed between Jews and Samaritans at the
time of Christian origins (e.g., John 4:9; Luke 9:52-53), some rabbis even
saying acceptance of alms by a Jew from a Samaritan delayed the redemption
of Israel. Also a maxim emerged that no Jew need trouble himself to save a
Samaritan’s life (b. Sanhedrin 57a). In light of the existing tensions, Jewish
hearers could be expected to respond negatively to any references to
Samaritans.
Second, Jews who were loyal to the Scriptures would be concerned
about the laws of cleanness and uncleanness. Among these laws were those
that dealt with the uncleanness contracted from touching a dead body (Num
19:11-13, 14-19; Mishna, Eduyoth, 8:4). As noted above, priests were
exempted from burying even their relatives, except for the nearest of kin—
mother, father, son, daughter, brother, virgin sister (Lev 21:1-3). This was
because as priests they must avoid uncleanness. The chief priest was not to
defile himself even to bury his father and mother (Lev 21:10-11). When,
therefore, Jesus’ hearers were told the priest and Levite avoided any contact
with the man who was half-dead (v. 30), they would know these religious
figures did exactly as they were instructed to do by Scripture (Caird, 148).
The parable makes the despised Samaritan the hero and the Bible-
believing-and-obeying priest and Levite the villains. This demands the
hearers say what, for them, cannot be said, what is a contradiction in terms:
bad (Samaritan) cannot be good; and good (priest and Levite) cannot be
bad. If as a hearer one accepts the judgment of the parable, then one’s whole
Luke 10:25-42 131

world of values is shattered. In this way, the original parable in its setting in
Jesus’ career aimed not to instruct but rather to challenge, to provoke, to
shatter stereotypes. The stereotyper is challenged in his judgments; the usual
criteria for evaluating a person’s worth are replaced by that of unselfish atten-
tion to human need wherever one encounters it. This is provocative. It raises
questions about one’s caricatures of others and the norms used to identify the
good and the bad. It also raises questions about this Jesus who confronts
hearers with standards of judgment that are so different from their own.
Who is he to overthrow my evaluations of others?
What functioned in Jesus’ original setting as a provocation and challenge
became in the gospel an exemplary story that teaches disciples how to love
their neighbor. This difference in function should not be seen as disconti-
nuity, as though the evangelist were distorting the original material. The
same parable that in its address to people committed to other values involved
the hearers in such a way they were led to a radical judgment, an abrupt
reversal of their old world, could function in quite a different way on the
other side of conversion. If one’s old world is shattered, a new one must be
constructed around one’s discipleship to Jesus. “The way the world comes
together again through the parables matters just as much as the way its idol-
atrous security is shattered” (Beardslee 1976). To use the parable of the Good
Samaritan as an exemplary story is to allow it to function in the constitution
of a new world for those who have already been converted from the old way.
To use it as a provocation that shatters the old world of a person is to allow it
to function as a catalyst for conversion. It “may turn out to be the case that
an alternation between these two types of speech—confirmation and unset-
tling—is required for communicating the Christian vision” (Beardslee 1975).
The parable of the Good Samaritan, then, functions in two ways depending
upon whether it is addressed to those whose world and values need shat-
tering or to those whose world needs solidifying.
The second part of the thought unit, 10:38-42, tells the story of Martha
and Mary. If the parable of the Good Samaritan, at the level of Lukan
theology, dealt primarily with the meaning of the commandment to love
one’s neighbor, this episode deals with the meaning of the first command-
ment. The clue to understanding the role of 10:38-42 in relation to
10:25-28 is the interpretative principle voiced by R. Akiba: “Every section in
scripture is explained by the one that stands next to it” (Sifre on Numbers
§131). This is reinforced in that 18:18-30 corresponds to 10:25-42 in the
chiastic pattern of the travel narrative. Both sections follow the same arrange-
ment: (a) dialogue on the law; (b) love of neighbor; and (c) love of the Lord
(Van Elderen) .
132 On Loving God and the Neighbor

Luke 10:38-42 asserts that to love the Lord with all your heart, soul,
strength, and mind means to sit at the Lord’s (Jesus’) feet. To sit at a person’s
feet was the equivalent of “to study under someone” or “to be a disciple of
someone” (cf. Acts 22:3 Paul was raised “at the feet of Gamaliel”; cf. Luke
8:35). To love God with your whole being, Luke says, is to be a disciple of
Jesus. Busyness guarantees nothing; listening to Jesus’ words is the crucial
point (cf. 5:5). Jesus’ response to Martha’s agitated request (v. 40; cf. 12:13;
6:41-42) is plagued by textual problems. The two with the best manuscript
support are: (1) “Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things;
one thing is needful”; and (2) “Martha, you are anxious and troubled about
many things; few things are needful or one.” A final decision is difficult,
given the evidence. If (1) were chosen, the meaning would be that Mary has
chosen the one thing that is needful, discipleship, receiving from Jesus rather
than trying to be the hostess of the one who came to serve (cf. 22:27). In this
case, Mary would be living “by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of
the Lord” (Deut 8:3; cf. Luke 4:4; John 6:27). If (2) were chosen, the
meaning would be something like, “A couple of olives, or even one, will
suffice at present. Mary has the main course already” (Danker, 133). The
good portion would be the “food which endures to eternal life” (John 6:27),
which is Jesus’ gift to his disciples. With either reading, the point is that
loving God means submission to Jesus and receiving from him (m. Aboth
1.4—Jose b. Joezer of Zeredah said: “Let thy house be a meeting-house for
the sages and sit amid the dust of their feet and drink in their words with
thirst”).
Mary and Martha in this story are a study in contrasts. Mary is charac-
terized by an undivided attention to Jesus himself. She is also one who
receives from the Lord. Martha was distracted, not wholly focused on Jesus
himself. The reason was her “much serving” (v. 40). Her desire to work for
Jesus distracted her focus on Jesus and prevented her receiving from him
what she needed. This study in contrasts holds up Mary as the embodiment
of what it means to love God wholly, just as the parable of the Good
Samaritan held up the Samaritan as the embodiment of what it means to
love one’s neighbor.
The thought unit 10:25-42 consists of an exposition of the two great
commandments for disciples. To love one’s neighbor means to act like the
Samaritan. To love God means to act like Mary. These are the two character-
istics of those who belong to the covenant people of God: to receive from the
Lord and to give to others. Without the former the latter is either not desired
or becomes a burden that produces anger at those who are not doing their
part.
Prayer: For What and Why?
Luke 11:1-13

Luke 11:1-13 is composed of a number of independent traditions: (a) vv. 1-

4 (cf. Matt 6:9-13); (b) vv. 5-8 (only in Luke); (c) vv. 9-10 (cf. Matt 7:7-8);
and (d) vv. 11-13 (cf. Matt 7:9-11). These traditions are held together not
only by the common theme of prayer, but also by a complex series of inter-
locking devices. (1) Verses 1-4 are linked to what follows in several ways: (a)
“And he said to them” (vv. 2, 5), both only in Luke; (b) Father (vv. 2, 11),
heavenly Father (v. 13); (c) bread (v. 3), loaves (v. 5), the latter only in Luke.
(2) Verses 5-8 are linked to what follows by “I tell you” (v. 8), “And I tell
you” (v. 9), the latter not being in Matthew 7:7. (3) Verses 9-10 are linked
with vv. 11-13 by “ask” in vv. 9-10, 11, 12, 13. Clearly the evangelist
intended to tie these diverse materials into a single unit dealing with prayer.
In their present form, these verses consist of a request for instruction by
a disciple (v. 1) followed by Jesus’ didach∑ (vv. 2-13), the content of which
deals first of all with what to pray for (vv. 2-4) and then with why one
should make a habit of praying (vv. 5-13).
For what should a disciple of Jesus pray? The distinctive Lukan perspec-
tive may be grasped only if 11:2-4 is compared with what many believe is the
original form of the Lord’s Prayer. Three versions of the prayer are found in
early Christianity: Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4; and Didach∑ 8:2. The form
in the Didach∑ is indebted to that in Matthew, so there are only two basic
forms of the prayer preserved by the early church. That in Matthew repre-
sents the shape of the prayer as it circulated in Jewish Christianity, that in
Luke the shape used by Gentile Christians at the end of the first century. The
original form of the prayer appears to have contained the number of peti-
tions in Luke with the language of Matthew being generally more original
(Jeremias; R. E. Brown). This rule of thumb yields the following result:

Father:
Hallowed be thy name;
134 Prayer: For What and Why?

Thy kingdom come.

Give us this day our bread for the morrow;
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One.

There is an address followed by two “Thou-petitions” and three “us-peti-

tions.”
The two “Thou-petitions” are synonymous parallelism. Since it is disci-
ples who already stand within the kingdom who are praying, to say “Thy
kingdom come,” would be to ask for the final consummation. The two
initial petitions, then, ask God to intervene to bring the New Age to pass.
What this would mean for God is that his name would be reverenced and his
rule acknowledged.
The first two “us-petitions” view the eschatological victory from the
perspective of what it would mean for disciples. The term epiousion is diffi-
cult because it is so rare. In the third century Origen (De Oratione 27:7) said
he could find no example of it in other Greek writers. Etymology yields two
possible translations: either “daily” (from epi einai) or “for the future” (from
epi plus ienai). Jerome said that the Gospel of the Hebrews read it in the
latter way, as a reference to the eschatological bread, the manna from heaven,
or the food of the messianic banquet. Since the first two petitions are escha-
tological, it seems preferable to read it in an eschatological manner. Parallel
to the petition for the heavenly bread is the prayer for forgiveness, that is, the
eschatological forgiveness of sin. The coming of the New Age would mean
that God’s name would be reverenced and his rule accepted; that disciples
would participate in the messianic banquet and their sin be ultimately
blotted out.
The last “us-petition” is concerned with the idea of eschatological temp-
tation that is the work of the devil. In the final encounter between God and
the Evil One that ushers in God’s kingdom, the disciples ask to be sheltered:
preserve us from temptation and its source.
The prayer as a whole is the prayer of a community (“Give us”; “our
bread”; “forgive us”; “we forgive”; “lead us”; “deliver us”) that believes it has a
unique relation to God. Ancient Near Eastern, Greek, and Jewish prayers
addressed God as Father. Focusing only on selected Jewish ones, we may
note Psalm 89:26 (the king cried to Yahweh: “Thou art my Father, my God,
and Rock of my salvation”); Isaiah 64:8 (“Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father;
we are the clay, and thou art our potter”); Sirach 23:1, 4 (“O Lord, Father
and Ruler of my life, do not abandon me”); Wisdom of Solomon 14:3 (“It is
your providence, O Father, that steers its course, because you have given it a
Luke 11:1-13 135

path in the sea”); 3 Maccabees 6:1-15 (“When Jonah was pining away
unpitied in the belly of the monster of the deep, you, Father, restored him
uninjured to all his household”); 4Q372, 1:16, has Joseph pray to God: “My
Father and my God, do not abandon me in the hands of gentiles”; Blessing 4
of the Eighteen Benedictions from the Cairo Genizah has “Favor us with
your knowledge, our Father”; in the Ahabah Rabbah, part of the morning
worship in the Jerusalem temple, as well as part of the morning worship in
the synagogue, the prayer runs: “our Father, Merciful Father, have pity on us
and inspire us to perceive and understand”; the Litany of the New year, as
quoted by Rabbi Akiba (b. Tannaith 25b), runs: “Our Father, our King, for
thine own sake have mercy on us.” Most of these Mediterranean prayers that
addressed God as Father did so to indicate God as creator, protector, and
redeemer. The gospel tradition indicates Jesus believed God was his Father
and that he was God’s Son (Luke 10:21-22 // Matt 11:25-27; Mark 13:32)
and that Jesus addressed God as Father (Mark 14:36; John 12:27-28; 11:41-
42). The tradition also says Jesus taught his disciples to address God as
Father (Luke 11:1-4 // Matt 6:9-13). The Abba prayer reflects the Aramaic
tradition from the earliest Christians. The prayer with its address to
Abba/Father was taken up and used in Gentile Christian worship.
In the prayer the community asks for two things: (1) the speedy (cf. “this
day”) coming of the eschatological kingdom of God with all of its benefits
both for God and for the disciples; and (2) protection in the eschatological
crisis that precedes the shift of the ages. The historical Jesus taught his disci-
ples to pray for the immediate shift of the ages and for the protection that
would guarantee their participation in the New Age. It assumes a jarring
single-mindedness. The disciples are to pray for one thing essentially: the
realization of the ultimate ideal, God’s kingdom, the New Age. They are to
ask for it to appear immediately. Such a prayer functions provocatively,
asking about the ones addressed, why do they not desire this one thing? Why
cannot they desire this one thing? What does it say about them that they
cannot pray this way? In this sense the prayer calls for a change in the
hearers, for the purification of their desires.
The Lukan form of the Lord’s Prayer differs from the hypothetical orig-
inal not in the number of petitions but in the wording. The place to begin in
noting the differences is with the “us-petitions” in vv. 3-4: “Go on giving us
day by day our daily bread” (v. 3). Luke’s present tense “go on giving”
(Matthew uses the aorist—give today) and the uniquely Lukan “day by day”
(cf. 9:23; 19:17; Acts 17:11) control the understanding of this petition.
Whatever the qualifying ton epiousion may mean elsewhere, here the transla-
tion “daily” seems appropriate. The evangelist sees the petition as the
136 Prayer: For What and Why?

disciples’ request for God to go on supplying their physical needs day by day.
It is not specifically an eschatological prayer in this context. Jesus is telling
the disciples, some of whom had been sent out without extra provisions (9:3;
10:4) and had found their needs supplied (22:35), to pray for the provisions
they need for the day. In v. 4 the Lukan differences may be a clue to the
evangelist’s intention. Whereas Matthew uses “debts” as a term for violations
of both the relation to God and the relations of others to us, Luke uses “sins”
for our offenses against God. He leaves, however, the debtor language in the
second part of the petition. He specifies that we ourselves are continually
forgiving all who are indebted to us. Here again the prayer is asking for
something within history.
If the petitions in vv. 3, 4a are concerned with the daily life of disciples
in this world, it is unlikely that the final petition of v. 4b should be read as
referring to the tribulation just before the eschaton: “Lead us not into temp-
tation” should almost certainly refer to the ordinary temptations of daily life
(cf. 4:13; 22:38; Acts 20:19). This would include not only the inward seduc-
tions of the devil but also the outward trials that test faith (cf. Sir 2:1ff.; Rom
5:3-5; Jas 1:13). If so, this petition would parallel the Jewish prayer, “Bring
me not into the power of sin, nor into the power of guilt, nor into the power
of temptation” (b. Berakoth 60b). If the idiom “to enter temptation” means
not “to be tempted” but rather “to yield to temptation” and if the negative
qualifies the idea of entry, then the petition would be understood as “cause
us not to succumb to temptation” (Carmignac, 236-304, 437-45). This
would fit the Lukan mind: both Jesus (4:13; 22:28) and his disciples (22:28;
Acts 20:19; 14:22) undergo temptations but, empowered by the Holy Spirit,
they overcome and do not succumb.
Most likely the first two Lukan petitions should be read in a similar way.
While a request for the eschaton should certainly not be excluded, the scope
is broad enough to include the disciples’ present also. The ancient textual
variant in v. 2b that replaced “hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come”
with “Let thy Holy Spirit come upon us” (Tertullian, Against Marcion 4:26)
reflects the way these two “Thou-petitions” were understood by some. Given
11:13’s “the heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him,”
the petition calling for the coming of the kingdom was apparently under-
stood in terms of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Though the textual variant is
not original, its reading of the passage’s intent may be correct. This can only
be decided after an exploration of the relation between the Spirit and the
kingdom in Luke-Acts. (Dunn; Smalley; Lampe 1955, 171-72.)
In Paul the Spirit is the present-ness of the coming kingdom. Where the
Spirit is the kingdom is, so to have the Spirit is to have part in the kingdom
Luke 11:1-13 137

here and now (cf. 1 Cor 4:20; 2 Cor 5:5; Rom 8:23; 14:17). The same thrust
is found in Luke-Acts where the ideas of the power of the kingdom and the
working of the Spirit of God are brought into a very close relationship. They
are in fact virtually identical. In Acts 1:4 the risen Christ speaks with the
apostles about the kingdom of God during his forty days of appearances. At
least part of this talk deals with the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5).
When the apostles ask the risen Lord about the kingdom (Acts 1:6), he
responds with words about the Holy Spirit (1:7-8). Luke 12:32 says it is the
Father’s good pleasure to give the disciples the kingdom, which parallels
11:13: the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. So when
17:21 says “the kingdom of God is in your midst,” Luke means that the
kingdom is present because Jesus is the unique bearer of the Spirit (1:35;
3:22; 4:18). The kingdom is present in Jesus insofar as he has the Spirit. In
Luke-Acts the presence of the Spirit is the “already” of the kingdom. Where
the Spirit is, there is the kingdom. God’s eschatological reign is both medi-
ated and characterized by the Spirit, of whom Jesus is the carrier par
excellence. So in the gospel the disciples who pray, “Thy kingdom come,”
realize in the pentecostal gift of the Holy Spirit a partial fulfillment of their
prayer. In such an experience they “see the kingdom of God” before they
taste death (9:27). Given this close identification of the present dimension of
the kingdom and the gift of the Holy Spirit, 11:2, “Thy kingdom come,”
may be a petition for the eschaton, but it is also a plea for the gift of the
Holy Spirit. The early variants on the text were, then, at least partially accu-
rate perceptions of the Lukan mind.
For what should a disciple pray? In a Sitz im Leben Jesu the Lord’s Prayer
functions as a call to petition God for an immediate shift of the ages. The
assumptions within the prayer are provocative and shatter all of the hearers’
illusions about their devotion to God and his rule. In the context of the third
gospel, the model prayer serves a didactic purpose. It gives instruction to
disciples about what to pray for in the midst of the ongoing historical
process: daily bread, forgiveness, victory over temptation, the gift of the Holy
Spirit, and the ultimate victory of God. The shift in function in the gospel
arises from the lived experience of the church that had continued to exist for
fifty or so years. In that time the disciples had found the power unleashed at
the resurrection of Jesus—the power that would bring the eschaton to the
cosmos—was already at work among the believers. This power was sufficient
for all their needs. Out of this experienced reality, they prayed not only for
God to bring history to its fulfillment but also for his continued provision of
their needs.
138 Prayer: For What and Why?

Why should a disciple pray? Luke 11:1-13 answers this question not
only with the teaching of Jesus (vv. 5-13) but also with his example (v. 1).
On the one hand, it was the example of Jesus that evoked one of his disci-
ples’ request, “Lord, teach us to pray.” A disciple prays because Jesus’
example points in that direction. Jesus was a praying activist; from prayer he
derived his spiritual power.
On the other hand, Jesus’ teaching in 11:5-13 gives a twofold reason for
praying. (1) In vv. 5-10 a parable found only in Luke (vv. 5 8) is followed by
what amounts to an interpretation (vv. 9-10). The parable’s story of a
neighbor, who when confronted with a midnight traveler for whom he had
no food shamelessly persisted in his requests to a friend until the friend got
up and supplied his needs, has been understood in two very different ways.
Some take it to advocate a stormy, unrelenting insistence that persists until
God grants the request. Just as the neighbor refused to take “no” for an
answer and so had his request met, so also the disciples should persist with
God who will eventually respond to shamelessness (“importunity” in the
RSV should be “shamelessness” as in NEB). Others, however, take the
parable to be a “how much more” story (cf. 18:1-8). If a reluctant friend who
does not want to answer a neighbor’s request will do so simply because of his
neighbor’s shamelessness in persisting, how much more will God who is
eager and willing answer your prayers. The disciples should pray because
God wants to answer. The second interpretation is the more probable
because (a) 18:1-8, which is a parallel passage, seems to support this second
reading; (b) 11:9-10 makes the point that one should make a habit of asking,
seeking, and knocking because God is certain to answer prayer; (c) 11:11-13
is cast into a “how much more” form; and (d) the first interpretation runs
counter to the spirit of Matthew 6:7. Viewed in this way, vv. 5-10 function
to answer why pray: a disciple prays in the first instance because God will
answer.
(2) Luke 11:11-13 gives a second reason why disciples should pray—
here again the mode of thought is “how much more.” Verses 11-13 differ
from their Matthean parallel (7:9-11) in two respects, one important and
one insignificant. (a) Luke’s two comparisons involve first the fish-serpent
and then the egg-scorpion parallels, while Matthew’s are first the loaf-stone
and then the fish-serpent correspondences. The difference has no major
bearing on the meaning. Background information offers the most assistance
in understanding the parallels. On the one hand, the fish-serpent parallel is
illuminated by there being a type of unclean fish in the Sea of Galilee that
can reach five feet in length, crawl on land, and has the appearance of a
snake. This eel-like creature is most probably the serpent mentioned here.
Luke 11:1-13 139

On the other hand, the egg-scorpion correspondence is clarified when we see

that when a scorpion’s limbs are closed around it, it is egg-shaped. The point
is that even sinful parents will not be cruel enough to give their offspring
something positively harmful. If an evil parent will not give hurtful gifts but
rather good gifts when asked, how much more will God? (b) Whereas
Matthew 7: 11 says, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give
good things to those who ask him,” Luke 11:13 reads, “how much more will
the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” Here the
difference is major. For the third evangelist the good gift of the heavenly
Father is not primarily things, even good things, but the Holy Spirit. After
his baptism while Jesus was praying the Holy Spirit descended upon him
(3:21-22). In Acts 1:14 the disciples are praying before the pentecostal gift of
the Spirit in Acts 2. Indeed, the evangelist would see this promise of Jesus in
11:13 as the basis for Pentecost. What happened there was not only a fulfill-
ment of the promise of the risen Lord (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8) but also of
the earthly Jesus. These verses, 11:11-13, furnish a second reason why disci-
ples should make a habit of praying. God will not give anything harmful to
those who ask. Above all, he will give himself to those who ask him. If the
point in vv. 5-10 is the certainty of God’s answer, in vv. 11-13 it is the good-
ness of the gifts bestowed by God. With the reference to the gift of the Holy
Spirit in v. 13 to those who ask, the reader returns to the idea with which the
larger unit began: “Thy kingdom come” (v. 2). In the gift of the Spirit the
rule of God is present. Furthermore, it is the Father’s desire to give the
kingdom (12:32).
Healing in Biblical Perspective
Luke 11:14-36

Much of the material in 11:14-36 has parallels in the other synoptics, but
this disparate material has been cast into a unifying pattern: an action of
Jesus (v. 14) leads to a double assault on Jesus (a—v. 15; b—v. 16) that is
followed by a double reply by Jesus (a’—vv. 17-28; b’—vv. 29-36). Such a
pattern of “action-assault-reply” is characteristic of the Lukan narrative (e.g.,
5:17-26, where v. 20 is the action, v. 21 is the assault, and vv. 22-24 are the
reply; 7:36-50, where vv. 37-38 are the action, v. 39 is the assault, and vv.
40-48 are the reply in two parts; 13:10-17, where vv. 10-13 are the action, v.
14 is the assault, and vv. 15-16 are the reply; 15:1-32, where v. 1 is the
action, v. 2 is the assault, and vv. 3-32 are the triple reply; Acts 11:1-17,
where v. 1 is the action, vv. 2-3 are the assault, and vv. 4-17 are the reply). As
it stands this unit consists largely of answers to two reactions to Jesus’ miracle
(v. 14, only in Luke): (1) the charge that Jesus was a magician (v. 15), and (2)
the demand for a sign to authenticate Jesus’ authority (v. 16, only in Luke).
Luke 11:14, the action of Jesus, reads very much like a summary of a
miracle story. As elsewhere (4:39; 6:18; 8:2; 9:6, 1; 10:9, 17; 13:11, 14, 16;
Acts 5:16; 10:38; cf. Matt 12:22), the evangelist understands the healing as
an exorcism: the man’s inability to speak was due to a speechless demon. It is
interesting to note that in the gospels the same problem, inability to speak,
can be attributed to three different causes: (1) Luke 1:20—Zechariah’s
inability to speak is due to a divine judgment on his unbelief; (2) Luke
11:14—the man’s inability to speak is due to a demon that was dumb; and
(3) Mark 7:32—the man’s speech impediment is attributed to neither
demonic nor divine causation but is apparently assumed to be due to natural
causes. This raises the question of the larger biblical perspective on the causes
of sickness.
Apparently all three factors mentioned as a cause of dumbness are
considered in the Bible as causes of disease generally. (1) There are certainly
instances where sickness is directly due to God’s punishment of sin (e.g., 2
142 Healing in Biblical Perspective

Sam 12:14-23, esp. v. 15; 2 Kgs 15:4-5; 1 Cor 11:29-32). (2) In other places
sickness is due to Satan (e.g., Job 2:6-7; Luke 13:16; 2 Cor 12:7), though
used by God for his purposes. (3) In still other places sickness seems to be
due neither to a person’s sin nor to Satan’s harassment but to the imperfec-
tions of the created order (Gen 3:14-19 where the roots are to be found for
this view; John 9:2-3; Rom 8:19-23; 1 Cor 15:50; Gal 4:13-14) in which
human beings participate. Even godly people, because they are flesh
(mortal), get sick (2 Kgs 13:14; Dan 8:27; Gal 4:13; Phil 2:25-30; 2 Tim
4:20).
The cause of the man’s distress in 11:14 was having a demon that was
dumb. God was not punishing him for his sinfulness, nor was he the unfor-
tunate victim of a flawed universe: he was in bondage to demonic evil.
If there are multiple causes of sickness in the biblical perspective, there
are also multiple avenues to healing. (1) If sickness is due to one’s sin, the
proper response is repentance, confession, forgiveness (cf. Jas 5:14-16, which
seems to be dealing with sickness caused by sin, especially v. 16a; cf. 1 Cor
11:30-31). (2) If sickness is due to oppression or attack by Satan and his
hosts, then two options are offered. In the first place, the demon can be cast
out in the name of Jesus Christ (e.g., Acts 16:18; 19:11ff.). Given sin and
demonic oppression as possible causes of human illness, one can see why the
NT writers regard signs and wonders as following the gospel (e.g., 2 Cor
12:12; Rom 15:18-19). Wherever Jesus conquers sin and spiritual oppres-
sion, there will inevitably be accompanying healings and deliverances. Often
physical and psychological relief are inevitable byproducts of Jesus’ conquest
of evil. They are to be expected. In the second place, ultimately only God
can lift Satan’s oppression, and sometimes he does not see fit to do so either
at once (cf. Job) or ever in this life (cf. 2 Cor 12:7ff.). When this is the case
God uses the trouble for some good purpose (2 Cor 12:9; cf. Rom 8:28). (3)
If sickness is due to the imperfections in the natural world, then again two
options are offered. On the one hand, in both the OT (e.g., 1 Kgs 17:17-24;
2 Kgs 4:32-37; 5:1ff.) and the NT (e.g., the gospels) healing sometimes takes
place via a miraculous intervention of God. On the other hand, there is also
an understanding of healing through medicine (e.g., Isa 38:1-5, 21; 1 Tim
5:23; cf. Tobit where medical knowledge comes from God via revelation—
e.g., 6:7-8). These two options are rooted in the Bible’s understanding of
God as both Creator, who has given human beings the capacity to under-
stand the world, and Redeemer, who intervenes, accepts responsibility for
both sin and the flaws in his world, and does for us what is beyond the limits
of our ability. If God is both Creator and Redeemer, then these two options
cannot be played off against one another, as both are a part of who God is
Luke 11:14-36 143

and how God acts (cf. Sir 38:1-15). Given the multiple causes of sickness
attested to by Scripture, it takes discernment to know what is the cause in
any given situation, what is the proper avenue of cure, and whether God
wishes to heal at spiritual, emotional, and physical levels, all in the here and
now, or whether he wishes to save the physical healing until the resurrection.
The means of healing the man’s distress in 11:14 was deliverance, the
casting out of the unclean spirit by the authoritative word of Jesus. The man
was not called upon to repent of his sin, nor was he sent to a doctor for a
prescription. He was in bondage to demonic evil, so by power of the Holy
Spirit (4:14) Jesus delivered him.
God’s miraculous intervention through Jesus to deliver a dumb demo-
niac leads to a double assault on Jesus. Some said, “He casts out demons by
Beelzebul, the prince of demons” (v. 15). This is the charge that Jesus is a
magician: that is, Jesus is accused of using demonic power to achieve his
ends. No matter that someone was made well; how Jesus did it is question-
able. Jesus’ exorcism caused others to test him, seeking from him a sign from
heaven (v. 16): that is, some demanded objective verification of his creden-
tials. No matter that a man was made well; proof is required that this was
God’s doing. With these two unbelieving reactions to the healing, the evan-
gelist demonstrates that Jesus’ miraculous deeds do not always evoke faith.
The response to the charge that Jesus’ exorcism was due to demonic
power is twofold. (1) Verses 17-19 say what the miracle does not mean. It
does not mean Jesus is a magician because (a) that would be illogical (vv. 17-
18), and (b) it would be inconsistent (v. 19). It would be illogical because
division leads to destruction. Satan, therefore, would not permit rebellion in
his own ranks. Furthermore, to accuse Jesus of magic because of his exorcism
would be inconsistent since other Jews perform exorcisms without being
labeled “servants of Beelzebul” (Acts 19:13ff.; Josephus, Antiquities 8.2.5
§45-48; 2.13.3 §286; Tob 6:1-7; 8:1-3). If Jesus’ critics are not willing to
ascribe other exorcists’ work to magic, they cannot so label Jesus.
(2) Verses 20-23 say what Jesus’ miracle does mean. If it is ascribed to
the “finger of God” (a direct, unmediated act of God, cf. Exod 8:19; 31:18;
Deut 9:10; Ps 8:3), it means the kingdom of God has come upon you (v.
20). This fits with 11:1-13 where kingdom of God and Holy Spirit are virtu-
ally synonymous. It means the stronger one (cf. 3:16) has overcome Satan
(vv. 21-22). Possession of the defeated one’s armor was evidence of the
victor’s triumph (cf. 2 Sam 2:21 LXX). It is not adequate, however, to cast
out a demon if there is no acceptance of the kingdom of God whose power is
attested by its expulsion (vv. 24-26). Only God’s rule of human life prevents
the return of demonic activity, hence those are blessed who “hear the word of
144 Healing in Biblical Perspective

God and keep it!” (vv. 27-28). Exorcism, then, is not evidence for Jesus’
being a magician but rather for the inbreaking of God’s rule in his ministry.
In order to benefit permanently from this divine power, however, one must
respond properly.
The response of Jesus to the demand for proof that his actions are by
God’s authority falls into three parts. (1) No sign shall be given to this gener-
ation “except the sign of Jonah” (vv. 29-30). Mark 8:11-12 has a similar
tradition that says simply, “No sign shall be given to this generation.”
Matthew 12:38-40 more closely parallels Luke: “no sign . . . except the sign
of the prophet Jonah” (12:39). In Matthew 12:40, however, the evangelist
inserts a statement peculiar to his gospel explaining his understanding of the
sign of the prophet Jonah: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in
the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights
in the heart of the earth.” For Matthew the sign of Jonah is Jesus’ crucifixion
and resurrection. Luke’s view of Jesus’ response to the demand for a sign is
not that of either Matthew or Mark. He understands the sign of Jonah to be
Jonah’s call to repentance: “For as Jonah became a sign to the men of
Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation” (v. 30); for the men
of Nineveh “repented at the preaching of Jonah” (v. 32). The first part of
Jesus’ reaction to the demand for a sign is to say that the only sign to be
given is the prophetic call to repentance.
(2) The second part of the response is found in vv. 31-32: Gentiles will
condemn Israel at the judgment because they (the queen of the South and
the men of Nineveh) made the appropriate response to the wisdom of
Solomon and the preaching of Jonah; Israel, however, fails to respond prop-
erly to something greater than either Solomon or Jonah, namely, the
presence of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of Jesus. The notion that the
Gentiles would witness against Jews at the judgment was exactly the opposite
of Jewish belief (cf. the Christian adaptation of the Jewish belief in 1 Cor
6:2). The second part of Jesus’ response to a demand for a sign is to say that
Gentiles respond to the call to repentance better than Israel (cf. Acts 13:44-
52; 20:23-29; Luke 7:1-10).
(3) The third part of Jesus’ response, vv. 33-36, joins three originally
unconnected sayings (vv. 33, 34-35, 36) with the catchword “lamp.” In this
context the unit likens Jesus’ ministry to a light that illuminates those who
enter a house. There is nothing hidden about the light. Any lack of illumina-
tion is due to the recipient. If he or she has a sound eye, light will flood one’s
whole being. The eye is thought of as a funnel through which light can enter
if it is not stoppered. If the eye is not sound (i.e., stoppered), then the self
will be dark, unilluminated by the light that shines without (cf. Prov 4:19).
Luke 11:14-36 145

Luke’s point is that those whose spiritual sight has not been damaged have
no need for a sign from heaven (the Gentiles!); the light of God’s rule mani-
fest in Jesus’ ministry is seen by them clearly. Jesus’ ministry is a public light
to those entering the kingdom of God (v. 33). The failure to respond prop-
erly is a spiritual analogue to the person whose body is full of darkness
because of a diseased or blind eye (vv. 34-35). Hence the call for a sign is a
symptom of spiritual blindness.
Rightly understood the power at work in Jesus’ healing is God’s and is
evidence of his rule’s presence. Since only one who has experienced God’s
rule is able to see his kingdom at work (cf. the Greco-Roman principle that
it takes like to know like), one who wishes to know whether God is at work
in Jesus needs first of all to hear his call to repentance and to respond prop-
erly. Unless one has experienced, through repentance, the rule of God in
one’s life, it will be impossible to recognize its presence in the ministry of
Jesus. The presence of God in miracle cannot be recognized by one without
God’s rule in the individual heart.
Polemic and Self-definition
Luke 11:37-54

Luke 11:37-54 is the second of three stories about Jesus’ dining with
Pharisees (7:36-50; 14:1-24). Each of these texts follows the same basic plan
of arrangement.

(1) A Pharisee invites Jesus to dine with him (7:36; 11:37; 14:1).
(2) The Pharisee is offended by Jesus’ behavior (7:39; 11:38; 14:2-3).
(3) Jesus responds (7:40-48; 11:39-44; 14:4-5).
(4) Another/others become involved (7:49; 11:45; 14:15).
(5) Jesus responds again (7:50; 11:46-52; 14:16-24).

This Lukan arrangement has been made using a variety of traditions. With
Luke 11:39, compare Matthew 23:25; with 11:42, compare Matthew 23:23;
with 11:43, compare Matthew 23:6-7; with 11:44, compare Matthew 23:27;
with 11:46, compare Matthew 23:4; with 11:47-48, compare Matthew
23:29-31; with 11:49-51, compare Matthew 23:34-36; with 11:52, compare
Matthew 23:14. Luke introduces the collection with the Pharisee’s invitation
of Jesus to dinner in v. 37 and the statement of the Pharisee’s taking offense
at Jesus’ behavior in v. 38. He also supplies v. 45, which provides the transi-
tion from the woes on the Pharisees (vv. 42-44) to the woes on the lawyers
(vv. 46-52). Finally the Evangelist offers a conclusion in vv. 53-54 in which,
with hostility, the Pharisees and lawyers plot to trap Jesus.
An outline of the unit will facilitate reading.

A. The invitation (v. 37)

B. The Pharisee’s objection (v. 38)
C. Jesus’ response (vv. 39-44)
1. A reply with no woe (vv. 39-41)
2. The first woe (v. 42)
3. The second woe (v. 43)
148 Polemic and Self-definition

4. The third woe (v. 44)

D. The Lawyer’s objection (v. 45)
E. Jesus’ response (vv. 46-52)
1. The first woe (v. 46)
2. The second woe (vv. 47-51)
3. The third woe (v. 52)
F. The resulting plot to trap Jesus (vv. 53-54)

Let us look at the components of the unit more closely.

The behavior of Jesus that was offensive to his Pharisaic host was Jesus’
failure to wash before dinner (v. 38). Though described in the Old
Testament, such washing was not prescribed therein. It belonged to a tradi-
tion that had developed over the centuries and was concerned with the
removal of ritual impurity. Mark 7:1-8 clarifies the Jewish matter for its
Gentile readers. When Mark’s story mentioned Pharisees and scribes criti-
cizing Jesus’ disciples for not washing their hands before eating, the Second
Evangelist used two aids for non-Jewish auditors. In v. 2, after “eating with
defiled hands,” an explanatory phrase is added: “that is, without washing
them.” Then anticipating the question—why wash?—Mark adds what in
today’s world would be a content footnote. For him, however, it appears in
the middle of the story (vv. 3-4).

For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash
their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat
anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many
other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze
kettles.

