The Theology of the Gospel of Luke (New Testament Theology) [Paperback]

Joel B. Green (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0521469325 | ISBN-13: 978-0521469326

The Gospel of Luke, often mined for information about the life of Jesus, is also one of the earliest Christian examples of narrative theology. Luke goes to great lengths to ground the work of Jesus in the continuing story of God's redemptive plan, and his emphasis on the ongoing character of that story challenges his audience to discern the purpose of God and order their lives around it. This exploration of the way in which he accomplishes his theological task in the first century is both informative and illuminating for contemporary readers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book provides an excellent overview of several Lukan themes." Choice

"The series has received enthusiastic notices, setting a high standard for clarity and usefulness -- a standard to which these works live up. Pro Ecclesia

"The coverage is fresh, competent, and up-to-date; it is based on the modern view of Luke as `the theologian' who has contributed more material, measured in sheer words, than any other New Testament writer." Sean P. Kealy, C.S.Sp.,The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

Book Description

Often mined for information about the life of Jesus, The Gospel of Luke is also one of the earliest Christian examples of narrative theology. This exploration of Luke's narrative accomplishment in the first century is informative and illuminating for contemporary readers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 26, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521469325
• ISBN-13: 978-0521469326
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #522,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joel B. Green is Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Associate Dean for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary.

Prior to his appointment at Fuller Seminary in 2007, Dr. Green was Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky (1997-2007), where he also held administrative positions first as Dean of the School of Theology and then as Vice President of Academic Affairs / Provost. He has served on the faculties of the American Baptist Seminary of the West and Graduate Theological Union, and New College Berkeley, Berkeley, California, a graduate school of Christian and interdisciplinary studies for the whole people of God.

Characteristic of Professor Green's work has been a keen sense of vocation as a "bridge-builder" -- especially between the academic study of theology and the larger church and world, and between persons and institutions of dissimilar theological commitments.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview of Luke's Theology, June 12, 2006

By 

Marc Axelrod (Potter, Wi USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Theology of the Gospel of Luke (New Testament Theology) (Paperback)

One of the deficiencies in single book Bible commentaries is that there is not enough discussion of the author's theological message. So this contribution by Joel Green is a welcome addition to the studies that have been done on Luke's Gospel. He ably surveys the theological landscape of Luke, occasionally making salient comments on whether this differs or is consistent with Luke's work in the book of Acts.

There are six chapters in this 184 page book, and in chapter one, Green discusses the world of Luke's gospel. He suggests that an understanding of Luke's gospel is predicated especially on an understanding of how Luke has grappled with the cultural world of Greco-Roman Palestine, and with how he has shaped his narrative. Green sees Luke as historiography, the story of Jesus within the story of God's purposes.

Chapter two surveys the theme of God as Savior, noting that God's purpose is explained in Luke as a desire to seek and to save that which was lost. We see this theme in the story of the lost coin in Luke 15, and the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19, and in the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. Luke also invites us to make their stories our story by properly responding to the salvation offered by God in Jesus.

Chapter three is a discussion of Jesus as Savior. Luke portrays Christ as Son of David, Son of God (as opposed to simply being son of Joseph), and Savior for all (Luke 2:10) The atonement of Christ is not as emphasized in Luke as it is in Acts.

I appreciated Green's acknowledgement on page 89 that central for Luke is that salvation is to be extended and offered to all people. We see this theme throughout Luke, as Jesus ministers to the marginalized members of society: the widow in Luke 7, the sinful woman mentioned in the same chapter, and in the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14.

Green has a concluding chapter that helps Christians to apply the message of Luke to our lives today. He says that Luke's message of God's universal offer of salvation should help us to repent of our ageism, our sexism and all the other isms that still plague the body of Christ.

I must confess that I found fault with Green's larger commentary on Luke (published in 1997) because I felt that Green was more concerned about the cultural background of the Gospel of Luke than about the text of Luke itself. But this book shows that Green has an excellent understanding of the text. I highly recommend this book to those who are studying or teaching or preaching through Luke's Gospel.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Summary of Lucan Themes. Not Theology, December 13, 2007

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B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Theology of the Gospel of Luke (New Testament Theology) (Paperback)

`The Theology of the Gospel of Luke' is by Joel B. Green, Associate Professor of New Testament, American Baptist Seminary of the West and Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley, California. This is a very useful book on its subject. I deduct one star in my rating as a warning that it may not give the reader the Lucan insights for which they were looking.
It is part of a learned series of books on New Testament Theology published by none less than Cambridge University Press. These things may impress, but they are not as important as the fact that Professor Green is also the author of a superb source of Pastoral guidance on `The Gospel of Luke' in `The New International Commentary on the New Testament', which I have found to be one of the very best sources for understanding some of Luke's more difficult pericopes.
Both books reveal a tendency of Green to draw outside the lines. His `commentary', for example, has little of the usual reams of bibliographical references and lexical reflections. This is to the good, as he often provides the best guidance for understanding difficult passages. And, as long as you have the other scholarly tomes at hand, you aren't missing much.
This book on Theology, unfortunately, also strays from the expectations created by its title. As I read the book, I forget Professor Green's academic credentials and start wondering if he knows what `theology' really is. To me, the word brings to mind the medieval system builders such as St. Thomas Aquinas and the great reform theologians such as John Calvin. What Green gives us is a very good summary of a pastoral interpretation of the third Gospel, but very little theology. Looking at his Table of Contents, one gets the sense that the book is a survey of all the themes in the Gospel, but with no attempt to tie them all together, even as St. Paul did in his Epistle to the Romans. The book is superb as a summary of the Gospel's emphasis on prophesy, the women's' role in discipleship, and the messages to the poor of Galilee and Judea. But, it doesn't seem to adduce the THEOLOGICAL aspects of these themes.
My best evidence for this observation is that Luke's unique parable of `the prodigal son' is cited several times in the text, although Green never reveals the importance of this parable. It is not even considered important enough to place in the index, even though there are three different mentions of the parable in the text. In Rudolph Bultmann's Theology of the New Testament, (pp 23 - 24) for example, `the prodigal son' is cited as an illustration of the supreme difference between Jesus' preaching and Luke's depiction of the Pharisees of the day.
If you are seriously studying the third Gospel, I suggest you get Professor Green's superb commentary (which was written after this little book). And, since no commentary should be read by itself, you can pair this with one of the more bibliographically rich commentaries such as Joseph A. Fitzmyer's two volume exegesis standard. Both provide the authors' own translation and Fitzmyer will provide all the guidance you may need on writings discussing individual pericopes. And, I think Fitzmyer's section on Lucan theology in his first volume is much closer to the point.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "story" in Luke's Narrative, December 31, 2007

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Frater "Frater" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Theology of the Gospel of Luke (New Testament Theology) (Paperback)

This book is a must have for any serious student of scripture. Joel Green unravels and studies the major theological themes that Luke weaves into his narrative. The outcome is a rich and deep understanding of God's goodness to humankind that Luke wants to present to his audience. This book is easy to read and understand. It will make a great adjunct to commentaries on Luke.