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

Linking 19:38a with the prefiguring of the ascension to 13:35b, J.H. Davies contends that the
travel narrative ends with 19:29-46, the story of the entry into Jerusalem. For Luke, the
Journey to Jerusalem occupies the first part of the ascent to heaven through death and
resurrection. During the Journey, Jesus teaches the disciples, and at the end of that he enters
the city as king, and the Temple as judge. This foreshadows the real end, in that the Journey
via Jesus’ death and resurrection into his heavenly kingdom brings him glory, and in contrast,
the city, Jerusalem and the Jews bring destruction and rejection. 9
On the grounds of a geographical notice in 18:31-19:46 and a literary inclusio between
19:47-48 and 21:37-38, J. Lambrecht prefers this delineation. That is to say, every pericope in
18:31-19:46 does indeed have a geographical indicator, and 19:47-21:38 is framed by a
literary inclusio of 19:47-48 and 21:37-38. But for him it is not so very important where the
travel narrative precisely ends, since in 9:30-31, Jesus’ exodus has already been notified, and
the Journey must be construed in terms of the events which will take place there. In addition,
a string of events in 19:28-44 and the cleansing of the temple are still more significant than
the entry of the sanctuary. In any case, Jesus’ teaching in what follows comes into being in
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him cleansing the temple in 19:45-46.
In the same vein, with Lambrecht, F.J. Matera defends this delineation, outlining two
reasons: Firstly, until 19:45 Jesus does not enter the city Jerusalem. Secondly, 19:47-48 and
21:37-38 form a literary inclusio which functions as a token of the beginning and ending of
Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem: (19:47);
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(21:37).
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1-3. Lk 19:48
Having looked at several suggestions concerning the point of termination of the travel
narrative, H.L. Egelkraut determines that the travel narrative ends with 19:48, since the goal
9. Davies, “The Purpose of the Central Section of St. Luke’s Gospel,” 164-69.
10. Lambrecht, “Reading and Rereading Lk 18:31-22:6,” 585-612.
11. Matera, “Jesus’ Journey to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-19:46): A Conflict with Israel,” 57-58, n. 2.
12. For those who view 19:48 as the end of the travel section, see J.M. Creed, The Gospel according to St. Luke:
The Greek Test with Introduction, Notes, and Indices (London: Macmillan, 1930), 139; H.L. Egelkraut, Jesus’
Mission to Jerusalem: A Redaction Critical Study of the Travel Narrative in the Gospel of Luke, Lk 9:51-19:48
(Frankfurt/M: P. Lang; Bern: H. Lang. 1976), 3-11; F. Ó Fearghail, The Introduction to Luke-Acts. A Study of the
Role of Lk 1:1-4:44 in the Composition of Luke’s Two-Volume Work (AnBib, 126, Roma: Editrice Pontificio
Istituto Biblico, 1991), 48-51; Green, Luke, 399; Brent Kinman, Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem: In the Context of
Lukan Theology and the Politics of His Day (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1995), 5-6; Robert Stephen Reid, “On Preaching
‘Fictive Argument’; A Reader-Response Look At A Lukan Parable And Three Sayings On Discipleship,”
Restoration Quarterly 43 (2001), 13-31.
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