A fundamental logic underlies Luke-Acts, a set of interdependent themes that inform Luke’s selection of Jesus’ sayings and stories about him, as well as their final arrangement in Luke’s narrative. This theo-logic is the DNA of Luke-Acts, the carrier of Luke’s distinctive theological information. Five themes make the set, which I will briefly outline here and return to often.
A Surprising Climax to Israel’s Story
Luke discerns the climax of Israel’s story in Jesus and the church gathered around him. This took everyone by surprise, but it should not have done so. The Scriptures clearly had foretold what God intended, and only hardness of heart kept the people from recognizing this witness to the long-awaited fulfillment of God’s promises. Not only Jesus’ enemies, but also his closest companions misunderstood him; even after the Resurrection they continued to expect a Maccabean-style deliverance from Roman power. From the events of the Day of Pentecost they did begin to understand, but only slowly and in fractions. As they began to understand and proclaim Jesus as resurrected and all that that meant for Israel and the world, they discovered many people found their claims simply incredible.
The Reconfiguration of God’s People
Because of what God accomplished in Jesus’ resurrection, Israel as God’s chosen people found herself reconfigured and her responsibilities reordered. As the prophets had foretold, God gathered the Gentiles into the people, and this meant the relativization of Israel’s land, the Torah, and the Temple. The followers of Jesus continued to worship the God of the fathers, to read the Law and the prophets as Scripture, and maintained a rigorous piety, yet they lived free from such previously-binding legal regulations as circumcision and Sabbath observance that cordoned them off from “unclean” people – the very people for whom Christ called into his band.
Heralds of the Good News of the Reign of God
By the power of the Spirit – the same Spirit who moved the ancient prophets – the newly-ordered Israel heralded “the good news of the reign of God.” As with the prophets, this “kingdom of God” talk was talk of judgment. God’s reign was to be brought about and sustained by God’s righteous judgment, which would mean, on the one hand, long-awaited vindication and consolation of God’s people and, on the other hand, the final overturning of their enemies.
Ironically, however, instead of the judgment meaning the establishment of Israel’s monarchy as the world power, which many had expected, Jesus’ “good news” meant the disestablishment and redefinition of the priesthood, the Temple, and Torah and the establishment of the eschatological Reign of God.
Internal and External Conflict
Because they proclaimed – and performed – this message of (ironic) judgment, this “good news of the reign of God,” the church as God’s newly-configured people suffered constant internal strife and persecutions. They dealt with the internal conflicts by following the Spirit’s prophetic lead and humbly preferring one another, though some conflicts were so sharp they necessitated division. They bore the external conflict patiently and in hope, though many of them suffered martyrdom.
Hope for the Restoration of All Things
They lived with the confident expectation that God would yet break into history to vindicate the church and put all things to rights. They did not feel abandoned even though Christ’s return was “delayed.” They seized the time as opportunity to proclaim their message of Israel’s vindication and the salvation of the world.
