Luke-Acts: The Promise of History by Donald Juel

The Promise of History

This book interprets Luke and Acts together, demonstrating their thematic unity. The Gospel According to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are two parts of a single literary enterprise, one of the most ambitious in the early church. This interpretation (written in non-technical language) is part of a major reassessment of the role of Jewish Christianity in the first century.

Juel demands that Christians interpret Luke-Acts together within the framework of the Jewish crisis literature out of which they came. His hypothesis is that the best approach to understanding Luke-Acts is to study them as a single entity from the perspective of the literary dimension of New Testament texts. His reappraisal of Luke-Acts is sensitive to the historical concerns as well as the literary concerns. He provides a comprehensive treatment showing how the two books are intricately and integrally connected.

Biblical scholars acknowledge the connectedness of these two books but Juel is among the first to present a full study of Luke-Acts in one related presentation, treating both books together.

He has produced an effective textbook for seminaries and one that will serve as a solid introduction for ministers and interested lay readers. A major contribution to the scholarly debate on the origin and interpretation of Luke-Acts.

DONALD JUEL is Associate Professor of New Testament at Luther-Northwestern Seminary.