(Matthew 15:1-3, addressed to Jewish Christians, does not have this explana-
tory material.) Jesus skips the purification rite, even though he is eating with
a Pharisee for whom such a ritual is desperately important. Even though the
rules of hospitality assumed that the guest would respect the host by playing
by his rules, Jesus does not. The Pharisee is therefore amazed.
Even though the Pharisee said nothing, Jesus knew what he was thinking
and responded (remember 7:39-40; 6:8). There are four parts to the
response: vv. 39-40 that do not use a woe form are the first. Making a play
on purity rules related to the washing of either the outside or the inside of a
vessel, Jesus speaks to the situation of the Pharisees who pay great attention
to the outside of their lives (observing purity rules, for example) but ignore
their inner selves, which “are full of greed and wickedness” (v. 39). Apparent
Luke 11:37-54 149

devotion to God is used to hide their devotion to greed. Such incomplete

personal cleansing is as worthless as cleaning the outside of a dish and
ignoring the inside. Almsgiving might just be the antidote for the greed
mentioned, if it comes from the inside (cf. 16:14 for the Pharisees as lovers
of money). Here a different notion of religious purity is put forth (Gowler).
The claim that the outer behavior does not reflect the inner self constitutes a
charge of hypocrisy.
There follow three woes on the Pharisees. (1) The first woe comes in v.
42. The Pharisees tithe even the smallest noncommercially produced herbs.
Tithing was indeed encouraged in Israel’s Scriptures (e.g., Deut 14:22-27;
Lev 27:30-33; Num 18:21-32), but there is therein nothing like what the
Pharisees are said to be doing in this text. What one has here is “excessive
scrupulosity” (Nolland, 2.670). This excess is, moreover, combined with
neglect of justice and love. “It is these you ought to have practiced without
neglecting the others.” The charge here is that the Pharisees are majoring on
minors while neglecting the majors. They have no sense of proportion. (2)
The second woe comes in v. 43. The Pharisees are said to be status seekers.
They are seeking status whether in synagogue or in marketplace (cf. 14:7-11
and 16:14-15 for similar issues). Here the charge is self-seeking. (3) The
third woe on the Pharisees comes in v. 44. “You are like unmarked graves.”
In Jewish thought graves conveyed ritual uncleanness (e.g., Num 19:11-22;
Lev 21:1-4, 11; CD 12.15-18). Graves that were not marked conveyed
uncleanness even without one’s knowing it. The Pharisees are said to be like
unmarked tombs. Without anyone even realizing it, association with these
morally impure people contaminates all who come into contact with them.
Here the charge is that the Pharisees’ influence on others is negative.
Since the lawyers were the experts who aided the Pharisees in their quest
for purity, Jesus’ charges against the Pharisees were bound to rub off on
them. So in v. 45 one of the lawyers says: “Teacher, when you say these
things, you insult us too.” The result is a response to the lawyers that also
involves three woes. (1) The first woe claims that these lawyers “load people
with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease
them.” Perhaps this refers to the practice of scribes making distinctions in
the laws that allowed some leniency in their observance for those who knew
the distinctions (cf. Mk 7:9-13). The charge is that these lawyers did not
help the people to know these humanizing distinctions and so left the people
to carry heavy burdens that were not necessary (contrast Matt 11:28-30).
Here the charge is a lack of compassion (remember v. 42). (2) The second
woe comes in vv. 47-51. It takes a surprising turn. The lawyers build tombs
for the prophets whom their ancestors killed. The normal reading would be
150 Polemic and Self-definition

to say the tombs honored those who were martyred. Such honor would
express disagreement with the ancestors. Not here! The Lukan Jesus says the
building of tombs is really an agreement with the ancestors who killed them
(v. 48). The building of tombs completes the act of killing God’s messengers
by celebrating their deaths. That this is how the text should be read is
apparent from vv. 49-52. The Wisdom of God (not a Scripture text, but
Wisdom personified and speaking as in Prov 8 and Sir 24) says prophets and
apostles will be sent to the current generation to expose its agreement with
its ancestors. When these contemporary prophets and apostles come (think
Jesus and the early church), this generation of religious leadership will perse-
cute and kill them just as their ancestors did in their generation. This will
lead to the current generation’s being held responsible for the blood of
prophets from the beginning (Abel, in Gen 4:10, in what was the first book
of the Hebrew Bible) to the end (Zechariah, in 2 Chr 24:20-24, in what was
the last book of the Hebrew Bible). It is fitting! They agree with the deeds.
This is an accusation that the lawyers have murderous hearts (cf. Luke 20:9-
19). (3) The third woe against the lawyers comes in v. 52. For those who saw
themselves as Israel’s learned teachers, this woe would come as a shock. “You
have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you
hindered those who were entering.” If the Pharisees whose practice claimed
to aid people to avoid uncleanness were themselves sources of uncleanness to
the people, the lawyers whose interpretations of the law were assumed to
convey knowledge (covenant faithfulness, cf. Jer 31:34; Hos 4:1, 6) actually
prevented it. They were purveyors of ignorance!
After this grand and sweeping condemnation of the Pharisees and
lawyers, it is no surprise to hear the outcome. Verses 53-54 say that these two
groups, after Jesus left, “began to be very hostile to him,” waiting the oppor-
tunity “to catch him in something he might say.” Remember that the
Pharisees and lawyers were those who rejected the plan of God by refusing
John’s baptism (7:30); a Pharisee had earlier had questions about Jesus’ legit-
imacy (7:39); and a lawyer had previously tested Jesus (10:25). This text is
but the beginning of the Lukan Jesus’ attack on the scribal lifestyle (cf. Luke
14; 20:45-47). As the plot unfolds, the alienation between the two sides
grows.
Even after a reflective reading has helped one understand what Luke has
been saying, the puzzle remains as to why he would say it. Were not the
Pharisees the most progressive segment of the ancient Jewish community?
Why then would they be denigrated by Luke’s Gospel? The issue is, of
course, wider than the issues raised by this text. Nevertheless, this passage
raises the question: Is Luke here anti-Judaic? An answer to this query
Luke 11:37-54 151

involves at least three steps: (1) the nature of ancient Judaism; (2) the nature
of ancient Mediterranean polemic; and (3) the role of polemic in self-defini-
tion. Let us take up each in order.
A quote from the work of J. Andrew Overman focuses the issue of the
nature of Judaism in the first century.

So varied was Jewish society in the land of Israel in this period, and so
varied were the Jewish groups, that scholars no longer speak of Judaism in
the singular when discussing this formative and fertile period in Jewish
history. Instead, we speak about Judaisms. In this time and place there
existed a number of competing, even rival Judaisms. (2)

Before AD 70, the Jerusalem Talmud (j. Sanhedrin 10.6 [29c]) says, there
were twenty-four Jewish sects. This tops Josephus’s descriptions of four
Jewish groups (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots). Diversity reigned.
Origen, looking back, says: “There was in Judaism a factor which caused
sects to begin, which is the variety of the interpretations of the writings of
Moses and the sayings of the prophets” (Against Celsus 3.12).
The destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple in AD 70 brought a prac-
tical end to some of these diverse groups. The Essenes were done after the
destruction of their Qumran site by the Romans; the Sadducees whose focus
had been the temple lost their reason for being and, if some few remained,
they were under the authority of the rabbis (e.g., m. Niddah 4:2; t. Niddah
5:3). Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai’s school at Jamnia after AD 70 began the task
of forming a grand coalition of Jewish groups that would ultimately become
normative Judaism (for the traditions about Johanan’s escape from Jerusalem
and his move to Jamnia, cf. ARNa; ARNb 4; b. Gittin 56a & b; Lam Rab
1:5 [31]; cf. Saldarini). In the period AD 70–132, however, it was only
formative Judaism, a work in progress. Diverse groups still remained.
Apocalyptic Judaism was alive and well as evidenced by 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch,
and the Apocalypse of Abraham, for example. Revolutionary Judaism had
certainly not died out! Witness the second Jewish revolt in AD 132–135. The
Samaritans remained, as did the Christian Jews. The diversity was less than
before AD 70, but it was there and still strong. Not until after AD 135 did
formative Judaism move toward being the normative Judaism of the
Mishnah (c. AD 200). The formative Judaism of Luke’s time may have had
Pharisaic leadership but could not be reduced to Pharisaism. Formative
Judaism represented a coalition of Jewish groups that had some continuity,
but not identity, with the Pharisees. (Cohen)
152 Polemic and Self-definition

The author of Luke and the communities who would have regarded this
gospel as their foundation document would have regarded their religion as
Jewish. They would not have seen themselves as a separate religion over
against Judaism. They believed that they represented the true Judaism over
against other, rival forms. So when the reader of Luke 11:37-54 hears the
polemical statements of the Lukan Jesus against the Pharisees and the
lawyers, the reader should understand that what is being heard is an inner-
Jewish argument. One claimant to being true Judaism is in tension with his
rival for the distinctive status. It is not Christians versus Jews but rather Jew
versus Jew.
A second factor to consider is the conventional nature of slander in
Mediterranean antiquity (L. T. Johnson 1989). In Mediterranean antiquity,
philosophers attacked sophists. Dio Chrysostom’s Orations offer a good
example. Dio says the sophists were ignorant, boastful, and self-deceived
(4.33); unlearned, deceivers (4.37); evil-spirited (4.38); impious (11.14);
liars and deceivers (12.12); preaching for the sake of gain and glory (32.30);
flatterers, charlatans (23.11); mindless (54.1); boastful, shameless (55.7);
deceiving others and themselves (70.10). He can say this although he admits
that some sophists are good (35.9-10). These charges, then, are typical.
Sometimes the sophists gave as good as they received. Aelius Aristides’
Platonic Discourses levels charges at philosophers. They despise others
(307.6); have an outward appearance of virtue but are inwardly cowardly
(307.10); are only after pleasure and wealth (307.15). Likewise Epicurus
(Dissertations 3.7.17) criticizes Epicureans for saying one thing and doing
another, then turns around and says the same thing about Stoics. The main
thing such slander signified was that someone was an opponent.
Gentiles attacked Jews. Josephus’s Against Apion voices some of these
charges. Jews, says Apion, are seditious (2.6 § 68); worship the head of an ass
(2.7 § 80); commit human sacrifice (2.8 § 92-96); are atheists (2.14 § 148);
are silly (2.13 § 138); are ridiculous (1.22 § 210); their founder, Moses, was
a charlatan (2.14 § 145). Jews responded with similar attacks on Gentiles.
Josephus responds to Apion by saying that Gentiles are frivolous (1.25 §
225-26); envious, narrow-minded (1.25 § 225-26); conceited (1.3 § 15);
liars (2.7 § 86); charlatans (2.1 § 3); ignorant (2.2 § 26); have blinded minds
(2.13 § 142). Here one is within the conventions of slander in the
Mediterranean world of antiquity.
Jews attacked Jews. Josephus in his War says of the Jewish revolutionaries
that they were cruel, liars, oppressors, and evil (7.8.1 § 255-58); impious,
unjust, violent, plunderers, lawless, and cruel (7.8.1 § 260-62). The Psalms
of Solomon attacks “Sadducees” (?) as living in hypocrisy in the company of
Luke 11:37-54 153

the pious (Pharisees?). At Qumran, outsiders are charged with greed, lying,
pride, deceit, cruelty, being ill-tempered, lustful, having blind eyes, dullness
of ear, and stiffness of neck (1 QS 4.9-14). So when one encounters polemic
in Luke, it something everyone in the culture is doing. By conventional stan-
dards, the Lukan polemic is rather mild; its meaning is that those on the
receiving end are opponents; and it is one Jewish group attacking another
Jewish group. “This is not anti-Jewish polemic. It is classic prophetic indict-
ment and call to repentance” (Tiede 1988, 225).
Finally, it is necessary to say a word about the function of polemic in
self-definition. A major way humans define ourselves is over against those
closest to us. We may not always know who we are, but we, for sure, know
who we are not. An adolescent daughter who says, in response to her
mother’s suggestion about clothes or general behavior, “O Mother,” and
chooses the opposite of that suggested is showing the general human
tendency. We define ourselves as professionals by observing other profes-
sionals doing their job and saying, “Well, I would never do it that way.”
There are two dimensions of the situation being observed here. First,
humans define themselves over against others by seeing what we are not.
Second, humans do such negative self-definition with those who are the
closest to them. In Luke, Jesus is depicted as engaging in religious self-defin-
ition by means of a polemical NO to those closest to himself, the Pharisees
and scribes. When he did it, it was an inner-Jewish struggle over who repre-
sented the true Israel. When he did it, he also did it in conventional terms
that would have been understood by everyone else in the culture as speci-
fying the Pharisees and scribes as opponents.
Profession, Possessions, Preparedness,
and Repentance
Luke 12:1–13:9

Luke 12:1–13:9 is a large thought unit bounded on the one side by 13:10-
35 and on the other by 11:37-54 (Wuellner). The unit begins with a
reference back to the previous one: “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that
is, hypocrisy” (12:1). The large unit moves from addressing disciples in the
midst of large crowds (12:1) to an answer Jesus makes to one from the crowd
(12:13) to another address to disciples (12:22), then to Peter from among
the disciples (12:41), and then back to the crowds (12:54), and finally to
some from the crowd (13:1). Based on the addressees, the pattern looks like
this:

A To disciples (12:1-12)
B To one from the crowd (12:13-21)
A’ To the disciples (12:22-40; 49-53); to Peter (12:41-48)
B’ To the crowds (12:54-59); to some from the crowd (13:1-9)

The ABA’B’ components of the large thought unit are also bound
together by verbal and formal links. A is tied to B by the repetition of
“crowd” (vv. 1, 13). A is tied to A’ by the repetition of “worry” (vv. 11, 22),
birds (sparrows, v. 6; ravens, v. 24), and “Son of Man.” A is tied to B’ by the
repetition of “crowd” (vv. 1, 54), “hypocrisy/hypocrites” (vv. 1, 56), and by
“I tell you” (12:4, 8; 13:3, 5). B is tied to A’ by the repetition of “treasure”
(vv. 21, 33-34), “barns” (vv. 18, 24), “life” (vv. 15, 20, 23, 25), and the
common theme of possessions. A’ is tied to B’ by the fact that in both an
individual or individuals break in to ask a question (12:41) or make a
comment (13:1). B and B’ are tied together by “he told a parable” (12:16;
13:6).
The subject matter is diverse. A (12:1-12) is focused on the disciples’
need to confess Jesus publicly in persecution situations, even if afraid, and
not be hypocritical like the Pharisees. B (12:13-21) is a warning give to the
156 Profession, Possessions, Preparedness, and Repentance

crowd about greed/possessions. A’ (12:22-53) has three different foci: (1)

encouragement not to yield to anxiety in the area of possessions (12:22-34);
(2) exhortation to be ready for the Master’s return (12:35-40) and to be
faithful in one’s tasks while waiting (12:41-48); and (3) Jesus’ statement of
the purpose and sequence of his mission (12:49-53). B’ (12:54–13:9) is a call
for the crowds to repent in the limited time they have left. Each segment
must be taken up in sequence.
Luke 12:1-12, A in the pattern, employs traditions with parallels else-
where: 12:1 // Matthew 16:5-6; Mark 8:14-15; 12:2-9 // Matthew
10:26-33; 12:10 // Matthew 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-30; 12:11-12 // Matthew
10:19-20; Mark 13:11. As this material is employed in Luke 12:1-12, it falls
into three paragraphs: vv. 1-3, vv. 4-7, and vv. 8-12. The focus of the unit as
a whole is necessity of a disciple’s public confession of Jesus, in the context of
persecution that can cause fear and a failure to show externally who one is
inwardly. (1) Verses 1-3 reject being one person inwardly and another person
publicly. This is hypocrisy, the very thing for which the Pharisees have been
chastised earlier. Such a strategy will not work because in God’s judgment
everything inward will be exposed to public view. (2) Verses 4-7 call upon
disciples not to fear those who can only kill their bodies but to fear God who
has power over the afterlife. The sentiment is similar to that voiced by the
martyrs in 4 Maccabees 13:14-15: “Let us not fear him who thinks he is
killing us, for great is the struggle of the soul and the danger of eternal
torment lying before those who transgress the commandment of God.”
“Hell” (NRSV) in v. 5 in Greek is Gehenna. This is a reference to the Valley
of Hinnom on the south and west sides outside of Jerusalem where for a
variety of reasons rubbish dumps continually burned (Jer 18:1-4; 19:10-13;
Neh 2:13; 2 Kgs 23:10). This image was used for the negative side of the
afterlife: a cosmic garbage dump (cf. Rev 14:7-13; cf. Mark 9:43-48; 1 Pet
4:17-19)! This one who has power over your ultimate destiny cares for you.
Do not fear your persecutors (vv. 6-7). (3) Verses 8-12 say that one’s ultimate
destiny depends on how one has responded to Jesus in the here and now.
The proper response is acknowledgment before others (vv. 8-9). This is espe-
cially true when Jesus’ disciples are brought before rulers and authorities (as
the disciples in Acts will be). The Holy Spirit will enable the disciple’s
response (e.g., Acts 6:10). Not to follow the Spirit’s leading is to blaspheme
and place oneself in ultimate danger (v. 10). To understand the relation
between vv. 8-9 and v. 10 requires awareness of the crucial difference in the
Lukan mind between the period of Jesus, in which only he enjoys the
abiding presence of the Spirit, and the period of the church when the
promised Spirit is bestowed upon the disciples. Hostility to or denial of the
Luke 12:1–13:9 157

earthly Jesus is forgivable—so Peter who denied Jesus (22:54ff.) was forgiven
by the risen Lord (24:34) and the Jewish people who acted in ignorance are
given a second chance after Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 3:14-15, 17, 19, 26;
5:30-31). After the resurrection of Jesus, reviling the Holy Spirit is not
forgivable (v. 10). For the unbelievers, rejecting the Christian message is
resisting the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51; cf. 28:25-28). The disciples, who are the
evangelist’s primary concern here, would be rejecting the Spirit’s inspiration
when, required to testify before persecutors, they would, in direct opposition
to the Spirit’s influence, deny Christ (vv. 11-12; cf. 21:14-15; Acts 4:8, 19-
20; 5:30). By denying Christ the disciples deny the Holy Spirit within and
blaspheme the only one who can mediate God’s forgiveness. Don’t be afraid!
Let the Spirit lead your response to your persecutors (Luke 21:14-15). Know
that your ultimate destiny is thereby secure.
Luke 12:13-21, B in the pattern, is evoked by an appeal by one from the
crowd: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
Since the Scriptures contain laws of inheritance (e.g., Num 27:1-11; 36:1-9;
Deut 21:15-17), a teacher might be asked to settle a dispute about such
matters. In Mediterranean culture, one way of settling disputes was by an
appeal to an ascetic’s non-judgmental advice to antagonists (Epictetus
1.15.1-5; Lucian, Demonax 9; Diogenes Laertius, Lives VI.6). For whatever
reason, appeal was made to Jesus. The unit is distinctive to Luke. It consists
of a pronouncement story climaxed with Jesus’ rebuke of greed (vv. 13-15),
followed by a parable about the rich fool (vv. 16-21) which expounds the
folly of such a covetous attitude. Greed/ covetousness was prohibited in the
Decalogue (Exod 20:17; Deut 6:21) and was spoken against by the prophets
(e.g., Mic 2:2). It was a problem in the church before Luke (e.g., Rom 1:29;
Mark 7:22) and at the time of Luke-Acts (e.g., Col 3:5; Eph 5:5; 1 Tim
6:10). The climax of the pronouncement story comes in v. 15: “Be on your
guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abun-
dance of possessions.”
The parable of the rich fool in vv. 16-21 functions as an exposition of
what covetousness/greed is and why such an attitude is folly. Greed here is
depicted as the accumulation of additional goods by those who already have
enough for their needs. It is a craving for more, not because it is needed, but
from a desire to hoard. Such striving acts as a means of security and reflects
disregard for God and neighbor. That is why both Colossians 3:5 and
Ephesians 5:5 regard covetousness as idolatry. To trust in one’s accumulated
wealth as a means of security is folly: “For what does it profit them if they
gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves” (Luke 9:25)? When the
man said: “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat,
158 Profession, Possessions, Preparedness, and Repentance

drink, and be merry” (cf. Eccl 2:24; 3:13; 5:18; 8:15; Tob 7:10; 1 Cor
15:32), he was being presumptuous. He assumed that by securing his
economic future he had secured the future of his life (cf. Sir 11:18-20; Jas
4:13-17). Not so! God says: “You fool! This very night your life is demanded
of you” (v. 20). The conclusion comes in v. 21: “So it is with those who store
up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God” (cf. Sir 31:5-11 for
two types of rich people). Being rich toward God means using one’s wealth
to meet the needs of others (Matt 6:19-21; Tob 4:9; Sir 29:8-13). In Luke-
Acts the purpose of wealth is found in its being shared.
Luke’s section would have evoked a favorable response from many
Greco-Roman auditors. Philosophers, like Dio Chrysostom near Luke’s time,
reflected on the problem of greed. Dio says several things that echo what
Luke is arguing. (1) Wealth in proper proportion is to be put to use for
human need but what exceeds that is trouble (Oration 17.18). (2) Wealth
leads to hedonism/self-indulgence (4.84). (3) There is no guarantee that one
will live until tomorrow (16.8). We have received a small proportion of life
from the gods and should live accordingly, not as though we were going to
live 100 years (17.20). (4) God by His very nature punishes the greedy
(17.16-17). Greco-Roman auditors who shared the sentiments of a Dio
would have felt in agreement with Jesus’ points in Luke 12. (Malherbe)
Luke 12:22-53, A’ in the pattern, consists of three sections, each with a
different focus, though all are addressed to disciples. The first (12:22-34 //
Matt 6:19-21, 25-34) falls into two parts (vv. 22-28; vv. 29-32), each with a
balanced structure. (1) Verses 22-28, the first part, begin with an injunction:
“Do not worry about your life, what you shall eat, or about your body, what
you shall wear” (v. 22). The reason is given: “For life is more than food, and
the body more than clothing” (v. 23). An exposition of “food” and
“clothing” follows. Verses 24-26 are an exposition of “food.” If God feeds the
birds, since you are of much greater value than they, God will feed you too
(v. 24). Besides, anxiety is as ineffective in the area of what you will eat as it
is in wanting to add eighteen inches to your height (vv. 25-26). Verses 27-28
are an exposition of “clothing.” If God clothes the grass—witness the
splendor of the lilies in bloom—since you are more significant, will He not
clothe you (vv. 27-28)?
(2) Verses 29-32, the second part of the subsection dealing with worry,
fall into two balanced units: one telling what to avoid, the other what to
seek. In v. 29 the disciples are told: “do not keep striving . . . do not keep
worrying.” Verse 30 gives the reason: “for it is the nations of the world that
strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.” In
vv. 31-32a the disciples are told: “Instead, strive for his kingdom . . . . Do
Luke 12:1–13:9 159

not be afraid little flock.” Verse 32b gives the reason: “for it your Father’s
good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
In 12:22-32 the disciples are enjoined not to be anxious about food and
clothing, the necessities of life, because those who seek God’s kingdom will
find God trustworthy to meet all such needs. Do not be anxious. Trust God.
He will provide (Ps 23:1). Life is God’s gift, as are those things that sustain
and protect life. For those who trust the power and the goodness of the giver
of life, anxiety may abate, the grasping hand may relax, and greed may be
replaced by generosity.
Hence the section on possessions is climaxed by 12:33-34, a specific
injunction to almsgiving (11:41; 16:9; 18:22; 19:8; Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-37;
9:36; 10:2, 4, 31; 20:35; 21:24?; 24:17). The Jewish practice of almsgiving is
echoed in passages like Tobit 4:7-11 (“Give alms from your possessions to all
who live uprightly,” v. 7) and Sirach 3:30 (“almsgiving atones for sin,” cf.
29:12). In the Lukan perspective those with possessions were expected to
provide for the poor (v. 33—cf. Acts 2:44-45; 4:32; 4:34-37; 11:27-30): this
was a sign that their treasure was in heaven and their hearts as well (vv. 33-
34). The Lukan stance is echoed in 1Timothy 6:17-19. In contrast,
greed/covetousness is an indication that God’s kingdom is not one’s prime
pursuit, and worry about food and drink an indication that one is unable to
trust in God’s power and goodness (cf. Gen 3:1-6 where sin is identified with
anxious distrust of God’s goodness and provision). Although Jesus believed
no one could serve God and money, he called his disciples, in vv. 33-34, to
serve God with money.
The second section in 12:22-53 comes in 12:35-48. It, like the previous
section, falls into two parts (vv. 35-40, distinctive to Luke, and vv. 41-48 //
Matt 24:45-51), the first addressed to all disciples, the second to the pastoral
leadership of the community. In this section the evangelist turns to the
matter of being prepared for the parousia. The sayings in this subsection
have a post-Easter perspective. They envisage a situation in which the disci-
ples are waiting their absent master’s return and in which some of the
disciples occupy positions of leadership and pastoral responsibility (cf. Acts
20:17, 28-31). Within this framework the evangelist first addresses all disci-
ples and then the pastoral leadership. (1) Verses 35-40 enjoin readiness on all
Jesus’ disciples. Two parables make the point (vv. 35-38, 39). The first
parable tells of servants who are ready for their master’s return from a
wedding feast and who, upon his return, received an unheard of reward: the
master serves the servants. What kind of servants receive the reward? Two
striking images convey the meaning. “Dressed for action” (NRSV) refers to
servants whose long robe was tied in place so as to enable work. “Lamps lit”
160 Profession, Possessions, Preparedness, and Repentance

(present imperative, so continually burning) refers to the same status of

perpetual preparedness. The servants are ready! The second parable, the
householder and the thief (v. 39), posits a perpetual wakefulness: though the
householder could not stay awake all the time watching for the thief, this
never-ending alertness is expected from Jesus’ disciples. Verse 40 gives Luke’s
point: “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unex-
pected hour.” The readiness that is enjoined is that which desires to be open
to the Master at any moment (v. 36). All disciples are called to this ready
openness.
(2) Verses 41-48 (// Matt 24:45-51) call for faithfulness on the part of
those with leadership roles in the community of Jesus’ disciples. Peter’s ques-
tion in v. 41 (only in Luke) provides the opportunity for warnings about the
abuse of their positions by church leaders (cf. Acts 20:28-31; 1 Cor 3:10-15;
11:21; 1 Tim 4:12-16; 2 Pet 2:1-2, 13). Jesus’ parabolic saying is concerned
with the situation of a servant who is placed in charge over other servants
(vv. 42-43). If that one is doing a proper job when the master comes, that
servant will be blessed (vv. 43-44). If, however, the servant is irresponsible in
assigned duties, the servant will be punished by the master. A gradation of
punishments is given: (a) for active tyranny, death (dichotom∑sei in v. 46
means “to cut in two,” that is the dismemberment of a condemned person);
(b) for deliberate neglect, a severe beating; and (c) for unintentional neglect,
a light beating. This reflects Jewish thought about sins that were unconscious
and less culpable than those that were deliberate (cf. Num 15:27-31; Deut
17:12; Ps 19:12-13; b. Baba Bathra 60b). Furthermore, those in positions of
leadership, to whom much has been entrusted, will have more expected of
them (v. 48b; cf. Jas 3:1). Leaders among Jesus’ disciples, even more than
disciples generally, need to be prepared for the parousia-judgment (cf. 21:34-
36; 1 Cor 4:1-5). Readiness for them means their faithfulness in doing the
commission given them by their Master.
The section addressed to disciples (12:22-53), A’ in the pattern, ends
with a third subsection (12:49-53 //Matt 10:34-39) that is focused on the
purpose and effects of Jesus’ ministry. The subunit is composed of three orig-
inally independent sayings (vv. 49; v. 50; vv. 51-53), each with a similar
form: “I came”; “I have”; “I have come.” Taken together, the train of thought
is as follows. In v. 49 Jesus, whom John the Baptist had said would baptize
with the Holy Spirit and fire (3:16), looks forward to and longs for this
moment. In that time the Spirit, like a burning fire, will accomplish the
work of judgment in the hearts of people. But (de) Jesus’ “baptism” is the
precondition for what is to happen (v. 50). The variant in Mark 10:38 shows
Jesus’ baptism is his suffering and death. So after his death, the fire will
Luke 12:1–13:9 161

come. This corresponds with the Lukan chronology: Pentecost follows

passion. The result of Jesus’ coming, the outpouring of the Spirit and fire,
and the proclamation of the gospel will be division. This theme was antici-
pated in the birth narratives (2:34-35): “The call for decision is a call for
‘division’” (Ellis 1974, 182). From Luke’s point of view, the presence of the
Holy Spirit in the life and proclamation of the church produces division
before it produces unity (cf. Acts 2-5). Jesus is the great divider.
Luke 12:54–13:9, B’ in the pattern, is a further address to the crowds. It
is a call for conversion in two parts (12:54-59 and 13:1-9). (1) The first part
(12:54-59 // Matt 16:1-4; 5:25-26) is a twofold exhortation to interpret the
signs of the times properly (vv. 54-56) and to respond rightly to the chal-
lenge of the moment (vv. 57-59). In vv. 54-56 Jesus says the crowds need to
be as discerning in their interpretation of the time (that is, the meaning of
Jesus’ mission) as they are in discerning the weather. To fail to do so will spell
disaster (cf. 19:41-44). In vv. 57-59 Jesus says the people need to be as
discerning about the realities of God’s judgment as they are about settling
accounts with a bill collector. In everyday life people wisely settle accounts
before they become liable to the jurisdiction of the judge and are thrown
into debtor’s prison. The same wisdom is called for in the face of the
approaching judgment of God (cf. Acts 10:42-43; 17:30-31).
(2) The second part, 13:1-9, is evoked by some of the members of the
crowd telling of an action of Pilate (v. 1). Its three components (vv. 1-3; vv.
4-5; vv. 6-9) all focus on a call to repentance. The first two are based on
current events in Jerusalem: the massacre of Galileans by Pilate (tragedy due
to a human cause) in vv. 1-3, and the death of some caused by the fall of the
tower of Siloam (tragedy due to a natural cause) in vv. 4-5. Does tragedy
reveal the measure of one’s sinfulness? Did these people perish because they
were worse sinners than others who lived? Tragedy, says Jesus, is not the
measure of one’s sinfulness and of one’s need to repent. Those whose lives are
tranquil likewise need to repent. All need to repent or all will perish! The
third component, 13:6-9 (unique to Luke; but cf. Ahikar 8:25 for a similar
story), is a parable about a fig tree planted in a vineyard (cf. Pliny, Natural
History 17.35.200, for fig trees in vineyards) that after three years bore no
fruit. Since a tree supposedly reached maturity after three years, the proba-
bility was that it would never bear fruit. The owner wants it cut down and
replaced, but the gardener asks for one more year to see if it would bear. The
point is that the absence of judgment in the here and now cannot be
construed as a sign of one’s righteousness. Rather, if judgment does not strike
immediately, it is a sign of God’s mercy, not his approval (cf. Acts 14:15-17;
17:30; Rom 2:4-5; 2 Pet 3:9-10). One is being given a last chance. Taken
162 Profession, Possessions, Preparedness, and Repentance

together, 13:1-9’s three components say that just because people pass
through life unscathed by suffering, they should not assume that therefore
they please God. Tragedy is no sure sign of sinfulness, just as absence of
tragedy is no sure sign of righteousness. All alike—those whose lives are
tragic and those whose lives are tranquil—are sinners and all alike must
repent (change directions in life) before God’s judgment does come upon
them. The parable of the fruitless fig tree, moreover, sets a limit on the time
available for the required repentance. How long does one have? Not long! In
sum, Luke 12:54–13:9 says: see the signs of imminent End in Jesus’
ministry; take appropriate action before you appear before the Judge; such
action is repentance; do not take too long to do so.
Kingdom Signs, Predictions, and
Warnings
Luke 13:10-35

Luke 13:10-35 is a large thought unit bounded on one side by 12:1–13:9

and on the other by 14:1-35. Its components correspond in various ways to
those of Luke 14:1-35 (Nolland, 2.721) The pattern looks like this.

Luke 13:10-17 — 14:1-6: healings on the Sabbath while dining with

Pharisees
13:18-19 — 14:7-11
20-21 — 12-14: two paralleled units
13:22-30 — 14:15-24: who will enter the kingdom of God
13:31-35 — 14:25-35: fate of Jesus// fate of disciples

There are various verbal links among the pieces of tradition as well. Verses
10-17 are tied to vv. 20-21 by “woman” (vv. 10, 16—v. 21); vv. 10-17 are
linked to vv. 31-33 by language about exorcism (vv. 11, 16; v. 32); vv. 18-20,
vv. 20-21, and vv. 22-30 are tied together by “kingdom of God” (v. 18, v. 20,
v. 28); vv. 31-33 are linked with vv. 34-35 by “Jerusalem” (v. 33; v. 34). This
thought unit’s components must be examined in order.
The first story, 13:10-17, is found only in Luke. Like 11:37-52 and
14:1-6, 13:10-17 belongs to the type of pronouncement story that answers
an objection (Tannehill 1981). The objection is provoked by Jesus’ healing of
a woman in the synagogue on the Sabbath (cf. 4:31-41; 6:6-11; 14:1-6).
This woman had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years. Luke under-
stands her ailment as due to a demon (vv. 11, 16), a not infrequent note in
the third gospel (4:31-37; 4:38-39; 4:40-41), and her healing as the
oppressed being set free (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38!). As elsewhere in his heal-
ings in Luke, Jesus uses touch (v. 13; cf. 4:40; 5:13; 8:54; 14:4; 22:51). As is
frequently the case in Luke, the healing takes place immediately (1:64; 4:39;
164 Kingdom Signs, Predictions, and Warnings

5:25; 8:44, 47, 55; 18:43) and results in praise (5:25-26; 7:16; 17:15;
18:43).
The synagogue leader voices his objection: “There are six days on which
work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the
sabbath day” (v. 14). His objection is derived from a certain type of reading
of Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15. Healing is labor; it is, there-
fore, prohibited on the Sabbath. In the Greek his reaction appeals to the
divine plan. There are six days on which one must (dei) work (see the same
dei used in certain passion predictions [Luke 13:33]). He claims his interpre-
tation of the law is in accord with the divine plan for human life.
Jesus’ pronouncement comes in vv. 15-16. It is an argument from the
minor to the major. The minor comes first. “Does not each of you on the
sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead it away to water it”
(v. 15)? At Qumran (CD 11:5-6) travel up to 3000 feet on the Sabbath was
allowed for pasturing. In m. Shabbat 7:2 thirty-nine forms of labor on the
Sabbath are prohibited, while others are permitted; m. Shabbat 5 indicates
that leading cattle to drink is permitted. The Lukan Jesus assumes such a
practice was in place in his time. This is customary Sabbath practice, obvi-
ously based on compassion for animals. The major comes next. “Ought not
this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years,
be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day” (v. 16)? Should not a Jewish
woman be untied out of the same compassion? The synagogue ruler is
condemned by his own practice. The outcome is that Jesus’ enemies are put
to shame while the people rejoice at his wonderful deeds.
Luke understands Jesus’ exorcisms as signs that the kingdom was
breaking in (11:20—“if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons,
then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”). Such deeds are some of the
“weather signs” that Jesus’ generation needs to interpret correctly (12:54-56;
note the use of “hypocrites” in 12:56 and 13:15). If they do, then they will
see what Jesus has done for this woman on the Sabbath as the in-breaking of
God’s kingly rule. That Jesus understands his actions this way in 13:10-17 is
indicated by his use also of the term for the divine plan (edei). In v. 16 one
might translate: “Is it not necessary (edei, according to the divine plan) that
this woman be untied?” There is a clash between synagogue ruler and the
Lukan Jesus as to who is acting out of the divine necessity. The pronounce-
ment story makes clear that, in the Lukan plot, Jesus’ version of God’s will
wins the day!
That the exorcism is a sign of the in-breaking kingdom helps the reader
understand the placement of the next two components in the overall pattern.
Luke 13:18-19 and 13:20-21 are two parables of the kingdom of God. They
Luke 13:10-35 165

enable the ones who can interpret the “weather signs” to perceive not only
that the kingdom is breaking in through Jesus’ ministry but also where this
limited activity will lead. The two parables are paired: one about a man, the
other about a woman. They both focus on growth. In the first, 13:18-19 (//
Matt 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; cf. Gospel of Thomas 20), a grain of mustard
seed grows into a tree in which birds can nest. This is very similar to Ezekiel
17:22-23 where God promises to take a sprout from a cedar, plant it, and see
it grow into a tree in which birds can nest (a prophecy of the future of Israel’s
kingdom). The point seems to be that Jesus’ small efforts will eventuate in a
grand kingdom that will be a refuge for all God’s people. In the second
parable, 13:20-21 (// Matt 13:33; Gospel of Thomas 96), a quantity of yeast
is put in a large amount of meal by a woman with the result that all of the
meal is leavened. The focus here is on the invisible growth and active power
of the kingdom. Jesus’ ministry is like yeast that leavens the whole lump.
What has begun in his ministry will by its power permeate the whole of
creation. Both parables make a similar point: in Jesus’ ministry one sees
where history is going. For those who are able to perceive that they are on
the way to judgment day where the criterion of judgment will be Jesus’
ministry, there is an urgency to do what is necessary now to be ready for the
End (cf. 12:57-59).
If the first component of 13:10-17 functioned as a sign of the kingdom
and the second as a statement of the kingdom’s ultimate outcome, the third
(vv. 22-30) raises the question about who gets into the kingdom. Luke
13:22-30 as a totality is unique to the third gospel although its pieces often
have parallels elsewhere. They will be noted as we go along. The catalyst for
this unit is a question asked of Jesus as he was journeying toward Jerusalem.
“Lord, will those who are saved be few” (v. 23)? This was a debated question
of the time. The Mishna (Sanhedrin 10:1) later voices one opinion: except
for a selected few, all Israel will be saved. It was the assumption of many of
those to whom John the Baptist preached (Luke 3:8). Qumran took a
different slant. Only those associated with the community at Qumran would
make it into the Age to Come. Fourth Ezra (8:1; 7:47; 9:15) also voices the
belief that only a very few will enter the kingdom. If opinions vary, which
side is Jesus on? Jesus’ answer consists of an exhortation (v. 24), an explana-
tion (vv. 25-27), and a statement of consequences (vv. 28-30). (1) The
exhortation reads: “Strive to enter by the narrow door “(cf. Matt 7:13-14;
John 10:1-2). The basis for the exhortation is given: “for many, I tell you,
will seek to enter and will not be able” (cf. Matt 25:10-12). (2) The explana-
tion comes in parabolic form (cf. Matt 7:22-23). When the householder has
shut the door there is no admittance. Those who are excluded will implore
166 Kingdom Signs, Predictions, and Warnings

him to admit them. We were associated with you, they will say. We ate and
drank with you (as the Pharisees had done on a number of occasions—Luke
7:36; 11:37; 14:1); you taught in our streets. You know us; let us in. Alas,
mere physical proximity is not enough. He will refuse and demand that they
depart. The entry is not only narrow, but the time to pass through it is
limited. (3) Three sayings outline the consequences of a failure to enter the
narrow door on time. The first, v. 28, focuses on the sorrow of those
excluded. “You will weep and gnash your teeth when you see Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you your-
selves thrust out” (cf. Matt 8:12). The second, v. 29, speaks about the
surprising fact of who is included. “People will come from east and west and
from north and south and sit at table in the kingdom of God.” Here the
kingdom of God is pictured as a great hall in which the messianic banquet is
taking place (cf. Matt 8:11; Luke 14:15; 1 Enoch 62:14; 2 Baruch 29:4). If
Jesus’ unrepentant Jewish contemporaries are excluded, many of the Gentiles
are included (cf. 14:23 and the Gentile mission in Acts). The third logion is
a general statement of reversal. “Some are last who will be first, and some are
first who will be last” (v. 30; cf. Matt 19:30; 20:16; Mark 10:31; Gospel of
Thomas 4). Some who have experienced the earthly ministry of Jesus but
have not seen God’s presence in him and thus have not repented will be
excluded, while some who have never experienced him in the flesh but have
turned to him will find themselves included. (cf. John 20:29). One is not
saved merely by exposure to the truth. One must respond when the invita-
tion is given.
The two traditions that are joined to make the final component in
13:10-35 are 13:31-33 (only in Luke) and 13:34-35 (cf. Matt 23:37-39).
They are hooked together by “Jerusalem” (vv. 33, 34). In the first, Pharisees
come and warn Jesus about Herod Antipas who, they say, wants to kill Jesus.
This Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, had already imprisoned and slain John the
Baptist (Luke 3:18-20; 9:9); he had, moreover, already expressed an interest
in seeing Jesus (9:9); now he is said to want to kill him (13:31). The
Pharisees warn Jesus to leave the area. Jesus responds with a message for “that
fox.” This would have been heard as a term of derision. Epictetus (Discourses
I.iii.8-9) is typical when he says: “For what else is a slanderous and malicious
man but a fox, or something even more rascally and degraded? Take heed,
therefore, and beware that you become not one of these rascally creatures.”
The negative feature that fits this context is Herod’s destructiveness. He has
killed John and now he seeks to kill Jesus. Song of Songs 2:15 speaks of
young foxes that destroy vineyards. This is Herod: a destructive rascal! In
spite of Herod’s destructiveness Jesus says he will finish his work untouched
Luke 13:10-35 167

by the tetrarch. The gist of the message is this: “I have nothing to fear from
Herod; I am safe here, for death comes in Jerusalem” (Bock, 2.1248). So he
will complete his ministry in Galilee and then satisfy the divine plan (dei) in
Jerusalem. Why Jerusalem? The necessity of Jerusalem is that it is the place
where prophets perish (cf. Jer 26:20-23; 2 Chr 24:20-22; Josephus,
Antiquities 10.38; Martyrdom of Isaiah 5:1-14; Acts 7:52).
This distinctively Lukan paragraph would likely have been heard by its
auditors as an example of a story about a prophet’s confrontation of a king
(e.g., Samuel and Saul—1 Sam 15; Nathan and David—2 Sam 12; Elijah
and Ahab—1 Kgs 21; Jeremiah and Jehoiakim—Jer 25; John the Baptist and
Herod—Mark 6:14-29) or, more likely, of a philosopher’s encounter with a
tyrant (e.g., Plutarch, Alexander 14; Philostratus, Apollonius 7.1; Life of
Secundus the Silent Philosopher; Lucia, Peregrinus 18). In these conventional
stories a charismatic figure encounters, directly or indirectly, an established
authority figure, usually a paranoid tyrant. The philosopher, even when he
dies instead of being let off, demonstrates his superiority to the tyrant (Darr).
So here, Jesus remains undaunted at the threat. The divine plan is what
controls his destiny and that destiny is in Jerusalem.
In v. 32 the Lukan Jesus says he casts out demons today and tomorrow
and on the third day he finishes (teleioumai) his course. There may be more
than meets the eye here. In Luke 2:40, 52, there is a frame around the story
of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple. It focuses on the boy’s growth and
development. Verse 52 says Jesus “increased” (prokoptein) in wisdom and
stature and in favor with God and humans. The word prokoptein was used in
philosophical circles for an individual’s progress in moral and spiritual devel-
opment between beginning and maturity/perfection. Epictetus, for example,
says: “whatever the goal toward which perfection in anything definitely leads,
progress (prokopi) is an approach thereto” (Discourses 1.4.1). Philo speaks of
three grades of people: ho archomenos, the one who is just beginning, ho
prokopton, the one who is making progress, and ho teleios, the perfect or
mature person (Allegorical Interpretation 3.159). As a Jew, Philo regards the
source of progress as God, not nature. Later Christians also used the
language similarly. In the Life of Pachomius 28, we hear that Pachomius took
joy in those who made progress (ton prokopton). In the New Testament, of
the nine uses of prokop∑ and prokoptein, two are very close to the widespread
use in philosophical and religious circles: 1 Timothy 4:15 and Luke 2:52.
First Timothy 4:14-15 addresses Timothy: “Do not neglect the gift you have,
which was given you by prophetic Utterance when the elders laid their hands
upon you. Practice these duties, devote yourself to them, so that all may see
your progress.” The term here seems to be used for Timothy’s spiritual
168 Kingdom Signs, Predictions, and Warnings

progress. Luke 2:52 sounds a similar note. Jesus is said to have made progress
in his growth and development. If so, then Luke is depicting the boy Jesus as
ho prokopton. (Talbert 1991b, 76ff.)
In Luke 13:31-33 Jesus’ speaks about being perfected (teleioumai—first
person singular, present indicative passive) on the third day. It is generally
agreed that this refers to his death and entry into heaven/his exodus. If so,
then in connection with 2:52, it may be taken as saying that his death is his
reaching perfection in his obedience (cf. Heb 2:10; 5:9; 4 Macc 7:15—the
seal of martyrdom “completed/perfected” a life of fidelity to the Law). This
view of Jesus’ growth occurs within the context of Luke’s view of him as the
unredeemed firstborn (2:22-24). As such he belongs totally to God, ulti-
mately by his death. In Luke 23, when Jesus resists his final three
temptations and dies in obedience to the divine will and plan, he has been
perfected. This is one view of Jesus’ death in the third gospel that has been
largely overlooked by interpreters.
Verses 34-35 are tied to vv. 31-33 by the repetition of “Jerusalem.” If the
former says Jesus will die in Jerusalem as a divine necessity, the latter says it is
an historical inevitability that he be killed in the holy city. In form, vv. 34-35
are a threat of eventual judgment uttered by a prophet as he nears the city
whose history has been to kill the prophets. Jesus’ intent is not the city’s
judgment. His intent is voiced in terms of a bird’s care for its young (cf. Deut
32:11; Pss 17:8; 36:7; 2 Esdr 1:30). “How often would I have gathered your
children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you would
not!” This rejection of concern and care leads to his lament (v. 35). The
lament has two parts. The first says, “your house is forsaken/abandoned.”
Whether this is a reference to the temple, the city, or to the people, the
words suggest a fate already sealed. The coming destruction (cf. Luke 19:43-
44; 21:5-6; 23:29-31) is God’s judgment. The second part of the lament
says, “You will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord’” (Ps 118:26)! This is not a reference to the “triumphal
entry” (19:38) because at that time only Jesus’ disciples uttered the welcome.
The reference is rather to the parousia (Acts 3:17-21; a point Matt 23:39
makes explicit).
The section that began with an act of Jesus in which his contemporaries
were intended to see the presence of the kingdom, which then moved to two
parables that spoke about the future outcome of Jesus’ ministry, and which
next gave directions for entry into the future kingdom, now has come to the
point that the reader knows that most of Jesus’ contemporaries will not “see”
who he really is until the parousia.
Mealtime Controversies
Luke 14:1-35

Luke 14:1-35 is a thought unit made up of five components: vv. 1-6; vv. 7-
11; vv. 12-14: vv. 15-24; and vv. 25-35. The first three are unique to the
third gospel. The fourth has parallels in Matthew 22:1-10 and the Gospel of
Thomas 64, though the three versions are developed differently. In the fifth,
which is composite, vv. 26-27 have a parallel in Matthew 10:37-38, vv. 28-
33 are distinctively Lukan, while vv. 34-35 are paralleled by Mark 9:50 (cf.
Matt 5:13). The first four of the pieces are held together by their mealtime
setting (v. 1—he went to dine; v. 7—he told a parable to those invited; v.
12—he said also to the man who had invited him; v. 15—one of those who
sat at table with him said). The fifth is addressed to the crowds traveling with
Jesus (v. 25) and is after the meal scene. This pattern of arrangement has a
parallel in Luke 13:10-35 (Nolland, 2.721).

