The prominence given to the period of the church in the story has important consequences for Luke’s interpretation of the teachings of Jesus. ![]() At the same time Luke argues in Acts that Christianity is the logical development and proper fulfillment of Judaism and is therefore deserving of the same toleration and freedom traditionally accorded Judaism by Rome ( Acts 13:16– 41 23:6– 9 24:10– 21 26:2– 23). To this end, Luke depicts the Roman governor Pilate declaring Jesus innocent of any wrongdoing three times ( Lk 23:4, 14, 22). Luke is concerned with presenting Christianity as a legitimate form of worship in the Roman world, a religion that is capable of meeting the spiritual needs of a world empire like that of Rome. ![]() Luke relates the story of Jesus and the church to events in contemporary Palestinian ( Lk 1:5 3:1– 2 Acts 4:6) and Roman ( Lk 2:1– 2 3:1 Acts 11:28 18:2, 12) history for, as Paul says in Acts 26:26, “this was not done in a corner.” Finally, Luke relates the story of Jesus and the church to contemporaneous church history. This salvation history, moreover, is a part of human history. God’s divine plan for human salvation was accomplished during the period of Jesus, who through the events of his life ( Lk 22:22) fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies ( Lk 4:21 18:31 22:37 24:26– 27, 44), and this salvation is now extended to all humanity in the period of the church ( Acts 4:12). This history is first of all salvation history. Luke’s story of Jesus and the church is dominated by a historical perspective. This continuity between the historical ministry of Jesus and the ministry of the apostles is Luke’s way of guaranteeing the fidelity of the Church’s teaching to the teaching of Jesus. ![]() To accomplish his purpose, Luke shows that the preaching and teaching of the representatives of the early church are grounded in the preaching and teaching of Jesus, who during his historical ministry ( Acts 1:21– 22) prepared his specially chosen followers and commissioned them to be witnesses to his resurrection and to all else that he did ( Acts 10:37– 42). The stated purpose of the two volumes is to provide Theophilus and others like him with certainty-assurance-about earlier instruction they have received ( Lk 1:4). The Gospel according to Luke is the first part of a two-volume work that continues the biblical history of God’s dealings with humanity found in the Old Testament, showing how God’s promises to Israel have been fulfilled in Jesus and how the salvation promised to Israel and accomplished by Jesus has been extended to the Gentiles.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |