the role of the lukan parables in terms of the purpose of luke's gospel

God, not by external piety like the confession of the Pharisee that “I thank thee that I am not
like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a
week, I give tithes of all that I get (vv. 11-12).” What emerges from this brief discussion is
that ‘Conversion’ is one of the major theological themes which occur repeatedly in the Lukan
parables in the travel narrative. In what follows, I will show how this theological theme is in
accordance with the theme of conversion of Luke’s theology.
At the outset of the discussion of conversion in Luke, it is imperative to tackle repentance
versus conversion. That is, “repentance” which would be expected of the Jewish people as
already believers in God, and “conversion” which would be expected of Gentiles. However,
this distinction is unsustainable from the text of Luke-Acts, particularly in Acts. This is
largely because the repentance that leads to life is also given to the Gentiles (Acts 11:18), and
a continuous need for conversion is also applicable to the Jews (Acts 14:15; 26:17-18). 2
In spite of E.P. Sanders’ argument that repentance is not a significant theme in the
3
historical Jesus’ teaching , it has largely been recognized that conversion is not only one of
the pivotal themes of Jesus’ teaching, but a major theme in Luke as well. It has been
confirmed that conversion is a significant theme in Luke’s theology through the occurrence of
the conversion term more often than in any other synoptic gospels, 4
the intentional editing of
2. Joel B. Green, “Doing Repentance: The Formation of Disciples in the Acts of the Apostles,” Ex auditu 18
(2002), 1-23, here 6-7; J.H. Wright, “Implications of Conversion in the Old Testament and the New,”
International Bulletin of Missionary Research 28 (2004), 14-19; Andrew F. Walls, “Converts or Proselytes? The
Crisis over Conversion in the Early Church,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 29 (2004), 2-6. In
early Christian literature, the emphasis on repentance, in contrast to Luke, describes discussions about Christians
who sinned after conversion as penitence with weeping, praying, fasting, confessing one’s sins, begging for
forgiveness and the like. See Shepherd of Hemas, Ignatius (Phil. 8.1; Smyrn. 9.1), Clement (1 Clem. 7.4-7; 57.1;
2 Clem. 8.1-2; 9.7-9) and the Didache (15.3). See also J.N. Bailey, ‘Repentance in Luke-Acts,’ (PhD dissertation,
The University of Notre Dame, 1993), 289.
3. E.P. Sanders, Jesus and Judaism (London: SCM Press, 1985), 106-113, contradicts the position that
repentance is a main theme in the Jesus’ teaching on the basis of the meager occurrences of and
in Mark and Matthew in comparison with Luke’s frequency. For criticisms of Sanders, see D.C.
Allison, “Jesus and the Covenant: A Response to E.P. Sanders,” JSNT 29 (1987), 57-78; B.D. Chilton, “Jesus
and the Repentance of E.P. Sanders,” TynBul 39 (1988), 1-18; N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, 246-58.
4. Even though, of course, it needs to consider both conceptional and terminal aspects of repentance, here,
statistical analysis of conversion related terms will lead to clear grasp on Luke’s interest and emphasis in
conversion. In the New Testament occurs 34 times of which 14 are in the Gospel of Luke (9 times)
and Acts (5 times) compared to 5 times in Matthew and 2 in Mark, and is used 22 times of which 11
appear in the Gospel of Luke (5 times) and Acts (6 times), compared to 2 times in Matthew and just 1 time in
Mark. On the other hand, in the case of , it is used 36 times in the New Testament of which 18 exist
in the Gospel of Luke (7 times) and Acts (11 times) compared to 4 times in Matthew and 4 times in Mark. See J.
Navone, Themes of St. Luke (Rome: Gregorian University, 1970), 38-46; Ronald D. Witherup, Conversion in the
New Testament (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press; Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1994), 18-19; Fernando
Méndez-Moratalla, The Paradigm of Conversion in Luke,18; Gregory E. Sterling, “Turning to God: Conversion
183