Luke 24.26, 44—Songs of God’s Servant: David and his Psalms in Luke-Acts

Abstract

Concerning Lk. 24.26 and 44, a scholarly consensus agrees that Luke’s reference to a ‘scriptural’ suffering Messiah is an oxymoron; some hold that Luke’s overt reference to psalms is a consequence of his use of them in his Passion Narrative; most urge that Luke’s ‘Messiah must suffer’ is probably a meld of Davidic Messiah and Isaianic servant motifs. However, because the underlying logic is questionable and its use of Lukan evidence problematic, this consensual case for an Isaianic Servant concept controlling Luke’s passion narrative is flawed. Replying to this consensus, a sixfold, cumulative argument demonstrates that Luke’s statement—that the Messiah must suffer and be raised—more probably emerges from a single David-model derived from the book of Psalms. This cumulative argument begins from Luke’s appeal by name to the book of Psalms, establishes the frequency and density of Luke’s use of psalms, examines occurrences of ‘David’ and ‘Messiah’ in relation to Luke’s using psalms, explores a Davidic autobiography implied in those psalms featuring in Luke’s subtext, reveals that apostolic speeches are arguments textured from psalms and rooted in a comparative biography of David and Jesus, and demonstrates that distinctive elements in Luke’s Passion Narrative are associated with the context-fields of psalm allusions in his portrayal of Jesus’ death and burial. Luke was right; his critics mistaken.

Psalms and the Baptist

“…1, not even a dismissal of the suggestion, in older commentaries or in recent discussions. Among the latter are Bovon 1989, Gibbs 2002and Cardellino 2003, taking, be it noted, a very different position from that argued here; Labahn 2004and Doble 2004 D OWNING Psalms and the Baptist 133 metaphors are common. Jeremiah 17.8 in particular apparently echoes (or prompts) much of Ps.1.3; and one may compare Num.…”

Lessons on the Road to Emmaus: Intertextual Connections between Luke-Acts and Israel’s Scriptures

“…He examines numerous allusions and quotations to the Psalms in Luke’s passion narrative that frame Jesus as the suffering and persecuted righteous king in the royal psalms; as David is mocked, surrounded by enemies, and abandoned by his companions in the psalms, so Jesus suffers the same fates at the crucifixion (Jipp 2010; cf. Doble 2006). Because of this, Jipp argues that the ‘servant’ language that we do encounter in in Luke-Acts is better understood as referencing David, called God’s servant in several psalms (e.g., Pss 68:18; 18:12) (2010: 264-66).…”