Luke Acts And The Jewish People

By Jews and turning to Gentiles : the pattern of Paul's mission in Acts / Robert C. Tannehill -- The mission to the Jews in Acts : unraveling Luke's "Myth of the 'myriads'" / Michael J. Cook -- The problem of Jewish rejection in Acts / Joseph B. Tyson.

This survey of the history of critical scholarship on the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles draws particular attention to the interpretation of Luke's treatment of Jews and Judaism. It notes that the Holocaust was a major turning point in the history of New Testament scholarship.

Analyzes the hostile portrayal of the Jews in Luke-Acts and points to its influence in the spread of anti-Jewish sentiment among Christians. Examines Luke's portrayal of various groups: Jewish leaders, the Jewish people, the Pharisees, and the outcasts and other peripheral elements in Jewish society. Compares Luke's virulent Jew-hatred with the milder attitude of other New Testament writers (e.g. Matthew, John, Paul). Rejects the view that the reason for Luke's hatred was Jewish persecution of Christianity; rather, it was Luke's identity problem as a Gentile Christian plagued by the opposition of both Jews and Jewish Christians to Gentile Christianity.

Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel and tells the story of Jesus's followers during the 30 years after his death. It describes how the 12 apostles, formerly Jesus's disciples, spread the message of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean against a background of persecution. With an introduction by P.D. James

In this book Jacob Jervell challenges two widely held theories about Luke: that he was a representative of the institutional church, and that his writing was directed primarily at Gentile readers. He also presents much valuable insight into the growing pains of the early church, especially the relationship of the Jews to the Jewish Christians, and the relationship of both these groups to the Gentiles.

In this book, Samson Uytanlet states his observation that there is an unnecessary disjunction between Luke's theology and literature in previous studies on Luke-Acts: Luke's theology is typically studied in light of Jewish writings while Luke's literature is studied in relation with Greco-Roman works. The author shows that there are theological, literary, and ideological elements that ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish writings share which are also present in Luke's work. In areas where they diverge, however, Luke-Acts shows closer affinity to Jewish writings.