description: Robert C. Tannehill's 2-volume work, The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts, is full of sharp insights. He points out, f.i., the basic structural device of using prophetic quotations &amp; long speeches to introduce each of the major figures in his history:Lk 3: John the Baptist is introduced with a lengthy excerpt from his preaching &amp; a quotation from Isaiah 40.Lk 4: Jesus is introduced with a sermon at Nazareth, describing the fulfillment of Isaiah 61.Acts 2: Acts' Petrine phase is introduced by Peter's Pentecost sermon, with the important quotation from Joel 2.Acts 13: Acts' Pauline phase is introduced by a sermon from Paul concluding with a sharp rebuke from Habakkuk. One thing Tannehill draws out from this is that "phrases used to describe the mission of John the Baptist are reused in describing the work of Jesus' followers" (p.49). John goes as a messenger before Jesus (Lk 7:27) &amp; when Jesus approaches Jerusalem He sends messengers ahead of Him (9:52; same Greek in both passages). Even in Acts, Peter instructs the people in the same way John had done: When they ask "What shall we do" (Acts 2:37; cf. Lk 3:10,12,14), Peter tells them to repent &amp; be baptized for the remission of sins. At the end of Acts, Paul is saying virtually the same thing (Acts 26:20 &amp; Lk 3:8). As he summarizes, "Jesus' witnesses, like John, are prophetic preachers of repentance. What John began, they continue, for John's call to repentance remains important. The narrator's portrait of John has a continuing significance for the narrative, for in significant ways John is a 'prototype of the Xian evangelist'" (p.49).
language: English
title: The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts 1: A Literary Interpretation
titlecomplete: The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts 1: A Literary Interpretation (Foundations & Facets)
genres: Religion
ratings_count: 27
publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers (Philadelphia)