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131 Chapter 10 Luke and the Heritage of Israel* Mikeal C. Parsons Luke the “Gentile” Writing for a “Gentile Audience”? It is standard fare among introductions to the New Testament to describe Luke as a “Gentile” writing for a “Gentile audience.”1 This view is grounded in early Christian tradition.2 That Luke was a Gentile is suggested by the * I am delighted to contribute to this volume honoring the life and work of Charles H. Talbert and in celebration of his eightieth birthday! The writings of Charles Talbert have challenged and engaged me over the course of my career. My first publication was a review of Talbert’s Reading Luke in PRSt 10 (1984): 283–85. I was also privileged to contribute to and edit a volume assessing the contributions of Charles Talbert to the study of the Lukan writings; see Mikeal C. Parsons and Joseph B. Tyson, eds., Cadbury, Knox, and Talbert: American Contributions to the Study of Acts (SBLBSNA 18; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992). For sixteen years it was my distinct honor and sheer joy to serve with him as colleagues in the Religion Department at Baylor University. In addition to serving together as committee members on more than twenty New Testament doctoral dissertations at Baylor (most of which were subsequently published in revised form), we served as coeditors of, and contributors to, the Paideia Commentary on the New Testament (PCNT) series, published by Baker Academic. More importantly, over the years, Charles has become one of my nearest and dearest friends, a friendship that extends to both our families and which I continue to relish! I offer this essay as a small token of our friendship and in gratitude for the many, many things Charles has taught me about the New Testament, its ancient context, and its contemporary application. 132 Mikeal C. Parsons second-century “anti-Marcionite” prologue, which contained a description of Luke as “a Syrian of Antioch.”3 And Jerome (Epist. 20.4) bears witness to the tradition that Luke’s audience was Gentile; that is, he reports that Luke “wrote his Gospel among the Greeks” (in Graecis Evangelium scripserit).4 This characterization of Luke as a Gentile is often depicted as standing in contrast to Matthew, who writes for a predominantly “Jewish audience.” There is, of course, some truth to these labels. Matthew, for example, begins his Gospel with a genealogy that details the Davidic lineage of Jesus. Furthermore , Matthew uses a fulfillment formula throughout his Gospel (but especially in the infancy narrative) to show how certain events from the life of Jesus fulfill prophecies found in Israel’s Scriptures.5 Matthew also notes that Jesus’ public ministry was confined to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt 10:5-6; cf. 15:24). Finally, many think that Matthew has presented Jesus as a “new Moses” and has collected the speeches and parables of Jesus into five discourses (chs. 5–7; 10; 13; 18; 24–25) that parallel the five books of Moses.6 But Matthew’s Gospel is also interested in the role of Gentiles in salvation history. From the non-Israelite women mentioned in the genealogy (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba), to the Gentile magi who venerate the newborn King, to the Great Commission at the end of the Gospel, through which Jesus commissions his disciples to “make disciples of all the nations/Gentiles,” there is an eye toward the place of the Gentiles in the people of God. Thus it would be a mistake to infer from its label as the “Jewish Gospel” that Matthew has no interest in things that are Gentile. David Garland has also noted that, in addition to this interest in the fate of Gentiles, Matthew’s “anti-Jewish” material (21:43; 23:32-35, 36; 27:25) prohibits one from concluding “too quickly that Matthew was primarily for Jews.”7 Likewise, it would be a mistake to think that Luke, the “Gentile Gospel,” has no interest in things Jewish. In fact, in the next two sections, we will argue that Luke’s narrative logic, especially in Acts, is deeply and profoundly Jewish.8 In the final section, I will address the historical context within which Luke makes his argument. The Relationship of the “Way” to Judaism(s): Perspectives in Acts Given that the Third Gospel is about the deeds and words of a Jewish teacher, it stands to reason that much of Luke’s Gospel should have a Jewish “flavor.” Indeed, the Third Gospel...

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