Healing—13:10-17 // 14:1-6 (both are objection-type pronouncement

stories)
Two sayings that are closely tied together formally—13:18-19 & 13:20-21 //
14:7-11 & 14:12-14
Teaching about exclusion from and inclusion in—13:22-30 // 14:15-24
The basis of inclusion and exclusion—13:31-35 // 14:25-35

This parallelism in arrangement argues for inclusion of 14:25-35, material

that falls outside the meal scene, within the larger thought unit (cf. 6:1-11,
which though outside the meal scene belongs with the preceding table talk).
Luke 14:1-24 is one of three such meal scenes in the third gospel that
have Jesus entertained by a Pharisee (7:36-50; 11:37-54; 14:1-24). Luke
5:27-39 is yet another meal scene, this time with Levi the tax collector as
host (cf. Luke 19:1-10). In all four of these units a meal becomes an occasion
for Jesus’ teaching. In Mediterranean antiquity banquets were a centerpiece
of social interaction. The banquets of New Testament times were an exten-
170 Mealtime Controversies

sion of the earlier Greek practices. Such meals normally consisted of two
parts: the deipnon or eating component and the potos or the drinking part.
Aelus Gellius (Attic Nights 15.2.3) describes such a banquet at the house of
the philosopher Calvisius Taurus in second-century Athens. “At the enter-
tainments which it was the custom of us young men to hold in Athens at the
beginning of each week, as soon as we had finished eating and an instructive
and pleasant conversation had begun . . . .” The latter part of the banquet
could run from the ribald to the philosophical (e.g., Plato Symposium 176E,
has Eryximachus propose that the flute girl who came in just now be
dismissed so the group could seek its entertainment in conversation). The
symposium literature of Plato and Xenophon tell of banquets in which
Socrates was the chief, honored guest. After the eating, he did his teaching,
through his usual method of interrogation. Plutarch continued the tradition.
His Table Talk records such discussions after the eating component; his
Dinner of the Seven Wise Men offers rules of etiquette for such gatherings.
These writings comprise a specific genre, the symposium.
Outside the specific genre, the motif of a meal used as the occasion for
teaching was prominent across cultures. For example, in the Cynic epistles
(Diogenes 38), Diogenes is invited to dinner in a wealthy home. He uses the
occasion to make a convert through his teaching at mealtime. Also the
Epistle of Aristeas records the table talk of seven banquets in which the Jews
exhort the Gentile king to know the one God and to pray. Luke, moreover,
provides a striking early Christian use of the motif in his four meal scenes in
which Jesus, the chief guest, teaches at mealtime. For three reasons it is better
not to claim that these Lukan texts belong to the symposium genre as such.
(1) In the texts belonging to the genre, the entire writing is devoted to the
banquet whereas in Luke it is only a few parts that are so focused. (2) In
symposia the two parts of the meals are clearly marked out whereas in Luke
they are not. (3) In symposium literature usually all guests speak whereas in
Luke they do not. It is better to regard the Lukan practice as employment of
a motif influenced by the Greek symposium (contra Steele; in agreement
with Smith and Braun). The Lukan auditors would have been quite familiar
with the practice of using a meal as a setting for teaching by the chief
guest(s).
What was discussed or taught after dinner varied, depending on the
culture that was the context for the banquet. According to Plutarch (e.g.,
Table Talk, book one, question 1.4), among the topics that are particularly
suitable for discussion in a pagan context after the eating are history, current
events, philosophy, and piety. One could imagine a different emphasis in the
focus in a pagan religious meal (e.g., of Dionysiac worshipers, so Livy 39, 8,
Luke 14:1-35 171

9, 14, 17, 18; of Isis devotees, so Apuleius, Metamorphoses 11). The focus
would certainly be different in the banquets of the Therapeutae (Philo,
Contemplative Life 57,64), in the Essene meals (Josephus, War 2.8), and in
the Jewish meals for which Sirach 31:12-19 and 32:1-13 give directions. It
should be no surprise, then, when the Lukan Jesus addresses topics that are
appropriate in a Jewish context and as part of an ongoing discussion about
what constitutes appropriate covenant fidelity (Shimoff ).
The meal scene in Luke 14 falls into a clear-cut chiastic pattern:

A—Unconcern about others (humans) while giving an appearance of

being religious (14:1-6)
B—Self-seeking as a guest (14:7-11)
B’—Self-seeking as a host (14:12-14)
A’—Unconcern about others (God) while giving the appearance of
being religious (14:15-24)

This unit functions as an expose of the disparity between outer appearance

and inner reality.
The fifth segment that follows (14:25-35) functions as Jesus’ comments
to the crowd accompanying him about the issues he had just addressed at
mealtime. Included are what is required of a disciple (26-27); the necessity of
counting the cost (28-33); and the consequences of making the wrong
choice (34-35). Let us examine the parts of the overall argument in order.
The first tradition (vv. 1-6) is a pronouncement story of the objection
type (Tannehill 1981). It assumes that the Pharisee and his guests were
opposed to healing the man with dropsy on the Sabbath (= the objection).
Remember that Jesus has already healed three times on the Sabbath (4:31-
37; 6:6-11; 13:10-17). In answering his host’s objection, Jesus’ behavior and
words expose the callous unconcern for the man held by the host and other
guests even as they profess to protect the rituals of religion. “Something” in
v. 5 has fallen into an artificially constructed well (phrear; Exod 21:33 shows
such accidents were by no means uncommon). The best textual tradition
reads, “son or ox.” Jesus asks, “Which of you, having a son or even an ox that
has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on a sabbath day?”
Would this have been the case? Deuteronomy 22:4 commanded a person to
assist if someone’s ox or ass has fallen into a pit (Exod 23:5 says even if it is
someone who hates you). Deuteronomy 5:12-15 prohibits work on the
Sabbath. Which commandment took precedence? Jewish attitudes toward
assistance on the Sabbath varied. At Qumran it was taught that a person
could be pulled from a pit so long as no implements were used, but an
172 Mealtime Controversies

animal could not be lifted out on the Sabbath (CD 11:13-17). In the
Talmud (b. Shabbath 128b) two rulings are given: the mild one allows
helping an animal out of a pit; the harsh one allows only provision of fodder
to it. It would seem, then, that even the most severe opinion would allow
human beings to be pulled out on the Sabbath, though there was a difference
of opinion about animals. Luke 14:5 assumes the Pharisees allow both
people and animals to be pulled out on the Sabbath. Jesus’ argument runs
from the lesser to the greater: if pulling an animal or a son out of a pit on the
Sabbath is permitted by Jewish logic, then how much more should a man in
the pit of illness be extricated from his plight. The effect of the argument is
to expose the callousness of the Pharisees, who have an appearance of being
religious (keeping the Sabbath) but are unconcerned about people in need.
There may be a hint of why the Pharisee and his guests were so callous
in the story and in the larger section. The sick man had dropsy. This disease’s
paradoxical symptom was an unquenchable craving for drink though the
body was inflated with fluid, a craving that when indulged served not to ease
but to feed the disease. In antiquity dropsy was regarded as the rich man’s
disease. Being wealthy was sometimes regarded as an analogy to the physical
illness in that the rich, like a person with dropsy, craved more and more of
that which they had an excess of and were harmed in proportion as they
gained that on which they were already bloated. Stobaeus, Florilegium
3.10.45, says: “Diogenes compared money-lovers to dropsies: as dropsies,
though filled with fluid crave drink, so money-lovers, though loaded with
money, crave more of it, yet both to their demise.” At other times dropsy was
believed to be a result of the luxurious lifestyle of the rich. Lucian, Gallus 21-
23, says the rich are subject to a host of ills, including dropsy, as a
consequence of their extravagant dinners; Philostratus, Life of Apollonius 1.9,
prescribes as a cure to dropsy the development of moral character. It may be
that the specific illness in this context would have made Luke’s readers think
of the problems of the rich, especially if the sick man was part of the
Pharisaic company and not just someone who came in from the street. If so,
then this first paragraph lays the foundation for the following critique of the
rich (vv. 7-11,12-14, 15-24, 33!). (Braun, 30-41)
The second and third stories (vv. 7-11, 12-14) expose the self-seeking of
the people at the meal. Verses 7-11, the second, begin with the note that the
guests were seeking the places of honor at the dinner (v. 7). Theophrastus
(Characters 21.2) says that it is the prideful who expect the places of honor at
banquets. This problem was so widespread that Plutarch (Dinner of the Seven
Wise Men 149 A-B) critiqued it.
Luke 14:1-35 173

When we have taken our places . . . we ought not to try to discover who
has been placed above us, but rather how we may be thoroughly agreeable
to those placed with us . . . . For, in every case, a man that objects to his
place at the table is objecting to his neighbor rather than to his host, and
he makes himself hateful to both.

A similar sentiment is expressed by Proverbs 25:6-7 and later by Leviticus

Rabbah 1.5. The prescription of Jesus is to “go and sit in the lowest place.”
The basis for this directive is that this is the way God will evaluate human
behavior in the Eschaton. “Every one who exalts himself will be humbled,
and every one who humbles himself will be exalted” (v. 11; cf. 1:48, 52; 3:5;
18:14; 6:20-26; Ezek 21:26). So act in the present in your social relations
with the behavior that will be appropriate in the Eschaton. Here the problem
is clearly pride and the seeking after social status. It is the lawyers and
Pharisees to whom he speaks. Again the disparity between appearance (being
religious) and reality (being ambitious for status among the rich) becomes
the focus.
Verses 12-14, the third, assume the host has invited only those who
could benefit him in the future: his self-seeking as a host is exposed. Plutarch
(Moralia 708D) says:

To have the company of others forced upon one on a voyage, in the family,
or in a legal business, is not so unpleasant as at dinner . . . . A dinner party
is a sharing (koinønia) . . . so the diners must not be left to chance, but
must be intimates of one another who will enjoy being together. Cooks
make up their dishes of a variety of flavors, blending the sour, the oily, the
sweet, and the pungent, but you could not get good and agreeable
company at dinner by throwing together men who are not similar in their
associations and sympathies.

Reciprocity was the rule in ancient Mediterranean society. So the practice

was to invite those who were like yourself and who could invite you back.
Jesus’ prescription is to “invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind”
(those who cannot reciprocate; those excluded from the assembly of God—
1QSa 2:5-7; 1QM 7:4). This proposal runs counter to the mores of the rich.
Lucian (Saturnalia 32) says the rich feasted “alone behind closed doors” so as
to exclude the poor. Jesus’ proposal is again based on the way God will eval-
uate human actions in the Eschaton. “You will be repaid at the resurrection
of the just” (v. 14). God will reciprocate! Once again, the disparity between
the Pharisee’s appearance (a religious leader of the masses) and his reality
(desires to associate only with the rich) is exposed.
174 Mealtime Controversies

The fourth tradition (vv. 15-24) opens with a pious utterance by one of
those present: “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God”
(v. 15). The reference is, of course, to the messianic banquet (cf. Matt 8:11-
12). The story that follows is a critical response to this exclamation. The
story realistically reflects the rough and tumble of social relations in antiq-
uity. Sometimes a guest who had been invited refused to accept because the
conditions were not right. Plutarch (Symposium 148A) says one Chilon
“showed most excellent judgment when he received his invitation yesterday
in not agreeing to come until he had learned the name of every person
invited.” When this happened, it brought shame on the host. The three
invited guests of Luke’s story all had excuses for their nonattendance related
to acquisitions: land (v. 18), oxen (v. 19), and wife (v. 20). Again, a concern
for wealth and status seems the underlying reality. Luke uses the realistic
story as an allegory of salvation history. It is given in response to the pious
utterance of v. 15 and exposes the hollowness of the guest’s words.
The story’s plot follows the outline of salvation history presented in the
narrative of Luke-Acts (cf. a similar tactic in Luke 20:9-16). The many in
Israel had been invited to the messianic banquet through God’s messengers
(the prophets). When the time for the banquet came, God sent his servant
(Jesus—Acts 4:27; 3:26; and his disciples) to say, “Come,” but when the
announcement was made, those invited (the elite) refused because they were
preoccupied with their upward mobility in life (cf. Luke 17:26-30). Faced
with refusal by Jewish leaders, the Lord turned first to outcasts among the
Jews (represented in the story as the urban poor—cf. Luke 15:1-2), and then
to the Gentiles (represented in the story as those outside the city walls—cf.
Acts). The pious profession of v. 15 masks the unconcern that such a one
had with God and his kingdom. The allegory exposes the disparity between
profession and practice. It is as though Jesus looks through spectacles that
allow him to penetrate the outer appearance and lay bare the inner reality of
human life.
Luke 14:25-35 is the fifth component in this large thought unit. It falls
outside the meal scene framework of vv. 1-24 and should be understood as
the Lukan Jesus’ comments about discipleship in response to the situation
exposed in vv. 1-24. In 14:25-35 Jesus addresses multitudes who have been
given an invitation to the table of God (14:23) in such a way as to discourage
their hasty enthusiasm. Perseverance depends on counting the cost before
one embarks upon the Way (cf. 8:13-14). Luke 14:26-35 says one should
count the cost because the demands of discipleship are rigorous, and it is
tragic not to be able to follow through on what one has begun. (1) Verses 26-
27 give two parallel sayings about the demands of discipleship. Both sayings
Luke 14:1-35 175

end with the same refrain: “it is not possible to be my disciple.” (a) The
“hating” of one’s family and one’s own life in v. 26 is a Semitic way of
expressing absolute and total detachment. When disciples are confronted
with a conflict of loyalty, they will give priority to the commitment to Jesus
(9:59-62; 18:28-30; cf. Deut 33:9 and Joseph and Aseneth 12:11[12]; 13:1).
“This is the point: love for Christ automatically classifies all other loves as
lesser loves. Loyalty to Christ supercedes all other loyalties. Commitment to
Christ categorizes all other commitments as secondary” (J. T. Carroll and J.
R. Carroll, 46). (b) Verse 27 is basically the same logion as 9:23. The bearing
of one’s cross is an expansion of the idea of hating one’s own life in v. 26.
When one is confronted with a conflict between his or her commitment to
Jesus and his or her unredeemed desires, the unredeemed self is treated as
dead and one’s commitment to Jesus reigns supreme. “Discipleship is not
periodic volunteer work on one’s own terms and at one’s convenience”
(Karris 1974, 59). Absolute detachment from all else and total commitment
to Jesus are what is demanded of disciples. Given this rigorous demand, it
would be advisable to count the cost before accepting the invitation to the
messianic banquet.
(2) Three sayings speak to the tragedy of not being able to follow
through on what one has begun (remember 8:13-14). (a) In vv. 28-30 this
tragedy is expressed in terms of embarrassment. Be like a farmer who sits
down first and counts the cost of building a tower to guard his vineyard
against marauders at harvest season. He does this to avoid the embarrass-
ment of not being able to finish what he has started. (b) In vv. 31-32 it is
stated in terms of subjection to a foreign king. Be like the king who sits
down first and reckons his chances of winning before venturing forth into
battle against a foe who cannot be beaten. He does this to avoid subjection
to a foreign rule. (c) In vv. 34-35a the tragedy is discussed in terms of
discarded salt. Salt in Palestine was obtained by evaporation from the Dead
Sea. Since the water of the Dead Sea contained many substances, evapora-
tion produced a mixture of crystals of salt and gypsum or carnallite. The
mixture would taste salty even though it was not pure salt. If, however, in the
process the salt crystals were dissolved, what was left might appear to be salt
but would have no salty taste. This residue would serve no useful purpose
and so would be thrown away. Though Matthew 5:13 addresses a form of
this saying to disciples, Luke uses it to speak to a group of would-be disciples
(the multitudes—v. 25). He says: “Count the cost before you accept the invi-
tation because to fail to persevere is to be as useless as tasteless salt and to be
subject to the same judgment.”
176 Mealtime Controversies

The evangelist has arranged the materials in 14:25-35 to set forth the
demands of discipleship, call for sober calculation of what is involved before
setting out on the Christian Way, and tell of the tragedy involved in failure
to finish what one has begun. Endurance is necessary for disciples. So, if
14:1-24 deals with the tragedy of the Pharisaic elite’s missing the great
banquet of God, 14:25-35 focuses on the tragedy of would-be disciples (who
are invited to the banquet) embarking on the Way without first having
counted the cost. If the problem in the first instance was preoccupation with
material things and status (vv. 18-20; cf. Luke 8:14), the issue in the second
was family and life itself (v. 26; cf. Luke 17:27-30). If the issue in vv. 1-24
was the disparity between appearance and reality in the officially religious,
the crux of the matter in vv. 25-35 has been the problem of an overly enthu-
siastic, unreflective acceptance of God’s invitation that cannot be sustained
(Luke 8:13).
The Response of the Elder Brothers
Luke 15:1-32

Luke 15 contains an introduction (vv. 1-3) followed by three parables (vv. 4-

7; 8-10; 11-32), two of which are peculiar to the gospel (vv. 8-10; 11-32);
the third has a parallel in Matt 18:12-14. The first two parables (vv. 4-7; 8-
10) possess a common surface structure: (1) what man/what woman; (2) one
sheep lost/one drachma lost; (3) sheep found/coin found; (4) calls friends
and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me for I have found the lost
sheep”/calls friends and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me for I have found
the lost coin”; (5) Just so, I tell you/Just so, I tell you. The two stories are
joined by a simple “or,” just as the two parables of 14:28-32 and the two
incidents of 13:1-5 were joined. The three parables are linked together by the
key words “joy” (vv. 6-7; 9-10; 23-24, 32), “because the lost is found” (vv. 6;
9; 24; 32), and “repentance” (vv. 7; 10; 18). The entire chapter is joined by
an inclusion: the elder son’s complaint about the father’s receiving the
prodigal and giving him a feast (vv. 27-30) echoes the murmuring of the
Pharisees and the scribes over Jesus’ receiving sinners and eating with them
(vv. 1-2).
The chapter is put together with techniques characteristic of the evange-
list. (1) The pattern is similar to what we find elsewhere in Luke: an action of
Jesus (v. 1) evokes an assault on him (v. 2), to which he responds (vv. 3-
32)—cf. 13:10-17; 11:37-44, 14-23; 5:29-32, 17-26) (2) Luke 5:36-39
introduces a series of three parabolic sayings with the singular, “He told
them a parable also,” just as 15:3 does. (3) Luke 13:1-9 has two short, simi-
larly constructed sayings of Jesus followed by a longer parable, just as chapter
15 does. Luke 15, taken as a whole, is a Lukan composition, meant to be
read as a unit.
The introduction to the chapter (vv. 1-3) contains two components: the
occasion (vv. 1-2) and a transition (v. 3). The occasion is the Pharisaic criti-
cism of Jesus’ association with outcasts (“sinner” has a connotation that goes
beyond our usual moralistic interpretation and involves a disreputable social
178 The Response of the Elder Brothers

status). The stance of the Pharisees (5:29ff.; 7:39; 15:1-2) reflects the OT
warning about association with evildoers (Prov 1:15; 2:11-15; 4:14ff.; Ps 1;
Isa 52:11; cf. 2 Cor 6:14-18) which was crystallized in the rabbinic dictum
“Let not a man associate with the wicked, not even to bring him to the Law”
(Midrash Rabbah on Exodus 18:1 [65a]). In contrast, Jesus eats and drinks
with outcasts because “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance” (5:32). He enters their houses because “the Son of Man came to
seek and save the lost” (19:10). The verb prosdechomai (receives) in 15:2 may
indicate that here Jesus is hosting sinners, an even more serious offense to a
Pharisee than merely eating with them. Given the Pharisaic criticism of his
behavior, the transition (v. 3) tells us that Jesus spoke a parable (consisting of
three stories).
The first of these three stories, the parable of the lost sheep (cf. Ezek 34;
Ps 119:176), is paralleled in Matthew 18:12-14. Luke’s point is clarified by a
comparison with the Matthean parallel. Matthew 18 is the fourth of five
large teaching sections in the first gospel; it is concerned with the relation-
ships of disciples to one another in the church and is addressed specifically to
disciples. Verses 12-13 appear as part of a unit, 18:1-14, that deals with “the
little ones” in the church (that is, the rank and file disciples who are in
constant danger of deception from proud and clever people). The point of
the unit is twofold: (1) do not cause a rank and file Christian to sin (vv. 6, 7-
9), and (2) if one goes astray, go after him/her (vv. 5, 10-14). Note that in
Matthew 18:12-13 the sheep is not lost; it goes astray. In 18:14, the conclu-
sion, the meaning is that the heavenly Father does not want any little ones to
perish. In the first gospel, therefore, the parable of the sheep gives directions
to disciples for dealing with straying Christians. In Luke, however, the one
sheep is lost (15:4, 6). Furthermore, the interpretation (v. 7) appended to the
parable (vv. 4-6) makes clear the meaning of “lost.” Verse 7 reads, “Just so, I
tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than
over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” The lost in
Luke are sinners, the outcasts with whom Jesus eats.
In the Lukan story of the lost sheep, the rejoicing of the shepherd is
matched by the rejoicing of friends and neighbors over his having found the
lost animal. If his associates join the shepherd in his rejoicing when a lost
sheep has been found, how much more should the Pharisees join heaven in
its joy over the repentance of a sinner. Can you join me, says Jesus to his
critics, in my rejoicing over the reclamation of any of the outcasts with
whom I eat and drink?
The second story, the parable of the lost coin, is little more than an alter-
native way of saying the same thing. The repetition is for emphasis. Joy over
Luke 15:1-32 179

finding the lost coin (not a coin used as an ornament but one that was part
of the woman’s savings) is the center of concern. The picture of an oriental
woman in her house with no windows and a dirt floor lighting a tiny lamp
and sweeping until she finds her lost coin climaxes with a conclusion (v. 10)
similar to that of the preceding story: “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before
the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (15:10). Taken together the
parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin justify Jesus’ association with
outcasts by appeal to the joy in heaven over the repentance of even one
sinner. Those two stories say, You know how you feel if you are a herdsman
and you find a lost sheep or if you are a housewife and you recover a lost
coin; well, that is how God feels when a sinner repents. You know how your
friends and neighbors join you in rejoicing over your find; well, that same
kind of communal rejoicing is heaven’s response to a sinner’s being
reclaimed. A question is implicit: Can you share that joy? Will you join with
God and heaven’s hosts in their rejoicing?
The third story, the parable of the two sons, is perhaps the best known
of the gospel parables. This story falls into two parts, the first focusing on the
prodigal (vv. 11-24), the second on the elder brother (vv. 25-32). In both
parts of the parable the focus is first on the son and then on the father.
In the first part of the story, the portrayal of the prodigal evokes negative
feelings. (1) The boy treated his father as if he were dead. According to the
laws of property, it was possible for children to receive a division of the
father’s capital during his lifetime (cf. Sir 33:19-21), but a son had the right
of disposal of the property only after the father’s death. (2) The prodigal had
dissipated his means of caring for his father in case a necessity arose (vv. 18,
21): He had violated the commandment to honor one’s father and mother
(Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16). (3) He had associated with a Gentile (vv. 15-16)
instead of going to the Jewish community for help. He had, moreover, made
his living in what for a Jew was a sinful way (feeding pigs). The polite way a
Mid-Easterner gets rid of unwanted hangers-on is by assigning them a task
he knows they will refuse. Not even this work, which practically precluded
the practice of his religion, got rid of the youth. Here then is a portrait of a
despicable youth about whom one’s feelings are similar to those of a Pharisee
for a tax collector. He was uncouth, unclean, and contemptible.
The portrayal of the father in the first part of the story evokes amaze-
ment. (1) The father would be expected to refuse the younger son’s request
(v. 12; cf. Sir 33:23), but instead he grants it. (2) The expected response from
the father upon the younger son’s return home is mirrored in the prodigal’s
request: “Treat me as one of your hired servants” (v. 19). A typical Jewish
father might have considered this expedient until the son’s reformation had
180 The Response of the Elder Brothers

been confirmed. It would, moreover, allow the youth to make reparations

required by repentance (cf. Luke 19:8). Instead, the father came out of the
house and in a dramatic demonstration showed an unexpected love publicly,
even to the point of humiliating himself. The father’s actions were without
restraint. He ran. Even if he were in a great hurry, for an aged oriental to run
would be beneath his dignity. (Sir 19:30 says, “A man’s manner of walking
tells you what he is.”) Yet he ran. The embrace would stop the prodigal from
going to his knees. A kiss on the cheek was a sign of reconciliation and
forgiveness, the best robe a sign of honor, the ring a sign of authority (cf.
Esth 3:10; 8:2; Gen 41:42), the shoes a sign of a free man—slaves went bare-
foot—and the feast a sign of joy: “Let us eat and make merry; for this my
son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (vv. 23-24). Here
is the same note of joy over the recovery of the lost that we met in the inter-
pretations of the two earlier parables (15:7, 10). Joy over a recovered sheep or
coin is understandable. They are valuable and we benefit from their being
found. But the “excessive joy” of the father at the prodigal’s return makes no
sense. At the very least, one stands puzzled at the father’s joy.
Just as in the case of the prodigal, the elder brother in the second part of
the story (vv. 25-32) evokes negative feelings. (1) In addressing his father (v.
29) with no title, he insults him publicly. (2) He accuses his father of rank
favoritism (vv. 29-30). (3) He declares he is not part of the family (cf. “my
friends” in v. 29b; “this son of yours” in v. 30). (4) If, moreover, all that is left
belongs to the elder brother, and if he complains about not being able to
dispose of it yet as he wants to do, then he also wants the father dead and
gone. In other words, although the elder son has carried out orders (v. 29b),
he has been lawless within the law—not physically but spiritually. If the
prodigal was an overt sinner, the elder brother has been a covert one. He is
certainly not a lovable figure.
Again in the second part of the parable the father’s response is provoca-
tive. Reacting to the elder brother’s anger, the father goes out (v. 28) and
says, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was
fitting (edei—cf. 2:49; 4:43; 9:22; 13:16, 33; 17:25; 19:5; 22:37; 24:7, 26,
44) to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive;
he was lost, and is found” (vv. 31-32). Given the context the statement
should be taken to mean that it was a divine necessity to rejoice over the
recovery of the lost (cf. 15:7, 10). Joy is the appropriate (as defined by God’s
behavior) response to a sinner’s repentance.
In taking this stance the third story stands in continuity with the first
two. (1) The joy in heaven over a sinner’s repentance is greater than a shep-
herd’s happiness over the recovery of a lost sheep (v. 7). (2) There is joy in
Luke 15:1-32 181

heaven over a sinner’s repentance just as there is when a woman finds her lost
coin (v. 10). (3) Heaven rejoices over a sinner’s reclamation just as the father
did over the return of the prodigal, even though it is difficult to accept. In
one respect, however, the third story stands in discontinuity with the first
two: it remains open. The elder brother’s response to the father’s joy is not
given. Will the elder son accept the father’s invitation to rejoice with him
over the recovery of the prodigal as the shepherd’s friends and the women’s
neighbors did with them? This is left open for each “elder brother” who hears
the parable to decide.
As in all double-edged parables, the emphasis lies in the second half, the
climax, which comes to us as a query: Will you share in the communal joy
over the prodigal’s return? If not, why not? Chapter 15, then, is a threefold
statement of God’s joy over a sinner’s repentance followed by a query: Can
you participate in that joy? If not, why not? Can you not rejoice at the efforts
to effect a sinner’s repentance? If you were able to feel the joy of the shepherd
and the woman, why are you unable to feel the joy of the father? Do you get
more excited about money and animals than about people (12:15-16; 14:5)?
Who are you, in your relation to God and humans, in light of your absence
of joy? Why are you not able to participate in the divine necessity to rejoice?
Jesus’ response to the assault on his behavior (v. 2) is to raise a question
about his accusers. As has been noted, the conclusion is missing in v. 32. The
hearers must decide their response.
When the parables are used to question the hearers in this way, the chris-
tological question is just below the surface. One is forced to ask, “Who is
this who professes to know the mind of God?” The Pharisees of vv. 1-2
would not only be forced to ask themselves, “Are we elder brothers?” but
also, “What right does Jesus have to make the judgments he does?”
The Use and Misuse of Wealth
Luke 16:1-31

The unity of the chapter is apparent first of all from the concern with posses-
sions that runs through it. The chapter falls into two parts, 16:1-13 and
16:14-31, each dominated by a parable beginning “There was a rich man” (v.
1; v. 19). The first part is addressed to disciples (v. 1), the second to Pharisees
(v. 14—cf. 17:1 where the audience switches back to disciples).
The first part of chapter 16, vv. 1-13, is composed of a parable with
some interpretations (cf. a similar phenomenon in 18:6ff.). Verse 1a is a
Lukan introduction; vv. 1b-8a give the parable; v. 8b is one interpretative
comment about the story; v. 9 is a second interpretation; vv. 10-12 are an
elaboration of the second interpretation; v. 13 is a conclusion to the second
interpretation and its elaboration (vv. 9-12). These separate pieces are held
together by a complex web of interlocking devices. Verse 8a reads, “The
master commended the steward of unrighteousness because he acted shrewdly”
(tes adikias hoti phronimøs epoi∑sen). Each of the italicized words serves as a
link with what follows: (1) v. 8b says, “for the sons of this world are shrewder
(phronimoteroi) in their own generation than the sons of light”; (2) v. 9 tells
the disciples, “make (poi∑sate) friends for yourselves by means of the
mammon of unrighteousness (t∑s adikias); furthermore, v. 9’s reference to
being received (dexontai) into eternal habitations echoes the being received
(dexontai) into the houses of earthly associates in 16:4); (3) v. 10’s “he who
is dishonest (adikos) in a very little is dishonest (adikos) also in much” echoes
the adikias (unrighteousness) of vv. 8a, 9. In addition to these links with v.
8a, there are other links between later verses. Verse 11’s unrighteous
mammon (adikø mamøna) ties it to v. 9. The occurrence of “faithful” links
vv. 10 and 12. Verses 11 and 12 are linked by a similar structure: “If you
have not been faithful . . . who . . .?” Verse 13 again uses mammon. By
means of such links the evangelist has constructed a unit from diverse mate-
rials in vv. 1-13. He issues a call for Jesus’ disciples to be wise in their use of
wealth and gives reasons why such wisdom is desirable.
184 The Use and Misuse of Wealth

The Lukan call for a wise use of wealth by disciples is located in the
parable of the steward (vv. 1b-8a) and its first interpretation (v. 8b). The
parable has provoked much controversy, often unnecessarily. The story is
about a man who, when confronted with a crisis, acted shrewdly (cf. 12:57-
59). Caught in the act of wasting his master’s goods, the steward received
notice of the termination of his job. Not strong enough to do manual work
and too proud to beg, with prospects of future employment virtually nil, the
steward acted to guarantee his future. How? There are two possible ways of
reading the remainder of the story that are worthy of attention. (1) Some say
that as an agent, he was entitled to a commission. Seeing he was to be
dismissed, he decided to forego his commission in order to get the people
who would benefit to reciprocate (cf. 6:32) and receive him into their houses
when he was unemployed (v. 4). In this act there was no dishonesty, only
prudence to prepare for the future. (2) Others claim the key to the situation
is that no one yet knows the steward has been fired. He summons the
debtors who therefore assume the entire bill-changing is legitimate. They
assume the master authorized the reductions in what they owed and that the
steward talked him into it. The steward then delivered the changed accounts
to his master. The master looked at them and reflected on his alternatives.
Either he could go to the debtors and explain—in which case he would be
cursed—or he could be silent, accept the debtors’ praise, and allow the clever
steward to ride high on the wave of popular enthusiasm. He chose the latter
course of action and said to the steward, “You are a wise fellow.” Either way
the steward acted to guarantee his future by means of his use of the wealth
under his control. When the master (the rich man, not Jesus) commended
the steward’s shrewdness, it was no praise of his original waste. It was rather
an acknowledgment that the steward’s subsequent actions had wisely guaran-
teed his future. The first interpretation of the parable (v. 8b) notes that
non-Christians are shrewder in their use of money than are disciples. That is,
they, like the dishonest steward, use it to guarantee their future. This serves
as a call for disciples of Jesus to act as wisely in their use of the wealth under
their control.
What would constitute a wise use of wealth by disciples? Verse 9 explains
what is implied in v. 8b. If a dishonest manager could provide for his future
by a shrewd use of possessions, how much more should the sons of light, by
giving alms (unrighteous mammon means worldly wealth, not possessions
acquired dishonestly), provide for their future in heaven (“they” is a circum-
locution for God; cf. Mishna, Yoma 8:9—”He who says, ‘I will sin and
repent, and sin again and repent,’ to him give they no opportunity to
repent.”). Wise use of money will gain one’s welcome in heaven (“eternal
Luke 16:1-31 185

habitations”—cf. 1 Enoch 39:4; 2 Esdr 2:11). Verses 10-12 elaborate on this.

If disciples have not been faithful in their use of earthly wealth that is on
loan from God (Pirke Abot III:7), how can they be trusted with the true
riches of eternal life? This is one of the few places in the NT where the idea
of stewardship is applied to material possessions.
Why is disciples’ use of wealth tied to their future in heaven? Verse 13
tells us plainly: One’s use of wealth points to whom one serves. Jesus says,
“You cannot serve God and mammon.” Given this, Christians need to
answer the call to manifest a shrewdness in the use of wealth under their
control. Affluence in the hands of disciples is to be used sacramentally as a
means of expressing love, both to God and to other people who have needs.
The church in Acts embodies a proper response to Jesus’ call. There was first
a spontaneous (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32, 34ff.) and then an organized (Acts 6:1ff.)
sharing of wealth within the community to meet needs. Sharing was carried
on between congregations some distance from one another (Acts 11:27ff.).
This Lukan spirit reflects that of the early church fathers generally. Justin
Martyr (Apology 1, 67) says,

And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and
what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans
and widows, and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in
want, and those who are in bonds, and the strangers sojourning among us,
and in a word, takes care of all who are in need.

