Rethinking Luke's Prologue, Part 7
Selections from nineteenth century German scholars, G. Wetzel (c. 1883), George L, Hahn (1823-1903), and Johann Peter Lange (1802-1884).
For earlier parts of this series on “Rethinking Luke’s Prologue,” use these links:
Part 1 with Thomas Randolph; Part 2 with Johann L. Hug; Part 3 with Daniel Whitby and George Gleig; Part 4 with John Jones and George Moberly; Part 5 with John Mill, Friedrich Bleek, B.F. Westcott and Henry Cadbury; Part 6, featuring a discussion of 1st and 2nd century sources. Note: the selections provided throughout this series have been abridged and edited for contemporary readability.
Click here to get a pre-release PDF of Shane’s book Luke’s Key Witness, and here to watch his webinar, “Rethinking Luke’s Prologue” (exclusively for paid subscribers).
In my last post, I discussed the fact that verse 3 of Luke’s prologue can be interpreted to mean that Luke had been a follower “from the beginning” (παρηκολουθηκότι ἄνωθεν), particularly given that references to the beginning in contexts such as this one invariably refer to the outset of Jesus’ public ministry. In fact, in Acts 1:1, the author reminds Theophilus that his first book “dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach.”
I also pointed out that Luke opens his Gospel with a reference to the things Jesus “fulfilled among us” (ἐν ἡμῖν, Lk 1:1). By the use of the 1st person plural, the author appears to be including himself as one who had been present at least on some occasions when Jesus fulfilled the various prophecy related to the coming Messiah (cf. Lk 7:22). Thus, when the implications of verse 1 and verse 3 are seen together, this provides a compelling reason to take παρηκολουθηκότι ἄνωθεν literally. Below are three nineteenth-century German scholars who made similar observations.
G. Wetzel (1883): Author of Die synoptischen Evangelien (The Synoptic Gospels)
How are we to interpret Luke’s use of the words “among us” (ἐν ἡμῖν) in his opening verse? Some scholars see these words as referring specifically to the Jews, while others apply them to Christians, but the events recounted by Luke were accomplished not only among Christians only, but also among Jews and Gentiles. And where in the text is there the slightest indication that ἡμῖν should be restricted to Christians? Thus, nothing remains but to understand this phrase as applying to those who were alive at the time the events took place; and since Luke, by using ἡμῖν, identifies himself with the people of that era, the term can only be understood as referring to the people of his own time—that is, himself and his contemporaries—as distinct from earlier generations.
Understood in this light, every word of the prologue assumes its full significance and necessary place. The author refers to “the things fulfilled among us” to distinguish the divine acts he intends to describe from those of earlier eras—such as the deeds of Moses, Elijah, and others. Thus, to summarize the findings of this inquiry, either Luke was a liar, or we have in his book the work of a contemporary of Jesus and the Apostles.1
George L. Hahn (1892), Professor of Theology at the University of Breslau
What is Luke’s meaning when he speaks of the “things fulfilled among us,” [Lk 1:1 ἐν ἡμῖν]? This cannot refer solely to Luke and Theophilus, nor does it refer to Christians in contrast to non-Christians, for the author could not rightly claim that the Gospel history took place within a specifically Christian sphere. Still less should we interpret his remarks as referring to the generation living after the eyewitness period. Rather, Luke undoubtedly has in mind the Jewish generation contemporary with the Gospel history. By using ἐν ἡμῖν, the author groups himself together with all those contemporaries of the Gospel events in whose midst that history unfolded and reached its conclusion, such that he thereby should be seen as a Jew living in Palestine at that time, who personally witnessed the events that were also recounted by the many (πολλοὶ) in their writings (Lk 1:1).2
Johann Peter Lange (1864): Professor of Divinity at the University of Bonn
According to Epiphanius and Theophylact, Luke was designated by some as one of the seventy disciples. The presumption that Luke was himself an eyewitness of what he narrates is a very probable one, and it is only on this supposition that the following expressions become perfectly clear:
Luke 1:1 concerning the things that have been fulfilled among us
περὶ τῶν πεπληροφορημένων ἐν ἡμῖν πραγμάτων
Lk 1:2 who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word
(οἱ ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς αὐτόπται καὶ ὑπηρέται γενόμενοι τοῦ λόγου )
Luke had then become an eyewitness and minister of the Gospel, but this did not suffice to make him a narrator of the whole Gospel. For such a purpose, he must also avail himself of the communications of those who had from the beginning (ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς) occupied such a position. Thus endowed and prepared, Luke was called upon to write his narrative. It is his view of the Gospel history. We find his whole self in his work. With respect to its form, however, it is evident that he was not personally present at all the events of Christ’s life, especially the earlier ones.3
Note: While it’s clear from the above that Lange supported the idea that Luke had witnessed some of the later parts of Jesus’ ministry, it’s curious that he failed to interact with the possible implications of Lk 1:3, in which the author states that he had been “a follower from the beginning” (παρηκολουθηκότι ἄνωθεν). Though many scholars interpret ἄνωθεν as meaning “for a long time,” it seems clear from the parallel phrase in verse 2 (ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς) that Luke’s meaning here is the same. This appears to be confirmed by the way Luke alternates between ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς and ἄνωθεν in Acts 26:4-5 as he cites the words of Paul: “Indeed, all the Jews know my way of life from my youth up, which was from the beginning (ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς) among my own nation and at Jerusalem, having known me from the first (ἄνωθεν).”
FOR FURTHER STUDY
Rethinking Luke’s Prologue, Part 1, Thomas Randolph
Rethinking Luke’s Prologue, Part 2, Johann L. Hug
Rethinking Luke’s Prologue, Part 3, Daniel Whitby and George Gleig
Rethinking Luke’s Prologue, Part 4 with John Jones and George Moberly,
Rethinking Luke’s Prologue, Part 5 with Mill, Bleek, Westcott, and Cadbury
Rethinking Luke’s Prologue, Part 6, featuring 1st and 2nd century sources
Things Completely Fulfilled Among Us, Shane Rosenthal
His Excellency, The High Priest, Shane Rosenthal
The Implications of 70 AD on the Date of the Gospels & Acts, Shane Rosenthal
A Pre-70 Date for the Gospels & Acts, Shane Rosenthal
Outside the Gospels, What Can We Really Know About Jesus?, Shane Rosenthal
Is Luke a Trustworthy Historian?, Sir William Ramsay
Can We Trust Luke’s History of the Early Jesus Movement? Shane Rosenthal
On Faith & History, Shane Rosenthal
AUDIO
Who is Theophilus? Humble Skeptic #79 with Peter. Bolt
Luke, Theophilus & Joanna, Humble Skeptic #80 with Jim Sibley
A Forensic Approach to the Gospels, Humble Skeptic #81 with J. Warner Wallace
Why The Gospel Holds Up as History, Faith Lab with Craig Keener
Lazarus, Humble Skeptic #84 with Richard Bauckham & T.C. Schmidt
VIDEO
Rethinking Luke’s Prologue: A Webinar by Shane Rosenthal for Paid Subscribers
G. Wetzel, Die synoptischen Evangelien (Heilbronn: Verlag von Gebr. Henninger, 1883), 223-225. The English translation is my own, with the help of online translation tools.
G.L. Hahn, Das Evangelium Des Lucas (Breslau: Verlag Von E. Morgenstern, 1892), 72-73. The English translation is my own, with the help of online translation tools.
J. P. Lange, The Life of the Lord Jesus Christ, Volume One (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1864), 259-262 (Translation by Sophia Taylor).