The Synoptic Gospels & Acts
Andy's Note Cards: Gospel of Luke
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Introduction
The Gospel According to Luke #43
New Jerome Biblical Commentary
NOTE CARDS
Andy Syring
Introduction to The Gospel According to Luke #43 – New Jerome Biblical Commentary
I. Authorship and Place of Composition
- Seven major ancient witness about author
- Muratorian Canon, Irenaeus, Late 2nd Century Prologue to the Gospel, Tertullian, Origen, Eusebius, Jerome
- From them one should separate out items that cannot be deduced from NT from those which can
- Accept the tradition that Luke is author of Gospel – no one else likely
- Place of composition
- Luke was from Syrian Antioch – no reason to deny that since
- Luke in Acts shows little of Paul’s theology
- Since Luke is from there no reason not to place the composition of Luke-Acts there
- Luke’s language – no more technical than any others
- Dating of text
- Need to find date internal (in the text)
- Luke used Mark
- Luke 21:5-38 presupposes that Jerusalem has been destroyed
- Thus a date after 70 AD is required
- Luke-Acts – no knowledge of bitter persecution of Christians that happened at latter part of Domitian’s rule (AD 81-96)
- Luke-Acts – does not reflect severe controversy that existed between church and synagogue after Pharisaic reconstruction of Judaism at Jamnia (AD 85-90)
- Date of composition of Luke-Acts – AD 80-85
II. Literary Style and Characteristics
- Luke’s talents – artist and theologian
- Master of Greek and can write elegantly in Greek
- Luke uses sources creatively
- Parallelisms – join together traditions to convey his Christology
- Omits redundancy from Mark’s stories
- Adapts Marcan theme and structure
- Luke employs literary devices
- Predictions, Inclusions, Parallelisms, Dogmatic Schema in Kerygmatic story
III. Luke’s Theology and Sitz im Leben
- Luke addresses primarily Gentile audience
- Well-to-do members who are painfully rethinking missionary thrusts in hostile environment
- Internal and external controversies contribute to hostile environment
- Key question of Luke deals with Theodicy
- If God has not been faithful to his promise to the people what reason would faithful Gentiles have to believe that God would be faithful to them?
- Luke answers this with a Kerygmatic story – called Luke-Acts
- Luke demonstrates that God through Jesus was faithful to promises made to Israel
- A. Continuity with the Old
- Luke depicts Jesus as laying aside prescriptions of law and an upholder of the validity of the law
- In Acts, Paul defends himself against accusations that he is against the Law and the Temple
- Lucan Paul Christianity is best tradition of Judaism
- Judaism – long & fine tradition of prayer
- Jesus and those who follow stand in this tradition
- Judaism founded on twelve tribes
- B. Internal and External Controversies
- Luke wages battles on two fronts: Internal & External
- Internally - engages polemics against Jewish Christians who apply strict entrance requirements of joining reconstituted Israel
- These Jewish Christians are called the “Pharisees”
- Object to Jesus’ eating habits
- Object to His association with sinners and toll collectors
- Against them Luke employs – symposium genre and has them invite Jesus to dinner to hear him answer there objections
- Luke develops a view of who are the children of Abraham and therefore heirs of God’s promises
- Attacks position by notion- who belong to “the poor of God”
- An image used in the OT & in QL to describe elect
- External problems
- Harassment from local Jewish synagogue leaders
- The problems of Peter, John, Stephen, Barnabas, and Paul in Acts
- Problems involve interpretations of Scripture
- Especially Jesus’ fulfillment of God’s promises
- C. The Lucan Jesus
- Luke’s main answer to question of Theodicy is in his portrayal of Jesus
