Luke and the Law
A Defence of Christian Law-Observance
By (author) Jason Wendel
Paperback (Published)
(May 2026)
ISBN: 9783162001399
6.1 x 9.13 inches
Price: $119.00
In stock
Jason Wendel challenges the dominant view that the discussion of the Law of Moses in the Gospel of Luke is inconsistent. He argues that Luke consistently regards the Law as both regulative and prophetic – a dual function that, in continuity with late Second Temple Jewish thought, remains valid within the life of the Church.
English summary: Engaging the prevailing scholarly claim of inconsistency in Luke’s approach to the Mosaic Law, Jason Wendel develops a comprehensive interpretation that reveals Luke’s coherent view of Torah. He argues that Luke, in continuity with the Jewish writings of the late Second Temple period, conceives of the Law as both regulative command and prophetic revelation – functions that remain operative in the age of the Church. This understanding is rooted in Israel’s prophetic tradition, where mercy, justice, and righteousness define genuine observance. The author demonstrates that Luke’s portrayal of Jesus and his followers consistently identifies them as those who comprehend and obey the law rightly, while their adversaries – who accuse them of transgression – emerge as true violators through their deeds. Through close narrative analysis, he situates this rhetorical pattern within Luke’s theological and social horizon, suggesting that adherence to the Law forms a crucial marker of early Christian identity. Jason Wendel thus opens up new perspectives on the relationship between law, prophecy, and Christian identity in Luke’s double work. German description: In Auseinandersetzung mit der weit verbreiteten These einer inneren Widerspruchlichkeit der lukanischen Haltung gegenuber der Torah entwickelt Jason Wendel eine systematisch geschlossene Rekonstruktion von Lukas’ Sicht des mosaischen Gesetzes. Er zeigt, dass Lukas – im Einklang mit nahezu der gesamten judischen Literatur des spaten Zweiten Tempels – das Gesetz nicht nur als prophetische Verheissung, sondern zugleich als verbindliche Ordnung versteht. Beide Dimensionen behalten nach Lukas’ Auffassung auch im Zeitalter der Kirche Gultigkeit. Diese Kontinuitat grundet in der prophetischen Tradition Israels, die die Erfullung der Forderung nach Barmherzigkeit, Gerechtigkeit und Rechtschaffenheit als das Wesen wahrer Toragehorsamkeit bestimmt. Der Autor arbeitet heraus, dass Lukas in Evangelium und Apostelgeschichte Jesus und seine Anhanger als die eigentlichen Interpreten und Befolger des Gesetzes zeichnet, wahrend ihre Gegner, die sie des Gesetzesbruchs bezichtigen, durch ihr Verhalten selbst als Ubertreter des Gesetzes erscheinen. Diese konsequente rhetorische Charakterisierung verweist auf eine soziale Situation, in der die Wahrung der Tora als identitatsstiftendes Moment des fruhen Christentums verstanden werden kann. Damit eroffnet Jason Wendel neue Perspektiven auf das Verhaltnis von Gesetz, Prophetie und christlicher Identitat im lukanischen Doppelwerk.
Introduction: An Orderly Account of Luke's View of the Law?
1 Why is Luke-Acts so 'Jewish'?: The Origins of the Argument for 'Inconsistency'
1.1 F.C. Baur and the TC
2 New Proposals and the Retrenchment of Overbeck's Hypothesis
2.1 Conzelman, Jervell, and Wilson
2.2 Recent Studies of the Law in Luke and the Ongoing Dominance of the Overbeck-Wilson Hypothesis
2.3 The Sea Change
2.4 The Present Study
3 Method and Plan of Study
3.1 A Hermeneutic of Charity
3.2 Literary and Historical Method
3.3 Plan of Study
Part One: How Does Luke Read the Law?
Chapter One: Law as Prophecy and Command
1 Introduction
2 Are the 'Predictive' and 'Prescriptive' Functions of the Law in Tension?
3 Narrative Progression and the Cessation of the Law's Regulative Function in Salvation History
4 Acts 15 and the Enduring Regulative Function of the Law
5 The Enduring Function of the Whole Law in Luke 16
6 Conclusion
Chapter Two: Luke's Prophetic Hermeneutic
1 Introduction
2 Luke as Prioritizing 'Moral' over 'Ritual' Purity
3 Luke 10.25-37: Love God and Do Mercy
4 Luke 11.37-52: Love God and Do Justice
5 Acts 10: Fear God and Do Righteousness
6 Defining Law-Observance in Second Temple Jewish Texts
7 Conclusion
Part Two: The Law within Luke's Narrative Rhetoric
Chapter Three: Jesus's Law-Observance and his Lawbreaking Opponents
1 Introduction
2 Jesus's Fidelity to the Law
3 Jesus as a Teacher of Torah
4 Conclusion: Clarifying Luke's Rhetoric
Chapter Four: Luke's Law-Abiding Ekklesia and Their Lawbreaking Opponents
1 Introduction
2 Peter and the Early Movement
3 Addressing Objections: Fellowship with Gentiles
4 Paul's Faithfulness to the Law
5 Conclusion
Conclusion
1 Luke's View of the Law is Consistent
2 The Socio-Rhetorical Setting of Luke's Legal Discourse
3 Where Did We Go Wrong?
4 Where Do We Go From Here?
- By (author) Jason Wendel
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