The first four verses of the book of Luke, however, do give us some important information about the purpose of the book. The text seems to suggest that Luke himself was not one of the eyewitnesses. Theophilus as audience for these stories is quite different from that of the Pharisees, scribes, publicans, and sinners as audiences. The Pharisees objected to the association with publicans, and the publicans may not have wanted to change and be forgiven, but Theophilus, as one who had already been instructed and wanted more information, becomes a significant audience representing early Christians interested in the teachings of Jesus. When you have come to a sense of what happens in Luke 15 and why the story or stories were told or written, you can develop your own critical approach.
Intertextual criticism compares themes or structures among two or more texts.
Psychological criticism, gender and family criticism, biographical criticism, historical criticism, and reader-response criticism offer other alternatives to help you guide your responses to texts throughout this course. See Parables from the New Testament for questions to help you formulate your own critical approach. I hope the discussion thus far has opened possibilities which you can pursue on your own throughout this course. Although I may expect you to respond to specific questions, you are encouraged to develop your ideas in way that you can support. You may, however, want some ideas on themes and patterns that I find important.