A Jewish Bible Companion (Part 12 of 0)

A Reading Plan for the Gospel of Luke(3) – Part thirteen

In last month’s article, we listed parallels between Luke’s reading plan and the readings in Genesis. Of the twelve weeks that Genesis would be read, ten of them have parallels in Luke. Nine weeks in a row, weeks 4 through 12, have detailed allusions to Genesis. This month, we take up where we left off. In particular, we study Luke’s allusions to Exodus and Leviticus. Before we do this, we look at Luke’s reading for week 10, and discover allusions to Pentecost, which was celebrated in the tenth week of the year.

Pentecost Allusions in Week 10

In the sixth article in this series (Tidings, 6/93), we saw how Matthew had designed his gospel so that the Sermon on the Mount would be read at Pentecost. This was perfect for a Jewish believer, who would have been reading about the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. He would learn that Jesus came to fulfill the law, and something of what that meant. For Luke, on the other hand, Pentecost (Acts 2) was when believers had first received the Holy Spirit. It was the first occasion of mass conversion to the new faith. Luke’s reading for week 10 is full of allusions to these and other Pentecostal themes.

  • 10a. Holy Spirit, and fire — Luke writes, “He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Lk. 3:16). Of course, this promise was fulfilled at Pentecost, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come…There appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear” (Acts 2:1,3-4,33).
  • 10b. What shall we do? — The reaction of the people to the preaching of John the Baptist, “And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?…Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?…And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do?” (Lk. 3:10,12,14), is exactly the same as the reaction to the preaching of Peter at Pentecost, “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).
  • 10c. Repentance and baptism for the remission of sins — “Peter said unto them, Repent (// Lk. 3:3,8), and be baptized (// Lk. 3:3,7,12,16,21) every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (// Lk. 3:3)” (Acts 2:38). As indicated, Luke’s gospel reading for Pentecost has the same exhortation.
  • 10b. Unfruitful tree hewn down and burned — John’s warning, “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Lk. 3:9), is a common idea found in texts read at Pentecost.

The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew’s reading for Pentecost, has precisely the same words, “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Mt. 7:19).

The basic idea probably arose from the second commandment, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” (Ex. 20:4), read at Pentecost.

Isaiah’s readings for weeks 9 and 10 have the same idea. “Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it?…Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day…

“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (cp. Lk. 3:21-22; 4:1)…(Isa. 10:15-19; 10:33-11:4).”

Daniel 2 – 7 was apparently intended to be read at Pentecost; compare the many parallels to the Torah readings for weeks 9 (Gen. 37-40) and 10 (Gen. 41-­44:17), and the Pentecostal readings in Exodus 20.

  • 10e. Chaff of threshingfloor — John’s words, “Whose fan is in his hand, thoroughly to cleanse his threshingfloor, and to gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire” (Lk. 3:17 RV), refer to a Pentecost theme, too. The tenth reading in the Minor Prophets (Hos. 12:12,-13:16) includes, “As the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney” (Hos. 13:3 RV).

Luke has provided an excellent reading for Pentecost.

Allusions to Exodus in Weeks 13 through 23

Exodus was read in weeks 13 through 23. Luke’s readings for these weeks have a number of allusions to Exodus. In fact, the allusions begin a week early.

  • Week 12a. Bread — Jesus’ first temptation in the wilderness concerning bread (Lk. 4:1-4) alludes to the beginning of Moses’ temptations in the “wilder­ness” of Midian, “And (Reuel) said to his daughters…call him, that he may eat bread” (Ex. 2:20).
  • Week 12b. Serve God — Jesus’ response to the second temptation in Luke, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Lk. 4:8), recalls God’s exhortation to Moses, “Ye shall serve God upon this mountain” (Ex. 3:12).
  • Week 13a. Rejection of God’s chosen saviour — Luke’s 13th reading is about the rejection of Jesus by his hometown of Nazareth. Nothing could be more appropriate because the 13th Torah reading includes the story of Moses’ rejection by his brethren (Ex. 2:11-15; cp. Acts 7:23-29).
  • Week 13b. A new exodus — The passage from Isaiah 61 that Jesus reads in the synagogue is full of allusions to a new exodus, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…He sent me…to preach deliverance to the captives…to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord (i.e., the jubilee year, Lev. 25:10)” (Lk. 4:18).
  • Weeks 14-15,17,21,25-26. The finger of God — The 14th Torah reading includes, “Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God” (Ex. 8:19). In Luke 11, Jesus explains, “If I by the finger of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you” (Lk. 11:20 RVm). So Luke begins the healing stories in his 14th week (Lk. 4:31-37 Man with unclean spirit healed) continuing them through week 26 (Lk. 4:38-44; 5:12-16; 17-26; 6:6-11; 7:1-10; 11-17); all of this is in preparation for Trumpets when Jesus will allude to the New Year’s healing prophecy of Isaiah 35 (Lk. 7:21-22).
  • Week 16. Helpers chosen — Jesus’ calling of his first apostles (Lk. 5:1-11) parallels Moses’s calling of the 70 in Exodus 18.
  • Week 19. Levi — Luke’s record of the call of Levi (Lk. 5:27-39) recalls the selection of the Levites because of their faith (Ex. 32:25-29).
  • Week 20. Shewbread — Jesus’ allusion to the shewbread, “(David) went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for priests alone” (Lk. 6:4), in the 20th week, alludes to the law of the shewbread (Ex. 25:23-30) read in the 19th week.
  • Weeks 20-21. Sabbath — The episodes on the sabbath in weeks 20 and 21, “And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first…Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?…And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. And it came to pass also on another sabbath…” (Lk. 6:1-2,5-6), refer back to the law of the sabbath in Exodus 20:8, read on the 17th week of the year.
  • Weeks 22-23. Into a mountain to pray, “priests” consecrated — Luke writes, “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve” (Lk. 6:12). Similarly, Moses had gone up into the mount before coming down to consecrate Aaron and his sons as priests, “And Moses went up into the mount…And then take unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office…and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons” (Ex. 24:15; 28:1; 29:9).