Tertullian (Apology 39.10) says, “We do not hesitate to share our earthly
goods with one another. All things are common among us but our wives.” A
shrewd use of wealth by disciples would be to use it for meeting the needs of
others. Such use signals an end to the worship of money and the existence of
one’s service of God. It also opens the door to a warm reception by God in
heaven.
The second part, 16:14-31, is addressed to the Pharisees (vv. 14-15),
those who held that possession of wealth points to the one whom God loves.
The section, which is an attack on the Pharisaic assumptions about wealth, is
organized into a two-pronged group of sayings (vv. 14-18), followed by a
double-edged parable (vv. 19-31). Verses 19-26 of the parable are an exposi-
tion of vv. 14-15, while vv. 27-31 serve as an illustration of vv. 16-18 (Ellis
1974, 201, following a hint by John Calvin). This pattern gives unity to the
section.
The first of the double-pronged group of sayings, vv. 14-15, makes two
points. (1) Verses 14-15a emphasize that it is not the outer appearance of
186 The Use and Misuse of Wealth

righteousness and its rewards that counts but what God sees in the heart.
The Pharisees scoff at Jesus’ statement, “You cannot serve God and
mammon” (v. 13). Given their assumptions, this was predictable. For them
tragedy is a sign of God’s displeasure; success (e.g., financial prosperity) is
evidence of one’s righteousness and of God’s pleasure. It is no wonder they
scoffed at Jesus’ “either God or money” stance (cf. 18:24-26 where the disci-
ples, after being told of the difficulty of a rich man’s being saved, ask, “Then
who can be saved?”). Money for them was a sign, a sure sign, of God’s favor
and of their place in the kingdom. Their position had roots in their
Scriptures (e.g., Deut 28:12-13 where wealth and plenty are a sign of God’s
blessings). Jesus’ response to their scoffing was to contrast their outer public
appearance with their inner-private reality (cf. 11:39-41; 18:9-14). (2) In
their inner selves they were exalted (that is, self-sufficient, independent of
God). This is a stance God hates (v. 15b). Jesus was speaking out of another
strand of OT thought that saw the poor as symbolic of total dependence
upon God and the rich as symbolic of independent self-sufficiency. These
rich ones oppressed their poor brethren and thereby violated the covenant
(Amos 8:4-6), instead of giving alms (Deut 15:11). Jesus’ point, therefore, is
that prosperity is an ambiguous sign—only a knowledge of the heart can tell
for sure whether or not one is righteous.
The first part of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (vv. 19-25; 26
is a transition) amplifies the two themes of vv. 14-15. (1) The first is that
wealth is not necessarily a sign of righteousness. In the parable the rich man
who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every
day is an example of the misuse of wealth. He neglected the law relating to
the poor. Deuteronomy 15:4 says there should be no poor person in Israel’s
midst. So generosity toward the poor was counted as righteousness (Prov
11:23-24; 21:26; 29:7). It was regarded as a good thing to help the poor and
weak through kindness (Prov 14:31; 17:5), loans (Prov 19:17), and liberality
(Prov 11:25; 21:26). In Sifre Deuteronomy 116-18, we find a rabbinic
commentary on Deuteronomy 15:7-11. From v. 9 of Deuteronomy 15 the
lesson is drawn: “Be careful not to refuse charity, for every one who refuses
charity is put [by the text] in the same category with idolaters, and he breaks
off from him the yoke of Heaven, as it is said, wicked, that is, without yoke.”
In the mainline Jewish tradition it was believed one should not withhold
needed relief for the poor. In this parable, however, Lazarus received only the
leftovers from the table that fell on the ground—what the dogs ate—and was
not the object of any significant charity. The rich man, then, was definitely
not righteous (cf. 1 John 3:17).
Luke 16:1-31 187

If wealth is no guarantee of one’s righteousness, then poverty is no proof

of another’s evil. This is the only parable of Jesus that names a character. The
name, Lazarus (he whom God helps), is symbolic of the beggar’s piety.
Moreover, ritual uncleanness is no evidence against piety (the unclean dogs
who licked his sores rendered him unclean, from a Pharisaic perspective—cf.
Luke 10:29-37; Acts 10). A parable that portrayed its hero as an unclean
beggar must have been as startling to Pharisaic assumptions (clean plus rich
equals righteous) as one that depicted a Samaritan as hero. The first part of
the parable, then, illustrates the initial theme of vv. 14-15—prosperity is an
ambiguous sign.
(2) The first part of the parable also elaborates the second point of vv.
14-15: God who looks on the heart regards anyone who is proud-exalted as
an abomination. The rich man accordingly ended in torment, crying for
Abraham to send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water to cool his
tongue since he was in anguish in the flame. The proud rich man who
demonstrated no charity to the poor in this life finds his status reversed in
the next. The Lukan God is the opponent of the exalted (self-sufficient who
are insensitive to the needs of the poor). Luke 16:19-25 says plainly that the
failure to use one’s wealth on behalf of the poor in this life leads to torment
in the afterlife. The first half of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus,
then, illustrates both themes of vv. 14-15.
The second of the group of sayings, vv. 16-18, likewise makes two
points. (1) Verse 16 speaks of the inclusiveness of the kingdom. A very
different version of the saying is found in Matthew 11:12-13. The Lukan
version says that since John the Baptist the kingdom of God has been
proclaimed as good news (cf. 4:18; Acts 1:21-22). Two possible conse-
quences of this are worth our attention. (a) Is it that everyone (pas—cf. 3:6;
4:25-27; 7:1-10; 8:26ff.) is pressing hard (biazetai taken as middle voice
means “to overpower by force, to press hard, to act with violence”) into it?
(b) Or is it that “everyone is expressly invited to come in” (biazomai taken as
passive voice with the meaning found in the LXX—e.g., Gen 33:11—means
“to be begged earnestly, to be urged”)? Either way, in the Lukan context the
emphasis is on the universality of the kingdom’s outreach and the option for
everyone to enter it (cf. Acts 13:48; 28:28). (2) Verse 17 (cf. Matt 5:18)
affirms the continuing validity of the law (cf. Acts 20:27-28). In this context
doubtless the evangelist is thinking of the law that teaches about the care of
the poor. One should remember that in the OT laws relating to the care of
the poor dealt not only with an individual’s giving alms or assistance but also
with structural provision for the poor within society at large (e.g., Leviticus
25 equalizes land ownership every fifty years; Deuteronomy 15 gives Hebrew
188 The Use and Misuse of Wealth

slaves their freedom in the sabbatical year; Ruth 2 indicates the law of
gleaning was designed to prevent debilitating poverty among the people of
God and the sojourners in the land).
The second part of the parable (vv. 27-31) amplifies the two themes of
vv. 16-18. (1) The first theme is that there is a universality in the kingdom’s
composition. Everyone enters it. This is certainly illustrated by the story of
the unclean beggar Lazarus. Who, in this life, would have thought he, of all
people, would end in Abraham’s bosom and be asked to go to warn the rich
man’s brothers of their fate? If Lazarus succeeded, the kingdom is certainly
inclusive. (2) The second theme is that the law is still in force, in particular
that law dealing with the treatment of the poor. In the parable, when the rich
man asks father Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five rich brothers of
their destiny unless they change, Abraham answers, “They have Moses and
the prophets; let them hear them” (v. 29). If the law and the prophets do not
call the rich to repentance, then even if someone goes to them from the dead
it will make no difference. They will not repent. Once again the parable
serves to illustrate themes set forth earlier in the chapter (vv. 16-18). Since in
double-edged parables the second part receives the emphasis, the evangelist
wants to accent the point about the continuing validity of the law and its
teaching on the use of wealth on behalf of the poor.
In Luke 16 the evangelist issues a call and gives a warning. On the one
side, he calls for disciples to be as wise as the steward in their use of wealth to
guarantee their future. On the other side, he warns that one not assume
wealth to be so much a guarantee of one’s being approved by God that one
neglects the less fortunate, failing to follow the guidance of Moses and the
prophets, and thus finds oneself cast out.
The Possibility of
an Impossible Demand
Luke 17:1-10

Luke 17:1-10 is a small collection of four independent sayings of Jesus

directed to disciples: (1) 17:1-2 (Matt 18:6-7; cf. Mark 9:42); (2) 17:3-4
(Matt 18:15, 21-22); (3) 17:5-6 (Matt 17:20); and (4) 17:7-10 (only in
Luke). The collection focuses on two questions: (a) What are disciples called
to do? and (b) Are they able to do it? The first two sayings (vv. 1-2, 3-4)
answer the initial question, the second two logia (vv. 5-6, 7-10) respond to
the latter query.
What does Jesus expect of his disciples in their life together? The answer
is given in the first two sayings, which are tied together by their common
focus on sin. The first, vv. 1-2, deals with one’s offenses against others; the
second, vv. 3-4, is focused on another’s offenses, either generally (v. 3) or
against one specifically (v. 4). (1) Verses 1-2 are a woe pronounced on disci-
ples who cause one of the little ones to stumble (cf. 1 Cor 8:9ff.; 10:32; Rom
14:13-21; 1 John 2:10; Rev 2:14). The issue is Christian influence. That we
find material about the perils of influence here, in Matthew 18, in two letters
of Paul, in 1 John, and in the Apocalypse indicates the issue was a serious
one in early Christianity. Here Jesus holds his disciples responsible for their
influence on weaker Christians. (2) Verses 3-4 are a call first to reproof and
then to forgiveness of others who sin. Christians’ reproof of one another
derives from Christ’s activity (Acts 10:15; cf. Rev 3:19), as does their forgive-
ness (Luke 23:34; 22:54-62 with 24:34). In Luke the twofold activity is to
be part of the spontaneous lifestyle of the individual disciple, whereas in
Matthew 18 it is a Christian duty ordained in a code of church discipline.
Paul, in Acts 15:36-41, may embody reproof but it is unlikely the evangelist
regarded him as incarnating forgiveness. The disciples of Jesus are called to a
responsible use of their influence and to a limitless forgiveness of those who
sin against them who then repent.
Are we able to do what is asked of us? The call to cause no little one to
stumble and to forgive repentant sinners without limit is so demanding the
190 The Possibility of an Impossible Demand

apostles ask Jesus for more faith (cf. 11:1). Jesus’ response is typically oriental
in using a vivid and extreme image, which the RSV translates, “If you had
faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree [a black
mulberry with an extensive root system], ‘Be rooted up, and be planted in
the sea,’ and it would obey you” (v. 6). The implication derived from this
translation is that the apostles do not have faith, but if they had even a little
bit it would work wonders. In the Greek text, however, the best reading is,
“If you have faith [and the assumption is that you do], you could say to this
sycamine tree, ‘Be plucked up by the root’ . . . .” That is, since you have
faith, even the minutest amount, the impossible is possible (Turner, 51-52).
In the RSV translation the point is that if the apostles had the least bit of
faith the impossible would be possible. In the second, and correct, reading
the point is that the apostles have at least some faith, which is enough to do
the impossible.
Further insight into the meaning of 17:6 comes from an examination of
the parallels to this saying in Matthew 17:20; 21:21 // Mark 11:22-23.
These parallels occur in different contexts and have slightly different
contents. (a) Matthew 17:20 is part of the climax to the healing story that
follows the transfiguration in all three synoptic gospels. Whereas Mark 9:29
says the disciples’ failure was due to the fact that “this kind cannot be driven
out by anything but prayer,” and although Luke 9:37-43 does not even deal
with the issue of the disciples’ failure except by allusion (9:41), Matthew
17:20 says the disciples failed “because of your little faith. For truly, I say to
you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this moun-
tain, ‘Move hence to yonder place,’ and it will move; and nothing will be
impossible to you.” (b) Matthew 21:21 and Mark 11:22-23 have a similar
saying in the context of the cursing of the fig tree. Matthew’s connection is
explicit. The disciples ask Jesus how the miracle happened. His response is,
“Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and never doubt, you will not only do
what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be
taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will be done” (cf. Jas 1:6-8).
Luke’s use is different from the two uses of the saying in Matthew and
the one in Mark in two ways. First, Luke refers to a sycamine tree, not to a
mountain. Second, the Lukan context uses the saying to support the possi-
bility of the disciples’ moral behavior (17:1-4), whereas Matthew and Mark
use it to explain the success of Jesus’ miraculous activity and to promise such
success to his disciples. In the case of all three synoptics and both forms of
the saying, however, faith is associated with the manifestation of awesome
power in the lives of Jesus’ disciples, whether it be moral or miraculous.
Luke 17:1-10 191

In order to make sense of the saying, in whatever form, it is necessary to

understand what is and what is not meant by faith. (a) It is important to
note that “faith is not a magic by which we control God. . . . We cannot use
it to back God into a corner and force him to produce a sensational show
which will enable us to make the headlines” (Tolbert, 9.134). In magic one
acts to gain control of the spiritual powers so they will do one’s bidding. The
NT, especially Paul, makes it clear that faith is always a person’s response to
God’s initiative. In Luke 17:11-19, for example, the Samaritan who was
healed saw God in the cure effected by Jesus and responded with thanks-
giving and praise. Faith is always a human response. (b) It is also important
to see faith as a response to God in the context of a relationship; it is
personal response to personal initiative. Again, Paul and Luke 17:11-19
speak to this point.
If faith is a disciple’s personal response to the personal initiative of God
in relationship, then v. 6 is intelligible in its context. God relates to the
sinner with forgiveness (15:11-32). The disciple, a forgiven sinner to whom
God has shown and is showing mercy, in faith responds with mercy and
forgiveness to those who sin against the disciple (6:35-38; 11:4). In response
to the apostles’ request for more faith so they would be able to forgive
unceasingly, Jesus says, You are living out of a response to God’s initiative
with you, however limited your response may be. Since God is constantly
forgiving you, if you are responding in faith, forgiving without end, though
it may seem impossible, is possible to you.
In the version of the logion found in Matthew and Mark, Jesus says that
when God has taken the initiative to tell the disciple what God wants to do,
an unwavering response of the disciple in that direction results in miracles.
If, however, God does not take the initiative in a given situation, it is magic
for the disciple to take the initiative and to try to force God’s hand by his
undoubting belief that God will do what the disciple tells God to do. Faith is
not the coercion of God into action by our believing that he will do our
bidding. Rather it is the cooperation with God in the action, which, by his
initiative, he has indicated that he wills to perform. For Luke such divine
initiative was part of Christians’ ongoing religious experience (cf. Acts 4:19-
20, 31; 5:19-20, 29; 7:55-60; 8:26, 29; 10:9ff., 44-48; 11:15-17; 13:1-3;
16:6-10.).
The train of thought in 17:1-6 to this point has been: (1) if a disciple is
never to cause another to stumble and is always to be forgiving, surely the
disciple needs an increase in faith; (2) since the disciple is living out of the
response to how God has and does treat him or her, this impossible demand
is possible, even with the most minute amount of faith (the assumption is
192 The Possibility of an Impossible Demand

that God’s gracious initiative is so generous that even a response to a part of

it would result in wonderful behavior in human relationships). Luke believed
those who live in faith were able to do what has been asked of them.
If disciples are able to do what is required, they are not able to do more
than is required. This point is made in the parable of 17:7-10. Here we meet
a man with only one slave, who was forced to do double duty. He worked
both as a farm hand (plowing and keeping sheep) and as a domestic servant
(preparing supper, serving). After a long day of work, the slave did not expect
to be thanked by the master. He had simply done what he had been
commanded to do. So, says Jesus, when the disciples “have done all that is
commanded” (never being a stumbling block; forgiving unceasingly) they
should recognize they have done no more than was commanded. No room is
left here for any notion of moral superiority or merit. If, given the enormity
of God’s gracious initiative, there is even the slightest response of faith on the
part of the disciples, the commandments are achievable. Nevertheless, no
achievement is ever able to go beyond what is expected.
Eschatology: Present and Future
Luke 17:11–18:8

Luke 17:11–18:8 is a large thought unit focused on the theme of escha-

tology. It consists of four components: 17:11-19, a miracle story; 17:20-21,
a dialogue with the Pharisees; 17:22-37, instruction for disciples; and 18:1-
8, a parable directed also to the disciples. Three of these components are
peculiar to the third gospel. Only 17:22-37 has parallels elsewhere. The
various components need to be examined in order.
Luke 17:11-19, a miracle story found only in Luke, is introduced by the
evangelist’s location of the incident between Samaria and Galilee (v. 11).
This is doubtless to make plausible the reference to the Samaritan in v. 16.
Its local color is accurate: Galilean Jewish pilgrims often went to Jerusalem
through Samaria (Josephus Antiquities 20.118); lepers grouped together (2
Kgs 7:3) and avoided physical contacts with other people (Lev 13:45-46;
Num 5:2), but stayed close to where people lived so they could receive
charity. The unusual feature of the story is that it is a two-part miracle story:
vv. 11-14 tell of the cleansing of the ten lepers, while vv. 15-19 follow up the
cleansing of one of them, recounting the Samaritan’s conversion. There is a
prototype of such a two-part story about the healing and the conversion of a
leper in 2 Kings 5. Naaman the Syrian is healed as he goes and washes seven
times in the Jordan River in obedience to Elisha’s command. When he sees
that he is healed, he returns to Elisha and confesses his faith in the God of
Israel. The Old Testament story tells how a miracle of healing is the occasion
for the conversion of a foreigner. Luke 17:11-19, likewise, narrates a miracle
of Jesus that serves as a catalyst for the conversion of the Samaritan. Verse 19
should be translated, “Rise and go on your way; your faith has saved you
(sesok∑n se). “Saved” here does not refer to the physical healing only. The
other nine were healed. His salvation was linked with the Samaritan’s both
seeing the gift in Jesus’ healing and responding appropriately. Remember
that the mighty works are signs of the in-break of God’s kingly rule in Jesus’
present ministry (7:22; 11:20). As in 13:10-17, the issue is whether or not
194 Eschatology: Present and Future

Jesus’ contemporaries can “see” this fact. Since in such a story the climax
comes in the second part, Luke’s emphasis is on the faith of the Samaritan.
The evangelist is concerned with the attitude of the person who was cured.
The mere experience of being healed did not save. It was “seeing” the
kingdom at work in Jesus’ ministry and acknowledging what God had done
through Jesus that enabled him to experience a salvation beyond the physical
cure (cf. “praising God”—v. 15; “Fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him
thanks”—v. 16). Healing issues in salvation, Luke is saying, only when God’s
gracious initiative is recognized as present in Jesus and when one’s response
to that initiative is faith so that a relationship results. (Betz; Hamm 1994)
The evangelist is also saying that often the most unlikely persons recog-
nize the divine approach and respond appropriately. The leper who returned
after his healing with praise to God and submission to Jesus was a Samaritan;
nine Jews made no such response. The faith of foreigners is a Lukan concern
(e.g., 7:9; 10:25-37; Acts 10–11), as is the contrast between their faith (cf.
Acts 26:16-18 where the Gentiles’ eyes are opened) and the unbelief of the
Jews who are unable to see God’s work in Jesus (cf. Acts 28:26-27 where the
Jews do not see). This story, then, foreshadows the rejection of the gospel by
some Jews and its enthusiastic reception by foreigners that we see in the
narrative of Acts and that was already established at the time Luke-Acts was
written. Its main focus, however, is on the presence of the kingdom in Jesus’
ministry of healing. It is this focus that ties this story to the discussion with
the Pharisees in vv. 20-21.
The pronouncement story of Luke 17:20-21 is found only in the third
gospel (cf. Gospel of Thomas 3 with 17:21). The Pharisees asked when the
kingdom of God was coming. The initial part of Jesus’ answer indicates that
the question assumed that the kingdom’s coming would be preceded by
certain signs (cf. 1 Enoch 91, 93; 2 Baruch 53-74). The answer expected
would take the form, “The kingdom of God will come when you see such
and such taking place.” Jesus rejects this assumption, saying instead, “the
kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (“within you,” though linguistically
possible, seems inappropriate since Jesus is talking to Pharisees). Luke would
understand this to refer to the presence of the kingdom of God/Holy Spirit
in Jesus’ ministry (cf. 11:20; 4:18-19; 3:22; 11:20; 7:22). Luke makes two
points. (a) Although one may speak about the nearness of the kingdom (e.g.,
10:9), it is illegitimate to try to calculate the time of the End (e.g., Acts 1:6-
7). This is a rejection of apocalyptic speculation (the attempt to use historical
events and natural disasters to determine a blueprint of what is going to
happen and when). In his City of God (18:53), Augustine spoke to the point:
Luke 17:11–18:8 195

In vain, then, do we attempt to compute definitely the years that may

remain to this world, when we may hear from the mouth of the Truth
(Jesus) that it is not for us to know . . . . But on this subject he puts aside
the figures of the calculators.

The Markan Jesus speaks the same way: “But of that day or that hour no one
knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father”
(13:32 // Matt 24:36). (b) The only signs of the kingdom proper to look for
are those characteristic of the Spirit-empowered ministry of the earthly Jesus
(4:18-19; 7:22). The link, then, between this segment and the previous
miracle story is that here Jesus says the Pharisees must not miss what is
happening before their eyes in signs such as the leper’s cleansing. The first
two components have, then, focused on present eschatology: the kingdom’s
presence in Jesus’ ministry.
The composite discourse to disciples (17:22-37) that follows the
pronouncement story of vv. 20-21 functions as protection against an over-
realized eschatology. The discourse is linked to the pronouncement story
both formally and logically. Formally, the “Lo, here” and “there” in 17:21 are
echoed in “Lo, there,” and “Lo, here,” in 17:23. Logically, the link relates to
the emphasis on the presence of the kingdom. Verses 20-21 speak of the
kingdom being present in Jesus’ ministry. In vv. 22-23, the disciples, desiring
to experience the parousia (“one of the days of the Son of Man” is a
Christianization of the Jewish “days of the messiah” or the OT “those days”
or “latter days”—that is, the messianic kingdom or Age to Come), are told
by some that it is already present (they will say to you, “Lo, there!” or “Lo,
here!”). The disciples are not to believe such claims. It would appear from
this logical connection that vv. 22-37 function to interpret vv. 20-21 in a
way that prevents their being read in terms of an over-realized eschatology.
Perhaps some used vv. 20-21 to support the claim that it was possible to
experience the eschaton in a secret way in the present. Verses 22-37 guard
against such an interpretation by focusing on the nature, the time, and the
place of the parousia.
When the disciples hear some say that the parousia is already present in
a secret way, not obvious to all, they should not follow them (vv. 22-23; cf.
Matt 24:23; Mark 13:21). The parousia as an event will not be spatially
restricted but will be universal and instantaneous (v. 24; cf. Matt 24:27). It
will occur after Jesus’ passion (v. 25). It will occur at a time when people are
preoccupied with the common ventures of life: eating, drinking, marrying,
buying, selling, planting, building (vv. 26-27; cf. Matt 24:38-39; vv. 28-30).
When it comes, the parousia will be a great divider (vv. 34-35; cf. Matt
196 Eschatology: Present and Future

24:41). Jesus’ response to the disciples’ query about where the parousia will
take place comes in v. 37 (cf. Matt 24:28): “It is as senseless to ask for a map
of what will happen as it is to ask for a timetable: just as the location of a
corpse in the wilderness is obvious from the crowd of circling vultures, so the
Son of Man will appear in judgment in an unmistakable manner, and there
will be no need to ask where he is” (Marshall, 656).
The evangelist has used an eschatological collection that focuses on the
parousia of the Son of Man to prevent an interpretation of vv. 20-21 in
terms of an over-realized eschatology. The presence of the kingdom (the
Holy Spirit in this instance) in the ministry of Jesus cannot be used to legit-
imate Christian claims that the parousia has already occurred. The parousia
is a future event, cosmic in scope.
The problem of an over-realized eschatology was widespread in early
Christianity. Outside the New Testament we read of it in numerous sources.
(a) Irenaeus, in speaking of those who belong to Simon and Carpocrates,
says that they hold “that the resurrection from the dead is simply an acquain-
tance with the truth which they proclaim” (Against Heresies 2.31.2). (b)
Irenaeus says also that Menander claims that “his disciples obtain the resur-
rection by being baptized into him” (Against Heresies 1.23.5). (c) Hippolytus
reports that the Naassenes think that “being born again spiritual” is the
resurrection (Refutation of All Heresies 5.3). (d) Hippolytus also claims that
the Italian wing of the Valentianians—Heracleon and Ptolemaeus—held a
similar position. They regarded the baptism of Jesus as the moment of his
resurrection and, correspondingly, the baptism of Christians as the time of
their resurrection (Refutation of All Heresies 6.30). (e) In the Gospel of
Thomas from Nag Hammadi, in logion 51, the disciples ask Jesus, “When
will the new world come?” Jesus answers, “What you expect has come, but
you know it not.” (f ) In another Coptic document, De Resurrectione, we
read: “already you have the resurrection.” (g) The Gospel of Philip 121:1-5
says, “Those who say ‘They will die first and rise again’ are in error. If they
do not first receive the resurrection while they live, when they die they will
receive nothing.” Within the New Testament a similar problem is echoed in
various places. (a) Second Timothy 2:17b-18 is the most explicit statement
of the problem: “Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have
swerved from the truth by holding that the resurrection is past already.” (b)
First Corinthians 4:8 (cf. 1 Cor 15:12-34) echoes the same view. (c) The
same stance is warned against in Philippians 3:12-15 (cf. vv. 11, 12, 20) and
2 Thessalonians 2 (cf. v. 2). The problem against which Luke’s discourse
would provide a defense was widespread in the early church.
Luke 17:11–18:8 197

The evangelist’s defense against such an over-realized eschatology is to

say first that certain stages or events precede the End, and second that the
parousia has a nature different from the experience claimed for the present.
A similar response can be found in Tertullian’s On the Resurrection of the Flesh
19, in 1 Corinthians 15:22-28, Philippians 3:12-21, and 2 Thessalonians
2:1-12.
Luke here attempts to prevent a misunderstanding of the experience of
the Holy Spirit as the experience of the eschaton. Wherever the experience of
the Spirit was identified as the experience of the parousia in early
Christianity, serious problems resulted: for example, (1) a perfectionism that
claimed it was possible for Christians to live sinless lives (1 John 1:8, 10); (2)
a spirituality that believed Christians had transcended their sexuality (1 Cor
7; 11:2-16); (3) a triumphalism that regarded Christian experience as
beyond persecution, deprivation, sickness, and weakness (1 Cor 4:8-13; 2
Cor 12:1-10). In the generation before Luke, Paul had stood against such an
over-realized eschatology. For the apostle the Christian faith involved the
believer in sharing Christ’s sufferings as well as his resurrection life (Rom
8:17; 2 Cor 1:5; 4:10; Phil 3:10-11; Col 1:24). The experience of the Spirit
for him was an experience of power in weakness (2 Cor 4:7; 12:9-10; 13:3-
4), not of power that transcended and left behind the limitations of this
present existence. Luke shares Paul’s understanding. Although Luke is espe-
cially concerned to emphasize the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of
Jesus and his followers, it is power experienced within the bounds of this age
(cf. 4:18 with 9:21, 44; cf. Acts 2 with 14:22). For Luke, as for Paul, there is
a “now” and a “not yet” to Christian existence in the world.
The fourth component, Luke 18:1-8 (only in Luke), functions as an
exhortation not to lose heart. This pericope is an expansion of the eschato-
logical discourse begun at 17:22. (a) 18:1 indicates that the disciples are still
being addressed, and (b) the reference to the Son of Man’s coming (18:8)
echoes 17:22, 24, 26, and 30. Here we confront the problem of doubt about
whether the parousia will ever take place and the behavior such doubt
induces (cf. 12:45-46; 2 Pet 3:4-10; 1 Clement 23:3–24:1; 2 Clement 11:1-
7). Is the Son of Man really coming? After all this time can we really believe
God will vindicate his people? We have been praying “Thy kingdom come”
for years and nothing has happened. The parable in 18:1-8 was told, says
Luke (v. 1), to encourage the disciples to pray and not lose heart (cf. 21:36).
As it stands in its context, the story functions as an encouragement to
Christians not to give up hope for the parousia but rather to go on praying
“Thy kingdom come.” If a corrupt judge, unconcerned about human need
and divine law, would grant an insistent widow justice just to get rid of her,
198 Eschatology: Present and Future

how much more will God, the righteous judge, speedily vindicate his elect
when they cry to him. Pray for the parousia because God is faithful and will
vindicate his people. The pericope also raises a question about those who are
plagued with doubt. Will disciples remain faithful until the End (cf. Heb
6:11-12; 10:36-39; 2 Pet 3:11-14; Rev 21:7)? The introduction to the
parable (v. 1) tells how faith is maintained. One does not lose heart because
one prays. The maintenance of faith depends on persistence in prayer. This is
so because “in prayer we enter into the realm of reality and see things as they
really are, from God’s point of view” (Williams, 69). “The less we pray, the
less we experience life in the Christian way. We move into another mental
world” (Ward, 141). Hence the Lukan directive: always pray (cf. Phil 4:6-7).
Will the Son of Man Find Faith?
Luke 18:9–19:10

Luke 18:9–19:10 is a large thought unit composed of six pericopes: 18:9-14;

18:15-17; 18:18-30; 18:31-34; 18:35-43; and 19:1-10. The unit deals with
the question raised in 18:8b: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,
will he find faith on earth” (cf. 12:1 for a subsequent unit’s catalyst being
something at the end of the previous one)? The focus in 18:9–19:10 is on
faith. The pattern of arrangement looks like this.

A 18:9-14—A contrast between lack of faith and faith

B 18:15-17—An example of faith in categories of the previous
contrast
A’ 18:18-30—A contrast between lack of faith and faith
B’ 18:31–19:10—Three examples of faith in categories of the
previous contrast
1. 18:31-34—Example of faith
2. 18:35-43—Example of faith
3. 19:1-10—Example of faith

Various linking devices tie the components together. A and B both have
summary statements that are very similar (18:14; 18:17). A’ is linked to B by
repetition of “kingdom of God” (18:16-17; 18:24, 25, 29). A’ has hooks into
B’ in various ways: “give to the poor” (18:22; 19:8); “follow” Jesus (18:22;
18:43); “rich” (18:23; 19:2); “tax collector” (18:13; 19:2). Components of B’
are linked: “Jericho” (18:35; 19:1); “sight/see” (18:41-42; 19:4); “Son of
Man” (18:31; 19:10). A number of contrasts also weld components together:
for example, rich man with lack of faith (18:18-23), rich man with faith
(19:1-10); poor disciples (18:28), poor beggar (18:35), rich tax collector, all
with faith. The six components of the large thought unit need to be exam-
ined in order.
200 Will the Son of Man Find Faith?

Luke 18:9-14, the first part, is a parable peculiar to Luke. To the parable
are affixed an introduction (v. 9—the parable was told to those who trusted
in their righteousness and despised others; a reader would think “Pharisees,”
cf. Luke 5–7; 15:1-2) and a conclusion (v. 14—those who exalt themselves
will be humbled) that control the way a reader will understand the story. The
story is a polemic against pride and is in praise of the humble. It is a story of
contrasts: lack of faith and faith.
The parable sets before us two men praying in the temple, a Pharisee (vv.
11-12) and a tax collector (v. 13). The Pharisee belonged to the most liberal,
pious, and dedicated of Judaism’s sects in the first century. This individual,
moreover, went beyond even what was required of a Pharisee. He fasted
twice a week and tithed all that he bought. His prayer follows the Jewish
liturgy (cf. Ps 17:3-5). He recognized God as the source of his lot in life (a
point missed by the editorial introduction of 18:9). He thanks God and does
not ask for anything. What fault can possibly be found with this man or his
prayer? He represents the best in the religion of his time.
The tax collector, on the other hand, was among the most despised of all
of Palestine’s inhabitants because of his dishonesty, his disloyalty to the
Jewish people, and his uncleanness (of which his posture shows he was
aware). This individual’s prayer also follows Jewish liturgy (cf. Ps 51). It is an
outburst of despair, a petition for mercy. His situation is indeed hopeless. If
he repented, he had to make restitution plus one fifth. If he ended his defile-
ment, he lost his livelihood and earned Roman hostility. This man represents
the worst of his times. What could possibly be right about him? Yet Jesus
said, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified (“forgiven”—cf. 2
Esdr 12:7 where “justified” is synonymous with “to be heard in prayer”)
rather than the other” (v. 14a).
This story fits into the general theme of status reversal in the third
gospel. The Coming Age will overturn the values and structures of the
present evil age. We meet this theme in the birth narratives (1:51-53) and in
the Sermon on the Plain (6:20-26). In the travel narrative (9:51–19:44)
Jesus’ teaching anticipates this eschatological reversal even now in over-
turning the estimate of what is virtue and what is vice. Consider 10:29-37
(good Samaritan/bad priest and Levite); 10:38-42 (good Mary/bad Martha);
11:37-41 (good unclean/ bad clean); 12:13-34 (good poor/bad rich); 14:7-
11 (good humble/bad exalted); 15:11-32 (good prodigal/bad elder brother);
16:19-31 (good Lazarus/bad rich man); 18:18-30 (good poor/bad rich). Into
this thematic context 18:9-14 (good tax collector/bad Pharisee) fits as
another example of Jesus’ reversal of values. How can it be? What is wrong
Luke 18:9–19:10 201

with so obviously good a man as the Pharisee? What can be right about so
obviously perverse a person as the publican?
The parable functions first of all as the unmasking of unbelief in an
unlikely situation. The introduction (v. 9) exposes the problem. The parable
is told to those who (a) trusted in themselves that they were righteous (self-
assured piety) and (b) despised others (spiritual condescension). Such a
stance is described by the conclusion (v. 14) as exalting oneself. This was the
plight of the Pharisee. He was self-assured about his righteousness (v. 12).
The culture would have had questions about him. Philo, for example, would
have been surprised that Luke’s Pharisee had nothing to confess for “even the
most perfect man, insofar as he is a created being, never escapes from
sinning” (De spec.leg. 1.252 § 46). He was condescending about his superi-
ority toward others. Hillel said that one should not judge one’s fellow until
having come to his place (m. Abot 2:5). Epictetus expressed the opinion that
it is inappropriate to compare one’s achievements with those of others. It is a
vain and vulgar thing to do (4.8.28-30). For Luke, salvation by grace means
one can never feel religiously superior to another. Faith never expresses itself
as despising others. Spiritual arrogance is presumption, assuming that one
stands in God’s place, able to judge. It is this exaltation of oneself that God
overturns.
The parable functions secondly as the identification of faith in an
improbable person. It was the despicable tax collector whose prayer was
answered. Why? (a) He trusted not in who he was but in who God was
(merciful). Certain Jews would have agreed. At Qumran, for example, 1QH
8 says: “Your servant has no righteous deeds to deliver him from the pit of
no forgiveness. But I lean on the abundance of your mercies and hope for
the greatness of your grace.” (b) He hoped not in what he had but in what
he might receive (forgiveness). Again, this sentiment would have found
acceptance in the culture. Josephus (War 5.415) says: “The deity is easily
reconciled to those who confess and repent.” This stance the conclusion
describes as humility. This parable, then, lays out a contrast between lack of
faith and faith.
Luke 18:15-17 (cf. Matt 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Gospel of Thomas
22) makes the same point in a pronouncement story. Whereas Mark 10:13-
16 uses this same material as part of a series of traditions giving teachings
about marriage, children, and possessions, Luke uses it as part of a unit
describing what is involved in becoming a disciple and being found faithful
when the Son of Man comes. Receiving the kingdom of God in a childlike
manner in this context refers to humility (cf. Jas 4:6-10; 1 Pet 5:6-10 where
humility means submission to God). Verses 15-17, then, offer an example of
202 Will the Son of Man Find Faith?

faith cast in the category of humility derived from the preceding contrast
story (vv. 9-14).
If you think God is one who delights in the spiritually superior, then
God is not who you think he is. If you think God shuns the despicable
sinner who has no one else to turn to, then God is not who you think he is.
Why is this so? With the “I tell you” of v. 14a, Jesus claims to know God’s
judgments and dares to say what God is like and how he acts. Jesus claims to
know the mind of God.
Luke 18:18-30, the third component, has parallels in the other two
Synoptics (vv. 18-23 // Matt 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-22; vv. 24-30 // Matt
19:23-30; Mark 10:23-31). It is composed of a quest-type pronouncement
story and a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples. The two parts provide
the contrast between lack of faith and faith, between one who was exalted
before God and those who were humbled before him. The quest in the first
paragraph is unsuccessful and so the episode becomes a recognition scene (a
narrative in which someone recognizes something about himself/herself that
he/she did not know before). The ruler’s unbelief is unmasked. A ruler
inquires of Jesus about what style of life would place him among the people
of God who will inherit the Age to Come. Following the spirit of
Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Jesus refers to the commandments. When the ruler
professes to have kept them since childhood, Jesus says, “One thing you still
lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor . . . and come, follow
me” (v. 22). From this the ruler learned something about himself he did not
formerly know. He learned he was an idolater. Though he attempted to
worship God and mammon at the same time, when the test was put to him
he saw that his wealth was really his god. “Jesus always requires from one just
that earthly security upon which one would lean” (Ellis 1974, 217). He did
not really keep the first and greatest commandment so his lack of faith was
exposed. Jesus’ response, cast in hyperbole, is that it would be impossible for
a rich man to enter the kingdom were it not for God’s grace (vv. 24-27).
The dialogue between Jesus and his auditors (vv. 24-30) identifies as
faith a life detached from idolatrous relationships and attached to Jesus. Peter
says the disciples have fulfilled the call the ruler refused: “Lo, we have left our
homes and followed you” (v. 28; cf. 5:11, 28). It is this detachment from
everything and every relationship for the sake of the kingdom that consti-
tutes the humility (submission to God) the Son of Man at his parousia
recognizes as faith (cf. 9:57-62; 14:25-33). The one who has left family for
the sake of the kingdom will receive more back in this life (v. 30), perhaps a
reference to the new family in the church. The principle is that one gives
everything to God and then receives back from him what he wants to give.
Luke 18:9–19:10 203

Luke, unlike Mark 10:30 and Matthew 19:29, does not promise wealth but
only community (“house” in v. 29 refers to family: “wife, brothers, parents,
children” to the various parts of the family). The evangelist does not connect
prosperity with piety in any kind of necessary cause and effect relationship
(cf. Acts 11:27-30; 24:17). For him the pious are often poor (Luke 2:24;
14:21; 16:19-31). This raises the issue of the larger biblical perspective about
wealth and poverty.
There are a variety of attitudes toward wealth and poverty in the Old
Testament. (a) In some circles affluence was connected with righteousness
and poverty with wickedness: for example, in the Deuteronomic theology
(Deut 28; 8:7-10; 26:1-9) and in some Wisdom circles (Prov 6:6-11; 10:4;
28:19). (b) In other circles affluence was associated with evil, while the poor
could be regarded as the righteous whom God vindicates: for example, in the
prophetic writings (Amos 8:4-6; Mic 2:1-5; Jer 5:28) and in some Wisdom
circles (Prov 28:6-7; Sir 10:21-23). (c) In still other circles the ideal was
neither poverty nor wealth—because each was subject to perversion—but for
just enough to meet one’s needs (Prov 30:7-9). There is, then, no one biblical
viewpoint.
There is a neutral attitude toward wealth and possessions in the New
Testament: neither prosperity nor poverty is a value. This stance is intelli-
gible given its theological context. Though affluence was God’s intention in
creation (that is, apart from sin, cf. the garden of Eden) and is his intention
for the Age to Come (cf. Matt 8:11-12, or any description of the messianic
banquet), in the present time affluence and poverty are both affected by the
fallenness of creation. God’s objective now is first and foremost to free his
creation from its sin (idolatry and injustice). Hence there is no guarantee of
affluence for a believer in this life. (Third John 2 does not refer to financial
prosperity any more than John 10:10 does; Mark 10:29-30 probably refers
to what is available to the Christian from the resources of the Christian
community; Paul speaks in Phil 4:10-13 of poverty and plenty as matters of
indifference.) Rather God uses poverty and plenty for his ends and our good
(that is, ultimate salvation—Rom 8:28). If it takes a miracle of abundance to
communicate with us, God will do it; if it takes a bare subsistence to heal us
of some imperfection, he will see to it; if he sees we can handle plenty, then
it is his will that we share with the less fortunate. In the New Testament,
then, there are two main concerns about possessions: first, that the indi-
vidual’s heart be right, that there be no idolatrous attachments to things;
second, that the structures of life in the community of faith reflect the values
of the faith. At no point does the New Testament claim prosperity is guaran-
204 Will the Son of Man Find Faith?

teed to believers in the here and now—that would be to fall prey to an over-
realized eschatology.
Luke 18:31-34, the fourth component in the large thought unit
18:9–19:10, has synoptic parallels (Matt 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34). In Luke
the passion prediction comes in the middle of a number of pericopes dealing
with faith or the lack of it. In this, Luke differs from both Matthew and
Mark. How should it be read given its context in the third gospel? Two
Lukan distinctives shape the passion prediction so that it fits in its present
context. First, the passage begins by moving the reference to the Twelve into
the position of prominence. This links the verses with what has come imme-
diately before: Peter and the other disciples who have left their homes to
follow Jesus. It is to these that Jesus will speak. Luke ends this segment with
a strong emphasis on these disciples’ lack of understanding. In three ways it
is put in v. 34: (1) “they understood none of these things”; (2) “this saying
was hid from them”; and (3) “they did not grasp what was said.” In the midst
of these two Lukan emphases, Jesus says, “We are going up to Jerusalem.”
The Twelve are following Jesus to Jerusalem even though they do not under-
stand what it involves. They are following him wherever he leads! This is
what faith is: following the Master even when we do not understand where
he? is leading. The passion prediction, then, has been turned into yet another
illustration of what faith means.
Luke 18:35-43, the fifth component, also has synoptic parallels (// Matt
9:27-31; 20:29-34 // Mark 10:46-52). This miracle story functions, together
with 19:1-10, as a paradigm of what conversion entails. Common to all
versions of the synoptic story is the request of the blind one(s): “Son of
David, have mercy on me/us,” and “Let me/us receive my/our sight.” Jesus
answers this request by healing the blindness. The healing evidently opens
the door to a perception of yet another problem because, as a result of the
physical healing, he/they follow Jesus. Here Jesus’ answer to one question on
one level leads to awareness of another issue on another level to which Jesus
also can supply a solution. Jesus takes him/them where they are and brings
them to where he/they need to be. The crucial difference between Luke’s
version of the story and that of Matthew and Mark comes at 18:43 //
Matthew 20:34 // Mark 10:52. Matthew reads, “and immediately they
received their sight and followed him.” Mark reads, “And immediately he
received his sight and followed him on the way.” Luke reads, “And immedi-
ately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God.” This Lukan
distinction is similar to the reaction of the cleansed leper in 17:15, 18 (cf.
7:16). The human response to the healing and conversion is vertical, that is,
praise to God (cf. 7:36-50). The meeting of a physical need led to a spiritual
Luke 18:9–19:10 205

conversion and produced an outpouring of praise. Here is one paradigm of

conversion and yet another example of faith.
The second paradigm of what conversion entails is found in 19:1-10.
This quest type of pronouncement story is unique to Luke. It consists of two
panels, each with four similar elements (O’Toole).

