Luke: Illuminating the Sage of Galilee

Abstract

The Hebraic Gospels Series deals with the “radical” suggestion, advanced by a collaboration of Christian and Israeli scholars, that the so-called “synoptic problem” should be evaluated, not in accordance with Markan priority, but with the primacy of Luke. This commentary deals with the evidence for a hypothetical Hebrew “under-text” (grundschrift) hiding in plain sight beneath the synoptic traditions, detectable in the multiple Hebraisms scattered across the Gospel narratives. This admittedly avant-garde approach also mitigates what occasionally appears as a troublesome, anti-Jewish tone in the Gospels by forcing us to consider the role of editorial redaction, progressing not from Mark to Luke but, rather, from Luke to Mark and then Matthew. The potential of such an understanding is of huge consequence for both New Testament Studies and interfaith relations. Among Christians, there is considerable value in reading through the Greek Gospels to uncover, at least potentially, the ipsissima verba of Jesus himself, unadorned by theological overlay. Among Jews, the prospect of vivisecting the Gospels to encounter, not the progenitor of Christianity, but an ancient Jewish sage torn between the piety of early Hasidim and the Galilean freedom fighters of his day (the Zealots). All of this opens a door to appreciating the great Nazarene in a manner not thought possible since the inception of the Christian faith nearly two millennia ago. Exploring the potential Hebraic under-text of the Gospel of Luke will add to historical discussion on the Jewish Jesus in all of his color and first-century flavor.