REPRESENTATIVES OF ROMAN RULE: ROMAN GOVERNORS IN LUKE-ACTS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Notre Dame in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Joshua P. Yoder _________________________________ Mary Rose D’Angelo, Director Graduate Program in Theology Notre Dame, Indiana July 2012 REPRESENTATIVES OF ROMAN RULE: ROMAN GOVERNORS IN LUKE-ACTS Abstract by Joshua P. Yoder Luke-Acts frequently portrays the extension of Roman power into the life of Jesus and the early church, and the author has long been regarded as mounting a defense of the church before Rome. As interest in the Roman political context of Christian origins has risen scholars have offered a variety of pro- and anti-Roman readings. This dissertation contributes to the discussion by focusing on one facet of Luke’s politics: his portrayal of Roman provincial governors. Luke’s accounts of these Roman officials’ interactions with Jesus (Pilate) and Paul (Sergius Paulus, Gallio, Felix, and Festus) are analyzed using a narrative-rhetorical approach that stresses the probable impact of the narrative on its original late-first-century Christian audience. In order to better evaluate the significance of various aspects of Luke’s characterizations for such an audience, the dissertation examines several other narratives from the first century that feature Roman governors as prominent characters. Narratives clearly intended to portray a governor favorably (Tacitus, Agricola ) or unfavorably (Philo, Against Flaccus ) are Joshua P. Yoder examined first, followed by the characterization of governors in Josephus’ historical works, The Judean War and Judean Antiquities . In the context of these works Luke’s portrayals of Roman governors emerge as varied, nuanced and congruent with literary expectations of the early empire. Even so, the governors in Luke-Acts largely serve a common rhetorical goal signaled by Pilate: they demonstrate that Roman officials themselves acknowledged that Jesus and Paul (and by extension their disciples) were innocent of any Roman charges. To my family. ii CONTENTS Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………......vi Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………………………………………….. 1 1.1 Luke’s Political Views and Intentions: A Short History of Research….….5 1.1.1 Political Apology for the Church to Rome: Apologia Pro Ecclesia ………………………………………………….……..6 1.1.2 Apology for Rome to the Church: Apologia Pro Imperio …………………………………………………………17 1.1.3 Equipping the Church for Witness………...…………….……… 24 1.1.4 Legitimation for the Church’s Identity……...………………….. 29 1.1.5 No Definite Political Aim………………………………………. 35 1.1.6 Postcolonial Readings and Other Recent Work………………… 44 1.1.7 Limitations of Previous Research and Approach of this Dissertation…………………………………………………… 57 1.2 Literary-Rhetorical Methodology………………………………………… 62 1.2.1 Author, Implied Author, Narrator………………………………. 65 1.2.2 Reader, Ideal Reader, First Century Reader….…………….…... 67 1.2.3 Character, Characterization, Type……………………………… 69 1.2.4 Means of Characterization……………………………………… 73 1.3 Luke-Acts: Author, Audience, Date, Genre and Purpose……………….... 77 1.3.1 Author and Audience…………………………………………… 77 1.3.2 Date……………………………………………………………... 80 1.3.3 Genre……………………………………………………………. 82 1.3.4 Purpose………………………………………………………….. 85 1.4 Overview of the Dissertation…………………………………………….. 87 Chapter 2: Narratives for Praise and Blame: Tacitus on Agricola, Philo on Flaccus… 91 2.1 Tacitus, Agricola ………………………………………………………….. 92 2.1.1 Tacitus and Rome………………………………………………. 87 2.1.2 Date, Genre, Audience and Purpose……………………………. 96 2.1.3 Tacitus’ Presentation of Agricola………………………………. 101 2.1.4 Conclusions……………………………………………………... 120 2.2 Philo, Against Flaccus……………………………………………………. 129 2.2.1 Philo and Rome…………………………………………………. 130 2.2.2 Date, Genre, Audience, Purpose………………………………... 138 2.2.3 Philo’s Portraits of Flaccus……………………………………... 143 2.2.4 Conclusions……………………………………………………... 166 iii 2.3 Comparison……………………………………………………………….. 173 Chapter 3: Governors in Historiography: Josephus’ Judean War and Judean Antiquities ………………………………………………………………………… 177 3.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………. 168 3.1.1 The Judean War : Date, Genre, Audience and Purpose………… 179 3.1.2 Judean Antiquities : Date, Genre, Audience and Purpose………. 186 3.1.3 Josephus’ View of Rome……………………………………...... 