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THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY of AMERICA the Question of John The THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA The Question of John the Baptist and the Testimony of Jesus: A Narrative-critical Analysis of Luke 7:18-35 A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement For the Degree Doctor of Sacred Theology © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Roberto Martínez Washington, DC 2010 The Question of John the Baptist and the Testimony of Jesus: A Narrative-critical Analysis of Luke 7:18-35 Roberto Martinez, S.T.D. Director: Frank J. Matera, Ph.D. This work examines Luke 7:18-35, one of the longest fragments of traditional material dealing with John the Baptist in the New Testament, from a narrative-critical perspective. In doing so, it investigates the literary aspects of the Baptist’s question about whether Jesus is “the one who is to come” (7:18-23), the testimony of Jesus about the Baptist (7:24-28), and Jesus’ reproach of the religious leaders (7:29-35). This study investigates elements such as setting, character, and plot within the passage to show how they function within the whole of Luke-Acts. It argues that Luke 7:18-35 is part of a literary pattern within a section whose main goal is to clarify the identity of Jesus and show how the passage supports this compositional aim. Finally, this dissertation explains how Luke integrates John’s apparent ignorance of Jesus as well as Jesus’ indictment of the religious leaders into this literary scheme and how Luke puts this tradition about John and Jesus at the service of his theocentric and christologocial perspectives. This thesis by Roberto Martínez fulfills the thesis requirement for the doctoral degree in biblical theology approved by Frank J. Matera, Ph.D., as Director, and by Francis T. Gignac, D. Phil., and John P. Heil, S.S.D., as Readers. _____________________________________ Frank J. Matera, Ph.D., Director _____________________________________ Francis T. Gignac, D. Phil., Reader _____________________________________ John P. Heil, S.S.D., Reader ii Dedicated to Fr. Felix Struik, O.P., S.S.D. Founder of the Study Center of the Dominicans of the Caribbean vErga,thj avnepai,scunton( ovrqotomou/nta to.n lo,gon th/j avlhqei,aj (2 Tim 2:15) In tribute to his many achievements as a biblical scholar and in recognition of his dedication for over 25 years to the formation of priests, religious and laypersons. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE ....................................................................................................................... 1 Luke 7:18-35: A Historical Survey .................................................................................... 1 I. Introduction.................................................................................................................... 1 II. Objective and Method of the Present Work ................................................................. 2 III. Luke 7:18-35: A Forschungsbericht............................................................................ 3 A. From the Patristic Period to the Reformation......................................................... 3 B. From the Modern Period to the Present ............................................................... 10 B.1 Historical Studies on John the Baptist ............................................................... 11 B.2 Commentaries .................................................................................................... 28 B.3 Specialized Studies ............................................................................................ 40 IV. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 52 CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................................... 55 The Origin, Redaction, and Literary Function of Luke 7:18-35 ...................................... 55 I. Introduction.................................................................................................................. 55 II. The Origin of Luke 7:18-35: Preliminary Considerations.......................................... 56 III. A Comparative Analysis of Matt 11:2-19 and Luke 7:18-35.................................... 58 A. Matt 11:2-6 and Luke 7:18-23............................................................................. 58 B. Matt 11:7-15 and Luke 7:24-30 ........................................................................... 62 C. Matt 11:16-19 and Luke 7:31-35 ......................................................................... 73 D. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 77 IV. The Literary Context of Luke 7:18-35...................................................................... 79 A. The Immediate Context of Luke 7:18-35: Jesus’ Ministry of Healing and Compassion (7:1–8:3)................................................................................................ 80 iv B. The Proximate Literary Context of Luke 7:18-35: The Galilean Ministry (4:14–9:50) ................................................................................................................ 86 C. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 99 CHAPTER THREE .............................................................................................................. 102 A Narrative-critical Interpretation of 7:18-28................................................................ 102 I. Preliminary Remarks ................................................................................................. 102 II. Annotated Translation of Luke 7:18-35 ................................................................... 106 III. The Outline of Luke 7:18-35................................................................................... 109 IV. Exegesis .................................................................................................................. 115 A. First Subunit: The Question of John the Baptist (7:18-23)................................ 115 A.1 The ministry of Jesus and the report of John’s disciples (7:18a) .................... 115 A.2 The delegation of the Baptist (7:18b-19)......................................................... 118 A.3 The disciples of John and their message (7:20)............................................... 127 A.4 The healing power of Jesus (7:21)................................................................... 128 A.5 Jesus commissions the disciples of John (7:22) .............................................. 131 A.6 Blessedness and scandal: Reactions to the ministry of Jesus (7:23) ............... 134 A.7 Summary.......................................................................................................... 139 B. Second Subunit: Jesus’ Encomium of John the Baptist: 7:24-28 ...................... 141 B.1 The first rhetorical question: The moral fiber of John (7:24) .......................... 141 B.2 The second rhetorical question: The austerity of John (7:25).......................... 144 B.3 The third rhetorical question: John the prophet (7:26a)................................... 146 B.4 John the forerunner of the Lord (7:27) ............................................................ 147 B.5 The greatness of John and the kingdom of God (7:28).................................... 149 B.6 Summary.......................................................................................................... 154 v CHAPTER FOUR................................................................................................................. 156 A Narrative-critical Interpretation of 7:29-35................................................................ 156 I. Preliminary Remarks ................................................................................................. 156 II. Redactional and Stylistic Issues in Luke 7:29-30..................................................... 157 A. The History of Transmission of Matt 11:12-15 and Luke 7:29-30 ................... 157 B. The Narrative Voice of 7:29-30......................................................................... 165 C. Summary............................................................................................................ 169 III. Exegesis of Luke 7:29-30........................................................................................ 171 A. Third Subunit: The People and the Religious Leaders:Different Responses to the Plan of God (7:29-30)........................................................................................ 171 A.1 The baptism of John and the glorification of God (7:29) ................................ 171 A.2 The frustration of the plan of God (7:30) ........................................................ 177 A.3 Summary.......................................................................................................... 188 IV. Exegesis of Luke 7:31-35 ....................................................................................... 190 A. Fourth Subunit: The Parable of the Children in the Marketplace (7:31-35)...... 190 A.1 Jesus and the present generation (7:31) ........................................................... 190 A.2 The children playing in the marketplace (7:32)............................................... 193 A.3 The false accusations
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