|
Previous • Contents • Next
II. Joseph in the Gospel of Luke
II. 1 -- The Structure, Genre and Purpose of
Luke 1-2
Luke 1-2 has been divided in a vast variety of ways, but all
agree on the intended parallels between John the Baptist and Jesus.
Different patterns of "diptychs" (literary parallel passages) have
been posited, but the data resists perfect symmetry. The inner
organization could be outlined as follows:
1:5-25 The announcement to Zechariah of the birth of John the
Baptist.
1:26-38 The announcement to Mary of the birth of Jesus.
1:39-56 The visitation, the keystone of the two preceding sequences.
1:57-80 The birth and circumcision of John the Baptist.
2:1-20 The birth of Jesus.
2:21-40 The circumcision and presentation of Jesus in the Temple.
2:41-52 The second manifestation at the Temple, and conclusion.
In all cases the parallels contrasting John and Jesus show the
absolute superiority of Jesus.
Luke 1-2 is really a mosaic of varied literary genres, including
narratives recounting births, circumcisions, visitation, presentation,
finding, refrains of growth, lyrical pieces, predictions and prophecies.
The infancy is a transcendent manifestation in time of the eternal
God. The genre is a transitional stage between the Old Testament
and the mature manifestation of the Messiah, which defies labeling
because of its uniqueness. It is the fruit of a long meditation
in the community about who Jesus was from the beginning.
Different from Matthew 1-2, wherein Joseph is a key protagonist,
Luke 1-2 presents Mary's reception of revelation, while Joseph
stays more in the background. Rather than resting upon Joseph,
the transition from the Old Testament to Jesus relies more upon
the above-mentioned parallels between Jesus and John the Baptist,
which involve the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. Instead
of being clearly presented as a hostile enemy of righteous Joseph,
Jerusalem is a prominent place to which Joseph and Mary must take
Jesus. The genealogy comes later in Luke 3 without the type of
punctuating comments found in the opening passage of Matthew's
Gospel. Instead of starting with Abraham, it goes back to Adam,
showing Luke's interest in writing to gentile Christians more than
to a Jewish audience.
Unlike the study done in Matthew, an examination of Joseph in
Luke's infancy narrative must draw attention to more secondary
aspects of the presentation. Though Luke does not present Joseph's
role with the same emphasis as Matthew does, this does not necessarily
mean that he sees that role as different or less important.
In Luke 1:27, Mary is first introduced as "a virgin betrothed
to a man whose name was Joseph," before her name is given. Throughout
Luke 2, Joseph is constantly mentioned with Mary by name or as
father or parent together with her, and is included in forms of
the pronouns "they" and "you" plural. Luke 3:23 presents him as
genealogical father of Jesus, and like Luke 4:22 also as reputed
father.
Joseph plays a key supporting role throughout. He is Mary's betrothed
during the virginal conception, and though never directly called
her husband, after conception he is presented together with her
as the Davidic and protective father of Jesus. He is a pious Jew
faithful to the Mosaic law.
In this Gospel Joseph appears in scenes not found in Matthew
or elsewhere in Scripture, such as the census, the adoration of
the shepherds, the presentation in the temple, and the later finding
in the temple with the adolescent Jesus speaking of his heavenly
Father in the context of obedience to his earthly father.
Previous • Contents • Next
|