Allusions to Leviticus in Weeks 24-33

Leviticus was read in weeks 24 through 33. In addition, these weeks included the holy days of Tishri: Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. Luke’s readings for these weeks have a number of allusions to Leviticus and the feasts.

Week 24 — The Sermon on the Plain (Lk. 6:20-49) is based in large part on the ideas in Leviticus 19.

  • 24a. The poor — The first beatitude, “Blessed be ye poor” (Lk. 6:20), refers to laws that protect the poor, “Thou shalt leave (the corners of thy field and the gleanings of thy harvest) for the poor and stranger” (Lev. 19:10).
  • 24b. Love thy neighbor, and your enemies — The central theme of the sermon concerning love, “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies…For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them…Love ye your enemies” (Lk. 6:27,32,35), alludes to the command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself…thou shalt love (the stranger) as thyself” (Lev. 19:18,34).
  • 24c. No avenging — The exhortation that we should not avenge ourselves, “Unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other” (Lk. 6:29), is based on the command, “Thy hand shall not avenge thee” (Lev. 19:18 LV).
  • 24d. Be as God — “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Lk. 6:36) parallels the structure of “Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2).
  • 24e. Just measure — Jesus’ lesson, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Lk. 6:38), is based on the command, “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have” (Lev. 19:35-36).
  • 24f. Glean and gather — “For of thorns men do not gather (Gk. sullego) figs, nor of a bramble bush gather (Gk. trugao) they grapes” (Lk. 6:44) uses the same verbs as “Thou shalt not glean (Gk. sullego) thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather (Gk. epanatrugao) every grape of thy vineyard” (Lev. 19:10).

Week 25. Love the stranger — When Jesus healed the centurion’s servant (Lk. 7:1-10), he may have had the following in mind, “If a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Lev. 19:33-34)

Week 26. Sons dead — Luke’s reading for week 26 (Lk. 7:11-17) records the story of Jesus’ raising of the son of the widow at Nain. We read that “when (Jesus) came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out” (Lk. 7:12). Similarly, the Torah reading for week 26 includes the death of Nadab and Abihu the sons of Aaron, their corpses being carried out of the camp (Lev. 10:1-5).

Weeks 27-28. Trumpets — Luke provides an ideal reading for Trumpets (Lk. 7:18-35). In response to the inquiries of John the Baptist, Jesus alludes to Isaiah 35, the New Year’s reading about the healing of the blind, the deaf, the lame, and the dumb. Specifically, “In that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk (Lk. 5:17-26), the lepers are cleansed (5:12-16), the deaf hear, and the dead are raised (7:11-17), to the poor the gospel is preached (6:20)” (Lk. 7:21-22), recalling “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart” (Isa. 35:5-6).

Weeks 29-30. Atonement — Luke also provides a reading for the Day of Atonement (Lk. 7:36-50). Luke focuses on the major theme of Atonement: the forgiveness of sins because of faith (Lk. 7:37,39,41-43,47-50). The woman’s sin was apparently of a sexual nature, making it an appropriate reading to go alongside Leviticus 18, which was read at Atonement. Furthermore, Jesus’ “go in peace” alludes to the High Priestly blessing (Num. 6:22-27) spoken on the Day of Atonement when he returned from the Most Holy Place.

Readings 31-32. Tabernacles — Just like Matthew, Luke bases his reading for tabernacles on the harvest parable of the Sower (Lk. 8:4-18).

Jesus’ words, “My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it” (Lk. 8:21), in Luke’s 32nd reading, refer back to his words, “That on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Lk. 8:15), in Luke’s 31st reading.