The Apologetic Revisited : Exonerating Luke from an Ancestral Exegetical and Theological Burden

The Apologetic thesis of Lukan scholarship should not be over exaggerated. The criticism of the powerful is clearly seen in the double work of Luke. The Magnificat, the Temptation of Jesus and the admonition to serve others within the last supper of the Gospel show the sensitivity of Luke in dealing with the powerful.

The trend in the scholarship of Luke has been that of presenting Luke as being interested in the survival of Christianity within the Power apparatus of the Roman world. To achieve this pivotal aim, he seems to overlook the abysmal social maladies and wrongdoings of the Powerful of his time hoping not to endanger the peace and tranquility of Christianity. The intention of this research, however, is to show the defiance and fearlessness of Luke in dealing with the rich and the Powerful. He did not compromise the basic teachings of Christianity even in his respect for the constituted profane Authorities of the Roman order. A second proper look beholds the critical dynamics of his Gospel and the Acts, beginning with the Magnificat running through the angelic Annunciation scene and the Temptation of Jesus and ending with the punishment of Herod Agrippa. The reader beholds a hitherto unknown Luke, who operates from a particular critical stance and distance to the Powerful from the sociological perspective of hidden transcripts.