Lukan Joy and the Life of Discipleship

A Narrative Analysis of the Conditions That Lead to Joy According to Luke

by Julie Newberry

Book cover: Lukan Joy and the Life of Discipleship

Extent: 554 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Biblical Studies

Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2.Reihe

Series volume number: 583

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(January 2023)

ISBN: 9783161619700

9.09 x 6.06 inches

Price: $168.00

In stock

Julie Newberry examines the dispositions, circumstances, practices, and commitments that lead to joy in Luke’s Gospel. Tracing the roles of divine action and human receptivity, the author clarifies why Luke portrays joy as praiseworthy or blameworthy.


In this study, Julie Newberry advances scholarship on emotions in biblical literature by examining the conditions – that is, the circumstances, dispositions, practices, and commitments – that lead to joy in Luke’s narrative. Focused primarily on the Gospel, the author traces joy’s interconnection with the wider life of discipleship, using an eclectically interdisciplinary approach that foregrounds literary-theological and intertextual analysis. Julie Newberry argues that, for Luke, the conditions that facilitate appropriate joy include both divine action to bring about joy-conducive circumstances and human receptivity. The latter is bound up with factors such as properly oriented hope, trust, and the generous use of possessions, rendering intelligible Luke’s portrayal of joy as mandatory, praiseworthy, or blameworthy in particular circumstances.

  • By (author) Julie Newberry