Zacchaeus wants to see Jesus (vv. 2-3a)—Zacchaeus plays host to Jesus (v. 6)
The crowd interferes (v. 3c)—The crowd interferes (v. 7)
Steps to overcome opposition (v. 4)—Steps to overcome opposition (v. 8)
Jesus speaks (v. 5)—Jesus speaks (vv. 9-10)

The hook words “make haste/made haste” and “come down/came down”
hold the two panels together. Zacchaeus, a short, rich tax collector, was on all
three counts despicable. Luke’s negative attitude toward the rich is well
known (cf. 6:24; 12:16-21; 14:12; 16:1-13; 18:25; 21:1-4); tax collectors
were associated with sinners in that culture (cf. Luke 15:1-2; 18:11; m.
Tohoroth 7:6 says: “If tax-collectors enter a house, the house becomes
unclean.”); and being short of stature was regarded in the culture as a sign
that one was small in spirit (Parsons). Yet this sinful little man was seeking
Jesus and found that Jesus was also seeking him. The rich man’s conversion
comes in v. 8 when Zacchaeus says he will use half of his wealth for the poor,
half for those he has defrauded. So his new life is devoted to others. Jesus
then makes his pronouncement: “Today salvation has come to this house” (v.
9). (Tannehill 1994)
If one remembers that the traditions about Jesus have been shaped by
the church’s experience with the risen Lord, it will enable one to read this
story in a new way as a paradigm of what conversion entails. (a) The peri-
cope shows how Jesus draws a person (vv. 1-4): “The Lord often . . . inspires
in men a blind feeling which brings them to Him although He is still
Hidden and unknown . . . . He does not disappoint them but in time reveals
Himself to them” (Calvin’s Commentaries: A Harmony of the Gospels, 2.281).
There was something about Jesus that drew Zacchaeus to climb the sycamore
for a glimpse of one who was yet unknown.
(b) The story also says Jesus comes in to a person (vv. 5-7). The risen
Christ in Revelation 3:20 verbalizes the reality: “Behold I stand at the door
and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to
him and eat with him, and he with me.” The language of indwelling is wide-
spread in Paul (e.g., Gal 2:20; Col 1:27) and the fourth gospel (e.g., 14:23;
15:5). When Jesus came into the house of the sinner Zacchaeus, he brought
forgiveness.
206 Will the Son of Man Find Faith?

(c) The passage, in addition, says Jesus confirms the person (vv. 8-9),
giving assurance of the reality of what has transpired in the secret of the
human soul. This assurance rests on two things: a transformed life (v. 8) and
the witness of Jesus (v. 9). The author of 1 John says he wrote “that you may
know that you have eternal life” (5:13). He appeals to the same two bases.
On the one hand, there is the evidence of a transformed life: “we know we
have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren” (3:14; cf.
4:12b). On the other hand, there is the inner witness: “By this we know that
we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us his own Spirit” (4:13;
cf. 3:24b; cf. Rom 8:15-17; 2 Cor 1:22). The third evangelist, in this story of
the earthly Jesus, is echoing the same post-resurrection reality. Here is a
second paradigm of what conversion entails.
The series of examples of faith is complete. Will the Son of Man find
faith of earth? The stories in this large thought unit say: in cases like these,
Yes.
Forecasts of Temporal
and Final Reckoning
Luke 19:11-46

Luke 19:11-46 is a large thought unit consisting of an allegorizing parable

(vv. 11-28), Jesus’ approach to the city of Jerusalem (vv. 29-44), and his
entry into the temple (vv. 45-46). All three blocks of material are about royal
arrivals. The first is about the arrival of Jesus at the parousia; the second and
third about the arrival of King Jesus at the city and in the temple. This is the
last segment of the travel narrative that began in 9:51. The rejection of Jesus
by the Jerusalem establishment here corresponds to Jesus’ rejection by
Samaritans in 9:51-56. Using a combination of traditions, the third evange-
list has constructed a coherent unit. Each of its components needs to be
examined in order.
Luke 19:11-28 consists of three types of material. (1) Verses 11 and 28
are a Lukan introduction and conclusion. Taken together they give the sense
of Jesus’ steady movement toward the city that is now nearby. The fact of its
geographical nearness (v. 11) leads his disciples to suppose that the kingdom
of God is to appear immediately, that is, when Jesus enters the city. At the
historical level an explanation is not difficult to discern. David had taken
Jerusalem and made it his royal city (1 Sam 5); and Herod the Great had
taken Jerusalem to impose his will on the Jews (Josephus, War 1.335-60;
Antiquities 14.459-91). The royal overtones of the narrative have been
building (cf. Son of David in 18:38). It would be logical for Jesus’ disciples
to think that, like David, Jesus would enter the city and take it as his capitol.
Even after the resurrection, some apparently still had it in their heads that
Jesus would soon restore the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6). If, as seems likely,
the story is meant to operate at two levels, historical and redactional, then
there may be here also a concern about an over-realized eschatology in the
church in the post-resurrection period (remember 17:20-37). If so, then the
evangelist is saying, “Not yet.” There is a difference between the resurrec-
tion/ascension and the parousia (and, by inference, between one’s dying and
rising with Christ on the one hand and one’s resurrection on the other). First
208 Forecasts of Temporal and Final Reckoning

Jesus goes away to receive kingly power (Acts 1:11; 2:36) and then only later
he will return (Acts 3:20-21). In any case, this supposition of Jesus’ disciples
about an immediate appearance of the kingdom because they are near
Jerusalem is the catalyst that evokes the parable (v. 11), actually an allegory
of sorts.
(2) The second type of material in vv. 11-28 is a parable about a
nobleman who, before going away, leaves his property in the care of several
servants, and then later returns to settle accounts with them over their faith-
fulness. There is similar material in Matthew 25:14-30 and the Gospel of the
Nazarenes 18. The major focus of the allegory is on the accountability of the
servants upon the nobleman’s return (vv. 15b-26). Here Luke is addressing
the question, what is the responsibility of Jesus’ followers in the interim
between the ascension and the parousia (remember 12:35-48)? They are
expected to be faithful to their commission. Faithful servants are those who
are productive, who make the most of what they have been given (cf. Rom
12:6—”Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use
them”). The faithful will receive a reward. Not everyone has the same
resources with which to work: that difference is taken into account. The
unproductive servant, however, will be punished. Luke, though, has nothing
like Matthew 25:30: “And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness;
there men will weep and gnash their teeth.” Like Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:10-
15, the third evangelist seems to think the unfaithful servant’s work will be
burned up, but he himself will be saved. The judgment at the parousia for
disciples will focus not on whether they make it into the kingdom but on
whether or not they receive a commendation and reward.
(3) The third type of material is about a nobleman’s going away to
receive a kingly rule, which rule is opposed by citizens who send an embassy
after him to attempt to sink his chances. This material is found in vv. 12, 14,
15a, 27. It is distinctively Lukan. It does echo, though, real-life events. That
is, the local color is accurate. In the world of that day, anyone wanting to
rule went to Rome to be given that role before starting to govern. Herod the
Great had done so (Josephus, War 1.282-85; Antiquities 17.374-89);
Archelaus, Herod’s son, had done so also in 4 BC (War 2.14-100; Antiquities
17.224-340). Unfortunately, a delegation of Jews also went to Augustus to
oppose Archelaus’s confirmation (Antiquities 17.299-314) just as a delegation
had gone to oppose Herod the Great (Josephus, Antiquities 14.302). As a
result, Archelaus had to settle for the title of ethnarch until he proved
himself, something he did not do (War 2.94; Antiquities 17.318). When
Archelaus returned with some form of rule bestowed by Rome, he consoli-
dated his power by eliminating his opponents (War 2.111), as his father,
Luke 19:11-46 209

Herod the Great, had done before him (War 1.351-58). Luke’s allegory simi-
larly refers to citizens opposing the nobleman’s rule. The reference here is to
all his opponents and detractors (e.g., 6:11; 9:52-53; 10:13-15; 11:53-54;
13:14; 13:34; 15:2; 16:14-15; 18:23; 19:39). Luke also mentions the destiny
of those who refused to have the king rule over them (v. 27). They are slain
(cf. Luke 12:8-9; Acts 17:30-31).
These three types of material are consolidated by Luke into an allegory
of salvation history (cf. 14:15-25 for the same tactic). The allegorizing makes
the nobleman going to obtain kingly rule Jesus (cf. Acts 2:36; Luke 24:26)
and his return the parousia/judgment (Acts 1:11; 3:20-21; 17:31). When
Jesus enters Jerusalem he does so not seeking to take the throne, as Herod
had done, but as one who is about to journey far away to receive his royal
status. He leaves behind not only servants to whom he has entrusted his
resources to be used for his advantage but also citizens who are opposed to
his rule. When he returns, the new ruler will deal with both. In this way the
Lukan Jesus has a word both for disciples in the interim between ascension
and parousia and for non-disciples as well. If one is a disciple, the message is
“be faithful”; if one is not a disciple, the message is “be warned.” The
message of the “parable” shifts attention from the possibility of an immediate
appearing of the kingdom at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to the parousia that
comes only after Jesus goes away.
In Luke 19:29-44, the focus shifts from judgment at the parousia to
judgment within history. This segment consists of three parts. The first is
what has traditionally been called the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem
(vv. 29-38; cf. Mark 11:1-10; Matt 21:1-19; John 12:12-16). The second is
a dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees (vv. 39-40; cf. perhaps Matt
21:15-16). The third is a prophetic lament over the city (vv. 41-44; only in
Luke; cf. Luke 13:34-35; 23:23-32 for similar material). The third evangelist
has combined these materials (and also 19:45-46) into a whole that reflects
an ancient scene of a celebratory welcome. (For what follows, cf. Catchpole
and Kinman.)
Celebratory welcomes were a fact of life in the ancient world. At the
approach of the dignitary, a band of municipal officials and other citizens,
including the social, religious, and political elite, would proceed some
distance from the city in order to meet the celebrity well in advance of the
city walls. There would be enthusiastic expressions of welcome laced with
extreme flattery; then they would escort the dignitary back to the city. He
would enter and, in some cases, would go to the city’s holy place for some
type of action, either positive or negative. A few examples illustrate this prac-
tice. (a) Alexander the Great was not only met outside Jerusalem, but also
210 Forecasts of Temporal and Final Reckoning

greeted and escorted into the city, then taken to the temple where he was
involved in cultic activity (Josephus, Antiquities 11.325-39). The same thing
happened at Shechem (Antiquities 11.342-45). (b) In 2 Maccabees 4:21-22,
Antiochus proceeds to Jerusalem and is welcomed magnificently, being
ushered in with a blaze of torches and with shouts. (c) Marcus Agrippa is
welcomed in Jerusalem, having been met by Herod and brought into the city
amid acclamations, and there offers sacrifice (Josephus, Antiquities 16.1-15).
(d) Archelaus, provisionally appointed king by Herod the Great, goes to
Jerusalem in procession accompanied by acclamations and once in the city
goes to the temple. (e) Cicero tells how he was given this type of welcome as
he traveled throughout the world on Rome’s behalf (Atticus 5.16). (f ) We
hear of Augustus (Dio Cassius 51.20.2-4; Suetonius, “Augustus,” 53.1),
Nero (Suetonius, “Nero,” 25.13), and Trajan (Pliny, Pan. 22.1-5) being
accorded this kind of welcome in various parts of the ancient world.
Examples could be multiplied almost indefinitely. It was a Mediterranean
practice to welcome a dignitary by going out to meet him, by engaging in an
extravagant welcome, and by bringing him back into the city where, if he
wished, he could visit the city’s holy site.
What happened, however, if this type of welcome was not accorded to
the visiting dignitary? (a) The Roman magistrate, T. Virginius Rufus,
besieged the city of Vesontio because it did not receive him properly (Dio
Cassius 63.24.1). (b) When Judas Maccabeus was refused a welcome by the
city of Ephron, he and his party fought against the city, destroyed every male
in it, and razed and plundered it (1 Macc 5:45-51). (c) When the Samaritans
refused to welcome Jesus, the disciples wanted to call down fire from heaven
against them (Luke 9:51-56). (d) The chief priests urged the crowds to meet
the troops of Florus, the Roman governor, with customary regard, so the
governor would not have any excuse for further destruction of the city
(Josephus, War 2.318-24). Failure to offer the appropriate celebratory
welcome to a visiting dignitary resulted in serious consequences. It is in light
of Jerusalem’s failure to welcome Jesus properly that this material in Luke
should be read.
In 19:29-38 Jesus approaches Jerusalem as the peaceable king. The tradi-
tion of Jesus’ ride on a colt is set at the Mount of Olives (19:29). This
location may echo Zechariah 14:4 and thus have eschatological overtones. In
Luke, given 19:11-28 and 17:20-37, this must not be thought of in terms of
the Eschaton. Furthermore, the ride on the colt (only an animal that had
never been used as a beast of burden was suitable for sacred purposes— Num
19:2; 1 Sam 6:7) most likely echoes Zechariah 9:9 (Matt 21:5 and John
12:15 make it explicit). Jesus comes not in war but in peace (cf. 2:1-20). A
Luke 19:11-46 211

number of distinctive Lukan traits tell us the author’s special concerns. (a) In
Luke there are no palm branches (Matt 21:8 // Mark 11:8 // John 12:13).
Since the branches had nationalistic overtones (2 Macc 10:7), the omission
serves to emphasize the absence of any revolutionary intent in Jesus’ move-
ment. (b) So, even if the disciples call Jesus “King” (v. 38—probably to pick
up 19:12, 15), it would not justify the charges of 23:2. (c) In Luke the disci-
ples set Jesus on the colt (v. 35—Matt 21:7 // Mark 11:7 // John 12:14 say
Jesus sat on the animal). The evangelist is saying the disciples were
acclaiming Jesus king: Jesus does not claim kingship for himself at this point.
(d) In Luke it is the disciples (not the crowds as in Matt 21:9 // John 12:12)
who give Jesus the ovation. They understand something of his identity (8:9-
10) because of the mighty works they had seen (cf. 18:43; 7:16), though they
still do not understand the necessity of suffering (18:34; 24:25-27). The ride
on the colt in the third gospel sets Jesus forth as the peaceable king who is
recognized as such by his disciples (cf. 20:21-26; 23:2-4). In Jesus, God has
come calling on Jerusalem (19:44).
We may think of time either in terms of duration or of content: for
example, (a) duration—chronological time that can be measured on a clock
or a calendar; (b) content—the character of the time, that which fills the
moment, so the time of planting or meal time. The latter kind of time
confronts us with an opportunity and demands of us a response. In 19:44
Jesus speaks of “the time of your visitation.” He means that in his ministry
God had come calling; he had visited his people (cf. 1:68; 7:16). The content
of the time of Jesus’ career was a divine visitation (17:21; 11:20; 10:9). The
visit of God in the ministry of Jesus was recognized only by his disciples who
set him on the colt (v. 35).
The protest of the Pharisees in 19:39-40 (only in Luke) speaks of the
rejection of the peaceable king by the Jewish leadership (cf. Acts 13:27).
Instead of coming out of the city to meet him, greeting him graciously, and
leading him back to and into the city, only some Pharisees were present and
they were there to complain. “Teacher, rebuke your disciples” (v. 39). Jesus’
response is pointed: “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry
out” (v. 40). “Set against the background of celebratory greetings in the
ancient world, Jerusalem’s response to Jesus must be regarded as an appalling
insult” (Kinman, 290). The welcome is only by Jesus’ disciples and they
came with him; the Pharisees’ comments are critical; the religious elite are
absent. As Cicero had traveled in the name of Rome so that his welcome was
a welcome extended to Rome, so Jesus has come in the name of the Lord and
his rejection is rejection of the Lord. Such behavior would meet with harsh
judgment in antiquity.
212 Forecasts of Temporal and Final Reckoning

Luke 19:41-44 is a lament of Jesus over the fate of the city because of its
rejection of the one who came in the name of the Lord (cf. 13:35). “Would
that today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid
from your eyes” (v. 41). The result is that the city will be besieged (cf.
Josephus, War 5.466, 508), destroyed, and its citizens slain (vv. 43-44; cf. the
fate of the citizens in the parable v. 27; remember 13:34-35). This is a
prediction by Jesus of coming judgment on Jerusalem. The city’s ruin is
described in words reminiscent of the prophecies against Jerusalem in Ezekiel
4:1-2 and Isaiah 3:26 and the psalmist’s portrayal of the fall of Babylon (Ps
137:9). (Giblin, 56)
It was not the first nor would it be the last such prophecy. Micah 3:12
had predicted the destruction of the city and its temple (a prophecy that did
not transpire; referred to in Jer 26:18-19). Uriah the son of Shemaiah also
prophesied against the city (Jer 26:20-23). Likewise Jeremiah foretold the
city’s demise, a prophecy that did come to pass (6:6, 8, 15). Ezekiel 24:21
speaks about the destruction of the city in ways that sound remarkably like
Luke 19:43-44. At Qumran, 1QpHab 9:5-7 gives an interpretation of
Habakkuk 2:8 that prophesies the demise of the Jerusalem priests. “Because
you yourself have plundered many nations, all the rest of the peoples shall
plunder you.” Josephus (War 6.300-309) tells of a later Jesus, son of Ananias,
who four years before the first revolt cried out: “A voice from the east, a voice
from the west, a voice from the four winds; a voice against Jerusalem and the
sanctuary, a voice against the bridegroom and the bride, a voice against all
the people.” Indeed, Josephus believed that the Romans destroyed Jerusalem
because God had condemned it (War 4.323; 6.250). Origen (C. Celsus 1.47)
says Josephus believed the events of AD 70 were retribution for slaying James
the Just. The Lukan Jesus, then, fits into a long history of prophetic voices
prophesying the demise of the city and its temple. He says the predicted
destruction is because the city did not know the time of its visitation (v. 44;
cf. Exod 3:16; Ruth 1:6; 1 Sam 1:19-21). In Luke-Acts, the destruction of
Jerusalem is not due to the execution of Jesus as such but to his rejection as
God’s agent. The “time of visitation” refers to the whole of Jesus’ career.
The final component in the large thought unit, 19:29-46, is Luke
19:45-46, Jesus’ entry into the temple (// Mark 11:11, 15-19; Matt 21:12-
13; cf. John 2:13-17). Indeed, in Luke Jesus’ goal is the temple, not the city
as such. In the convention of celebratory welcomes in antiquity, a compo-
nent that was sometimes present was the dignitary’s going to the temple
upon entrance into the city where he could perform acts either positive or
negative toward the place. The Lukan Jesus acts in a way that aims to reform
the practices occurring there. He drove out those who sold (cf. Zech
Luke 19:11-46 213

14:21b), saying, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you
have made it a den of robbers” (cf. Jer 7:8-11). Temporal judgment begins
with the temple practices but, judging from 19:43-44, it will not end there!
The evangelist believed that when Jerusalem rejected the peaceable king,
they opted for Zealot violence that resulted in the destruction of the city of
peace in AD 70 (cf. 23:18-19, 25). This point raises the larger question of
how the evangelist regards Israel.
The Lukan estimation of Israel may be summarized in five steps. (1)
Before Israel’s refusal of Jesus and his message, Luke regards her as a reality
existing on two levels: first, as an historical people defined by race and
nationality, the Jewish nation (e.g., 7:5; 23:2; Acts 10:22; 24:10, 17; 26:4;
28:19); and second, as the people of God (e.g., 1:68; 2:32; 7:16; Acts 7:34;
13:17).
(2) The evangelist makes much of the rejection of Jesus and his message
by some Jewish people (e.g., 2:34; 4:28-29; 13:34; 19:14, 39, 44; 20:13-16;
23:1-2, 18-19, 23; 24:20; Acts 4:1-2, 17-18; 5:17-18, 40; 7:58; 13:45;
14:19; 17:5-9, 13; 18:5-6, 12-17; 19:8-9; 20:3; 21:27-30). At the same time
Luke, who considers Christians part of ancient Judaism, makes it clear that
the earliest believers were Jewish (Acts 1:13-14, 21) and that there were
many Jewish adherents in the Jesus movement (Acts 2:41, 47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7;
13:43; 17:4, 12; 21:20) both in Jerusalem and elsewhere. Hence Luke
depicts Jesus dividing Israel into two groups: the repentant and the unrepen-
tant (2:34-35). Israel has not rejected Jesus but has become divided over the
issue of his ministry. (Jervell)
(3) In the Lukan perspective the repentant portion of Judaism is Israel,
the people of God. It is to and for these believing Jews that the promises
have been fulfilled. This restored Israel is the presupposition of all the
missionary work to the Gentiles (Acts 15:15-18). God first rebuilds and
restores Israel and then, as a result, the Gentiles seek the Lord. The unrepen-
tant portion of the nation, however, has forfeited membership in the people
of God (Acts 3:23). A formal statement of rejection of the unrepentant
portion of Judaism is delivered three times, once in each main area of
missionary activity. Acts 13:46 has Paul and Barnabas say to the unbelieving
Jews in Antioch of Pisidia, “It was necessary that the word of God should be
spoken first to you. Since you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves
unworthy of eternal life, behold we turn to the Gentiles.” In Acts 18:6, in
Corinth, when the unbelieving Jews opposed him, Paul says, “Your blood be
upon your heads. I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
Finally, in Acts 28:25-28 Paul says to the unbelieving Jews, “Let it be known
to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will
214 Forecasts of Temporal and Final Reckoning

listen.” For Luke, then, the Gentile mission rests both on some Jews’ faith
and on some Jews’ unbelief. Both must be taken into account. (Talbert
1991)
(4) In Luke’s view, by the end of Acts the people of God are no longer a
race or a nation but those who believe (Luke 20:9-18). The unbelieving in
Judaism remain an historical people who experience the fall of Jerusalem and
the destruction of the temple (Luke 13:35a; 19:41-44; 21:20-24; 23:28-31),
but they do not belong any longer to Israel, the people of God. The destruc-
tion of the holy city and the temple, moreover, are understood as the
consequence of the rejection of Jesus by the racial-national Israel. (For an
analogous statement about tragedy resulting from rejection of God’s emis-
sary, cf. Josephus’s statement about the destruction of Herod’s army as a just
punishment for his treatment of John the Baptist [Antiquities 18.116-19].)
(5) The question whether Luke, like Paul in Romans 9–11, envisioned a
conversion of unbelieving Judaism in a corporate sense prior to the parousia
is debatable. Most scholars think the Lukan Paul of Acts 28:25-28, unlike
the historical Paul of Romans 11, seems resigned to a Gentile church. A few
scholars contend that Luke, like Paul in Romans 11:20, looked forward to a
time when unbelieving Jews as a people would be reinstated (e.g., Tiede
1988b). Acts 1:6; Luke 13:6-9; 21:24, 28; 22:28-30 are about the only
possible supports for this stance. There is enough question about these texts,
however, to make it improbable that the Gentile Christian context from
which Luke-Acts came expected a final conversion of the nation as a corpo-
rate entity before the parousia. The evangelist would not have ruled out the
conversion of any individual Jew, but as far as the direction of the church’s
mission was concerned, it was to the Gentiles. (Luke is similar in this regard
to Justin Martyr, who believed in the second century that a remnant of Jews
were still converted to Jesus [Dialogue with Trypho 32; 55; 64]. These Jewish
believers, who lived within the church, were allowed to practice the law
[Dialogue 47:2].)
The Lukan position with reference to Israel may be summed up, then, in
three propositions. First, the Jesus movement is completed Judaism, the true
Israel. Second, the nation-race no longer is synonymous with the people of
God—there is no soteriological future for the nation as such. Third, one
becomes a part of God’s people by individual decision for Jesus.
Martyrdom and Vindication
Luke 19:45–24:53
Introduction

The fourth major section of the gospel is 19:45–24:53, the narrative of the
last events in Jerusalem. In order to gain some perspective about how the
evangelist views this section, we look first at its pattern, then at how this
period is seen in the speeches of Acts, and finally at the correspondences
between this last period of Jesus’ earthly career in the gospel and the corre-
sponding period in Paul’s career in Acts.
(1) Luke 19:45–24:53 falls into two large sections: 19:45–21:38, Jesus’
teaching in the temple, and 22:1–24:53, the Passion itself. The first large
division is held together not only by its location in the temple but also by an
inclusion, 19:47 and 21:37. Luke locates more of this material in the temple
than do the other synoptic writers. For example, Luke 21’s apocalyptic
speech occurs in the temple, whereas Mark 13 locates it outside. The temple
functions in Luke’s section as a site for Jesus’ teaching. By suppressing the
temple cleansing—for the most part—and by inserting v. 47 in chapter 19,
Luke has caused the plot of the rulers to be a response to Jesus’ teaching in
the temple, and not to its cleansing. This fits: later Luke omits the charge
that Jesus said he would destroy the temple.
The second large division is the Passion proper. (a) In the gospel the
Passion of Jesus is portrayed as the supreme assault of Satan (22:3, 31, 53).
(b) Throughout there is a pro-Roman and an anti-Sanhedrin thrust.
Whereas Jesus’ answers before the Sanhedrin were to exclusively religious
issues, the Jewish leaders distort his replies and in their report to Pilate use a
political charge. Pilate, however, is not able to discover enough evidence
either in the Jewish charges or in Jesus’ answers to proceed with a criminal
trial. The shaming of Jesus is transferred from Pilate to the half-Jew Herod
and his Jewish guard. Pilate is prepared to let Jesus go with a warning
(paideusas, 23:22, being the lightest form of Roman beating; contrast Mark
15:51b’s phragellosas, the most severe whipping). In 23:47 the centurion
pronounces the final verdict for Rome: he is innocent. This pro-Roman
218 Introduction

sentiment was not likely to persuade some Roman that the Christians were
innocent but was likely designed to persuade Christians that Roman justice
was advantageous to them (Walaskay). (c) In the Passion narrative there is an
effort to minimize the failure of the Eleven. Luke has shaped the material so
it is a “promise of ultimate victory after passing failure, especially for Peter,”
rather than of complete collapse as in Mark (Lightfoot, 174-75). (d) Luke
locates all of the resurrection appearances in Jerusalem, in contrast to the
other gospels.
(2) Since the speeches of Acts are most likely Lukan compositions, it is
helpful to examine them to see what emphases they contain about Jesus’ days
in Jerusalem. Their focus is on Jesus’ death and resurrection. Nothing is said
about his teaching in the temple. About his death we hear: (a) Jesus could
not be charged with anything deserving death (12:28); (b) the Jews delivered
him up (2:23; 3:13; 13:28); (c) the Jews asked Pilate to kill him (3:13;
13:28); (d) Herod was involved against Jesus (4:27); (e) instead of Jesus the
Jews asked for a murderer (3:14); (f ) Jesus was laid in a tomb (13:29); (g)
these events were in accord with prophecy (13:27; 3:18).
About his resurrection, the speeches say, (a) God raised Jesus (2:24; 5:30;
10:39-40; 13:30); (b) God made him manifest (10:39-40), or he appeared
(13:31) to Galileans (13:31), witnesses who ate and drank with him after the
resurrection (10:39-40); (c) the resurrection is in fulfillment of prophecy
(2:25-28). One recognizes immediately that the references to Herod and to
witnesses eating and drinking with Jesus after the resurrection are peculiar to
Luke-Acts.
(3) The remarkable correspondences both in content and sequence
between the events and persons found in Luke and those in Acts constitute
the primary architectonic pattern in Luke-Acts (Talbert 1974, 15ff.). This
pattern of correspondences is especially clear in the final sections of both
Luke and Acts. The following examples are representative:

19:37 Jesus receives a good 21:17-20a Paul receives a good

reception and the people reception and God is
praise God for the works glorified for the things
they have seen. done among the
Gentiles.
Introduction 219

19:45-48 Jesus goes into the temple. 21:26 Paul goes into the
He has a friendly attitude temple. He has a
toward it. friendly attitude toward
it.
20:27-39 The Sadducees do not 23:6-9 The Sadducees do not
believe in the resurrection. believe in the resurrec-
The scribes support Jesus. tion. The scribes
support Paul.
22:10a At a meal, Jesus takes 27:35 Paul has a meal in
bread, gives thanks, and which he takes bread,
breaks it. gives thanks, and breaks
it.
22:54 A mob seizes Jesus. 21:30 A mob seizes Paul.

22:63-64 Jesus is slapped by the 23:2 Paul is slapped at the

priest’s assistants. high priest’s command.

22:36; The four trials of Jesus Chs. 23; The four trials of Paul
23:1; (Sanhedrin; Pilate; Herod; 24; 25; (Sanhedrin; Felix;
23:8; Pilate). 26 Festus; Herod Agrippa).
23:13
Some of the details in the trials of Jesus in the gospel and of Paul in Acts
correspond:

23:4, Three times Pilate 23:9; Three men, Lysias, Festus,

14, 22 declares Jesus innocent. 25:25; and Agrippa, declare Paul
26:31 innocent.
23:6-12 Pilate sends Jesus to 25:13– Herod hears Paul with the
Herod for questioning. 26:32 permission of Festus.

23:16, Pilate says he will release 26:32 Herod says, “This man
22 Jesus. could have been released.”

23:18 The Jews cry, “Away with 21:36 The Jews cry, “Away with
this man.” him.”

23:47 A centurion has a favor 27:3 A centurion has a favor-

able opinion of Jesus. able impression of Paul.
220 Introduction

These correspondences function in the interests of the Lukan belief that

Jesus is the pioneer or leader (arch∑gos) of the Christian Way. His career,
then, is prototypical for his followers. Throughout the Passion one should be
alert to the recurring emphasis on Jesus as the model for Christian existence.
Tested in the Temple
Luke 19:45–21:4

Luke 19:45–21:38 constitutes a large thought unit in the gospel, 19:47 (“he
was teaching daily in the temple”) and 21:37 (“every day he was teaching in
the temple”) functioning as an inclusion to hold the material together. In
19:45-46 Jesus enters not the city but the temple. The temple functions in
this section as the site for Jesus’ teaching (cf. 2:41-51). In antiquity a temple
setting could be used for a variety of kinds of teaching. The prophet
Jeremiah delivered a number of his oracles in the temple (Jer 7; 20; 26; 28—
a dialogue with a prophetic opponent; 35) and Baruch read a prophecy of
Jeremiah in the temple (Jer 36). In the non-Jewish world, one finds a similar
phenomenon. For example, Varro’s On Agriculture is set at the temple of
Tellus on the festival of Sementivae; and the Tabula of Cebes is set in the
temple of Cronus. The first consists of dialogues related to farming and the
latter to moral parenesis. Luke’s auditors would not be surprised that the
Lukan Jesus chose a temple setting for his debates with opponents and
dialogues with disciples. His teaching serves as a confrontation between
God’s accredited agent and the Jewish people. The outcome is the rejection
of God’s messenger (cf. 4:16-30; Acts 3–4; 5:12-42; 13:13-52; 18:1-11) that
issues in God’s judgment on those who have rejected Jesus. The teaching in
the environs of the temple falls into two parts: (1) 19:45–21:4, and (2) 21:5-
38. In this chapter, the focus will be on the former part.
Luke 19:45–21:4 has, for the most part, parallels in the other synoptics.
All of this material, however, has been shaped to fit Luke’s “teaching in the
temple” motif.
In 19:45–20:18 the material has become a warning to the leaders of reli-
gious establishments. Four points are made in the warning. (1) God will not
allow the religious leadership of his people to fail to nourish the flock. The
entry into the temple (19:45-46) functions to indict the religious leadership
for allowing the temple’s purpose to be perverted (cf. Isa 56:7; Jer 7:11).
222 Tested in the Temple

Jesus’ act and word testify that the religious establishment has not been
faithful to its charge to nourish God’s people.
(2) When the sheep are not fed, others may be expected to come to
remedy the deficiency. Jesus’ teaching in the temple daily (19:47a) appears to
be in response to the failure of the Jewish leaders.
(3) There follows a predictable twofold response by the religious estab-
lishment (20:1-19). The leaders question the reformer’s authority: “Tell us by
what authority you do these things, or who it is who gave you this authority”
(v. 2). When such a challenge is put to him, Jesus responds with a question
of his own: “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men” (v. 4)? That
is to say, “Can you recognize God’s presence anywhere else than in the offi-
cial structures?” The people are able to recognize it (v. 6b). There is also the
temptation characteristic of every bureaucracy, including the religious ones,
to forget to whom the vineyard belongs. Jesus tells the people (note the
contrast between the favor of the people, 19:48, and the opposition of the
leaders, 20:19) a parable directed against the religious leadership. The story
is actually another allegory of salvation history as Luke sees it (cf. 14:16-24;
19:11-27). Time after time the tenants (the religious bureaucracy) fail to
recognize God’s authority in his prophets (e.g., John the Baptist—20:4-7)
and repeatedly express hostility to God’s messengers (13:34; Acts 7:52). Now
they have rejected even the beloved Son (3:22; Acts 7:53): “This is the heir;
let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours” (v. 14). The allegory implies
that the bureaucracy recognized him but rejected him because they were
unwilling to relinquish control over the vineyard to its rightful owner. They
had ceased to be stewards of another’s property and had begun to seek to
function as owners in their own right.
(4) Such a rejection of the Son results in an overthrow of the established
leadership. The allegory says that for rejecting God’s Son, the tenants will be
severely punished: “He will come and destroy those tenants, and give the
vineyard to others” (20:16; cf. 19:27). This is not a reference to the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem and to the shift of the good news to the Gentiles. It is an
attack on the religious bureaucracy (v. 19) and says that because of their
rejection of Jesus, their positions as caretakers of God’s people are cancelled
and in their place others are appointed (in the Lukan context, the apostles—
22:28-30; Acts 1:15 26). One’s response to the beloved Son is absolutely
decisive: “Every one who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but
when it falls on any one it will crush him” (v. 18). This verse, which is pecu-
liar to Luke, is a statement similar to that of the rabbi cited in Midrash
Rabbah on Esther 3:6: “Should the stone fall on the crock, woe to the crock.
Should the crock fall on the stone, woe to the crock. In either case, woe to
Luke 19:45–21:4 223

the crock” (cf. Luke 2:34; 12:8-9; Acts 4:12). One’s place in the religious
establishment hinges on one’s acquiescence in the claims of the beloved Son
as owner of the vineyard. This is the criterion by which every religious estab-
lishment is judged by God.
The first attempt to discredit Jesus having failed, a second effort was
made at 20:20-26, so they could “deliver him up to the authority and juris-
diction of the governor” (v. 20; cf. 18:32). At issue here is the attitude
toward the state advocated by Jesus. Our appreciation of vv. 20-26 is
enhanced if we first look at some background material from the rest of the
gospel. Luke 2:1-7 is crucial, with the data relevant to our purposes related
to the census in v. 2. There are two possible translations of this sentence. (1)
The usual way is to render it, “This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius
was governor of Syria” (RSV). If one translates in this fashion, there is a
problem of chronology. Quirinius did not become governor until AD 6. At
that time he conducted a census together with Coponius, the procurator of
Judea. This innovation was widely resented and led to a Zealot uprising
under Judas the Galilean (Josephus, Antiquities 18.1.1, 6 § 4-10, 23-25).
The difficulty is that 1:5 locates the annunciation of John the Baptist’s birth
in the days of Herod, king of the Jews, presumably Herod the Great who
died in 4 BC. Since Luke 1:26 locates the annunciation of Jesus’ birth in the
sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, presumably Jesus too would be born
under Herod the Great, as Matthew 1–2 also claims. This makes a discrep-
ancy in dating of a minimum of ten years (4 BC–AD 6). If so, then the
evangelist has made an error, whether unconsciously or purposefully
(Moehring). (2) An alternate translation of v. 2 is offered by Nigel Turner
(23-24), who observes that the Greek of the period often used “first” when
“former” or “prior” would have been more grammatical. If so, then it would
be possible to translate, “This enrollment was before Quirinius was governor
of Syria,” or “This enrollment was prior to (the enrollment) when Quirinius
was governor of Syria” (cf. John 5:36; 1 Cor 1:25 for similar compressions).
If this reading is adopted, there is no chronological error on Luke’s part
(strongly supported by Nolland 1.101-102, 104, 111). Then the question
would be, why would the evangelist have wanted to refer to Quirinius and
possibly his census?
Whichever of the two translations one accepts, the reason for Luke’s
reference to Quirinius is obvious. His census was the occasion for a rebellion
led by Judas of Galilee, from which came the Zealot movement. That Acts
5:37 mentions Judas the Galilean’s revolt in connection with the census indi-
cates the associations that were in the evangelist’s mind when he mentioned
a census and Quirinius together in Luke 2:2. The actions of Judas apparently
224 Tested in the Temple

were part of a general pattern of rebelliousness among Galileans. Returned to

the Jewish state by the Hasmoneans, the Galileans after 63 BC aimed to
reestablish the Hasmonean state. There were instances of rebelliousness
under Ezekias (47 BC), in the uprising of Antigonus (40–37 BC), at the death
of Herod (4 BC), in Judas’s opposition to the census (AD 6), under the
Roman procurators, and in the Jewish revolt of AD 66–74 (Loftus). For Luke
to depict the Galilean family of Jesus doing its civic duty would be signifi-
cant. Joseph, like Jesus and his later followers, was obedient to Roman rule.
Jesus’ family did not participate in the Galilean spirit of rebellion that often
brought recrimination from Roman officials (cf. 13:1-2).
The one who was born a peaceable king (2:1-20) entered Jerusalem on
the same note. Jesus came riding on a colt (a sign of peace), with no nation-
alistic trappings (the absence of the branches), amid the acclamation of his
disciples: “Peace in the heavens and glory in the highest.” Furthermore, Jesus’
entrance into the temple (19:45-46) is told by the evangelist in a way that
eliminates almost all details of violence. It is against this background that one
must read 20:20-26. In AD 6 Judas of Galilee (Josephus, Antiquities 18.1.6 §
23-25; 20.5.2 § 102) had denounced the payment of taxes to Caesar as
treason against God. Now the spies ask Jesus, “Is it lawful (that is, scriptural)
for us to give tribute to Caesar or not?” No matter how he answers, they
think, he will offend someone. Asking for a coin, Jesus inquired about whose
image was on it. When his opponents said, “Caesar’s,” he said, “Then render
to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
In this context, the logion points in two directions.
(1) The saying affirms the sovereignty of God. From Luke’s point of
view the authority of the political realm belongs to God who then delivers it
to whom he wishes (cf. 4:6—”for it has been delivered to me,” that is, by
God). A ruler who does not give glory to God but rather usurps God’s
prerogatives is subject to God’s judgment (cf. Acts 12:20-23). A disciple,
when confronted with the choice, must obey God rather than humans (Acts
4:19-20; 5:29). From the evangelist’s perspective there are not two realms,
Caesar’s and God’s, but rather only one, God’s. The only areas in which
Caesar can expect allegiance from Jesus’ disciples are those in which his
patterns are in conformity with God’s desired patterns. That the Roman offi-
cials in Acts provided protection for the preachers of the gospel doubtless
accounts for the positive portrayal they receive from the evangelist (cf. Acts
13:7, 12; 16:35-39; 18:12-17; 19:35-41; 21:31-39; 22:25-26; 23:19-24, 31-
32; 27:42-43).
(2) The logion speaks a word of assurance about Christian political
intentions. It is very difficult not to see vv. 24-25 as affirming the payment
Luke 19:45–21:4 225

of taxes. Give Caesar his money. Those who use Caesar’s money will have to
pay Caesar’s taxes (cf. Rom 13:6-7). The evangelist would see this saying as
falsifying the Jewish charge that Jesus was “forbidding us to give tribute to
Caesar” (23:2). Jesus was not hostile to the state as such. Within the context
of total submission to God, Jesus advocated submission to the state. Given
Roman protection of the church from mob violence, both Gentile and
Jewish in origin (e.g., Acts 18–19), in the early years of the Christian move-
ment, it is no surprise that many Christians heard this emphasis primarily
(Rom 13:1-7; 1 Tim 2:1-2; Titus 3:1-2; 1 Pet 2:13; 1 Clement 61; Pol Phil
12:3; Justin, Apology 1 17.3; Tertullian, Apology 30). The attitude of loyalty
and moderation toward Rome largely characterized the church through the
second century. Yet faced with emperor worship and the persecution that
followed Christian reluctance to participate in it, the author of Revelation
developed his resistance to the state from the former point: “Render to God
the things that are God’s.”
This passage raises a larger question: what kind of political and social
stance does Luke attribute to Jesus? Three possibilities come immediately to
mind: (a) nonresistance (where people refrain not only from physical
violence but also from directly confronting those responsible for existing ills;
they identify with those suffering from such evils; they offer no defense if
they themselves are subjected to violence by those who have power; their
hope is that their example will eventuate in changes in the attitudes and
actions of others); (b) nonviolent resistance (where people avoid violence to
persons but confront in a nonviolent way those responsible for existing social
ills; their hope is that the challenge will serve to create a dialogue that may
eventually result in a favorable change of behavior); and (c) violent resis-
tance.
These or similar stances had their representatives among the Jewish
population at the time of Christian origins. (a) The Zealots were the advo-
cates of armed revolution against Rome. (b) Josephus gives two examples of
nonviolent resistance in Jesus’ time. The first is found in Antiquities 18.3.1 §
261-309 and War 2.9.3 § 184-203, an account of a five-day sit-in to protest
Pilate’s introduction of images into Jerusalem. When threatened with death
if they did not end their protest, the Jews cast themselves on the ground and
bared their throats, declaring they gladly welcomed death rather than violate
their law. The protest caused Pilate to remove the offensive images from the
city. The second is found in Antiquities 18.8 § 244-72 and War 2.10 § 184-
98 and tells of the action of the Jews who left fields untilled in the sowing
season for more than a month. The protest prevented Caligula’s statue from
being erected in the temple. (c) Although during the Hasmonean rule at
226 Tested in the Temple

least some of the Pharisees functioned as a political party, from the rise of
Herod the Great until the end of the first Jewish revolt against Rome, the
Pharisees seem to have moved from direct political involvement to an atti-
tude of indifference regarding rulers and the forms under which they ruled.
It seems likely that the Pharisees did not oppose Roman rule in Judea. Their
concern was with the proper ordering of the life of God’s people according to
the law.
The Lukan Jesus’ portrayal is more complex than this description allows.
Three components must be recognized in Luke’s picture of Jesus’ social and
political posture. (a) Although Jesus shows no deference toward political
rulers (e.g., 13:31-33), this does not mean he is involved, Gandhi-like, in a
nonviolent resistance to them. Like the Pharisees Jesus manifests an indiffer-
ence to the political rulers. For someone who believed that all power and
authority resided with God and all history unfolded according to his
purpose, such rulers were of little consequence. Since the rulers shared no
common assumptions that would facilitate dialogue with Jesus, he opted for
silence in their presence. (b) Toward the Jewish structures, however, Jesus
showed no indifference. Here he was involved in nonviolent resistance.
Confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish leaders was frequent (e.g.,
5:12–6:11; 11:37-54; 13:10-17; 14:1-24; 16:14-15; 19:47–20:47). Only at
19:45 is there any hint of possible violence, but the evangelist has so shaped
the cleansing story that it becomes merely Jesus’ entry into the site of his
subsequent teaching (19:47–21:38). Moreover, 22:49-51 has Jesus explicitly
reject violence against Jewish authority. Nonviolent confrontation aimed at
dialogue and change of behavior seems the best description of Jesus’ stance
toward the Jewish structures (the people of God). This was doubtless because
Jesus and the Jews shared common assumptions about God and about reli-
gious values. With such people dialogue could be profitable. (c) Jesus’
primary vehicle for social change was the structure of life in the community
of his disciples. Among his disciples Jesus sought a revolutionary change in
social attitudes. They were to live in the present in light of God’s reversal of
all human values in the eschaton. Such a stance, of course, was regarded by
some as “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). By embodying struc-
tures of social relationships to reflect the new life in the Spirit under the
lordship of Jesus, the Christian community functions in the larger society as
an agent of social change.
The third attempt to discredit Jesus as a teacher came from the
Sadducees, who denied the resurrection (cf. Acts 23:8; Josephus, Antiquities
18.14 § 16- 17; War 2.8.14 § 164 65). Posing resurrection riddles was a
favorite way for Sadducees to torment Pharisees. For example, they might
Luke 19:45–21:4 227

ask whether or not those who will allegedly be resurrected will require ritual
cleansing since they were in contact with a corpse (b. Niddah 70b). Or they
inevitably inquired where in the Pentateuch Moses taught resurrection from
the dead, since they accepted only those five books as Scripture. Luke
20:27ff. reflects just such a Sadducean ploy. The problem they pose is based
on Deuteronomy 25:5-10, the law of levirate marriage. If a brother died
childless, a surviving brother was to take the widow and beget children for
his dead brother. The firstborn of such a union was to bear the name of the
deceased (cf. Gen 38:8; Ruth 3–4). Though the law of levirate marriage was
not enforced in the time of Jesus, the question was raised to show that since
resurrection would imply polyandry, which was unacceptable, it was
excluded by the law of Moses.
Jesus’ answer is twofold. (1) In vv. 37-38 he says the inference drawn by
the Sadducees from their posed problem is inaccurate because it does not
reckon with the continuing nature of the relationship between God and his
people. The form of Jesus’ answer resembles rabbinic argument. In the
Talmud (e.g., b. Sanhedrin 90b-91a), we read again and again the question,
“How is resurrection derived from the Torah?” The rabbis appealed to
numerous passages for support (e.g., Num 18:28; 15:31; Exod 6:4; 15:1;
Deut 31:16). In one first-century example sectarians asked R. Gamaliel,
“Whence do we know that the Holy One will raise the dead?” Gamaliel
appealed to Deuteronomy 31:16, Isaiah 26:19, and Canticles 7:9, all to no
avail. They were not satisfied until he quoted Deuteronomy 11:21, “Which
the Lord swore unto your fathers to give to them,” and pointed out that the
text said not “to you” but “to them.” Since the promise could only be
fulfilled by the patriarch’s resurrection, resurrection is derived from the Torah
(Pentateuch). Luke 20:37-38 follows this type of rabbinic argument,
appealing to Exodus 3:6, which called the Lord the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. Since Yahweh is not God of the dead but of the living, the patri-
archs must either be in some sense alive or they will be raised (4 Macc
7:18-19 says that the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob died not but live
to God). The meaning is basically that when God has a relationship with
someone, that relationship is not terminated by death: God will not allow an
enemy of his, death, to destroy that which means so much to him (cf. Rom
8:35-39).
(2) In vv. 34-36 (considerably longer than Matt 22:30 // Mark 12:25)
Jesus says the problem posed is inappropriate because it does not take into
account the difference between life on earth and life beyond the resurrection.
Human life in this world is mortal, and our sexuality guarantees the survival
of the human race. Beyond the resurrection, however, people do not die, so
228 Tested in the Temple

the type of sexual unions appropriate in this life do not apply (cf. 2 Baruch
51:10; 1 Enoch 104:4, 6; 1 QSb 4:24-28; 1 QH 3:21ff.; 6:13). (Given this
line of reasoning, if the Corinthians believed they had already been raised
from the dead—1 Cor 4:8—then their attitudes toward marriage are under-
standable—1 Cor 7.) The one who knows the mind of God therefore knows
what life in the other world will be like (cf. Luke 6:20-26; 13:28-29; 16:19-
31).
The scribal commendation of Jesus (v. 39) that follows the discomfiture
of the Sadducees becomes the occasion for a twofold critique: (a) of scribal
theology (vv. 41-44), and (b) of the scribal way of life (20:45-47; 21:1-4).
The critique of their theology is addressed to the scribes (v. 41, cf. v. 39); the
critique of their way of life is addressed to the disciples (20:45). (a) Luke
20:41-44 poses a puzzle for the scribes very much in the same manner the
Sadducees had presented Jesus with a riddle. The pericope assumes first that
“the Lord” is God, that “my Lord” equals the Messiah, and that David is the
author of the psalm (v. 42); and second, that, according to oriental mores, a
son did not surpass his father. Given assumption two, how could the
Messiah be David’s son (v. 44)? David would not address a son of his as
Lord. No answer to the riddle is given, but Luke’s readers would have their
own answer. The one who is David’s son (1:69; 2:4; 3:23-38) became
David’s Lord by virtue of his resurrection-ascension-exaltation (Acts 2:34-36;
13:22-23, 33-37).
(b) The critique of the scribal way of life echoes, in part, earlier attacks
on the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers (11:37-54; 14:1-24). In 20:45-47 Jesus
again critiques the scribal way of life. In their outer appearance they are
ostentatiously religious. Yet the reality of their situation is stated in v. 47a:
“who devour widows’ houses” (that is, by taking them as pledges for debts
that cannot be paid). This is the disparity between outer profession and
inner reality of which the disciples are to beware (vv. 45-46a). What the
disciples are to emulate is found in 21:1-4. Since it was not possible under
Jewish law to offer less than two mites, the widow was making the smallest
offering possible. Yet she is praised by Jesus above the rich (like the scribes).
For Jesus “what matters is not the amount that one gives but the amount
that one keeps for oneself ” (Marshall, 750). Beware the scribes! Emulate the
widow! The latter is whole; the former are hollow.
With this, the first part of Jesus’ teaching in the temple ends. Challenged
by many, he was overcome by none.
Persecution and Perseverance
Luke 21:5-38

Much of the material in 21:5-38 has parallels in the other synoptics, but the
evangelist has shaped the total unit to reflect his own conceptions. For
example, whereas Matthew 24:1-3 and Mark 13:1-4 locate the discussion
outside the temple on the Mount of Olives and specify the disciples
(Matthew) or four named disciples (Mark) as the auditors of the discourse,
Luke keeps Jesus inside the temple and makes the teaching public (20:45;
21:37-38). If, as the contents indicate (21:12-19), at least part of the
teaching is intended for disciples, they are instructed in the hearing of all the
people. Luke 21:5-26, thereby, functions as the second part of the public
teaching of Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem (19:45–21:38).
The occasion for the teaching in Luke 21 is an admiring remark made
by someone about the adornments of the temple (v. 5; cf. Josephus, War
5.207-208, 222; 5.174-75, for the grandeur of the temple). In response (cf.
14:15) Jesus utters a prophetic oracle: “As for these things which you see, the
days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another that
will not be thrown down” (v. 6). This echoes the prophecy of the destruction
of the temple by Micah (3:12) and Jeremiah (7; 22:5) in earlier times. The
oracle prompts two questions: “when will this be, and what will be the sign
that this is about to take place?” (v. 7). The questions are answered in an
apocalyptic discourse (vv. 8-36) that sets the fate of the temple in a much
larger context, concerned with other issues. The dialogue falls into the
following pattern:

A The time of the eschaton, warning not to be misled (vv. 8-9)

B Political upheavals (v. 10)
C Cosmic disturbances (v. 11)
D The time of testimony (which comes before all this)
(vv. 12-19)
230 Persecution and Perseverance

B’ Political upheavals (of which the fall of Jerusalem is a part)

(vv. 20-24)
C’ Cosmic disturbances (vv. 25-26)
A’ The time of the eschaton, warning to be ready (vv. 27-36)

If we arrange the items into an ordered series, it would run as follows: (1) a
time of testimony (v. 12a indicates this period comes before all the rest); (2)
the emergence of false messiahs; (3) political upheavals (including the fall of
Jerusalem); (4) cosmic disturbances; and (5) the coming of the Son of Man.
From this apocalyptic timetable we can extract the Lukan answers to the two
questions raised in v. 7. When will the temple be destroyed? It will occur as
part of the political disturbances prior to the End. What will be the sign
when this is about to take place? The sign will be when you see Jerusalem
surrounded by armies (v. 20). Though it was the oracle about the temple’s
destruction that prompted the questions which evoked the discourse, the
evangelist’s concerns are broader in this chapter than the fall of Jerusalem
and the temple’s demise (though the fall and the demise are a part of the
recurrent theme in Luke—13:31-35; 19:28-44; 23:26-31).
Two primary concerns, in addition to the destruction of Jerusalem, are
evident in Luke 21: (1) persecution, which is the time of testimony (vv. 12-
19), and (2) perseverance or readiness for the Son of Man’s coming (vv.
34-36). The chronology of the events described in 21:8-19 does not coincide
with the order of their appearance in the text where a warning not to be
misled by false messiahs and other signs into thinking the End has arrived
(vv. 8-9), and references to political upheavals (v. 10) and cosmic distur-
bances (v. 11) precede the section on persecution (vv. 12-19).
Chronologically, however, the persecutions precede the other items (cf. v.
12a—pro de toutøn pantøn, “but before all these things”): that is, in the
interim before the eschaton the disciples will experience persecution (cf.
6:22-23; 8:13; 12:11; Acts 4–5; 12; 16; 18; 21).
The persecution will be of two types (cf. Luke 12:11): Christians will be
brought before Jewish synagogue courts (v. 12a), and they will be brought to
trial before kings and governors (v. 12b). This, of course, is exactly the case
in the narrative of Acts (e.g., 4–5; 9:1 for Jewish arrests; 24; 25–26 for trial
before governor and king). That the account in Acts conforms to historical
reality, at least in the case of Paul, may be seen from 2 Corinthians 11:23ff.
Such a moment of persecution from church and state is “a time for you to
bear testimony” (v. 13).
In this time of testimony the disciples need have no anxiety about what
to say, “for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adver-
Luke 21:5-38 231

saries will be able to withstand or contradict” (v. 15). A similar promise was
given in Luke 12:11-12, with the Holy Spirit teaching the disciples what
ought to be said. Luke 21:15’s “I will give you” may be designed to echo
Exodus 4:15. Again the promise is fulfilled in Acts (4:8-13; 6:10, “But they
could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.”).
The persecution will find even one’s closest family and friends as
betrayers (v. 16a), which gives impact to the logion in 14:26 (cf. Acts 21:27;
22:1; 23:12—kinsmen). Persecution for some will result in death (cf. Acts
7:58-60; 12:1-2). Martyrdom is a real possibility for Jesus’ disciples. Given
this, how can the distinctively Lukan saying in v. 18 (“But not a hair of your
head will perish”) be understood? Are we take v. 16 as referring to only a few
martyrs and v. 18 as referring to the safety of the church as a whole? Or does
v. 16 refer to the threat to the bodies of the disciples and v. 18 to the safety of
their essential being? Because of 12:4ff. the latter seems the better option.
Though they kill the body, that is all they can do: God preserves the life.
Knowing this, the disciples’ endurance (faithfulness to the end) gains them
their lives (since 14:14 and 20:35 point to Luke’s belief in resurrection only
of the righteous, this would mean “resurrection lives”; cf. 1 Enoch 98:10;
4Q418 69:7f.; Justin, 2 Apology 7.1; Dialogue 5.3ff.; Irenaeus, Against
Heresies 2.34.3; Theophilus, Ad Autolycum 2.27; Arnobius, Against the
Pagans 2.14; 2.53; Athanasius, On the Incarnation 4.20-26; 21.5). In the
early church endurance was a key quality encouraged in Christians who
faced persecution (cf. Heb 10:32-39; Rev 2:2; 21:7-8; Jas 1:2-4; Rom 5:3-4).
The second of the evangelist’s primary concerns in Luke 21 is the perse-
verance of the disciples, their readiness for the Son of Man’s coming (vv.
34-36). Luke’s concern for the readiness of Christians (vv. 34-36) is set in the
context of an apocalyptic scheme: (1) political upheavals, of which the fall of
Jerusalem is one part (vv. 20-24); (2) cosmic disturbances (vv. 25-26); (3) the
coming of the Son of Man in a cloud (9:34; Acts 1:9): “Now when these
things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your
redemption is drawing near” (v. 28). For the Lukan church that looked back
on the destruction of Jerusalem and lived in a world with cosmic signs
aplenty, all that would be left in this apocalyptic timetable would be the
coming of the Son of Man. Luke’s readers should know that just as the fresh
foliage in spring signals the coming of summer, so the disasters and cosmic
disturbances signal the nearness of the End (vv. 29-31). Since the evangelist
believed that all had taken place in the apocalyptic scheme except the Son of
Man’s coming, the End was near. In light of this, the simplest way to read v.
32 is that Luke believed the End would come before “this generation” (that
is, his own) passed away (of course, IQpHab 2:7; 7:2, indicates the “last
232 Persecution and Perseverance

generation” could mean “several lifetimes”). In this belief Luke was one with
most of the early church (e.g., 1 Thess 4:15; 1 Cor 15:51-52; Mark 9:1; Heb
10:25, 37; 1 Pet 4:7; Jas 5:8-9; Rev 22:7, 12, 20). Luke 21:33 is the basis for
believing v. 32: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass
away” (contrast Genesis Rabbah 10.1—”Everything has its end, the heavens
and the earth have their end; only one thing is expected which has no end,
and that is the law”). In the context of this statement of the impending
coming of the Son of Man (the cosmic judge), the evangelist exhorts his
readers to watch (be prepared) at all times (cf. 12:35-40; 18:8). Being
prepared means two things in this passage. On the one hand it means to pray
(v. 36b; cf. 11:4b; 22:40, 46). In Luke’s mind prayer was the opposite of
losing heart (18:1). It signaled intense persistence. On the other hand being
prepared means allowing nothing to distract one from his or her primary
concern (v. 34). Two dangers are cited as of special importance: (a) sensuality
(here “dissipation and drunkenness”—cf. 8:14; 12:45-46; Rom 13:11-14),
and (b) preoccupation with the cares of this life (cf. 8:14; 14:15-24; 17:26-
27, 28-30). Persevere! Be prepared! It is certain everyone will have to render
an account to the cosmic judge (v. 35; cf. 19:11-27; Acts 17:31; Rev 20:11-
13; 1 Pet 4:5; Rom 2:5-11; 14:12; Matt 12:36; Jude 14-15).
Mealtime Farewells
Luke 22:1-38

Much of the material in 22:1-38 has at least loose parallels in the other
synoptics, but the overall impact of the material is distinctly Lukan. The
setting shifts from the temple where Jesus taught daily (19:45–21:38) to the
city. The battle between Jesus and the Jewish leadership moves from the
intellectual sphere (ch. 20) to a plot to capture Jesus in the absence of the
multitude (22:1-6). Satan joins the fray (22:3) and the Passover season
(22:1) becomes the hour of the power of darkness (22:53). Satan manipu-
lates Judas by means of the latter’s attachment to money (22:5; Acts 1:18a;
John 12:4-6).
Luke 22:7-38 is arranged as a supper scene in two parts: the preparation
(vv. 7-13), and the meal itself that functions as the occasion for a farewell
speech (vv. 14-38) (Kurz). (1) In the preparation scene Jesus takes the initia-
tive, sending Peter and John to prepare the meal. A prophecy by Jesus tells
them how to find the place where the group will eat. When they enter the
city they will confront a man carrying a jar of water (an unusual thing
because women normally carried water jars). This man will lead them to a
spot where a room will be available: “And they went, and found it as he had
told them; and they prepared the passover” (cf. 19:32). The fulfillment of
Jesus’ words so exactly in this instance would instill confidence in Luke’s
hearers that the predictions of Jesus that dominate vv. 14-38 would be
fulfilled. (Deut 18:22 gives as a way to recognize a false prophet that his
predictions do not come true.)
(2) The interpretation of the meal itself depends first of all upon how
the textual question of vv. 19b-20 is settled. The Western Text omits the
words, “‘which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And like-
wise the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is
the new covenant in my blood.’” These words are included by most other
manuscript evidence. The external evidence for the longer text is over-
whelming. The weakness in its claim to originality is in accounting for the
234 Mealtime Farewells

origin of the shorter text. Until about 1950 there was widespread scholarly
agreement in favor of accepting the shorter form (e.g., NEB and RSV [1959]
followed Codex Bezae and omitted vv. 19b-20 from Luke 22. G. D.
Kilpatrick, 42, continues this emphasis). Since then P75 (the Bodmer
papyrus of Luke dating from about AD 200) has strengthened the argument
in favor of the longer text, as has careful examination of the Lukan style in
both the context and the institution text itself (Petzer). It is the longer text
that will be accepted here.
The meal itself consists of two sets of sayings about eating and drinking
(vv. 15-18, 19-20). (a) In the first set there are two parallel sayings.

(1) I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for
I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. (vv.
1~16)

(2) Take this [cup] and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from
now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God
comes. (vv. 17-18)

These verses are specifically linked to the Passover (v. 15): Jesus says he will
eat no more Passovers until the kingdom of God comes. The sayings are,
therefore, oriented to the future. If we had only v. 16, one would inevitably
understand the reference to be to the messianic banquet (cf. 13:29; 14:15).
Verse 18, however, is sufficiently general that it could be fulfilled in the refer-
ences to postresurrection appearances where Jesus ate and drank with
disciples (24:41-42; Acts 1:4; 10:41; cf. Luke 9:27). Both postresurrection
appearances and the post parousia banquet are probably involved.
Repeatedly in the gospel Jesus has warned his disciples of his approaching
fate (9:33, 44; 12:50; 13:32-33; 17:25; 18:32-33). Now he tells them the
time has come. He will depart this life, an exodus (9:31) to be accomplished
at the season that celebrated the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12).
In this context vv. 15-18 function in the interests of the farewell speech
to come in vv. 19-38. In the farewell speeches characteristic of Jewish and
Christian materials certain factors are constant: a hero figure knows he is
going to die (cf. 2 Pet 1:15 where the apostle describes his death as an
exodus); he gathers his primary community together and gives a farewell
speech with two standard components—there is first a prediction of what
will happen after he is gone and then there is an exhortation about how to
behave after his departure. The evangelist has turned the meal into a farewell
speech setting. In 22:15-18 Jesus says he is about to die; vv. 19-38 give the
Luke 22:1-38 235

predictions and exhortations of the speech proper; vv. 7-13 lend credibility
to the predictions by showing a prophecy of Jesus in another regard fulfilled
to the letter. The desire to use a farewell speech, therefore, determines the
shape of his material in 22:7-38. The distinctively Lukan words at the Last
Supper (vv. 15-18) are included and placed first to allow Jesus to say he is
about to die just before he gives his last words to the apostles. They are not
eucharistic as such. In their Lukan context they are Jesus’ prediction of
impending death.
(b) In vv. 19-20, the second set of parallel sayings, we find two more
items.

(1) And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave
it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in
remembrance of me.” (v. 19)

(2) And likewise the cup after supper, saying, “This cup which is poured
out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (v. 20)

These verses are not explicitly linked to the Passover. Here Jesus asks his
disciples to repeat the meal in his personal memory (v. 19) and says his death
is the seal of the new covenant (v. 20). The orientation is to the past. The
similarities to the Pauline tradition of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians
11:23-25 are striking.
What is the view of Jesus’ death reflected in these words? Three expres-
sions need analysis if we are to arrive at an adequate answer: “new covenant,”
“in my blood,” and “given for you.” In the first place, Jesus speaks of a new
covenant related to his death. The reference is to Jeremiah 31:31-34 where
Yahweh declares he will make a new covenant with Israel: “I will put my law
within them, and I will write it upon their hearts” (v. 33). A similar kind of
promise is found in Ezekiel 36:26-27, though the expression “new covenant”
is missing: “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within
you. . . . And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my
statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.” In 2 Corinthians 3:3, 6 is
a Pauline appropriation of the thought of Jeremiah 31:

You show that you are a letter from Christ . . . written not with ink but
with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of
human hearts. (v. 3)
236 Mealtime Farewells

God . . . has qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, not in a

written code but in the Spirit; for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives
life. (v. 6)

Jeremiah saw the new covenant as involving an urge from the inside to be
faithful to the relationship with God in contrast to the old command from
the outside. Paul specified that the urge from the inside came from the
Spirit. Luke 22:20 uses this new covenant mentality.
The necessity for a new covenant lay in the sinfulness of God’s creatures
(Jer 17:9—“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
corrupt”). In the new covenant God himself assumes responsibility for
enabling one “to will and to do his good pleasure” (Phil 2:13). The new
covenant prophesied by Jeremiah and Ezekiel and spoken about by Paul and
the Lukan Jesus is new in the sense that God now assumes responsibility for
enabling humans to relate faithfully to him.
In the second place, Jesus says the new covenant is sealed by his blood,
which echoes the covenant ceremony of Exodus 24:3-8 where Moses, after
throwing the blood on the people, said, “Behold the blood of the covenant
which the Lord has made with you” (v. 8; cf. Gen 15:9-10; Ps 50:5). Jesus
says his coming death will seal the new covenant in the heart so that there
would be an urge from within to obey God. In Lukan theology, as in
Pauline, the instrument of this inner power is the Holy Spirit. In the
emptying of the cup Jesus saw the promise of a new relation to God, one
controlled by the Holy Spirit within the disciple that would be sealed by his
death. If the death of Jesus is in any way to be regarded as sacrificial in Luke-
Acts, it is as a sacrifice that seals a covenant (cf. Gen 15:8-21; 17): it is not an
atonement for sin.
In the third place, the expression “which is given for you” in the saying
over the bread should not be understood in terms of an atoning sacrifice.
Although “given” (didomenon) can be used with reference to sacrifice (e.g.,
Exod 30:14; Lev 22:14), it can also be used for martyrdom (Isa 53:10). The
same is true of “for you” (huper), which can be used of a martyr’s actions (2
Macc 7:9; 8:21; 4 Macc 1:8, 10) as well as of a sacrificial offering (Lev 5:7;
6:23). Since the dominant thrust of Luke’s understanding of Jesus’ death is
that of martyrdom, it seems preferable to understand the language here in
those terms as well. Here we are told that Jesus’ martyrdom would have
beneficial effects for the disciples—exactly what was said in the remarks
about a new covenant.
Taken as a whole the words of Jesus over the bread and wine in 22:19-20
speak of Jesus’ death as a martyrdom that seals the new covenant character-
Luke 22:1-38 237

ized by life in the Spirit. Jesus asks that this death be memorialized in a
repeated meal observed by his disciples. The foundational event in the
community’s life must not be forgotten.
Viewed in their immediate context, vv. 19-20 function as part of the
farewell speech form into which the evangelist has cast his material: in vv.
15-18 Jesus predicts his imminent death; in vv. 19-20 he predicts that it will
seal the new covenant and exhorts his apostles to repeat it as a memorial to
him. The other components in vv. 21-38 function similarly.
Luke 22:21-23 functions as a prediction. Someone at the table with
Jesus will betray him. Luke, unlike Matthew 26:21-25 // Mark 14:18-21,
locates this prediction of betrayal (Ps 41:9) after the meal, thereby saying it is
possible to eat with Jesus and still betray him. Similar points are made in 1
Corinthians 10 and John 13, indicating this was a serious problem in early
Christianity (Vööbus, 24). Presence at the Lord’s table is no guarantee
against apostasy. The meal possesses no magical powers. Here is a warning
for Luke’s community about a danger for which to be alert.
Luke 22:24-27 functions as exhortation. Luke, unlike Matthew 20:25-
28 // Mark 10:42-45, has the disciples’ dispute over greatness not on the way
to Jerusalem but after supper with Jesus, thereby saying it is possible for
disciples to eat with Jesus and still be involved in strife among themselves
because of their desire for places of status (cf. 1 Cor 3:1-4; 12–14; John 13;
Matt 23:1-11; again, this points up a real problem in the early church). The
correction for this strife is located in the reversal of values so characteristic of
Luke: “let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as
the one who serves.” The basis for this reversal is the example of Jesus: “I am
among you as one who serves.” This passage presupposes a community with
leaders who are overly impressed with their authority (cf. 12:41-48). Here is
another warning for Luke’s church. The supper guarantees neither a lasting
vertical relationship nor a harmonious horizontal one.
Following the two warnings, Jesus gives two promises to comfort his
disciples. The first, 22:28-30, is prediction. The apostles who have continued
with Jesus in his trials will participate both in the messianic banquet (cf.
13:28-29; 14:15) and in the last judgment (cf. Matt 19:28; 1 Cor 6:2, 3):
Jesus promises ultimate vindication for those who walk his way.
Luke 22:31-34, the second promise, functions as both prediction and
exhortation. Jesus predicts the satanic attack on the disciples (the “you” is
plural in v. 31; cf. Job 1–2; Zech 3:1-3) and assures Peter of his intercession
on his behalf (the “you” is singular in v. 32; cf. John 17:15; Rom 8:34; Heb
7:25). He predicts the threefold denial that is coming so soon. Peter’s slip is
not regarded by Luke as apostasy. Operating from his confidence that Peter
238 Mealtime Farewells

will repent, Jesus exhorts him to strengthen his brethren when he is able.
Satan tries to secure the apostasy of Jesus’ disciples, but Jesus’ prayer protects
them. This can only be seen as a foreshadowing of the risen Lord’s heavenly
intercession for his saints. It is a comforting promise.
Luke 22:35-38, an exhortation based on a prediction, closes the farewell
speech. The prediction is that now the conditions of the Lord’s passion (“he
was reckoned with transgressors,” that is, treated as a criminal—23:39ff.)
apply to his followers. The peaceful conditions of the first missions (9:1ff.;
10:1ff.) no longer apply. Since this is so, there is an exhortation: be ready for
hardship and self-sacrifice, a part of Jesus’ Way (cf. Luke 9). Its purpose is the
refinement of one’s faith. First Peter 1:6-7 puts it well: “Now for a little while
you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may
redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Failing to grasp the point, the disciples take Jesus’ words literally and
produce two swords. Frustrated, Jesus breaks off the conversation: “Enough
of this.”
The farewell speech of 22:14-38 relates that Jesus’ disciples need warn-
ings about the dangers of apostasy, strife, denial, and persecution as part of
the lives of those who eat at Jesus’ table. Disciples receive not only exhorta-
tion to right behavior but also assurances. Jesus’ death has sealed a new
relation with God through the Spirit; he is praying for his own; and he
promises his disciples ultimate vindication with him.
A Model for Martyrs
Luke 22:39–23:25

Luke 22:39–23:25 has parallels for much of its material in the other synop-
tics; again, however, the shape of the material is distinctively Lukan. The
distinctive thrust of this section is best under stood against the background
of the Lukan view of Jesus’ death as a martyrdom that is a model for his
disciples. First, two things need to be said about Jesus’ death. On the one
hand, in contrast to other NT witnesses (like Paul, e.g., 1 Cor 15:3; 2 Cor
5:21; Rom 3:25, and Matthew e.g., 26:28), Luke avoids any connection
between Jesus’ death and the forgiveness of sins. (a) In the speeches of Acts,
both Peter (2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43) and Paul (13:38; 17:30; 26:18) preach
the forgiveness of sins as the risen Christ directed (Luke 24:47). Yet neither
combines the forgiveness of sins with the death of Jesus on the cross. (b) In
contrast to Mark 10:45 (“For the Son of man also came . . . to give his life as
a ransom for many”), Luke 22:27b (“I am among you as one who serves”)
avoids any mention of an atoning death. (c) In 22:37 (Isa 53:12) and Acts
8:32-33 (Isa 53:7-8), although Isaiah 53 is quoted, there is no mention of
the sacrificial death of the servant. (d) In Luke-Acts, neither baptism (Acts
2:38, 41; 8:12, 13, 16; 8:37-39; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15; 19:5; 22:16) nor the
Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:16-20; 24:30ff.; 24:41ff.; Acts 2:42-46; 20:7, 11;
27:35) are connected with Jesus’ atoning death (contrast Rom 6:3ff. and 1
Cor 11:23ff.). In Luke-Acts forgiveness of sins flows from the earthly Jesus,
especially at mealtime (Luke 19:7f.; 15:1ff.; 5:29-32), and after the resurrec-
tion from the exalted Lord (Acts 3:28; 4:11; 5:31—“God exalted him at his
right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness
of sins.”).
On the other hand, Luke portrays the death of Jesus as a martyrdom, the
unjust murder of an innocent man by the established powers due to the pres-
sure of the Jewish leaders. (a) Jesus is innocent of the charges against him
(23:4, 14, 15, 22, 41, 47). (b) The Jewish chief priests and scribes deliver
him (Luke 22:66; 23:1-2, 10, 13, 18, 21, 23, 24; cf. Acts 5:27, 30; 13:27)
240 A Model for Martyrs

and executed by Gentiles (Luke 23:34; Acts 4:27). (c) His death is parallel to
the sufferings of the prophets of old at the hands of the Jews (Luke 13:33;
Acts 7:52, “which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they
killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One,
whom you have now betrayed and murdered”). So Jesus stands at the end of
a long line of martyrs. (d) Like the martyrs in 2 Maccabees 7:2, 11; 4
Maccabees 6:1; 10:23, Jesus is silent before his accusers (Luke 23:9). As in
the Martyrdom of Isaiah, Jesus’ martyrdom is due to the devil (Luke 22:3,
53). As in the case of the martyrs slain by Herod (Josephus, Antiquities
17.6.2-4 § 167), there is an eclipse at Jesus’ death (Luke 23:45). (e) His
demeanor in his martyrdom leads to the conversion of one of the thieves
crucified with him (Luke 23:40-43). (f ) Jesus’ martyr death is a fulfillment
of OT prophecies (Luke 23:25-27, 46; Acts 13:27-29), a part of God’s plan
(Acts 2:23).
Secondly, the martyrdom of Jesus is viewed as a model for his disciples.
This becomes clear when we note that the story of Stephen’s death in Acts
parallels that of Jesus in the gospel. (a) Both are tried before the Council
(Luke 22:66f.; Acts 6:12f.). (b) Both die a martyr’s death. (c) Acts 7:59,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” echoes Luke 23:46, “Father, into thy hands I
commit my spirit.” (d) Acts 7:60, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them,”
echoes Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they
are doing.” (e) Both stories contain a Son of Man saying: Luke 22:69; Acts
7:56. This is remarkable since Acts 7:56 is the only occurrence of the title
Son of Man outside the gospels and on any lips except those of Jesus. (f )
Both men’s deaths issue in evangelistic results (Luke 23:39-43; Acts 8:1ff.;
11:19ff.). Moreover, the story of Stephen’s martyrdom fulfills Jesus’ words:
Luke 21:12-19, especially v. 16 (“some of you they will put to death”; cf. also
12:1-12). The deaths of both Jesus and Stephen are portrayed as martyrdoms
in Luke-Acts, the former being the model for the latter. Ancient narratives
often had the purpose of portraying a hero as a model for emulation. (a)
Dionysius, Roman Antiquities 5.75.1, says: “For I look upon these matters as
being most useful to my readers, since they will afford a great abundance of
noble and profitable examples, not only to lawgivers and leaders of the
people, but also to all others who aspire to take part of public life and to
govern the state.” (b) Josephus, Antiquities 17.60, says regarding Antipater:
“I shall relate the whole story of this in order that it may be an example and
warning to mankind to practice virtue in all circumstances.” (c) Plutarch,
“Demetrius,” Lives 1.3-6, says: “So I think, we also shall be more eager to
observe and imitate the better lives if we are not left without narratives of the
blameworthy and the bad.” (d) Philo, Abraham 1.3-5, puts it this way:
Luke 22:39–23:25 241

“These are such men as lived good and blameless lives, whose virtues stand
permanently recorded in the most holy scriptures, not merely to sound their
praises but for the instruction of the reader and an inducement to him to
aspire to the same.” A narrative about a figure like Jesus would have been
expected to depict him as a model. This Luke has done. (Cf. Beck)
It is against the backdrop of the Lukan view of Jesus’ death as a
martyrdom that serves as a model for his followers that one reads 22:39
–23:25. This passage pictures Jesus, on the way to martyrdom, as an example
for his community. There are a number of facets to the example offered. (1)
Luke 22:39-46, the first of two episodes set on the Mount of Olives, portrays
Jesus as an example in his use of prayer as protection against the temptation
to lapse. The evangelist has shaped the prayer scene for his own ends. First,
he specifies that the disciples “followed him” (v. 39). There is not the effort
in Luke to put distance between Jesus and the disciples that we find in
Matthew and Mark. They are with him in his trials (23:28; Acts 14:22). For
the evangelist the apostles’ perseverance is as important as their being present
throughout Jesus’ career for their testimony’s reliability after Easter. Second,
Luke frames the account of Jesus’ prayer with an exhortation to those who
follow him “to pray that you may not enter into temptation” (vv. 40, 46; cf.
11:4—”enter into” means “succumb to”). The present imperative has dura-
tive force: “go on praying.” Prayer is the weapon of a disciple as well as his
master in the face of satanic attack in an hour of darkness (21:36; 18:7-8).
This framing device gives the story a parenetic function: Jesus is teaching his
disciples to pray in the face of trouble and attack (cf. Acts 4:23-31). This
command is given in the context of the problem of the disciples’ lapsing
(Luke 22:22, 32, 34, 54-62). Third, the evangelist uses Jesus as a model of
the praying Christian. Verses 43-44, absent in the other synoptics, are textu-
ally questionable. In spite of the strong evidence for their omission, however,
there is equally strong internal evidence for their inclusion. It is, for example,
a Lukan tendency to have prayer followed by some type of heavenly mani-
festation (e.g., Luke 3:21-22; 9:28-31; Acts 10:1-7). Also, the best parallels
for a strengthening angel are in Daniel 10:18-19 and Genesis Rabbah 44,
words to or about the potential martyrs of the Maccabean period, and the
best parallels for the themes of sweat and blood are in the story of Eleazer’s
martyrdom in 4 Maccabees 6:6, 11; 7:8. The use of these two items fits with
the overall tendency in Luke to depict Jesus as a martyr. Verses 40-46 with
vv. 43-44 included, moreover, manifest a concentric pattern that looks like
this:
242 A Model for Martyrs

A Pray that you do not enter temptation (v. 40)

B He withdrew from them (v. 41a)
C He knelt down (v. 41b)
D He prayed + the effects of the prayer (vv. 41c-43)
D’ He prayed + the effects of the prayer (v. 44)
C’ He rose up (v. 45a)
B’ He came to them (v. 45b)
A’ Pray that you do not enter temptation (vv. 45c-46).

It seems preferable to include the verses. (Neyrey, 55-57, argues for the
authenticity of 22:43-44, contra Ehrman and Plunkett.) Jesus prays and an
angel from heaven appears to strengthen him so he can pray more intensely.
Here Jesus is no more forsaken by his Father than he is by his disciples.
Heaven sends a strengthening angel to equip him for his martyrdom. Jesus
carries out his own admonition to pray in times of crisis (cf. Acts 14:23-31;
12:1ff; 16:25ff.). By teaching and by example Jesus instructs disciples about
how potential martyrs face the power of darkness (Holleran, chs. 3, 6, 7).
Finally, the content of the prayer is submission: “not my will, but thine, be
done.” Temptation to lapse is overcome by the intense prayer of surrender
(cf. Eph 6:18; Col 4:2). Jesus’ prayer is the disciples’ model.
(2) The second episode, 22:47-53, also presents Jesus as teacher and
model for his community. In this version of the arrest, two related variations
from the other synoptics point to the evangelist’s intent. (a) In v. 49, when
Jesus’ disciples see what is about to happen, they ask, “Lord, shall we strike
with the sword?” (b) Then in v. 51, after one of the disciples had cut off the
right ear of the high priest’s slave, Jesus responds, “No more of this.” Then
he touches the ear and heals it. By means of these two episodes Jesus is
presented as one who does not sanction physical violence as a means of
escaping from martyrdom: violence as self-defense is renounced.
(3) In 22:54–23:25, the trials of Jesus, are several more examples in
which Jesus serves as a model for his community in a time of crisis. In
contrast to Matthew and Mark, who have three trials (Sanhedrin at night;
Sanhedrin in the morning; Pilate), Luke has four (22:66—Sanhedrin;
23:1—Pilate; 23:8—Herod; 23:13—Pilate), probably to parallel the four
trials of Paul in Acts (Acts 23—Sanhedrin; 24—Felix; 25—Festus; 26—
Herod Agrippa). (a) Though Luke has Jesus taken to the high priest’s house
at night after his arrest (v. 54), there is no nighttime trial. As the reader waits
for daybreak, the denial of Peter is described (vv. 54b-62). Satan is sifting
Peter (22:31), but a distinctive Lukan look by Jesus (v. 61a) brings tears of
repentance (v. 62; though omitted by some, this verse is supported by such
strong external evidence that it should be included). Here the martyr, Jesus,
Luke 22:39–23:25 243

is concerned to return straying disciples to the fold (22:32). Even in times of

personal crisis, Jesus is concerned for others. In this he is a model for his
community. He also is one whose faithfulness evokes our own (cf. 1 Tim
6:13-14).
(b) Though Jesus was submissive to the Father’s will (22:42), he did not
seek martyrdom. The trials make this clear. When day came, Jesus was
brought before the Council (22:66) briefly in what appears to be a prelimi-
nary investigation. The case against him was based solely on what Jesus
himself said. There were no false witnesses as in Matt 26:60 // Mark 14:56-
57. The issue was his identity: Are you the Christ? Are you the Son of God?
There was no mention of the destruction of the temple as in Matthew 26:61
// Mark 14:58. Jesus’ answers were evasive: the first (vv. 68-69) said that
though the Jewish leadership would not believe, God would vindicate his
servant (cf. Acts 2:33-36; 5:31; 7:56); the second simply said, “That is what
you say” (v. 70). In his evasiveness Jesus acted in accord with general cultural
norms. Martyrdom was not to be sought. Pagan teachers like Seneca (Epistle
24:25) said, “Above all, . . . avoid the weakness which has taken possession of
many—the lust for death.” Jewish teachers denounced overeagerness for
martyrdom as self-annihilation (Genesis Rabbah 82) and argued that under
duress evasion was acceptable. Early Christians reflected the same stance: the
Martrydom of Polycarp, 4, stated, “we do not approve those who give them-
selves up, for the gospel does not teach us to do so”; the Acts of St. Cyprian
put it, “our discipline forbids anyone to surrender voluntarily” (Weidmann).
Jesus had no lust for death, was not bent on self-annihilation, but submitted
to his Father’s will. If that led to martyrdom, so be it. In this he functions as
a pattern for his disciples.
(c) The Jewish Council in Luke does not condemn Jesus to death as in
Matthew 26:66 // Mark 14:64; they bring him to Pilate for the second trial
(23:1). In 23:1-5 the Jewish leaders register their charges against Jesus. They
have nothing to do with the previous examination, but are specifically polit-
ical: (1) perverting the nation; (2) forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar;
and (3) claiming to be a king (v. 2). Of course, Luke intends the reader to see
the charges as false (cf. 19:41-44 where Jesus is for peace; 20:21-25 where
taxes are not prohibited; 22:6, 7-70 where his answers are ambiguous about
his identity). In being the object of false witness Jesus’ experience is proto-
typical for his followers. It was the question of kingship that would most
concern a Roman official (cf. Acts 17:7-8). So Pilate asks, “Are you the king
of the Jews?” Jesus’ answer (v. 3) is the same as that given to the Sanhedrin
(22:70): he is evasive. Pilate’s evaluation is different from the Council’s: “I
find no crime in this man.” The Jewish leadership is insistent: “He stirs up
244 A Model for Martyrs

the people, teaching . . . from Galilee even to this place.” Mention of Galilee
is part of their propaganda against Jesus because Galilee was a hot-bed of
revolutionary activity. By implication they bear false witness against Jesus. It
is something with which Jesus’ disciples will have to live.
(d) When Pilate learned that Jesus was a Galilean, he sent him to Herod,
who happened to be in Jerusalem then (vv. 6-7) and who was eager to see
Jesus (cf. 9:9). The third trial of Jesus, before Herod (vv. 6-12), is peculiar to
Luke. It serves three possible functions. (1) It provides a second official
witness to Jesus’ innocence and so satisfies the demands of Deuteronomy
19:15. This seems indisputable in light of 23:14-15. Jesus is not guilty of
sedition. The two officials agree on that. (2) It may serve to fulfill Psalm
2:1ff. quoted in Acts 4:25-26 and in v. 27 of that chapter is applied specifi-
cally to Herod and Pontius Pilate who collaborated to kill Jesus. It seems
better to say, however, that the gospel regards Herod and Pilate favorably
because of their judgment on Jesus’ innocence, while Acts 4 regards them
hostilely as involved in Jesus’ death. (3) Like Ephesians, where Christ’s death
is the reconciliation of human hostility, particularly of the division between
Jew and Gentile, 23:12 may indicate that the Jewish ruler (Herod) was
reconciled to the Gentile (Pilate) on the very day of the shedding of Jesus’
blood (Drury, 16-17). Though this third option is possible, it is not explicit
in the Lukan scheme. The primary function of 23:6-12 seems to lie in the
first explanation, Luke’s preoccupation with the innocence of Jesus. Here
again, he is a model for disciples: “For it is better to suffer for doing right, if
that should be God’s will, than for doing wrong. For Christ also died . . . the
righteous for the unrighteous” (1 Pet 3:17-18).
(e) The emphasis on the innocence of Jesus is continued in the fourth
and final trial (23:13-25), where Pilate appears more as an advocate who
pleads Jesus’ case than as a judge presiding over an official hearing: “I did not
find this man guilty . . . neither did Herod. . . . I will therefore chastise him
and release him” (vv. 14-16). The chastisement was a light beating accompa-
nied by a severe warning (cf. Acts 16:22-24; 22:24). Pilate was saying in
effect that he would give Jesus a suspended sentence. The opponents of Jesus,
which now include the people along with the chief priests and rulers
(23:13—but not the Pharisees), all cry out for Jesus’ death and Barabbas’s
release (v. 18). This is part of the irony of the gospel story: those who sought
Jesus’ death because of his alleged sedition called for the release of one guilty
of an insurrection started in the city and of murder (v. 19). Pilate tries once
more to release Jesus: “I have found in him no crime deserving death” (v.
22). “But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be
crucified. And their voices prevailed” (v. 23)—Pilate released Barabbas the
Luke 22:39–23:25 245

insurrectionist and delivered Jesus to their will. The impression made by the
trials as a whole is that an innocent man has been condemned, and Jesus
goes to his death a martyr.
In this story of Jesus’ progress toward death, his disciples are intended to
see certain things relating to their lives as well. Although innocent,
Christians may be given over to the will of their opponents with their vindi-
cation coming only after suffering (Acts 16:19-39) or death (Acts 7). At such
a time it is important that the Christians have prayed and continue to do so
in order to escape the temptation to lapse (22:39-46). Martyrdom is not to
be sought, but neither is violence to be used to escape. The disciples may
expect false witness to be borne against them. Note the irony: that with
which one is charged is often that of which one’s accusers are guilty. In such
times of crisis Jesus is one’s model.
Innocent and Obedient
Luke 23:26-56a

While the material in 23:26-56a has parallels in the other synoptics, for the
most part, its overall purpose is quite different. The clue to the distinctive
Lukan development of the material is found in the very first pericope of the
unit, v. 26, the reference to Simon of Cyrene. The evangelist has shaped this
statement so Simon carries the cross “behind Jesus.” Thereby the pericope
not only speaks about the nature of discipleship (cf. 9:23; 14:27—taking the
cross and following Jesus), but also about who Jesus is (arch∑gos, pioneer,
leader, one who goes before and opens the way for others to follow—cf.
19:28; Acts 3:15; 5:31; also Heb 2:10; 12:2). Jesus has gone before the disci-
ples (19:28); they are to follow after him in the way he has opened. Simon is
a symbol for disciples who share Jesus’ trials (22:28). The NT sometimes
refers to Jesus as an example (e.g., John 13:15; 1 Pet 2:21), as does this book;
whenever this is done the term is intended in the sense of this leader-follower
pattern. This picture of Jesus sets the stage for what follows.
In vv. 32-56 Jesus’ way is described in terms of both horizontal and
vertical relationships. In his horizontal relations with others Jesus’ innocence
is accented. In his vertical relationship with the Father, Jesus’ obedience is
highlighted. Though these threads often run together in the narrative, one
does not truly perceive Jesus’ way unless both are seen. The one who as a lad
“increased . . . in favor with God and man” (2:52) now ends his career with
the emphasis on just those two relationships. The implication throughout is
that the one so described is intended to function as a model for the disciples
who follow him. The pattern can be anticipated as one reads the following
paragraphs.
Luke 23:32-43 records Jesus’ crucifixion among the transgressors
(22:37), together with a variety of responses to the event. Several compo-
nents of the narrative stand out. (1) Although v. 34a, “And Jesus said,
‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,’” is omitted by many
manuscripts, it is almost certainly a legitimate part of the text. The language
248 Innocent and Obedient

and thought are Lukan (Father—10:21; 11:2; 22:42; 23:46; forgive because
of ignorance—Acts 3:17; 13:27; intercede for executioners—Acts 7:60). Also
sayings of Jesus are found in each main section of the crucifixion narrative
(23:28-31, 43, 46). If one were missing here the pattern would be disturbed.
It could have been omitted because either it was believed to have conflicted
with vv. 28-31 or it was thought that the events of AD 66–70 showed it was
not answered. The prayer seems to echo Isaiah 53:12: “he . . . made interces-
sion for the transgressors.” In so doing Jesus was modeling what he had
taught (6:27-28; 17:14): he not only taught God’s will but was also obedient
to it.
(2) The responses of the rulers (v. 35), the soldiers (vv. 36-37), and one
of the criminals crucified with him (v. 39) combine to form a threefold
temptation of the crucified Jesus much like the earlier threefold temptation
in the wilderness (4:1-13): “If you are the Christ, the king, save yourself.”
Though Jesus’ power was still with him (22:51), as in the wilderness, he
refused to use it for himself even to save his life. This episode needs to be set
in the context of the overall development of Jesus’ career. The temptation in
the wilderness (4:1-13) followed his empowering by the Holy Spirit after his
baptism and in response to his prayer (3:21-22; cf. 4:16-21). Then the ques-
tion was whether or not Jesus would use the divine power for his own
benefit, for his self-aggrandizement, or for the advancement of his cause. By
a Spirit-directed use of Scripture Jesus overcame the temptation. Thereafter
his power was used for the benefit of others. The temptation on the cross
(23:35-39) comes near the climax of Jesus’ career that began at 9:18. Since
then Jesus has been walking the way of rejection, suffering, and now death.
It is a way that perfects his obedience to God by stripping him of every
possible idolatrous attachment. Now at the end, hanging on the cross, his life
ebbing away, the same question is raised again: Will you use the divine
power with which you are endowed for self-preservation? The final attach-
ment in this world to which one is tempted to cling in an idolatrous way is
life itself, mere continuance of physical existence: “If you are the Christ, the
king, save yourself.” The crucified criminal adds, “and us” (v. 39). The cruci-
fied Jesus will not cling even to physical existence and thereby make it an
idolatrous attachment. He is obedient unto death (Phil 2:8). He is willing to
die rather than sin (i.e., be an idolater). In this his obedience is perfected
(Heb 5:8-9; 1 Pet 4:1-2). In this the unredeemed firstborn truly is devoted to
God: in his death.
(3) The second criminal crucified with Jesus responded differently; he
accepted his punishment as justified, an expression of penitence if taken in a
Jewish context (vv. 41-42), pronounced Jesus innocent (v. 41b), and said,
Luke 23:26-56a 249

“Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power” (v. 42). The plea
is to be acknowledged by Jesus at the parousia (9:26; 12:8-9; 18:8b; 19:15;
21:27, 36b), but Jesus responded, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with
me in Paradise” (v. 43), promising immediate bliss. Paradise originally meant
a garden or park such as a king would possess. In intertestamental Judaism it
was used of the realm reserved for the righteous dead (Levi 18:10). In 2
Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7 it refers to the realm of bliss in heaven.
Luke would regard it as being synonymous with being “in Abraham’s bosom”
(16:22). He has an interest in individual eschatology, that is, in what
happens to a person at death (e.g., 12:4-5, 16-21; 16:19-31; 23:43; Acts
7:55-60), a concern with roots in ancient Judaism. The Apocalypse of
Abraham 21 says the righteous dead proceed straight to Paradise where they
enjoy heavenly fruits and blessedness, while the wicked dead go immediately
to the underworld. First Enoch (60:8, 23; 61:12; 70:4) indicates the right-
eous already dwell in the garden of life. Paul apparently accepted this notion
(e.g., 2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23), as does Luke-Acts. The exchange indicates that
the martyrdom of Jesus performed an evangelistic function that is best
understood against the background of ancient thinking about martyrdom.
Any appreciation for the Lukan understanding of Jesus’ martyrdom
must come from a knowledge of pagan, Jewish, and early Christian attitudes
toward martyrdom. With pagans, on the one hand, martyrdom was regarded
positively in many circles in antiquity. (a) It was a commonplace that true
philosophers lived their doctrine as well as expounded it. The philosopher’s
word alone, unaccompanied by the act, was regarded as invalid (e.g., Seneca,
Epistle 52.8-9; Dio Chrysostom, Discourse 70.6). Some very harsh things
were said about philosophers’ sincerity—or lack of it—in antiquity. Josephus
(Against Apion 1.8) exaggerated when he said no Greek philosopher would
ever die for his philosophy. The same sentiments are found, however, in
Lucian (The Fisherman 31): “in their life and actions . . . they contradicted
their outward appearance and reversed [philosophy’s] practice.” Epictetus
(Discourses 1.29.56) says, “what, then, is the thing lacking now? The man . .
. to bear witness to the arguments by his acts.” Seneca (Epistle 23.15) joins
the chorus: “there is a very disgraceful charge often brought against our
school—that we deal with the words, and not the deeds, of philosophy.” In
view of this cyncism about philosophers’ sincerity, sometimes only the will-
ingness to die or actual death could validate a philosopher’s profession.
The Life of Secundus the Silent Philosopher furnishes an example of a
philosopher’s sealing his profession with his willingness to die. Secundus,
because of an incident that had caused his mother’s suicide, put a ban on
himself, resolving not to say anything for the rest of his life—having chosen
250 Innocent and Obedient

the Pythagorean way of life. The Emperor Hadrian arrived in Athens and
sent for Secundus to test him. When Secundus refused to speak, Hadrian
sent him off with the executioner with instructions that if he did speak his
head should be cut off; if he did not speak, he should be returned to the
Emperor. When he was returned to Hadrian after having been willing to die
for his vow of silence, Secundus was allowed to write answers to the twenty
questions asked by the Emperor—which were then put in the sacred library.
His willingness to die had validated his philosophy.
(b) The sealing of one’s profession in death as a martyr sometimes issued
in furthering the cause of the philosopher. Plato’s Apology tells the story of
Socrates’ death. In chapter 39 Socrates says, “I would fain prophesy to you;
for I am about to die, and that is the time when men are gifted with
prophetic power. And I prophesy to you who are my murderers, that imme-
diately after my death punishment far heavier than you have inflicted upon
me will surely await you.” What is meant in the context is that there will be
more accusers than there are now: Socrates’ position vindicated by death, his
disciples will attack the Athenians as never before.
On the other hand, Greco-Roman teachers warned that martyrdom does
not provide certain results; it may win some but not necessarily others
(Lucian, Peregrinus 13; Marcus Aurelius, 11.3.2). Above all, as noted above,
martyrdom that was sought was regarded as lust for death and was not
persuasive (Seneca, Epistle 24.25).
The view of martyrdom in ancient Judaism had similarities to the
Greco-Roman stance though there were also differences. On the one side,
there was a positive attitude toward martyrdom. (a) Two streams of thought
ran parallel. One stream spoke of the prophets dying as martyrs at the hands
of God’s people (e.g., Lives of the Prophets; Martyrdom of Isaiah; cf. also Matt
23:31-39; Heb 11:36ff.; 1 Thess 2:15; Mark 12:1-12). The emphasis is on
the sinfulness of God’s people (cf. Luke 13:33-34; Acts 7:52). The other
stream spoke of the faithful among God’s people dying as martyrs at the
hands of the Gentiles. Here, as in Greco-Roman paganism, it was believed
the true prophet sealed the truth of his testimony with death. In 4
Maccabees 7 the aged scribe Eleazer refused to eat swine’s flesh as demanded
by the Syrians or even to pretend to eat it (cf. 2 Macc 6:18ff.). Instead he
endured willingly the scourge, the rack, and the flame (2 Macc 7:4). Four
Maccabees 7:15 cries out, “O life faithful to the Law and perfected by the
seal of death.”
(b) Sometimes the martyr’s actions made converts to Judaism. One
tradition (b. Abodah Zarah, 18a) tells of Rabbi Hanina ben Teradion who,
in the time of Hadrian, was arrested for teaching Torah to groups. As a
Luke 23:26-56a 251

punishment he was burned to death. After watching, the executioner then

threw himself into the fire, whereupon a bath qol exclaimed, “Rabbi
Haninah and the executioner have been assigned to the world to come.”
On the other hand, as we have seen, Jewish teachers give the same types
of cautions about martyrdom found in Greco-Roman paganism: martyrdom
is no guarantee of another’s conversion (e.g., 2 Macc 6:29). Above all, over-
eagerness for martyrdom is denounced as self-annihilation (e.g., Genesis
Rabbah 82).
Ancient Christianity was deeply indebted to both pagan and Jewish
views about martyrdom. On the one hand, there was a positive attitude
toward martyrdom. Like pagans and Jews, most Christians believed the truth
of their profession must be sealed in blood if it came to that (e.g., Revelation;
Justin, Apology 2 12). Only some Gnostics refused to undergo martyrdom
(e.g., Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.24.3-6—Basilides; Tertullian, Against All
Heresies 1—Basilides). Christians, even more than pagans and Jews, believed
martyrdom had “evangelistic” benefits: it helped to spread the gospel. Justin,
Dialogue 110, says, “the more we are persecuted, the more do others in ever-
increasing numbers embrace the faith.” Tertullian, Apology 50, agrees: “we
conquer in dying. . . . The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in
number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.” The Epistle to Diognetus
6:9 says, “Christians when they are punished increase the more in number
every day.” In 7:7-8, it proclaims, “Can you not see them thrown to wild
beasts, to make them deny their Lord, and yet not overcome? Do you not see
that the more of them are punished, the more numerous the others
become?” Lactantius (d. c. AD 325), Divine Institutes 5.19, says, “It is right
reason, then, to defend religion by patience or death in which faith is
preserved and is pleasing to God himself, and it adds authority to religion.”
On the other hand, Christians also shared the pagan and Jewish reserva-
tions about martyrdom: martyrdom, while very persuasive, was certainly not
a proof. (Musurillo, passim.) Over-eagerness for martyrdom was denounced
(e.g., Martyrdom of Polycarp 4; Weidmann). Not only did such a lust for
death violate the Christian belief that life belonged to God, but it also
detracted from the persuasiveness of the act.
The narrative of Jesus’ death in the third gospel comes alive against this
background: Jesus did not die because of a lust for death (cf. 22:42); he
sought to avoid it, if God would permit it. In dying he legitimated his
profession as he sealed it with his blood. He was absolutely sincere in his
stance. This legitimation is evidenced in the conversion of the criminal on
the cross: Jesus’ martyrdom had such evangelistic benefits (cf. Acts 8:1, 4;
252 Innocent and Obedient

11:19ff. for the evangelistic benefits of Stephen’s martyrdom). Such a death

is persuasive because it testifies to a selfless commitment.
That the one who was converted was a crucified criminal means that this
story fits into the motif of Jesus’ mediating forgiveness to the outcasts of
society (5:29ff.; 7:36ff.; 15:1-2; 18:9-14; 19:1-10). That the conversion and
its confirmation by Jesus come before Jesus dies means that this story fits
into the theme that it is the Jesus who lives—whether in his earthly life or
after his resurrection, e.g., Acts 5:31—who grants forgiveness. Though the
evangelist has no doctrine of forgiveness being made available through the
death of Jesus, as do Paul and others, he does see forgiveness mediated by the
Jesus who lived and who lives. The death of Jesus in Luke-Acts is his rejec-
tion by the leaders of Israel. The passion narrative in the gospel is basically a
rejection story, very much like the stories about Stephen and Paul in Acts.
Jesus dies as a martyr and his blood does seal a new covenant (22:20), but it
is not an atoning sacrifice. Luke’s view of Jesus’ death is not that of Paul,
though at Acts 20:28 in a speech attributed to Paul there is something akin
to a Pauline view reflected. In true Mediterranean style, the speech is appro-
priate to its character.
After numerous efforts in recent years to find something more than
martyrdom in Luke’s depiction of Jesus’ passion, here is what can be said. (1)
Jesus does die as a model martyr in Luke! The parallelism with Stephen’s
martyrdom is decisive. His death is the climax of the confrontation between
Jesus and Israel (Acts 2:22-23; 4:10; 5:30; 10:39). He dies an innocent man
(Luke 23:4, 14, 22; 23:15; 23:40-41; 23:47). His death echoes either the
sufferings of the righteous man in the Wisdom of Solomon 2–3 (Doble) or
those of the servant of Isaiah 53 (Green 1990). Luke is not merely telling an
example story, though it is that as well. The evangelist tells of Jesus’ unjust
death as part of a theodicy. God does not leave the righteous one abandoned.
God raises him from the dead, vindicating the one who was obedient unto
death and confirming God’s own faithfulness. (Tiede 1988, 412) (2) Jesus
also dies as a covenant sacrifice (Luke 22:20), to seal the new covenant. The
Targum Onqelos on Exodus 24:8 and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus
24:8, which mix covenant sacrifice and atoning sacrifice, are too late to have
any bearing on one’s interpretation of Luke. (3) Jesus’ death is according to
the divine plan (Luke 24:25-27; 24:44-46). There is some indication in
Luke-Acts of what some of those scriptural passages were. Jesus’ suffering and
death are associated with Isaiah 53:12 (by Luke 22:37), Isaiah 53:7-8 (by
Acts 8:32-33), and Psalm 2:1-2 (by Acts 4:25-26). His resurrection and exal-
tation are linked with Psalm 16:8-11 (by Acts 2:27, 31; 13:35), Psalm 110:1
(by Acts 2:34-35), Psalm 2:7 (by Acts 13:35), and Isaiah 53:7-8 LXX (by
Luke 23:26-56a 253

Acts 8:32-33). The last mentioned text needs explanation. In the LXX
version of Isaiah 53:7-8 we read: “his life is taken up from the earth.” Only
once, here, is the Hebrew verb gzr [to cut off ] translated by airo [to lift] in
the LXX. The meaning of the text in the Hebrew is that the servant dies (is
cut off ), but in the LXX it can be read by a messianic Christian as resurrec-
tion (lifted up). (L.T. Johnson 1992, 156) (4) There is also the possibility
that Luke views Jesus’ death as that of the unredeemed firstborn, whose
death is the perfection of his obedience to God. Over and beyond these four
dimensions of Jesus’ death, it is now generally accepted that in Lukan soteri-
ology salvation comes through the living Jesus: either his earthly life (Luke
5:32; 7:48, 50; 15:7; 19:9-10; 23:42-43) or his life after his exaltation (Acts
5:30-31; cf. Rom 4:25; 5:10; 10:9; 1 Cor 15:17). Either way, salvation
comes as the living Jesus evokes repentance. (See John T. Carroll.) “If Luke’s
rationalizing goes on a different track from Paul’s then that maybe simply
shows that Luke is not Paul, and we cannot blame him for that.” (Tuckett,
92)
(4) Luke 23:44-56 tells of Jesus’ death and burial. Several facts stand out
in the account of Jesus’ death (vv. 44-49). (a) From noon until three o’clock
there was darkness (cf. Amos 8:9). In the Greco-Roman mentality events
with cosmic significance were attested by cosmic signs (e.g., Lucan, Civil
War 7.199-200, says that at the battle of Pharsalia the “sorrowing deity in
heaven gave notice of the battle by the dimness and obscurity of the sun”).
This was a time of the power of darkness (22:53). (b) When Jesus dies, it is
with the uniquely Lukan words, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit”
(v. 46), an echo of Psalm 31:5. Absent are the words, “My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46 // Mark 15:34). Jesus dies quietly,
full of trust, a model for Christian martyrs to follow (Acts 7:59). This calm
assurance in God at the moment of his death was enough to convince the
centurion of Jesus’ innocence. Unlike Matthew 27:54 // Mark 15:39, who
have the centurion say, “Truly this man was the Son of God,” Luke’s guard
says, “Certainly this man was innocent” (v. 47—dikaios). This is the type of
pronouncement that in antiquity functioned to sum up a person’s life. (a)
Xenophon, Apology 25-28, recounts that Apollodorus, a disciples of Socrates,
proclaims that Socrates is being put to death unjustly (adikos). Socrates
replies, “My dear Apollodorus, was it your preference to see me put to death
justly (dikaiøs)?” (b) Josephus, Antiquities 13.406, says the Pharisees falsely
declared Alexander Janneus innocent at his death. (c) Josephus, Antiquities
17.191, declares at Herod’s death that Herod was adikos (unjust). So, the
first level of meaning of dikaios in the centurion’s confession was that Jesus
was a righteous man. This fits with the Lukan emphasis on Jesus as the right-
254 Innocent and Obedient

eous one (cf. Acts 3:14; 7:52; 22:14). A second level of meaning, given the
circumstances of his death, is that he is innocent. This fits with the Lukan
theme of Jesus as the proto-martyr (cf. Luke 23:4, 14, 22). So both levels of
meaning fit the Lukan context. Whereas in the other synoptics the centurion
was a christologist, in Luke he is an apologist as well. (c) Verse 49 proclaims
that the Galileans witness Jesus’ death. These people who will be present
throughout the passion events to guarantee their facticity (cf. 23:55; 24:10;
24:33ff.; Acts 1:11) are those “with Jesus” who will function as a control for
what develops after the resurrection. Here we have it affirmed: Jesus really
died.
Luke’s account of the burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea (vv. 50-56)
has two significant variations from the story in Matthew and Mark
furnishing clues to its main function in the gospel. First, in v. 51, Luke says
Joseph “had not consented to their purpose and deed.” In other words,
Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin who thought Jesus was innocent. The
declaration of Jesus’ innocence has been a dominant thread in Luke 23: (a)
Pilate—v. 4; (b) Herod—v. 15; (c) Pilate—v. 14; (d) Pilate—v. 22; (e) one of
the crucified criminals—v. 41; (f ) the centurion—v. 47; and now (g) Joseph
of Arimathea—v. 51—becomes Luke’s final human witness to the innocence
of Jesus. Second, in v. 55, the evangelist not only indicates that some women
saw where Jesus was buried but also specifies that they were those who had
come with him from Galilee (cf. 8:1-3) and that they saw how his body was
laid. In the Jerusalem events the evangelist is concerned to establish the
corporeality of the one who dies, is buried, is raised, and ascends—hence the
reference to Jesus’ body. Luke is concerned to guarantee both the corpore-
ality of the church’s Lord and the continuity between the one who dies in
Jerusalem and the one who worked in Galilee by having the Galileans
present as witnesses to the Jerusalem events. Theologically this means that
the one who was empowered is the one who dies. The death, moreover, is a
real one. It was through the suffering of these things that Jesus’ obedience
was perfected. It was only on the other side of these sufferings that the
empowered one entered into glory.
Victory, Presence, and Mission
Luke 23:56–24:53

Luke 24 is, with one exception, composed of materials not found elsewhere
in the synoptic tradition. The chapter consists of five major events (two
empty tomb episodes; two major appearances; Jesus’ departure) located in
Jerusalem or its environs, which transpire on one long day (early morning on
the first day of the week, 24:1; that same day, 24:13; that same hour, 24:33;
then, 24:50). When one notes the Galilean orientation of the appearances in
Matthew 28:7, 10, 16-20; Mark 16:7; John 21, this exclusive focus on
Jerusalem is seen as distinctive (cf. 24:47-49; Acts 1:4). The chapter as a
whole is held together by an inclusion (23:56b; 24:53), both the introduc-
tory and concluding statements averring that Jesus’ disciples are loyal, pious
Jews (cf. 2:21ff.; Acts 3:1ff.; 5:12). There are at least three overriding func-
tions of the resurrection chapter (Talbert 1992).
The first overriding function is to state the nature of Jesus’ victory over
death. The evangelist’s view can only be grasped if seen in the context of
early Christian understanding of Jesus’ resurrection and the Lukan under-
standing of Jesus as a prototype of Christian existence. On the one hand, in
earliest Christianity the resurrection of Jesus encompassed three different
realities: (1) Jesus’ victory over death; (2) his removal from human time and
space into another dimension (that of God); and (3) his new function as
cosmic Lord.
In Luke-Acts the unity of these three realities is broken and they become
three separate events on a chronological time line. (1) The resurrection of
Jesus is reduced to the reality of his victory over death. (2) The ascension
becomes Jesus’ removal to heaven. (3) The exaltation designates the moment
of Jesus’ new status as Lord and Christ. It may be said that this division of a
unity into its parts, when done by Luke, is for “the sake of analysis”: by
taking the different pieces of a whole individually, the evangelist can focus on
the meaning of each without distraction. This means, however, that in Luke-
Acts the resurrection of Jesus refers only to Jesus’ victory over death.
256 Victory, Presence, and Mission

On the other hand, Jesus functions as a prototype of Christian existence.

