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

images of Judaism are in consonance with the assumed attitudes of a God-fearer as he is first
addressed,” whereas “negative images which show the inferiority of Judaism to Christianity
and help to explain Jewish rejection of the Christian message, urge the God-fearer to abandon
the philo-Judaism with which he began.” 132 In conclusion, the purpose of Luke-Acts is to
persuade God-fearers to embrace Christianity instead of Judaism. Christianity is shown to be
the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures and Jewish hopes and expectations which the Jews
hold and yearn for. 133
In conclusion, while it is difficult to pinpoint with exact precision Luke’s intended
audience, it may be that Luke’s aim was to reach a wide range of audience in the Greek-
speaking world. Even though it is more plausible to view Luke’s intended readership as being
“primarily” Gentile, it seems safe to say that Luke’s intended audience is a mixed audience of
both Jews and Gentiles. Along this line, Wenham also argues for a wider readership, namely
“diaspora Jews who frequently used the Septuagint in their worship, rather than the Hebrew
Scriptures, and Gentile Christians with no synagogue background, but who had become
familiar with the Septuagint through it being read in Christian worship.” 134 Even F. Bovon
argues that Luke has in mind three target groups: educated Gentiles, Hellenistic Jews, and
Christians unsettled by rumors, expecting “his rich friend to circulate his two volumes to a
broader readership.” 135
2-3. The Plan of God in Luke-Acts
Luke writes to provide his readers with reassurance of the gospel which has already been
preached and taught to them, especially under the detailed discussion of God’s plan.
Therefore, I will examine the role of the Lukan parables in God’s redemptive purpose, since
132. Ibid., 38.
133. Tyson, Images of Judaism in Luke-Acts, 182; M.C. deBoer, “God Fearers in Luke-Acts,” 68. Except for the
scholars mentioned above, for defenders of God-fearers as Luke’s audience, see W.A. Meeks, The First Urban
Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul (New Haven: Yale, 1983); Juel, Luke-Acts: The Promise of
History, 120.
134. David Wenham and Steve Walton, Exploring the NT: A Guide to The Gospel and Acts, Vol. I (Downers
Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 2001), 294. See also Mary A. Moscato, “Current Theories Reading the
Audience of Luke-Acts,” CurTM 3 (1976), 355-361, here 361; J.C. O’Neill, The Theology of Acts in its
Historical Setting (London: SPCK, 1961), 173-77; J.D. Kingsbury, Jesus Christ in Matthew, Mark and Luke
(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981), 95-96; H. Riley, Preface to Luke (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press,
1993), 9.
135. F. Bovon, Luke 1: A Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 1:1-9:50, Hermeneia-A Critical and Historical
Commentary on the Bible, (trans. Christine M. Thomas: Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002), 9.
293