Luke and the Restoration of Israel

Ravens argues that Luke's belief in God's restoration of Israel provides the key context for understanding Luke-Acts. His attitudes to Jews, his surveys of Israel's history and his interest in the Samaritans combine to suggest his wider, pre-Davidic, view of Israel-a view that becomes the pattern for the restored Israel under its Davidic king. Luke's belief leads him to present Christology and atonement in ways that cohere with Jewish hopes and to correct apparently anti-Jewish elements in Paul's letters and Matthew's Gospel. This theme also determines his account of the gentile mission and his pastoral concern for unity.