- Compassionate mission to selection of the Twelve
- Jesus laid foundation for reconstituted Israel
- Mission of Jesus is inclusive as he seeks mankind and restores them t union with God
- People are not as stubborn as leaders in acceptance of Jesus
- Theme of rejected prophet – four components
- God’s mercy in sending a prophet
- Rejection of the prophet
- Punishment
- Sending of another Prophet
- Jesus rejection by leaders does not close door to God’s offers of mercy
- Final nuance to Luke’s Portrait of Jesus
- Deals with fidelity of Jesus’ God - Begins Gospel with this theme
- Luke ends his Gospel with them – God has fulfilled promises in raising Jesus from the dead
- This God who did not allow His holy ones to see corruption will surely be faithful to His promises
IV. Outline
- Dawn of God’s Fulfillment of Promise (1:5-2:52)
- Gabriel’s Annunciation of the Birth of John to Zechariah in the Temple (1:5-25)
- Gabriel’s Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus to Mary in Obscure Nazareth (1:26:38)
- Elizabeth’s and Mary’s Pronouncements about the Meaning of Jesus in God’s Plan of Salvation (1:39-56)
A’ Zechariah’s Pronouncement of the Meaning of John in God’s Plan of Salvation (1:57-80)
B’ The Angel’s Pronouncement about the Meaning of Baby Jesus Lying in the Manger (2:1-20)
C’ Simeon’s Pronouncement of the Meaning of the Baby Jesus Who Has Come into the Temple (2:21-40)
D. Bridge of Passage: Conclusion to Luke’s Overture, Jesus’ Pronouncement about Himself, and Anticipation of the Future Journey of Jesus, God’s Son, form Galilee to Jerusalem (2:41-52)
III. Preparation for Jesus’ Public Ministry (3:1-4:13)
- John the Baptist’s Preaching (3:1-4:13)
- Jesus Baptism (3:21-22)
- Jesus, Culmination of God’s Plan in Creation and Salvation History (3:23-28)
- Jesus, God’s Son and Servant, Conquers the Devil (4:1-13)
- Jesus’ Galilean Ministry (4:14-9:50
- Anticipatory Description of Jesus’ Galilean Ministry (4:14-15)
- God’s Promises Fulfilled in Jesus for all (4:16-30)
- God’s Kingdom Restores Men and Women to Wholeness (4:31-44)
- Positive Response to Jesus’ Kingdom Message (5:1-11)
- Jesus’ Boundary-Breaking Ministry for Outcasts (5:12-16)
- Religious Leaders Oppose Jesus’ Kingdom Message (5:17-6:111)
- Jesus’ Power to Forgive Sins (5:17-26)
- Jesus’ Mission Is for sinners (5:27-32)
- Jesus Is the Bridegroom and Provider of New Wine (5:33-39)
- The Sabbath is Subordinate to Jesus (6:1-5)
- Compassionate Jesus Cures on the Sabbath (6:6-11)
- The Gathering of Reconstituted Israel (6:12-49)
- Jesus’ Selection of Twelve Apostles (6:12-16)
- The Sermon on the Plain (6:17-49)
- Jesus’ Kingdom Message Is for Men and Women and Shatters the Boundaries of Clean and Unclean (7:1-9:6)
- Unclean Gentiles Are Open to Jesus’ Kingdom Message (7:1-10)
- God’s Prophet, Jesus, Has Compassion on a Widow (7:11-17)
- The Roles of John and Jesus in God’s Plan of Salvation (7:18-35)
- A Woman Sinner Responds to God’s Gift of Forgiveness (7:36-50)
- The Women Disciples of Jesus (8:1-3)
- Diverse Ways of Hearing God’s Word (8:4-21)
- Jesus Conquers Chaos (8:22-25)
- Jesus Restores a Demented Gentile to Human Community
- Jesus’ Power Goes beyond Ritual Purity and Gives Life to Two Women (8:40-56)
- The Twelve Continue Jesus’ Kingdom Mission (9:1-6)
- Responses to Jesus as His Galilean Ministry Draws to a Close (9:7-50)
- The Fate of Jesus’ Forerunner Is His Fate and That of His Disciples (9:7-9)
- Jesus’ Gift of Food Is Linked to His Cross (9:10-17)
- The Cross in the Lives of the Messiah and His Disciples (9:18-27)
- Jesus’ Transfiguration and the Divine Confirmation of the Way of the Cross (9:28-36)
- How the Cross Interprets Jesus’ Merciful Deeds (9:37-45)
- The Disciples’ Misunderstanding of the Meaning of Following Jesus (9:46-50)
