Political Issues In Luke Acts

"The contributors represent varying outlooks in New Testament study so that the book offers a continuation of the current debate rather than a set of agreed conclusions. The editors of this symposium deserve our thanks for bringing together this series of useful essays which no student of the social teaching in the New Testament and of Luke's writings in particular ought to miss." --I. Howard Marshall, Professor of New Testament Exegesis, University of Aberdeen "Various phases of Luke's challenge (to the powers of his day) are discussed in some detail by the contributors to this symposium; and, in consequence, much light is thrown on Luke's purpose in writing. I am happy to commend this new volume of studies to the serious attention of students and teachers of the New Testament and early Christian history." --F. F. Bruce, Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis, University of Manchester "These lively, provocative, and well-informed essays center around the thesis of Dr. Richard J. Cassidy in his Jesus, Politics, and Society, in which he challenges the notion that Luke-Acts was written as a political apologetic. The result is a stimulating debate, as though one were participating in a discussion, at once learned and relevant, on the exegetical issue of Lukan redaction, and of course, on the moral question of Jesus' attitude toward civil authority." -Howard Clark Kee, William Goodwin Aurelio Professor of Biblical Studies, Boston University "Here we have ten studies which sharply probe aspects of the political Luke and/or Luke's political Jesus, including a study by Cassidy himself as well as studies which take him to task on various counts. All told, Political Issues in Luke-Acts is an extremely valuable showcase of the most current research in Luke-Acts and its societal concerns." --Edward C. Hobbs, Professor of Religion, Wellesley College, Visiting Professor of New Testament, Harvard University

The nature of Lukan christology has been much debated in recent years, with scholars claiming the pre-eminence of such categories as Lord, Prophet, Christ, or Isaianic Servant. In the present work the author examines one major theme within Luke's christology, that of the coming king from the line of David. A study of the Lukan birth narrative and the speeches in Acts reveals that Luke shows a strong interest in this royal-messianic theme, introducing it into passages which are introductory and programmatic for his christology as a sermon, portraying Jesus in strongly prophetic terms. The author seeks a synthesis of these seemingly conflicting royal and prophetic portraits in Luke's interpretation of the Old Testament book of Isaiah. When Isaiah is read as a unity, the eschatological deliverer is at the same time Davidic king (Isa. 9.11), suffering servant of Yahweh (Isa. 42-53), and prophet herald of salvation (Isa. 61), leading God's people on an eschatological new exodus. On the basis of this synthesis the christology of Luke-Acts is seen to be both consistent and unified, forming an integral part of Luke's wider purpose in his two-volume work.

In this widely-acclaimed study, Dr Esler makes extensive use of sociology and anthropology to examine the author of Luke Acts' theology as a response to social and political pressures upon the Christian community for whom he was writing. As well as interesting those concerned with recent developments in New Testament scholarship, Esler's book offers a New Testament paradigm for those interested in generating a theology attuned to the social and political realities affecting contemporary Christian congregations.

"Were the three rulers with the name "Herod" in Luke-Acts a composite character? Frank Dicken explores their narrative similarities and interprets them as a single character in light of other examples of conflation in Jewish and early Christian literature."--Provided by publisher.

God as Father in Luke-Acts argues that 'Father' is the central image for God in Luke-Acts by tracing a line of continuity in the portrayal of God as Israel's merciful, faithful, and authoritative Father from the Old Testament to Luke-Acts and its Second Temple Jewish milieu. The fulfillment of the promises to Abraham, David, and Israel in Jesus is best understood as the fatherly actions of Israel's God. Furthermore, the striking similarities between God as Father and Augustus as Pater Patriae undermine the assertion of the Lukan view of the Roman Empire as highly polemical.

For over a century New Testament scholars have explored the issue of possible antisemitism in Luke-Acts, especially because the author apparently blames the Jews for the death of Jesus. This monograph offers a fresh analysis of this question revealing a different emphasis: that among the Jews only those associated with Jerusalem, especially the Sanhedrin, are responsible for Jesus' death. Luke's Israel is in fact divided in response to Jesus, not monolithically opposed to him. Furthermore, the ascription of responsibility to the people of Jerusalem in Acts, widely regarded as a Lukan creation, in fact is more likely to have been based on sources independent of the synoptics. A consideration of ancient literature concerned with the deaths of innocent victims further suggests a likely "Sitz im Leben" for the transmission of material ascribing responsibility for Jesus' death.

In recent years, scholars have explored anew the interface between the early Christian movements and the Roman Empire. Once thought to be quietistic, the early Christian movements turn out to have been critical of the Empire and significantly counterimperial. This collection of essays in honor of Robert Brawley turns the spotlight on Luke-Acts. The soundings taken here disclose deeper anti-imperial rhetoric than previously thought. In brazen and subtle ways, Luke-Acts displays an alternative realm of peace and justice inaugurated by Jesus under the God of Israel. The essays in this volume will lead you to hear Luke-Acts in fresh ways.