Luke

Gospel to the Nameless and Faceless

W. Mark Tew

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN:
  9781610977340
  9781498261913
• eBook ISBN:
  9781630875442
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

In Luke: Gospel to the Nameless and Faceless, Dr. W. Mark Tew offers the Christian reader a commentary like none other. Combining a detailed examination of the Greek text, a fresh translation of the Gospel, and a commitment to presenting the meaning of the Gospel in a fluid and contemporary fashion, Luke: Gospel to the Nameless and Faceless presents the advanced student and the casual reader alike with an inspirational look at the timeless beauty of Luke's Gospel. Committed to the literary integrity of Scripture, the author allowed the Greek text of the Gospel of Luke to determine the organizational structure of the book. Because of this, readers will find themselves immersed in the message of Jesus that Luke portrayed. Luke: Gospel to the Nameless and Faceless is destined to become an inspirational classic.

1

The Galilean Beginning

Luke: The Gospel of the Nameless and Faceless

Luke 1:1–4

1As many have taken in hand the task of compiling a narrative of all the events accomplished among us, 2and even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word delivered the same to us, 3it seemed appropriate to me also to write to you, most excellent Theophilus, 4so that you may know a true report concerning that which you have been informed.

Many things can be and indeed have been said about the introduction to Luke’s Gospel. Scholars appropriately call attention to the identity of the author: Luke, the beloved physician and traveling companion of Paul.1 The fluid literary Greek style, among the best in the New Testament, is noted along with the author’s attention to historic detail while remaining true to the unique genre of gospel: a sermonic form that is part narrative, part polemic, part apology. The occasion and date are frequently and properly tied to the initial recipient, a Gentile given the title of “Your Excellency” and called by the name Theophilis. Luke wanted this one named “lover of God” to understand that the good news of God’s kingdom was the culmination of Judaism, a recognized and legal religion, and, as such, was nonthreatening to governmental and civic order. Furthermore, the gospel’s proponents were all law-abiding citizens of the Roman Empire, intent only on extending the understanding of God’s love and acceptance to all. Though addressed to a governmental official, the story began with the poorest of the social order and continued to include the outcasts of society. Sinners; tax collectors; women; shepherds; lepers, and the lame, sick, and dying all found inclusion through the work of the Holy Spirit that dominates the unfolding story. The pervasive nature of Luke’s Gospel clearly demonstrates the larger audience: Gentile readers both with and without Jewish backgrounds who lived in the expanding Roman Empire of the Mediterranean world.

It is to this nameless and faceless crowd that the Gospel of Luke is intended and, with regard to his sources, also indebted. After indicating that others had transmitted the Gospel information orally and in written form, Luke subtly acknowledged the importance of his sources as being those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word. The beauty of Luke’s word choice should not be overlooked. The word translated “servants” or “ministers” of the Word is ὐπηρεται (hupēretai), a word that predates the New Testament era. Mathew, Mark, and John used the term in a military capacity describing an officer of the court (Matt 5:25; 26:58; Mark 14:54,65; John 7:45; 18:3,12,18,22; 19:6). Jesus also described his servants in a hypothetical military fashion when he said his servants would fight for him if his kingdom were of this world (John 18:36). Luke alone in the Gospels used the word to describe an attendant who facilitates worship, an application seen clearly in the only other reference in the Gospel. In Luke 4:16, Jesus inaugurated his public ministry by reading from the prophet Isaiah. Upon completion, Jesus handed the scroll to the attendant, ὐπηρεται (hupēretai). Paul used the word only once. When addressing the Corinthians he said, “This is how one should regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor 4:1, italics added).

A compound word, ὐπηρεται (hupēretai) would be translated literally as “under rower.” Unsuccessful attempts have been made to link the resulting translation of servant to the lower tier of oarsmen in the trireme, a class of warship common to the Mediterranean Sea in the centuries before the birth of Christ. As the name of the vessel implies, three sets of oarsmen—thranites, zygites, and thalamites—were located in vertical banks to the starboard and port of the ship. More likely is the explanation offered by L. J. D. Richardson who related the word meaning not to an oarsman’s position but to the oarsmen’s cooperation in a group effort. Richardson held that “the word ὑπηρέτης came into use as soon as the number of ἐρέτας reached a point when it became necessary to have on board a ‘time keeper’ or controller, in other words a κελευστής. All the oarsmen now became ‘under-rowers’ in respect of this coxswain, taking their time, orders, etc., without question from him.”2 This understanding led to Richardson’s position that the under rower rendered “unquestioning service in response to another’s authoritative bidding.”3

With this background, Luke’s description of his literary sources takes on new life. These eyewitnesses and servants were not merely reporters of fact. They were not omniscient narrators untouched by the reality of their message. They were attendants, working together to achieve a common goal, abdicating individualism and recognizing as they did the essential task of following one leader.

