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

the new context of the Hellenistic milieu, that it is different from the context in which the
story originally came into existence. 54 He, in comparison with C.H. Talbert’s work, 55
explores more extensively the parallels between Luke’s work and Hellenistic histories.
Squires shows how the histories of Diodorus and Dionysius are revealed in numerous
acknowledgements of divine guidance and providence of human affairs by means of inspired
oracular pronouncements. In the Hellenistic age, it was also common for a people to seek to
trace their own origins back to the remotest antiquity. 56 In this respect, it is most likely that
Luke puts his emphasis on the OT origin of Christianity and the fulfillment of Scripture in the
events that he writes and reports on, for more than just religious reasons. Luke writes to
insiders who are hellenised Christians, using techniques provided by outsiders that they
would be very familiar with. As far as he is concerned, it is a vital apologetic process to
‘translate’ in this way. In so doing, Luke takes up the theme of the plan of God to expand on
the central features of the story of Jesus and the early church. There is a threefold emphasis:
(1) To confirm the faith of his Christian readers, (2) to encourage and equip them to present
the gospel to the Hellenistic world in an already translated form, and (3) to enable them to
defend their beliefs in the face of possible objections. 57 Beyond political or defensive
reasons, Luke advances his apologetic in that it, like Hellenistic historiography, contains
elements of defense, assertion, polemic and exposition. 58
D. Bock believes that the major agenda of Luke would most likely be God’s role in
salvation, and his new community which can clearly be supported in the structure and
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theology of the Gospel. Luke strives to explain the origins of the new community, and how
a seemingly new movement is modeled in old divine promise, since newer movements would
have been a common eyesore in an ancient world. Luke tries to show that the movement
which emerges from Jesus’ ministry is a natural extension of Judaism, by divine plan,
Scripture, and promise of the salvation which comes through Jesus. Luke aims to reassure
54. J.T. Squires, The Plan of God in Luke-Acts (Cambridge University Press, 1993), 190.
55. C.H. Talbert, “Promise and Fulfillment in Lucan Theology,” Luke-Acts: New Perspectives from the Society
of Biblical Literature Seminar (New York: The Crossroad Publishing, 1984), 91-103, focuses on Polybius 1.4.1-
2 and Josephus, Antiquities 10.8.2-33, 42, as two apparent examples. Talbert enumerates three components for
the sake of the analysis of Luke’s motif: “(1) The notion that a divine necessity controls human history, shaping
the course of its events, was a widespread belief in Mediterranean antiquity. (2) The idea that history’s course
fulfills oracles, whether oral or written, was also a cultural commonplace. (3) The functions of a prophecyfulfillment
theme in the Mediterranean world match up remarkably well with what one finds in Luke-Acts.”
56. Ibid., 100.
57. Ibid., 53, 186.
58. Ibid., 40, 191, 193-94.
59. Bock, Luke, 14-15.
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