Luke S Portrait Of Paul

The purpose of this book is to seek a fuller understanding of how the characterisation of Paul in Acts would have been perceived by those who first read or heard the Lucan narrative. As the author makes clear, the careful reader of Acts should be amazed at the way St Paul is portrayed therein. Dr Lentz demonstrates, through a careful examination of particular texts, the great improbability that a Jew of strict Pharisaic background would have held, let alone been proud of, Roman citizenship and citizenship of the city of Tarsus. By investigating the social and legal expectations of the first century, the author shows that Paul is seen to be deferred to in matters of legal minutiae by those in positions of authority. He is given high social status and abundant moral virtue in order to attract to Christianity the high-ranking citizen who would recognise in Paul the classical cardinal virtues.

In the Book of Acts, Paul is portrayed as a messenger who brings the good news of God to the world. He is a commanding orator who captivates his audiences, including a Roman senatorial proconsul and a Jewish king, with his gestures, appearance, and speeches. His performances appeal to both Greco-Roman and Jewish cultural scripts alike. But why does Luke portray Paul in this way? Using insights from both modern performance studies and ancient rhetoric, Arco den Heijer analyses five episodes from Acts (in Paphos, Pisidian Antioch, Lystra, Athens, and before Agrippa in Caesarea) to suggest that Luke's portraits of Paul's performance served to counter negative views of Christians in both Roman and Jewish circles, views that circulated in the social network of Theophilus, the addressee of the book.

Ravens argues that Luke's belief in God's restoration of Israel provides the key context for understanding Luke-Acts. His attitudes to Jews, his surveys of Israel's history and his interest in the Samaritans combine to suggest his wider, pre-Davidic, view of Israel-a view that becomes the pattern for the restored Israel under its Davidic king. Luke's belief leads him to present Christology and atonement in ways that cohere with Jewish hopes and to correct apparently anti-Jewish elements in Paul's letters and Matthew's Gospel. This theme also determines his account of the gentile mission and his pastoral concern for unity.

Introduces literary, historical, and theological issues of Luke and Acts. Biblical texts create worlds of meaning, and invite readers to enter them. When readers enter such textual worlds, which are often strange and complex, they are confronted with theological claims. With this in mind, the purpose of the Interpreting Biblical Texts series is to help serious readers in their experience of reading and interpreting by providing guides for their journeys into textual worlds. The controlling perspective is expressed in the operative word of the title--interpreting. The primary focus of the series is not so much on the world behind the texts or out of which the texts have arisen as on the worlds created by the texts in their engagement with readers. In keeping with the goals of the series, this volume provides an introductory guide to readers of the New Testament books of Luke and Acts. It focuses on both the synchronic and diachronic dimensions of the literature in an effort to acquaint readers with literary, historical, and theological issues that will facilitate interpretation of these important books. F. Scott Spencer is Professor of New Testament at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond.

What do the books of Luke and Acts teach us about God, Jesus, and the early church? How do these two books relate to each other? And what do they mean for us today? In this accessible and compelling introduction, Michael Bird draws us into the wide-ranging narrative of Luke-Acts to discover how Luke frames the life of Jesus and of the first disciples who set out from Jerusalem to "the ends of the earth" proclaiming the Good News. Bird shows us how these two books, when read together, tell a cohesive narrative about Jesus, the Church, and the mission of God—with implications for the whole of our lives today. Situating both books in their historical and literary context, Bird moves through an exploration of their central theological themes and culminates with consideration of the books' relevance for contemporary social issues.

The NIV Application Commentary helps you communicate and apply biblical text effectively in today's context. To bring the ancient messages of the Bible into today's world, each passage is treated in three sections: Original Meaning. Concise exegesis to help readers understand the original meaning of the biblical text in its historical, literary, and cultural context. Bridging Contexts. A bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of today, built by discerning what is timeless in the timely pages of the Bible. Contemporary Significance. This section identifies comparable situations to those faced in the Bible and explores relevant application of the biblical messages. The author alerts the readers of problems they may encounter when seeking to apply the passage and helps them think through the issues involved. This unique, award-winning commentary is the ideal resource for today's preachers, teachers, and serious students of the Bible, giving them the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God's Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.

What was Paul's attitude toward his own death? How did he act and what did he say and write in view of it? What hopes did he hold for himself beyond death? Alexander N. Kirk explores these questions through a close reading of four Pauline letters that look ahead to Paul's death and other relevant texts in the first two generations after Paul's death (AD 70-160). The author studies portraits of the departed Paul in Acts, 1 Clement, the letters of Ignatius, Polycarp's letter To the Philippians, and the Martyrdom of Paul. He also examines portraits of the departing Paul in 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, and 2 Timothy, arguing that Paul's death did not primarily present an existential challenge, but a pastoral one. Although touching upon several areas of recent scholarly interest, Alexander N. Kirk sets forth a new research question and fresh interpretations of early Christian and Pauline texts.

Everyone knows the supposed life story of Paul the apostle, but then again they may not. As it is generally drawn from the book of Acts, Paul had a dramatic conversion on the “road to Damascus,” undertook “three missionary journeys,” and returned a final time to Jerusalem. He was arrested for creating a riot, held prisoner in Caesarea, and upon his appeal to Caesar was finally transported to Rome as a prisoner. Dotted, dashed, or colored lines on countless numbers of maps document Paul’s “three missionary journeys” and his journey to Rome, as these are commonly discerned in the book of Acts. Paul’s letters and the book of Acts itself, however, may tell a different story than the one customarily perceived—perhaps a less familiar story, but perhaps a more factual one. The Ministry of Paul the Apostle represents a significant paradigm shift for understanding Paul’s ministry which involves two major campaigns, an ordered awareness of Paul’s ministry as far as Illyricum, a revision of Paul’s Corinthian ministry, an historical confirmation of visits to Jerusalem, an appropriate ordering and reaffirmation of Paul’s letters, including Romans 16 as a letter to Ephesus. In addition, the current study offers a new paradigm for correlation between our sources of Paul’s letters and the book of Acts, with the development of an underlying source tradition behind Acts. The reader is thus invited to participate in a significant re-evaluation of Paul’s ministry and a proposed solution to a long-standing mystery of correlation between Paul’s letters and Acts. When one travels with Paul, one engages in a voyage of discovery. This book makes sense of the mystery of Paul’s ministry, which when properly understood, becomes an illuminating foundational window of clarity for sorting out a bewildering multitude of theological formulations of the enigmas of Paul’s thought. It is through a thorough awareness of the ministry of Paul that one comes to appreciate the contextual nature and depth of Paul’s theological thought. One comes to a new appreciation of Paul’s place in early Christianity, relevant even for those who live in a post-modern age.