- Jesus’ Journey to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27)
- First Part of Instruction on the Meaning of the Christian Way (9:51-13:21)
- The Samaritan Rejection and Nonretaliation (9:51-56)
- The Cost of Discipleship (9:57-62)
- Jesus’ Teaching about Mission (10:1-24)
- The Christian Mission and Observance of the Law (10:25-37)
- Discipleship for Men and Women (10:38-42)
- Jesus’ Disciples of Prayer (11:1-13)
- Controversies Reveal the Meaning of Jesus’ Journey (11:14-36)
- Almsgiving Makes One Clean before God (11:37-54)
- Disciples Meet with External and Internal Opposition (12:1-59)
- All Need to Repent (13:1-9)
- An Illustration of the Nature of God’s Kingdom (13:11-17)
- Despite Opposition God’s Kingdom Grows (13:18-21)
- Second Part of Instruction on the Meaning of the Christian Way (13:22-17:10)
- The Need for Repentance Stressed Again (13:22-30)
- Jesus Obediently Journeys to Jerusalem (13:31-35)
- The Inclusive Nature of Jesus’ Kingdom Banquet (14:1-24)
- The Demands of Discipleship Repeated (14:25-35)
- God’s Mercy for Sinners Thrice Illustrated (15:1-32)
- The Necessity of Sharing Possessions with the Needy (16:1-31)
- The Inward Renewal of Disciples (17:1-10)
- Third Part of Instruction on the Meaning of the Christian Way (17:11-19:27)
- The Gratitude and Faith of a Samaritan Leper (17:11-19)
- Fidelity While Waiting for the Coming of the Son of Man (17:20-18:8)
- Disciples Must Depend on God Rather Than on Themselves (18:9-17)
- The Wealthy Have Great Difficulty Entering God’s Kingdom (18:18-30)
- Jesus’ Passion and Vindication (18:31-34)
- Summaries of Jesus’ Ministry to the Outcasts (18:35-19:10)
- Disciples Must Take Risks in Following Jesus the King (19:11-27)
- Jerusalem Rejects God’s Prophet and Son and Temple (19:28-21:38)
- Jesus Takes Over the Jerusalem Temple (19:28-48)
- Jesus is Hailed as King (19:28-40)
- Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem (19:41-44)
- Jesus Takes Possession of the Temple and Is the Temple (19:45-46)
- The Responses of the People and Religious Leaders to Jesus (19:47-48)
- Jesus Affirms His Authority to Speak for God (20:1-21:4)
- Jesus Is a Prophet Commissioned by God (20:1-8)
- Jesus is God’s Son and the Cornerstone of Reconstituted Israel (20:9-19)
- Jesus Truly Teaches the Way of God (20:20-26)
- Jesus’ God is the God Who Gives and Sustains Life Beyond the Grave (20:27-40)
- Jesus the Messiah Is David’s Son and Lord (20:41-44)
- Worship of God and a Life-Style of Justice (20:45-21:4)
- Jesus’ Last Meal and Association with Sinners (22:1-23:56a)
- Jesus’ Farewell Discourse at a Meal (22:1-38)
- Preparation for Jesus’ Farewell Discourse to His Disciples (22:1-13)
- The Eucharis as Jesus’ Legacy to the Church (22:14-20)
- Will Future Disciples Betray Jesus? (22:21-23)
- The Meaning of Leadership in Luke’s Communities (22:24-30)
- Peter’s Role in the Church (22:31-34)
- The Justification for the Changed Missionary Praxis of Luke’s Communities (22:35-38)
- Jesus’ Fidelity and Disciples’ Failure during Trial (22:39-71)
- Jesus and His Disciples Contrasted in Prayer (22:39-46)
- Infidelity and Fidelity Contrasted (22:47-53)
- The Fidelity of Jesus, Son of God, & of Peter Contrasted (22:54-71)
- To the End, the Innocent Jesus Associates with Sinners (23:1-56a)
- The Wronged and Righteous Jesus Is Handed Over to Crucifixion (23:1-25)
- Jesus, Rejected Prophet, Calls for Repentance (23:26-31)
- Jesus, among Sinners, Prayers for Forgiveness (23:32-34)
- Negative and Positive Responses to Jesus (23:35-49)
- Jesus is Given a Kingly Burial (23:50-56a)
- Jesus’ Vindication, Promise of the Spirit, and Ascension (23:56b-24:53)
- Women as Evangelists (23:56b-24:12)
- Emmaus and Return to the Journey of Discipleship (24:13-35)
- Commissioning and Ascension (24:36-53)
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