Three characteristics should be attributed to these “servants of the Word.” (1) These servants of the Word were participants in the gospel. The evangelist John delivered to the readers of his epistles “that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled” (1 John 1:1). Additionally, John wrote in the prologue of his Gospel, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). But Luke had no such personal experience with the resurrected Christ. Like the author of Hebrews, Luke was a second generation Christian,4 dependent on the experience and report of others. Servants of the Word must experience the message to which they attend.

(2) These servants of the Word faithfully delivered their experiences. Without their willingness to share, the gospel message would have faded into lost details of societal memory. The servants of the Word are required not only to experience the message but to propagate the same. Spiritual illiteracy is never further away than one generation.

(3) These servants of the Word were perfectly content to be anonymous in their service, to call no attention to themselves, and to focus all glory on Christ. These first-century heralds of the good news were indeed nameless and faceless.

Zachariah and Elizabeth

Luke 1:5–6

5During the days of Herod, King of Judea, there arose a priest of the course of Abijah whose name was Zachariah, and whose wife, a daughter of Aaron, was named Elizabeth. 6Both Zachariah and Elizabeth were righteous before God and blameless, constantly observing the commandments and decrees of the Lord.

In the Antiquities of the Jews, the Jewish historian Josephus repeated the details of 1 Chronicles 24 where King David divided all of the descendents of Aaron into twenty-four sections.5 This took place as David described the details of his vision for the temple to his son Solomon (1 Chron 28:11–19). These divisions, courses, or sections were necessary due to the large number of direct descendants of Aaron, specifically, thirty-eight thousand Levites thirty years of age or older (1 Chron 23:3). Two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, did not survive their father, while their brothers, Eleazar and Ithamar did. David organized the direct descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar into twenty-four groups, each bearing the name of the various sons of Eleazar and Ithamar. Although it is an argument from silence, Ezra implied that descendants of all twenty-four sections either did not survive the Babylonian deportation or did not return when released. Only Jedaiah, Immer, Pashur, and Harim, along with the Number of their descendants are recorded (Ezra 2:36–39). Nehemiah seemed to have reordered all twenty-four as they have reappeared in the New Testament era (Neh 13:30). Josephus asserted that the each section served in the temple from Sabbath to Sabbath, or eight days.6 If this is accurate, the only biblical reference would be when the high priest Jehoiada engaged the sections as body guards for the boy King Joash (2 Chron 23:8).

Luke introduced the first key figures of the Gospel as Zachariah, a priest from the section of Abajah. Furthermore, the story is heightened by the identity of Zachariah’s wife, whose name was Elizabeth. Marriage was sacred to the Jewish people. Racial purity was of utmost importance in the post-deportation culture. Elizabeth was not only a Jew but she was also the daughter of Aaron. Far from being trivial details, Luke initiated the story of the Messiah grounded firmly in established Judaism, as it had been practiced since Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple. What is more, Luke showed this heritage to be inclusive of women. Far from being illegal or seditious, this Gospel message is reputable and inclusive of all social orders.

Not to be overlooked are the attributes of these two people who were privileged to initiate the story of God’s kingdom on earth. (1) Zachariah and Elizabeth were described as righteous before God. Keeping in mind Luke’s intent to convey the non-seditious nature of the gospel to the Roman official Theolphilis, it comes as no surprise that the first adherents of the faith are described as righteous before God. A word with rich history in classical and Koine Greek literature, δίκαιος (dikaιos) means “to be upright and just” when applied to people. In a secular sense, a righteous person always conforms to the law of the land, be that religious or civic in nature. Luke accordingly showed the forbearers and followers of Christ to be upstanding citizens of God’s kingdom and of the social order. In so doing, Luke depicted the nature of the Christian life for subsequent readers as people living in harmony with God and man.

(2) Not only were Zachariah and Elizabeth righteous but they also were blameless. The English prefixes a, non, and un, are negating prefixes that rephrase a word to its antonym. Friendly and unfriendly, political and nonpolitical, moral and amoral are only a few examples. The Greek language achieves the same mechanics with the alpha privative. In this passage, ἄμεμπτοι (amemptoi) means “blameless.” The prefixed Greek alpha negates the root word μεμπτός (memptos), which means “a reason for complaint.” The apostle Paul used μεμπτός (memptos) when he urged the Colossian Christians to forgive the one against whom they had a reason for complaint (Col 3:13). Zachariah and Elizabeth were flawless in their character, giving no one a reason for complaint.

(3) Zachariah and Elizabeth were constantly abiding in the commandments and decrees of the Lord. Matthew captured the essence of the word πορευόμενοι (poreuomenoi) when he recorded the directions of Jesus, “As you go, proclaim saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Ma...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: The Galilean Beginning
• Chapter 2: Journey to Jerusalem
• Chapter 3: Jerusalem and Beyond
• Bibliography