The Revelation of the Messiah: The Christological Mystery of Luke 1-2 and Its Unveiling in Luke-Acts

Description

In the first two chapters of Luke, characters acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, Son of God, and Lord. Lukan characters also speak of John going before the Lord God, suggesting that Jesus might be the Lord in view, and connect Jesus with Old Testament YHWH passages. These features have made Luke 1-2 a key locus for discussions of Lukan Christology, generating speculation as to whether Luke presents Jesus as divine. However, they also create an apparent incongruity with the body of the Gospel. In Luke 3 and elsewhere, human characters are initially ignorant that Jesus is Messiah, Son of God, and Lord. Moreover, Jesus' divinity - if Luke affirms it - does not seem to be recognized until after the resurrection. In this study, Caleb Friedeman advances a new model for understanding the Christological relationship between Luke 1-2 and the rest of Luke-Acts, in which Luke presents these opening chapters as a Christological mystery.

Caleb T. Friedeman is David A. Case Chair of Theology and Ministry and Associate Professor of New Testament at Ohio Christian University. He is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene and the editor of Listen, Understand, Obey: Essays on Hebrews in Honor of Gareth Lee Cockerill and A Scripture Index to Rabbinic Literature.