Luke and the Law

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.

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 Tübingen School
1.2 Revisions of the Tübingen Thesis
1.3 The Dominance of Overbeck's Appraisal: Luke is Inconsistent

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?