Just sets out to demonstrate that Luke is indebted to Matthew in his missiological context, his ecclesiology, and the similarities between Matthew 28 and Luke 24. Matthew and Luke were both written to catechize believers. Matthew appears to have been written with a primarily Jewish audience in mind, as he assumes a knowledge of the Old Testament and Jewish customs. Luke, likely written in a later period and clearly drawing on previous written sources, does not make the assumption that the reader would already know anything about the Old Testament. Both authors seek to tell their particular audiences about Jesus in terms that they would readily understand. Both clearly view their mission as evangelism and catechism, simply to different cultural groups.
When considering Luke's ecclesiology, it is interesting to see that Luke draws on Matthew's character as he depicts the nature of the Church. When Luke discusses the call of Levi (Matthew) he identifies him as a tax collector and thus an outcast. Luke then shows that Levi is the one who throws a big dinner party, welcoming all his fellow tax collectors and sinners. Jesus is shown to be the friend and savior to outcasts and sinners of all sorts, from the first big banquet with Matthew to the last banquet with the apostles at the Passover.
When Just looks at Matthew 28 and Luke 24 he identifies them both as a form of "church order' similar to what we see in the Didache and other early Christian writings. In these concluding chapters, the evangelists make a description of the way things are in the Church. Recall that neither Matthew nor Luke was written at the time of Jesus' ascension, but some years later. Christians had established practices by this time. Matthew and Luke detail some of the normative practices, explaining that they are practices instituted by Jesus. What is this normative practice of Christians? When in contact with adults, the believers evangelize, catechize, baptize, and celebrate communion, in that order. We first bring the Word of God to people's attention. We tell them what they need to know. They are baptized as they confess the fundamental beliefs of the Christian. They continue in the life of the Church through communion. The very same pattern exists in Matthew 28 and Luke 24, with the distinction that in Luke we see some specifics about the extent of the work of bringing the Gospel to all nations.
Matthew, written clearly before Luke, is apparently foundational to Luke's understanding of mission, ecclesiology, and church order. The unity of the message of these two evangelists is striking. Though they are clearly speaking differently, they hold the same message.
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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com
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