The way of the Lord : the 'journey' motif and its relation to discipleship in Luke's gospel

Part 1 explores ‘way’ vocabulary passages in Deuteronomy, Isaiah and 1QS, to provide analogies on two levels of understanding of ‘journey’ in Luke’s gospel, literal and metaphorical. Chapter Two discusses ‘way’ vocabulary in Deuteronomy. Chapter Three looks at the original context of Is. 40:3-5, in order to uncover the ‘way’ imagery which is analogous to Luke’s. In chapter Four, a study of ‘way’ vocabulary in the Qumran writings will be made, to bridge the gap between ‘walking in the way’ in Deuteronomy and the Isaian ‘way of the Lord’. The significance of the ‘journey’ motif in the first part of Luke’s Gospel (Lk 1-9) is then explored in Part II. Chapter Five examines how the ‘way’ theme is described and introduced in the Infancy Narratives. Chapter Six discusses the importance of the quotation of Is. 40:3-5 at the very beginning of the public ministry of Jesus, since it is the programme through which Jesus’ whole ministry in Luke is to be understood. In Chapter Seven, the relationship between Lk 3:4-6 and Lk. 4:16-21 is examined, with its emphasis on ‘journey’. This helps to underline the fact that Jesus ministers by healing and preaching in his itinerant journey and journeying towards his eventual goal, a goal in which salvation is fully achieved. By using 40:3 and Mal. 3:1 in Lk. 7:27, Luke points out that John the Baptist cam as a forerunner, preparing Jesus’ ‘way’ in its entirety. In Part III, the relationship between ‘the way of the Lord’ and discipleship is discussed, particularly with reference to the ‘call narratives’ and to the Jerusalem ‘journey narrative’ to Luke’s Gospel. It is argued that ‘the way’ is to be understood secondarily in metaphorical terms to describe discipleship. Attention will be drawn to the importance which the Transfiguration (Lk. 9:28-36) has for the Jerusalem journey narrative.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo