Luke’s Interpretation of Scripture

Luke wrote at a time when there was a significant Jewish opposition to the Mission to the Gentiles. This is evident from an exegetical examination of several key passages: Lk. 4:16-30; Acts 13:42-52 and Acts 28:16-31. In these passages, Luke has employed hermeneutic techniques to present his Isaianic theme. What is remarkable is that these same passages are cited in support of the proposition that Luke wrote about the rejection of the Jews.

The Sermon preached in Nazareth has an aspect to it that has not received proper attention. Jesus mentions Elijah, a religious zealot for maintenance and restoration of God’s covenant with Israel.

In all three passages, Jesus in Luke and Paul in Acts are presented as instructing the audience in the interpretation of scripture and, unlike similar examples in Matthew and Mark where Jesus instructs, we know the scriptural basis of the instruction provided.

Since it recognized that scripture plays an important role in Luke-Acts, I will return often to this theme.

copyrighted 2005