Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Jesus of Nazareth in missionary preaching: Luke's view
- 2 Luke's presentation of Jesus in his Gospel
- 3 Pre-Lucan traditions about Jesus in the speeches in Acts
- 4 Jesus in Paul's preaching
- 5 The gospels and ancient biographical writing
- 6 Jesus in the gospel traditions
- 7 The gospel traditions in the early church
- Conclusions
- Index of passages cited
- Index of authors
- General Index
2 - Luke's presentation of Jesus in his Gospel
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Jesus of Nazareth in missionary preaching: Luke's view
- 2 Luke's presentation of Jesus in his Gospel
- 3 Pre-Lucan traditions about Jesus in the speeches in Acts
- 4 Jesus in Paul's preaching
- 5 The gospels and ancient biographical writing
- 6 Jesus in the gospel traditions
- 7 The gospel traditions in the early church
- Conclusions
- Index of passages cited
- Index of authors
- General Index
Summary
Luke, it is now frequently argued, looks back to the life and character of Jesus in quite a new way, not so much as the historian or the most skilled writer among the evangelists, but from his own particular theological perspective. Luke has made a biography of Jesus central in his interpretation of Heilsgeschickte; Luke has written the first life of Jesus. Only at this late stage in the development of primitive Christianity does the life and character of Jesus play an important role in the message of the primitive church. Luke's theological achievement is often criticised and viewed as a corruption or distortion of the primitive kerygma. R. Bultmann, for example, suggests that Luke has surrendered the original kerygmatic sense of the Jesus tradition and has historicised it.
Does Luke's Gospel represent a new understanding and presentation of the traditions about Jesus as ‘biographical’? Does Luke view the life and character of Jesus from a completely new theological perspective? The distinctive features of Luke's presentation of Jesus in the passion narratives are clarified in the opening section of this chapter. For M. Dibelius, among others, contends that a new way of estimating the tradition of the life of Jesus quite unlike that found in other parts of the New Testament can be found here: the passion becomes a martyrdom, Jesus a hero, and Luke's narrative an edifying description of a noble character.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Jesus of Nazareth in New Testament Preaching , pp. 31 - 66Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1975