Synoptic Gospels and Acts

Director: Fr. Randy Soto

Student: Johnson Lopez

April 21, 2008

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE: NJBC

Authorship, Date and Place of Composition:  as witnesses about the authorship outside of the New Testament we have: Muratorian Canon, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, and Eusebius.  With them we can prove that the author is Luke, a Syrian of Antioch and that his Gospel is derived from Paul’s teaching. From the New Testament itself, we can deduce that Luke was a physician who works with Paul. About the date, we have that Luke used Mark and Mark was written a little before of the Jews war (66-70 AD), and the author supposed that Jerusalem has been destroyed. So a date after 70 AD is required.

Literary Style and Characteristic: Luke is a theologian who has a deep knowledge on the Greek language. He adapts the Greek literary form to transmit his message: For example, the symposium genre (7: 36-50), and the farewell discourse genre (22: 14-38). Luke uses his sources creatively, e.g., the birth announcement and the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus. In the account of Jesus’ ministry, Luke uses the Q source that is the Mark’s account. Taking a 60 percent of Mark’s account, however, he avoids Marcan redundancy in expressions and feelings.    He makes an adaptation of Marcan material about Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. Luke does good adaptations in his account in order to link traditions and sources together.

Luke’s Theology and Sitz im Leben:  Luke writes to a gentile community who is living a hard environment that is cause by some controversies. The key point in Mark is about theodicy. The Gospel develops the theme concerning the fidelity of God to his promise made with the people of Israel. God is faithful to his promises with Jesus’ incarnation, and in a extraordinary way, this promise included also the gentiles, poor, sick, and unclean. God founded the new Israel and he is always loyal to his covenant.   

Continuity with the Old: Luke presents a Jesus who upholds the continuity and fulfillment of the law. Jesus and his community stand in their noble Judaism tradition. Judaism is founded upon the twelve tribes as Jesus founded his Church upon the twelve apostles. 

Internal and external controversies: in the internal controversy Luke deal with the Jewish Christians who are very strict with those who want to join the community.  This Jewish Christians are identified as the Pharisees. The Pharisees accused Jesus of being with sinners, and tax collectors.  Jesus uses the symposium genre to teach them who are the children of God, who are the poor of God. The main external problem stressed by Luke is the hostile situation from the leader of the synagogue. This situation is liked with how the Christians interpreted the sacred Scripture and how Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises.    

The Lucan Jesus: Jesus laid the foundation for the reconstitute of Israel. His mission is to look for the lost and sinners to restore them in union with God. The people do not reject the mission of Jesus as the priests do. On the contrary, they repent themselves of their sins and seem Jesus’ Crucifixion as the action of Salvation.  From this repentant people Jesus form the bond of continuity between the Old and New Israel. The Luke rejection of Jesus as the prophet by the Jews has four components: God’s mercy in sending a prophet, rejection of the prophet, punishment, and sending another prophet.