The Followers of Jesus as the ‘Servant’ (Library of New Testament Studies | LNTS)

by Holly Beers

Publisher:

Bloomsbury

, 2015

Overview

Luke models his portrayal both of Jesus and his disciples in Luke-Acts after the human agent of the Isaianic New Exodus in Isaiah 40-66. In the Isaianic New Exodus, the servant is integral to the restoration—the servant’s mission being embodied is, to a great extent, how the New Exodus comes to fruition.

The servant connection is at times explicit, as Jesus is identified with the servant in Luke 4:18-19 (quoting Isa 61:1-2 [with 58:6]), Luke 22:37 (citing Isa 53:12), and Acts 8:32-33 (Isa 53:7-8). Regarding the disciples, Isaiah 49:6 is quoted by Paul in Acts 13:47 in reference to himself and Barnabas, though a focus only on quotations is too limiting. Allusions to servant passages abound. This work argues that Luke sees Jesus fulfilling the servant role in an ultimate sense, but that his followers, modelled after him in Acts, also embody it. This can be seen in Luke’s use of Isaianic servant imagery, including suffering, lack of violent response (to unjust treatment), and language in the disciples’ characterization.

Key Features

• Presents a biblical theology Luke using the theme of the New Exodus
• Contexualizes Luke use of Isaiah in his literay imagination
• Emphasize the centrality of the servant image in Luke's narrative

Contents

• Introduction: Jesus and the Disciples as the Servant
• Intertextuality: Philosophy and Method
• Isaiah and the Servant
• Second Temple Judaism and the Servant
• Luke and the Servant
• Acts and the Servant
• Conclusion

Top Highlights

“Luke’s point is that Jesus fulfills the servant role par excellence, but that his followers, in Luke but especially in Acts, also embody that vocation.” (Page 1)

“The focus in Acts on Israel and the nations likely stems from the servant’s task. In the disciples’ commission in Acts 1:8 the phrase ‘to the end of the earth’ (ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς) is almost certainly from the servant’s commission in Isa. 49:6 lxx (quoted in Acts 13:47), which also calls the servant to be ‘a light to the nations’.” (Page 130)

“the unfolding of God’s single salvific plan throughout both books (seen in the parallels)” (Page 87)

“the role of the servant, whose task it is to bring this salvation.^{55” (Page 95)}

Product Details

• Title: The Followers of Jesus as the ‘Servant’: Luke’s Model from Isaiah for the Disciples in Luke-Acts
• Author: Holly Beers
• Edition: 1 Edition
• Series: Library of New Testament Studies
• Volume: 535
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Print Publication Date: 2015
• Logos Release Date: 2015
• Pages: 208
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. N.T. Luke › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. N.T. Acts › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Servant of Jehovah › Biblical teaching; Jesus Christ › Servanthood--Biblical teaching; Bible. O.T. Isaiah 40-66 › Criticism, interpretation, etc
• ISBNs: 9780567656520, 9780567656537, 0567656527, 0567656535
• Resource ID: LLS:FLLWRSJSSDLKCTS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T23:59:57Z

About Holly Beers

Holly Beers (PhD, London School of Theology) is associate professor of religious studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. She is the author of The Followers of Jesus as the Servant: Luke's Model from Isaiah for the Disciples in Luke-Acts.