As we have seen, he is the pioneer who goes before, opening the Way for his
disciples to follow. His existence, then, is a model for what his followers may
expect. Given this, if Luke speaks about the nature of Jesus’ victory over
death, it must be taken as a comment about the nature of the victory over
death for which Christians hope also. Against this double background we
may investigate the resurrection traditions of Luke 24.
Both the first empty tomb tradition and the second appearance story
witness to the corporeality of the risen Christ. (1) Luke 24:1-11 tells of the
women finding the tomb empty (cf. Matt 28:1-10 // Mark 16:1-8), and has
some emphases all its own. First, the evangelist emphasizes the priority of the
women’s own experience over the angels’ words. Luke contrasts what the
women found (the stone rolled away) with what they did not find (the body
of Jesus). The focus on the absence of the body refers back to the women’s
observance of how Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb (23:55). It is also echoed
in a Lukan notice in the Emmaus account (24:23, “did not find his body”).
The two angels’ words (Luke 9:30; Acts 1:10) simply interpret the empirical
data: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? [peculiar to Luke] He is
not here but has risen” (24:5). Whatever the nature of Jesus’ victory over
death was, it involved the absence of his body from the tomb.
Such an assertion is buttressed in three ways by Luke. First, he mentions
by name (v. 10) the women who witnessed the absence of the body of Jesus,
echoing the named ones at 8:1-3. This serves to link the Jerusalem witnesses
to the career of Jesus from the very first—the same Galileans witnessed his
burial in 23:55 and his crucifixion in 23:49 (cf. Acts 1:22; 10:37-41). These
women told the disciples, the Eleven and “all the rest” (v. 9; cf. 24:33), refer-
ring to those who were present so as to be qualified to be apostles (Acts
1:15-26) (Plevnik): Galilean witnesses attest the absence of the body of Jesus
from the tomb. Second, 24:12, if original, offers another empty tomb
episode. The trend of recent research is to accept this verse as integral to the
gospel (Alsup, 103; Ross): the style is Lukan, v. 24 appears to be a cross-
reference to v. 12. It could have been omitted because it was thought to
contradict v. 34, but if it is accepted as part of the original text, then v. 12
would function as a second witness to support the testimony of the women
in 24:1-11 (cf. Num 35:30; Deut 17:6f.; 19:15; b. Sotah 2b; b. Sanhedrin
37b; b. Baba Bathra 31b; CD 9:16–10:3; Luke 23:1-16; 24:4; 2:25-38). The
evangelist produces two sets of witnesses to the empty tomb (cf. 24:22-24).
Given Jewish assumptions, the witness of the men would have been needed:
Josephus (Antiquities 4.8.15 §219) says, “From women let not evidence be
accepted, because of the levity and temerity of their sex” (cf. Mishna, Rosh
Luke 23:56–24:53 257

Hashana, 1:8). In order to be persuasive in a Jewish context, the second

episode was necessary to buttress the first. Third, 24:12 also aims to discredit
any theory about the theft of the body as an explanation for the absence of
Jesus’ body: “He saw the linen cloths by themselves” (cf. Matt 28:11ff.; John
20:1ff. for similar concerns). In these three ways this gospel supports the
tradition of the absence of Jesus’ body from the tomb; it is a part of Luke’s
way of celebrating Jesus’ victory over death.
(2) Luke 24:36-43 tells of an appearance of Jesus to the Eleven in
Jerusalem; this also functions to establish the corporeality of the risen Christ
(cf. 1 John 1:1; John 20:24-29). When Jesus appeared, the disciples
supposed they saw a spirit. The story combats such a belief with physical
proof of two kinds: First, Jesus says, “See my hands and feet, that it is I
myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see
that I have” (v. 39; cf. 1 John 1:1-2); then he said to them, “Have you
anything here to eat?” Luke adds, “They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and
he took it and ate before them” (vv. 41-43; cf. Acts 1:4; 10:41). The signifi-
cance of this action for the Jewish mind is clear: angels do not eat (e.g., Tob
12:19; Josephus, Antiquities 1.9.2 §197; Philo, On Abraham 118; Testament
of Abr [A] 4; Genesis Rabbah 48.11; cf. Goodman). Only human beings eat.
For Luke the risen Lord, no less than the pre-Easter Jesus, was flesh and
bones, corporeal, truly human. The risen Jesus not only eats, he also can be
seen (presumably even the wounds in his hands and feet) and touched.
Philostratus, Life of Apollonius 8.12, tells how the philosopher, after his
defense before Domitian, comes to his friend, Damis, who is moaning about
whether he will ever see Apollonius again. When Damis sees Apollonius, he
is not sure he is really alive. So the philosopher stretches out his hand and
says: “Take hold of me. If I elude you, I am a ghost come back from
Persephone’s domain. . . . But if I stay when you grasp me, . . . I am alive and
have not lost my body.” The risen Jesus in Luke 24:39 is no ghost; he is
corporeal still! These two stories say the same thing about the nature of Jesus’
victory over death: it is not to be understood as an escape from this perish-
able frame but as a transformation of it; it is not to be understood as a
transformation into a purely spiritual, angelic being, because Jesus remained
flesh and bones, though immortal and not limited by time and space
(24:31); it is no more the immortality of the soul while his body decayed
than it is the survival of his shade (a pale shadow of the life on earth, cf. 1
Sam 28:8ff.). These views are presupposed in Paul’s discussion of the
Christians’ resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15: “With what kind of body do
they come?” (v. 35b). Luke’s answer is very much the same as Paul’s, except
he does not give an analytical answer, but gives his reply in the form of a
258 Victory, Presence, and Mission

narrative of the risen Christ who is understood as the prototype of Christian

existence. In Luke 24 one sees the nature of Jesus’ victory over death: it is the
same victory for which his disciples hope (1 John 3:2).
The second overriding function of Luke 24 is to clarify the nature of the
Eucharist, at least for the Lukan community. Proper appreciation of this
appearance story comes only when we set it against the larger background of
Jesus’ meals in Luke-Acts. Jesus is frequently involved in meals: (1) with
sinners (5:29-32; 15:1-2; 19:5-7); (2) with Pharisees (7:36-50; 11:37ff.;
14:1ff.); (3) with disciples (22:19-20; 24:30; 24:41-43; Acts 1:4—the term
is literally “to take salt with someone” but the Latin, Syriac, and Coptic
translations read, “to eat together”; Acts 10:41); (4) with the multitudes and
disciples (9:11-17). Three of the meals in which the earthly and risen Jesus is
involved mention the breaking of bread (9:11-17; 22:19-20; 24:30).
The first of these, Luke 9:10-17, echoes earlier elements in the narrative.
In 1:53 Mary sings in celebration of the miraculous conception of Jesus and
of the recognition of him as Lord by Elizabeth and by the yet unborn John:
“He has filled the hungry with good things.” This is doubtless the equivalent
of the prophetic perfect in Hebrew, an utterance of such certainty that its
content can be spoken of as already having happened. In 6:21 Jesus says,
“Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.” Luke 9:10-17
picks up this theme and portrays Jesus as the one who satisfies the hungry,
feeding them through his apostles.
That the symbolism of Jesus as the one who satisfies the hungry was
intended by the evangelist is shown by Luke’s location of the incident. While
Matthew 14:13 // Mark 6:31 locate the feeding in a lonely place (cf. Luke
9:12), Luke specifies Bethsaida, a main city of Philip’s tetrarchy, located on
the northern end of the lake across the Jordan from Herod’s jurisdiction.
Like the reference to the land of the Gerasenes (8:26), this location is
geographically awkward because the feeding story demands a lonely place
(9:12) rather than an urban area, but the use of the name Bethsaida is for its
symbolic value—the name means “house of the fisher.” Luke 9:17 reinforces
the point when it tells us that as a result of the feeding “all were satisfied.”
Again, Jesus is the one who satisfies the hungry.
In Acts we hear that the church was involved in breaking bread (2:42;
2:46; 20:7; 27:33-36—all but the last text in the setting of Christian
worship). Since there are evidences of cultic meals in early Christianity with
only bread and no mention of wine (e.g., Acts of John 106-10; Acts of
Thomas 27, 49-50, 133), or with bread and salt (e.g., Pseudo-Clementines,
Recognitions 4; Homilies 14:7), this seems to be the Lukan terminology for
the Eucharist in Acts (Menoud). If so, then for Luke’s community the
Luke 23:56–24:53 259

Eucharist is the cultic extension of the multiplication of the loaves and of the
Last Supper, the continuation of the fellowship meals Jesus had with his
disciples during his earthly life, done as a memorial of Jesus the martyr in
obedience to his command (22:19). Such meals doubtless anticipated the
messianic banquet (13:29; 14:15). It is in this context that 24:13-33, a resur-
rection appearance at mealtime where ritual actions are repeated, is to be
understood. This story functions as a bridge between the meals of the earthly
Jesus and the breaking of bread in the narrative of Acts.
In 24:30 the risen Christ “took bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave
it to them.” This action also echoes previous meals (9:16; 22:19). Although
earlier they had been kept from recognizing him (v. 16), now the disciples’
eyes are opened and they do recognize him (v. 31a; cf. Heb 6:4 where
“enlightened” is an image of conversion; Mark 10:46-52; John 9). This
recognition scene follows the guidelines of Aristotle (Poetics 1452a, 1454b-
55a). The best recognition is based on “that which arises from the actions
alone” (Culpepper, 479). The table fellowship that was interrupted by Jesus’
death is here resumed at the risen Jesus’ initiative. Hereafter, the disciples will
go on doing this in remembrance of him (22:19). That the evangelist wanted
his readers to recognize the eucharistic overtones seems confirmed by the
ending of the unit in v. 35: “Then they told what had happened on the road,
and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.” This incident,
moreover, is but one of several occasions when the risen Jesus ate with his
followers (Acts 1:4; 10:41). This story not only serves as a bridge between
the meals the earthly Jesus had with his disciples and the later church’s
Eucharist, but it also says that at such meals the presence of the risen Lord
was known: Jesus is alive and one place of his recognition is at the breaking
of the bread.
The distinctiveness of this understanding of the Eucharist may be seen
when it is compared with that of the fourth gospel and of Paul. In the fourth
gospel the Eucharist is the cultic extension of the incarnation: through its
physical elements one experiences contact with the divine world just as one
did through the flesh of Jesus in the days of his incarnation (cf. John 6). In
Paul the Lord’s Supper is the moment in which one remembers (identifies
with, participates in) Jesus’ death much as the Israelites-Jews remembered
(participated in) the events of the exodus at their Passover meal (cf. 1
Corinthians 11). Luke sees the Supper as the extension of the meals with the
earthly Jesus and in anticipation of the messianic banquet, a meal at which
one experiences the presence of Christ as the disciples did after the resurrec-
tion.
260 Victory, Presence, and Mission

The third overriding function of Luke 24 is to underscore the mission

command of the risen Christ. Three components deserve attention. (1) The
command itself is found in 24:46-48: “Thus it is written, that the Christ
should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance
and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, begin-
ning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” The evangelist
thinks that after Jesus’ resurrection his trial is reopened and fresh evidence is
presented by the apostles to get the Jews to change their verdict. The new
evidence is the event of Jesus’ resurrection. The condemnation of Christ had
been done in ignorance (Acts 3:17; 13:27), but in raising Jesus God showed
the Jews they had made a mistake: they had crucified the Christ (Acts 2:36).
Now, however, the Jews are given a chance to change their minds, to repent
(2:38; 3:19; 5:31). If they do not, then they themselves will be cut off from
the people of God (Acts 3:22-23). The witnesses are to press for this decision
(Trites 1977, 129-30). What is to begin in Jerusalem, however, is to be
carried to all nations (cf. Acts 1:8).
(2) The authority for the mission command is twofold. On the one
hand, the one who gives it speaks a compelling word. Twice in this chapter
there is a reference to words spoken by the pre-Easter Jesus that have been
fulfilled in the events of the Passion-resurrection. In v. 6 the angels say,
“Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of
Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and
on the third day rise.” The reference is to the predictions in 9:22, 44 (cf.
17:25; 18:32-33). What Jesus prophesied has been fulfilled. In v. 44 is a
similar motif: “These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still
with you, that everything written about me . . . must be fulfilled.” The
events of Luke 22–24 have fulfilled Jesus’ prophetic words. In the Lukan
world, as we have noted, both pagans and Jews believed that the fulfillment
of prophecy legitimated authority. Hence, if Jesus’ words have been fulfilled,
he is a true prophet who speaks with authority. This is the one who gives the
mission command. On the other hand, vv. 46-47 not only indicate that the
Christ’s passion is a fulfillment of Scripture but so is the mission to Israel and
the nations: the authoritative writings reinforce the mission command,
understood as a divine necessity. This twofold emphasis upon the fulfillment
of prophecy serves to give the authority for the new outreach by the disci-
ples. Matthew 28:16-20, the great commission, also gives a mission directive
and underscores it with authority but in a different way: the Matthean Jesus
says, “All authority has been given to me.” By virtue of his resurrection-exal-
tation he rules over the cosmos. In Luke-Acts the exaltation comes later (Acts
Luke 23:56–24:53 261

2:36), so here the risen Christ appeals to the authority of fulfilled prophecy
for his missionary directive.
(3) Jesus does not just give his mission command and then leave its
accomplishment to his followers. He makes two provisions for his witnesses.
On the one hand, the witnesses are to stay in Jerusalem until they are
“clothed with power from on high” (24:49; cf. Acts 1:4-5; 1:8; 2:1ff.). Part of
the reason for this rests in the Lukan belief that a valid testimony to Christ
requires two prominent witnesses, in accordance with Deuteronomy 19:15,
namely, the witness of the apostles and the witness of the Holy Spirit (cf.
Acts 5:32—”we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit”). In
part it is due to the belief that God has the initiative in salvation history so
that what human beings do must be done in response to the divine leading
and empowering. The gift of the Holy Spirit supplies that power and
leading. The pentecostal gift of the Spirit is Jesus’ first provision for his
followers who are given a missionary directive. In Lukan theology this is
prototypical: there is no evangelistic outreach without a prior empowering.
On the other hand, Jesus does not leave his disciples until he has put
them under the protection of God. Luke 24:50-53 is a departure scene that
takes place at night of the same Easter day. In both Luke 24 and Acts 1 the
ascension of Jesus is described as a bodily assumption. This was a widespread
motif among both pagan (e.g., Romulus [Diodorus Siculus 4.38.4-5];
Aeneas [Dionysius of Halicarnassus 1.64.4-5];Apollonius of Tyana
[Philostratus, Life 8.30]) and Jewish peoples (e.g., Enoch [Gen 5:24; Sir
44:16; 49:14; Wisdom of Solomon 4:10-11; Jubilees 4:23;1 Enoch 70];
Moses [Josephus, Antiquities 4.8.47-48; Assumption of Moses 45-50; Acts of
Pilate 16:7; Clement of Alexander, Miscellanies 1.23]; Elijah [2 Kgs 2:1-8; Sir
48:9,12; 1 Macc 2:58; 1 Enoch 93:8]; Ezra [2 Esdras 14:9]; Baruch [2
Baruch 76:2-5]).(Talbert 1997, 20-24) Luke uses the typical departure motif
to speak of Jesus’ ascension into heaven: “He parted from the—and was
carried up into heaven” (v. 51a; cf. 2 Kgs 2:10). The inclusion of the words
“and was carried up into heaven” is supported by the manuscript evidence
(Zwiep), by Acts 1:2’s recapitulation of what has been described in the
gospel, and by the long ending of Mark (16:19-20), which seems to reflect a
knowledge of the longer text here in Luke. Jesus did not leave his followers,
however, until he first had blessed them: “While he blessed them, the parted
from them” (v. 51a; cf. 2 Enoch 67:1). This act of blessing is like that of the
high priest Simon, in Sirach 50:19-20. With a priestly act the risen Jesus
puts his disciples under the protection of God before he leaves them (cf.
Matt 28:20, “and lo, I am with you to the end of the Age”; John 17:9-19).
262 Victory, Presence, and Mission

Just as the gospel began with the ministry of the priest Zechariah, so it ends
with Jesus acting as priest for his flock (cf. Heb 2:17; 3:1; 6:19-20).
Appendix A: The Fulfillment of
Prophecy in Luke-Acts

The theme of the fulfillment of prophecy plays a major role in the Lukan
narrative. Prophecy is understood in the sense of a prediction of things to
come. Fulfillment means what was predicted has happened or is believed to
have happened. Fulfilled prophecy in the Lukan narrative comes from three
types of sources: (1) from the Jewish Scriptures; (2) from a living prophet;
(3) from a heavenly being. We will examine examples in each of these cate-
gories.
(1) OT prophecy. Two examples should suffice. (a) Luke 4:16-21 says
Jesus went into the synagogue at Nazareth, read from Isaiah 61:1-2; 58:6,
and then said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The
prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled in the narrative about Jesus’ ministry.
(b) Acts 13:16-41 reports a speech by Paul in the synagogue at Antioch of
Pisidia. Verse 23 says of David’s posterity, “God has brought to Israel a
Savior, Jesus, as he promised.” Verses 27, 29 continue the theme: “For those
who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him
nor understand the utterances of the prophets which are read every sabbath,
fulfilled these by condemning him” (v. 27). “And when they had fulfilled all
that was written of him, they took him down from the tree . . .” (v. 29).
Verses 32-33 give the climax: “And we bring you the good news that what
God promised to the fathers, this he fulfilled to us their children by raising
Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm. . . .” These two examples show
Luke believed the career of Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Jewish
Scriptures.
(2) Prophecy of a living prophet. (a) Sometimes the living prophet is
Jewish. For example, in 1:67-79 Zechariah prophesies. Part of what he says is
about the future of his son, John the Baptist: “And you, child, will be called
the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his
ways” (v. 76). Jesus asks, “What then did you go out to see? A prophet?” and
answers, “Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is
264 Appendix A

written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy
way before thee’” (7:26-27). (b) At other times the living prophet is the
earthly Jesus. Numerous examples present themselves. In 9:22, 44; 18:31-33
Jesus predicts his passion, which is fulfilled in the narrative of Luke 22–24.
Jesus prophecies in 11:13 that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask him: this is fulfilled in the narrative of Acts 2:1ff. In 13:35b Jesus
says the Jews will not see him until they say, “Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord,” a prediction fulfilled at 19:38. Jesus says in 19:29-31 his
disciples will find the desired colt in an opposite village and tells them what
will be asked of them and how to answer: vv. 32-34 tell the fulfillment of his
words. Luke 21:15 predicts that when the disciples are called upon to give
testimony, they will be given “wisdom, which none of your adversaries will
be able to withstand or contradict”: this is fulfilled in the episode of Stephen
in Acts 6:10. In 22:10-12 Jesus tells the disciples how to find the room
where they will celebrate the Passover: it happened as he had told them in v.
13. Jesus predicts Peter’s denial (22:34), a prophecy fulfilled in 22:54-61. (c)
On still other occasions the living prophet is a Christian. In Acts 11:27-28a
Agabus predicts a famine: we hear that it occurred in v. 28b. In Acts 21:10-
11 Agabus predicts that Paul will be bound by the Jews and this is fulfilled in
the narrative that follows. Paul predicts in Acts 27:22, 34 that no lives will be
lost because of the storm at sea: v. 44 says all escaped to land.
(3) Prophecy of a heavenly being. (a) Sometimes it is an angel who
prophesies. In 1:13 the angel of the Lord tells Zechariah he will have a son:
this prediction is fulfilled at 1:57, 63. An angel in 1:26-27, 31 tells Mary she
will bear a son: in the narrative of 2:7, 21 this is fulfilled. In 2:8-12 the angel
tells the shepherds they will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and
lying in a manger: they find this in 2:15-16. Acts 27:23-24 has an angel
appear to Paul and tell him he will survive the storm at sea and will stand
before Caesar: Paul escapes from the sea and ultimately arrives in Rome. (b)
At other times the risen Christ makes predictions. In Luke 24:49 and Acts
1:4-5 he promises the gift of the Spirit, which is granted in Acts 2. He tells
the disciples in Acts 1:8 that after their empowering they will be witnesses to
the ends of the earth: the rest of the narrative of Acts, of course, shows this to
be true. In Acts 18:9-10 the Lord appears to Paul in a vision to promise him
protection in Corinth: Acts 18:12-17 shows the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Whether it is a prophecy made in the OT by a living prophet or by a
heavenly being, the evangelist takes pains to show its fulfillment in the
course of his narrative. The question arises as to how Luke’s readers would
have understood this motif. In order to answer it is necessary to explore
The Fulfillment of Prophecy in Luke-Acts 265

briefly the functions of prophecy in the Mediterranean world, both pagan

and Jewish.
The notion that a divine necessity controls human history, shaping the
course of its events, was a widespread belief in Mediterranean antiquity. (a)
Polybius (b. 208 BC) realized early in his career that Roman power was irre-
sistible. As a Stoic he believed the Roman order was part of a divine
providence that ruled the world. This belief was expounded in his Histories.
In 1.4.1-2 he says, “Fortune (h∑ tych∑) having guided almost all the affairs of
the world in one direction and having forced them to incline towards one
and the same end, a historian should bring before his readers under one
synoptical view the operations by which she has accomplished her general
purpose.” (b) Josephus shared in this cultural belief, but as a Jew viewed the
divine necessity as deriving from the personal will of a god who is a living
person, not a neutral force. So, in Antiquities 10.8.2-3§142, he tells of
Jeremiah’s prophecy of the fall of Jerusalem being fulfilled and says these
events manifest the nature of God, “which foretells all which must (dei) take
place, duly at the appointed hour.” Pagan and Hellenistic Jew alike thought
of history as unfolding according to a divine necessity or compulsion that
could be expressed in terms of dei or deon esti. It was in these terms that
Luke’s language about the dei of events would have been understood (cf.
2:49; 4:43; 12:12; 13:14; 15:32; 18:1; 19:5; 22:7, 37).
The concept of history’s fulfilling of oracles, whether written or oral, was
also a cultural commonplace. Three examples from the pagan world will give
a feel for this. (a) Lucian’s Alexander the False Prophet tells of one Alexander
who wanted to start a new religion. As a first step, he and a companion went
to Chalcedon and buried bronze tablets that stated that in the near future
Asclepios and his father, Apollo, would migrate to Pontus. These tablets were
found and the people began building a temple. Alexander then went to
Abonutichus, dressed as Perseus, declaiming an oracle that said he was a
scion of Perseus. A Sibylline prophecy of his activity was then produced. As
a result of one oral and two written prophecies, the stage was set—a new reli-
gion could emerge. (b) Suetonius’s “Life of Vespasian” contains a section of
omens that prophecy his ascendancy to emperor. Among them are references
not only to Josephus’s declaration that he would soon be released by the
same man who would then be emperor, but also to antique vases discovered
by soothsayers that had on them an alleged image of Vespasian. (c) Apuleius’s
Golden Ass moves to its climax with Lucius trapped in the form of a donkey
as a result of his experimentation with magic. Despairing over his plight, he
cries to Isis to save him. The goddess appears by night and gives an oracle
(11:7), which the next day Lucius follows exactly: he eats the roses that are
266 Appendix A

part of the procession in Isis’s honor and is miraculously changed back into a
human being. Having been saved from his fate, Lucius is initiated into the
Isis cult and says, “I was not deceived by the promise made to me” (11:13).
In all three of these pagan examples the fulfillment of the oracle legitimates
the religious or political authority of the person to whom the prophecy
referred or of the god who gave it. In the strict sense this is proof-from-
prophecy: what happened was in line with what the divine realm had
revealed prior to the fact.
Three Jewish examples should also suffice. (a) The Deuteronomic
History (Deuteronomy through 2 Kings) uses the device of prophecy and
fulfillment. For example, in Deuteronomy 28 Moses says that if Israel does
not keep the covenant and obey the commandments, she will go away into
exile (vv. 25, 36-37). In 2 Kings 17 the northern kingdom falls to the
Assyrians and the Israelites are taken into bondage: The exile was because of
Israel’s sins (v. 7); what was done was “as the LORD spoke by all his servants
the prophets” (v. 23). In 2 Kings 25 the southern kingdom is taken away
into Babylonian exile: Moses’ prophecy in Deuteronomy 28 is shown to have
been fulfilled in the subsequent narrative of 2 Kings. This, in effect, legiti-
mates the other things Moses said in Deuteronomy about how Israel should
live. (b) At Qumran was a religious community that believed its own history
was the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Scriptures. In the commentaries
on Isaiah, Micah, Psalm 37, and especially Habakkuk are statements of the
community’s position. When it interprets the prophets and the Psalms as
prophecies that are fulfilled in the wickedness of Qumran’s enemies and in
the righteousness of Qumran’s covenanters, it is not only saying that the time
of fulfillment has come, but also that it is the heir of the promises to Israel,
the true people of God. This is in effect an argument for the continuity of
the community with Israel of old. (c) Josephus, Antiquities, uses the motif of
prophecy and its fulfillment as evidence for the providence of God (2.16.5 §
333): in 8.4.2 § 109-10 the fulfillment of David’s prophecy makes clear the
providence of God; in 1.11.7 § 278-81 the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecies
of the destruction of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes and the Romans is
said to demonstrate God’s providence (against the Epicureans). The pattern
of prophecy-fulfillment in the history of Israel constitutes evidence for belief
in a providential God. The providence of God, moreover, consists primarily
in his rewarding virtue and punishing vice (Attridge).
The Mediterranean mind-set that viewed history as the fulfillment of
oracles also held that an oracle could be misunderstood as well as under-
stood. The very act of misunderstanding could be the means by which the
prophecy was fulfilled. Herodotus’s History is a storehouse of examples, with
The Fulfillment of Prophecy in Luke-Acts 267

the classic example being his story of Croesus who, after acknowledging the
Delphic oracle to be the only true place of divination, asked if he should
send an army against the Persians. The oracle replied that if he should send
an army, he would destroy a great empire. Mistaking the meaning of the
oracle, Croesus went to war against the Perisans and lost. Sending his chains
to Delphi, Croesus asked if it were the manner of the Greek gods to be
thankless. The priestess replied that the oracle was right. Croesus should have
asked whether the god spoke of Croesus’s or Cyrus’s empire: “But he under-
stood not that which was spoken, nor made further inquiry; wherefore now
let him blame himself ” (1:91). When Croesus received the answer, he
confessed the sin was not the god’s but his own. The similarity of this way of
thinking to Acts 13:27 would not be lost on Luke’s original hearers: “those
who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not understand the
utterances of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled these by
condemning him.” Whether Luke’s community was composed of former
Jews or pagans—or both—his original readers would have found no
surprises in the theme of history’s course being determined by the fulfillment
of oracles/ prophecies.
The functions of a prophecy-fulfillment theme in the Mediterranean
world match remarkably well with what we find in Luke-Acts. (a) As the
pagan evidence showed, prophecy made by a person or about a person, when
fulfilled, legitimated the individual’s religious or political status. It could
evoke conversion to the one whose promise was kept. It is in this way that
some prophetic utterances are used in Luke-Acts (e.g., prophecy made by
Jesus, when fulfilled, legitimates his authority—Luke 9:22/Luke 22–24;
11:13/Acts 2; 12:11-12/Acts 5:29; prophecy made about Jesus, when
fulfilled, legitimates him—Luke 1:31/1:42; 2:7/2:21). (b) As the evidence
from the Deuteronomic History showed, a prophetic promise, when
fulfilled, can serve to legitimate the other things the prophet has said. When
Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple (13:35a; 21:6) and the capture of
Jerusalem by the Gentiles (19:43-44; 21:20-24; 23:28-31) and Luke’s readers
know of the events of AD 70, or when the risen Lord predicts the Gentile
mission (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8) and his readers are told of the progress of the
gospel to Rome, these fulfilled words function to give authority to the other
things Jesus said, like his parenetic sayings in 9:51–19:44. (c) As the evidence
from Qumran showed, the claim that one’s particular history and that of
one’s founder fulfilled the prophecies of the Scriptures argues not only for
the arrival of the eschaton but also for one’s continuity with the history of
Israel. As the heirs of the promises, Christians are the true descendents of
Israel of old: the speech in Acts 13:16-41 seems especially emphatic in this
268 Appendix A

regard. The argument emphasizes the continuity between Jesus and the
history of ancient Israel, as well as showing his death and resurrection were
in accord with the divine will. What we have not yet made clear, however, is
exactly how such an argument on behalf of continuity would have been
heard by Greek-speaking people, whether Jews or pagans.
It was a cultural commonplace in the Hellenistic age for a people to try
to trace its own origins back to the remotest antiquity (e.g., Josephus,
Against Apion 2.152; Diodorus 1.44.4; 1.96.2). This was in large measure
due to the Greek belief that what was most ancient was most valuable. The
Jews copied the practice (note the parallels between Josephus’s Antiquities
and the Roman Antiquities of Dionysius of Halicarnasus) and claimed their
writings were the oldest. It was in terms of such a belief that the early
Christian apologists and antiheretical writers often built their arguments.
Tertullian, for example, in his Apology, claims, “Our religion is supported by
the writings of the Jews, the oldest which exist” (21). In Against Marcion he
says, “I am accustomed, in my prescription against all heresies, to fix my
compendious criterion of truth in the testimony of time; claiming priority
therein as our rule, and alleging lateness to be the characteristic of every
heresy” (5:19). Continuity between Christians and Israel and between the
events of Jesus’ career and the OT prophecies was important because it
allowed Christians to appeal to the argument from antiquity, which would
allow Greek-speaking Christians to feel not the least bit inferior to pagans
with their cultural and religious claims allegedly rooted in antiquity.
(d) The evidence from Josephus showed the motif of prophecy fulfill-
ment in the history of Israel was used to provide evidence for the providence
of God in human affairs—that is, that a personal God acts to reward virtue
and punish vice. The promises that no harm would come to Paul (Acts 18:9-
10; 27:23-24) and their fulfillment fit into this function: God cares for his
own who work as missionaries. In Luke-Acts, therefore, the prophecy-fulfill-
ment schema functions very much as it does in its Mediterranean milieu.
In 1:1-4 the evangelist speaks about the “things which have been accom-
plished/fulfilled among us.” Given the importance of the theme of the
fulfillment of prophecy in the two-volume work, it seems almost certain that
the translation should be “fulfilled among us.” The story of Jesus and the
early church is one that fulfills the various prophecies made by the Jewish
Scriptures, by living prophets, and by heavenly beings. Insofar as the
Christian story fulfilled the prophecies of the Scriptures, it would be about
those who had ancient roots. Insofar as it told of the fulfillment of the
prophecies of Jesus and Christian prophets, it would depict them as being
right. Taken together, having roots and being right would be highly persua-
The Fulfillment of Prophecy in Luke-Acts 269

sive. It would contribute to the certainty the evangelist wants to give

Theophilus (v. 4). The theme of the fulfillment of prophecy, then, would
seem to be a legitimation device in the Lukan narrative, just as it was in
Mediterranean antiquity generally.
The Jewish Scriptures functioned as a bridge by which Gentiles crossed
to Christianity. The fulfillment of prophecy was not only an apologetic
device to confirm Christians in their faith but was also a key evangelistic
tool! One might think of Tatian (Oration 29), Justin Martyr (Dialogue 7ff.),
the Preaching of Peter (as recorded by Clement of Alexander, Strom. 6.15),
and Theophilus of Antioch (To Autolycus 14). Justin says that proof from
prophecy, along with miracle (Dialogue 7) and the martyrdoms of Christians
(2 Apology 12), convinced him of the truth of the Christian position. He was
not the exception. This means that an interpreter must consider whether
Luke’s Gospel, with its heavy emphasis on fulfillment of Scripture, miracle,
and martyrdom might have been addressed to Christians and non-Christians
alike (Lentz, 171; Moule, 167; von Soden, 179-80).
Appendix B: Miracle in Luke-Acts and
in the Lukan Milieu

An appreciation of the Lukan attitude toward miracle is closely tied to an

understanding of the attitudes toward miracle in the Lukan milieu: pagan,
Jewish, and Christian.
(1) Pagan attitudes toward miracle range from very positive to very nega-
tive depending upon the context/circle in which an opinion is expressed. (a)
In some circles the principle was fully accepted that miracle proved divinity.
For example, Philostratus in Life of Apollonius 7.38 tells how, when
Apollonius was in prison because of Domitian, to show his freedom to his
companion Damis, he took his leg out of its shackles. Having done this, he
then put his leg back again. At that moment, Damis said, he first understood
clearly that Apollonius’s nature was godlike and more than human. Again,
Suetonius in “Life of Vespasian” 7.2 tells us that Vespasian as yet lacked pres-
tige and a certain divinity, since he was an unexpected and newly made
emperor. These, however, were soon given to him. In Alexandria two mira-
cles were performed. Vespasian healed a man who was blind and a man who
was lame was made to walk.
Since miracle had the power to prove deity, it was one means of winning
converts to various religious cults. Ovid, Metamorphoses 3.695ff., has a priest
of Dionysius named Acoetes tell how he became a follower of the god when
an epiphany was disclosed in a miraculous event. Philostratus, Heroicus,
describes a conversion of a Phoenician trader brought about by a vinetender’s
telling what the hero had done for him. Apuleius, Metamorphoses 11, says
Lucius was changed back from a donkey to a human being by a miracle
effected by Isis. As a result he became a devotee of the goddess and was initi-
ated into her cult.
It was also likely that miracle was a means of encouraging the devotion
of the adherents of a cult. Strabo (c. 801) tells that stories of miracles were
collected for the Serapeum at Canopus. This would seem to be for the
purpose of reinforcing those who were adherents of this religion.
272 Appendix B

(b) There were other circles, however, that discredited miracle. Lucian is
a prime example. In his Lovers of Lies, members of various philosophical
schools are mocked for their desire to tell tales of wonder. Lucian professes
himself baffled by the puzzle: why do serious people have an interest in lies
about miracles? For Lucian, magic and miracle had become identical. In
Alexander the False Prophet, Lucian tells of a cult’s origin via miracle and
other things like fulfilled prophecy. The entire account, however, is told to
discredit the oracle and its founder. Philostratus’s Life of Apollonius of Tyana
gives further evidence, being written to defend the philosopher against the
charge of being a magician because he had worked miracles. In such circles as
these, therefore, miracle was no proof; it was a problem.
(2) Jewish attitudes toward miracle show the same mixed reaction found
in pagan circles. (a) In the period of Christian origins, miracle was widely
regarded by Jews as the divine legitimation of a position, a person, or of God
himself. In the first place, miracle was believed to legitimate the word or
position of a prophet or rabbi. Sifre Deut 18:19 states that if a prophet who
starts to prophesy gives evidence by signs and miracles, he is to be heeded; if
not, he is not to be followed. This anonymous saying is early because a
discussion between Jose ha-Gelili and Akiba presupposes the existence of
such a statement (b. Sanh 90a; Sifre Deut 13:3). Josephus, Antiquities 2.12.3
§280, reports God gave Moses three signs (rod became a serpent; leprous
hand; water turned to blood) and said, “Make use of those signs, in order to
obtain belief among all men, that you are sent by me and do all things
according to my commands.” The same motif is also found elsewhere in
Josephus (e.g., Ant. 9.2.1 §23; 10.2.1 §28; 20.5.1 §168). In b. Ta’anith 23a,
there is a tradition about the first-century Honi who was effective in praying
for rain. Once when there was a drought the people asked Honi to pray. He
prayed and no rain fell. Then he drew a circle and stood within it and
exclaimed before God, “I swear that I will not move from here until Thou
hast mercy on Thy children.” When it only dripped, he told God vehe-
mently that this was not what he had asked. When it then rained so hard as
to do damage, he strongly told God that he had asked for rain of blessing,
not for rain to destroy life. When the normal rain continued so long that
flooding became a problem, Honi again strongly told God it was time for
the rain to stop. Immediately the clouds dispersed and the sun came out.
Thereupon Simeon b. Shetah said, “Were it not that you are Honi, I would
have placed you under the ban. But what shall I do to you who acts petu-
lantly before God and He grants your desire?” Simeon’s response means
Honi’s behavior should be rejected but since Honi’s prayer produced the
miracle of rain, his behavior was legitimated. This story shows that in the
Miracle in Luke-Acts and in the Lukan Milieu 273

time of Honi the Circle Drawer matters of behavior toward God were settled
by miracle. This is supported: a bath qol or voice from heaven was decisive in
settling halakic questions in favor of Beth Hillel and against Beth Shammai
at Jamnia not long after AD 70 (Guttmann, 369-71).
In the second place, miracle was believed to prove one’s innocence or
righteousness. In j. Berakoth 5:1 we hear that once when Rabbi Haninah b.
Dosa was praying he was bitten by a snake but did not interrupt his prayer.
Not only did the rabbi not feel the bite but also the snake was later found
dead at the entrance to its den. The righteousness of the rabbi was vindicated
by his immunity to a poisonous snakebite. In b. Baba Mezia 58b-59, after
the excommunication of R. Eliezer, R. Gamaliel was traveling in a ship.
When a huge wave arose to drown him, he said, “It appears to me that this is
on account of none but R. Eliezer ben Hyrcannus.” Thereupon he arose and
cried, “Sovereign of the Universe, Thou knowest that I have not acted for my
honor, nor for the honor of my paternal house, but for Thine, so that differ-
ences may not multiply in Israel.” At that the raging sea subsided. Here the
miracle of the sea’s subsiding vindicates the rabbi’s innocence.
The significance of deliverance from snakebite and storm at sea can only
be understood if one is aware of the general cultural background. It was a
common belief, pagan and Jewish, that divine forces in cooperation with
nature (especially storms at sea) and the animal kingdom (especially snakes)
punish wickedness. Homer, Odyssey 12.127-41, 259-446, tells how
Odysseus’s crew were all destroyed in a shipwreck because they had slaugh-
tered Helios’s sacred cattle. Chariton’s novel (3.3.10; 3.3.18; 3.4.9-10) also
attests the belief that the polluted are drowned at sea while the just are deliv-
ered. An epitaph of Statyllus Flaccus tells how the shipwrecked sailor who
had just escaped from the storm and raging sea lay stranded, naked, and
destitute on a sandy beach in Lydia. Suddenly a poisonous snake bit him and
killed him. The epitaph concludes, “Why did he struggle against the sea? He
could not escape the lot that awaited him on the land” (Conzelmann, 147).
In the Tosefta, Sanhedrin 8:3, R. Simeon ben Shetah (c. 80 BC) said he saw a
man with a sword running after a fellow. The two ran into a deserted
building. When Simeon entered he found the one slain and the other with
the sword dripping blood: “But he who knows the thoughts, he exacts
vengeance from the guilty; for the murderer did not stir from the place
before a serpent bit him so that he died.” So certain was such punishment
believed to be that in some circumstances the absence of destruction by
storm or snakebite could be adduced as proof of innocence. The Athenian
orator Antiphon (480–411 BC) wrote a speech for a client, one Helion, who
on a sea journey was accused of murder. The speech says that although retri-
274 Appendix B

bution comes on the guilty and those associated with him, “in my case the
opposite is true on every count. For all those with whom I have sailed have
enjoyed good voyages. I claim all this as great proof of the charge that the
plaintiffs have accused me falsely” (Miles and Trompf, 262). For a rabbi to
escape death after the bite of a poisonous snake or in the midst of a storm at
sea testifies to his innocence or righteousness (cf. Paul, Acts 27–28).
In the third place, miracle was believed sometimes to be effective in
gaining acknowledgment of the superiority of Israel’s God. In 2 Kings 5:15-
19 Naaman the Syrian who had been healed of leprosy confesses his belief in
Israel’s God and asks indulgence as he is forced to go into the temple of the
god of his land. In 2 Maccabees 3:35-39 Heliodorus makes a confession of
the Jewish God’s supremacy after experiencing a miracle.
(b) There was reluctance in many circles of Judaism after the end of the
first century AD, however, to allow miracle any legitimating power. The
crucial point in time when miracle was disallowed as the authentication of a
position in matters of halakah is recounted in b. Baba Mezia 58b-59b. In the
period of the second generation of Tannaim, (AD 90–130) there was a debate
between R. Eliezer and R. Joshua that was resolved against Eliezer. This was
done in spite of miracles supporting R. Eliezer’s position (the uprooting of
the carob tree; water flowing backward; a bath qol) because the Torah had
already been given on Sinai. In the following Tannaitic generation, the third,
the principle “one should not mention miracles” makes its appearance. This
was largely aimed at the miracles of rising Christianity. Furthermore, B. J.
Bamberger’s Proselytism in the Talmudic Period gives no examples of prose-
lytes being made via miracle. In Judaism, therefore, after AD 100 miracle did
not function as legitimation, as it had before.
(3) The ancient church also manifests a mixed attitude toward miracle.
(a) On the one hand, many believed miracles were still happening in the life
of the church (Justin, Apology 2 6; Irenaeus, Against Heresies 2.48-49; 2.31.2;
2.32.4; Tertullian, Apology 23; Origen, Against Celsus 1.2.46; 3.24; Eusebius,
Church History 5.7; Augustine, City of God 22.8; Sermon, 322). Further,
miracles had or have an evangelistic-legitimating function (Quadratus
[according to Eusebius, HE 4.3.2]; Acts of Paul; Arnobius 2.12; Marcion
[according to Tertullian, Against Marcion 3.2-3]; Abgar legend [related by
Eusebius, HE 1.13]; Origen, Against Celsus 1.46; Eusebius, Church History
2.32).
(b) On the other hand, others believed miracles belonged to the first age
of the church as a necessary prop to the rise of faith but were now unneces-
sary (John Chrysostom, Homily in Matt 12.2; 14.3; Homily in John 12.3;
Homily in 1 Cor 6.2). Many believed miracles were either a problem or
Miracle in Luke-Acts and in the Lukan Milieu 275

proved nothing: Theophilus of Antioch (To Autolycus 1.13) says if he were to

provide an example of a man raised from the dead and alive, his adversary
would not believe it. Furthermore, Jewish/pagan attacks on Christian mira-
cles contended: (1) Christian miracles were no more remarkable than the
wonders ascribed to other gods and heroes; (2) Christian miracle stories were
fictitious; (3) Christian miracles were due to magic (Lampe 1965).
Considering these problems, it is not surprising some Christians made little
use of miracle to legitimate their position.
In light of this sketch of the Lukan milieu it becomes possible to say
something about Luke’s attitude toward the role of miracle in Christian
faith. (a) Luke-Acts has perhaps the most positive attitude toward miracle
among the gospels. In the first place, as our discussion of 4:31–5:11 has
shown, the evangelist believes miracle has an evangelistic function. It evokes
faith (cf. also Acts 5:12-16; 8:6-7, 12; 9:32-35, 36-42; 13:6-12; 16:16-34;
19:11-20). In the second place, Luke believes miracle legitimates one’s posi-
tion or words. Acts 2:22 says Jesus was “attested to you by God with mighty
works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst.”
This seems the case in passages like Luke 7:11-17, 18-23. Passages like 6:6-
11 seem to settle the legal question of Sabbath observance via miracle (cf.
Honi’s experience). In Acts 15:12 miracle plays a role in the church’s decision
about the inclusion of the Gentiles. In the third place, miracle, for Luke,
establishes one’s innocence or righteousness. In Acts 2:32-36; 3:14-15, the
raising of Jesus from the dead vindicates him over against those who have
rejected him. In Acts 27–28, Paul’s deliverance from shipwreck and from
snakebite attests his innocence.
(b) At the same time Luke is positive about miracle, he also is far from
naive about its value. First, the evangelist, like pagan and Jewish critics of
miracle, knows miracle is no proof that compels conversion (cf. 6:6-11;
8:26-39; 11:14ff.; Acts 4:16-21; 14:8-18; 16:16ff.). Second, miracle by itself
is not an adequate guide. It needs to be supported by the OT and by Jesus’
words (Acts 15:12, 13-19; 11:15-16; Luke 9:1-6; 10:9, 17-19). Third,
miracle needs to be distinguished from magic by the good character of those
who work miracles. Note that Luke 4:1-13 shows Jesus from the first as not
self-indulgent or power hungry. The same point is made again in 23:35-39
in a threefold temptation echoing 4:1-13. Neither does Jesus use his miracu-
lous power to harm anyone or anything. Plato (Republic 2.364) speaks of
wandering soothsayers who promise to punish enemies in this world; certain
Jews would like Honi to destroy their enemies and kill him when he will not;
Apollonius of Tyana (Life 3:7) defends himself against the charge of being a
magician by saying he does not harm people—it is surely significant that
276 Appendix B

Luke omits the cursing of the fig tree. In Acts Peter is shown to be hostile to
a magician who was motivated by gain (8:18-19). Paul also is shown to be
hostile to a magician (13:6ff.) and to magic (19:18-19). Moreover, he is
portrayed as not greedy (18:3; 20:33-35). Fourth, to have experienced a
miracle, Luke believes, is not the same thing as having faith; being healed is
not the same as being saved (Luke 17:11-19). Finally, in terms of priorities,
having miraculous powers is secondary in importance to having experienced
conversion (10:20).
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