The Revelation of the Messiah
The Christological Mystery of Luke 1-2 and Its Unveiling in Luke-Acts

This book presents a new model for understanding the christological relationship between Luke 1–2 and the rest of Luke-Acts.

Caleb Friedeman (Author)

9781009189613, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 January 2023

275 pages
22.3 x 14.4 x 2.3 cm, 0.51 kg

In the first two chapters of Luke, characters acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, Son of God, and Lord. Lukan characters also speak of John going before the Lord God, suggesting that Jesus might be the Lord in view, and connect Jesus with Old Testament YHWH passages. These features have made Luke 1-2 a key locus for discussions of Lukan Christology, generating speculation as to whether Luke presents Jesus as divine.  However, they also create an apparent incongruity with the body of the Gospel. In Luke 3 and elsewhere, human characters are initially ignorant that Jesus is Messiah, Son of God, and Lord. Moreover, Jesus' divinity – if Luke affirms it – does not seem to be recognized until after the resurrection. In this study, Caleb Friedeman advances a new model for understanding the Christological relationship between Luke 1-2 and the rest of Luke-Acts, in which Luke presents these opening chapters as a Christological mystery.

1. Introduction
2. The revelatory character of Luke 1–2
3. The mystery of Luke 1–2
4. The use of Daniel in Luke 1–2
5. Preserving the mystery
6. Unveiling the mystery
7. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Theology [HRLB], Biblical studies & exegesis [HRCG], History of religion [HRAX]