191 3.2 Survey of the Narratives………………………………………………….. 193 3.1.1 Early Governors of Syria……………………………………...... 194 3.1.2 From Herod the Great to Agrippa I……………………………... 205 3.1.3 The Procurators…………………………………………………. 226 3.3 Conclusions………………………………………………………………. 246 Chapter 4: An Agent of Rome in the Gospel of Luke: Pontius Pilate………………... 257 4.1 Pilate Before the Passion Narrative……………………………………..... 260 4.1.1 Pilate Introduced (Luke 3:1-2)………………………………….. 260 4.1.2 The Killing of the Galileans (Luke 13:1)………….……………. 261 4.2 Pilate in the Passion Narrative (Luke 22:66-23:25)………………………. 266 4.2.1 Prolegomena……………………………………………………. 266 4.2.2 Scene 1: Jesus before the Judean Senate (Luke 22:66-23:1)...…. 269 4.2.3 Scene 2: Jesus before Pilate (Luke 23:2-7)…...………………… 272 4.2.4 Scene 3: Jesus before Herod (Luke 23:8-12)…...………………. 288 4.2.5 Scene 4: Jesus Before Pilate Again (Luke 23:13-21)…...……… 293 4.2.6 Conclusions from the Passion Narrative………………………... 305 4.3 Pilate After the Passion Narrative………………………………………… 311 4.4 Conclusions……………………………………………………………….. 314 Chapter 5: Paul and Rome: The Governors in Acts………………………………….. 322 5.1 An Intelligent Man: Sergius Paulus……………………………………..... 323 5.1.1 Paulus Introduced………………………………………………..324 5.1.2 An Intelligent Man...…………………………………………..... 327 5.1.3 Conclusions…………………………………………………...… 330 5.2 Our Man in Achaea: Gallio……………………………………………….. 336 5.2.1 Gallio Introduced (Acts 18:12)…...…………………………….. 337 5.2.2 The Charges…………………………………………………….. 339 5.2.3 Gallio’s Response………………….....…...……………..……... 345 5.2.4 The Beating of Sosthenes………...……………………………...351 5.2.5 Conclusions………………………………………………...…… 356 5.3 The Odor of Corruption: Felix……………………………………………. 360 5.3.1 Felix Introduced…………………………………………….…... 360 5.3.2 Felix Hears Paul’s Case (Acts 24:1-23)…………………….…... 366 5.3.3 Felix’s Response (Acts 24:22-23)…..……….………………….. 377 5.3.4 After the Trial……………………………………………..……. 379 5.3.5 Conclusions……..….…………………………………………… 384 5.4 A Breath of Fresh Air? Porcius Festus…………………………………… 390 iv 5.4.1 Festus Introduced………..……….……………………………... 390 5.4.2 The Trial in Caesarea…..………….……………………………. 395 5.4.3 Festus and Agrippa II (Acts 25:13-22)…...…………………….. 403 5.4.4 The Grand Audience (Acts 25:23–26:32)………………………. 410 5.4.5 Conclusions…………………………………………..…………. 420 Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………… 426 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….…. 433 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS All my life people, churches and institutions have supported my endeavors in ministry, mission work, and education. The training I have received and the work I have undertaken with their financial support and encouragement have made me who I am today. So if I acknowledge a few of these benefactors here, it is not merely because I owe them thanks for their assistance, but because I am grateful for the kind of life I have lived, despite its challenges and my unworthiness, and it is they who paved the way for me to walk. My brothers and sisters at Hively Avenue Mennonite Church supported my education at Goshen College, my early inquiries into ministry and mission, and my work with Christian Peacemaker Teams. Friends at First Church of the Brethren, Chicago welcomed me and taught me. McCormick Theological Seminary underwrote my pastoral training, and members of its faculty encouraged my interest in academic biblical study; some have now become mentors. I owe these individuals and institutions a debt of gratitude not only for what they have given me, but more importantly for showing that they saw something in me worth nurturing. Graduate school has been no different. This period of study has been funded by a Vawter Fellowship from the Catholic Biblical Association of America, with additional funds from the Department of Theology at Notre Dame and from a series of grants for summer study provided by various donors. My dissertation director, Mary Rose vi D’Angelo, has blessed me with great patience, sound advice, a sympathetic ear, and gentle encouragement to get on with it at needed moments. She and the other members of my committee, David Aune, Blake Leyerle and Gregory Sterling, have given my work the benefit of careful reading, helpful feedback, and constructive questions. I am grateful to my wife Rebecca for her willingness to be the primary breadwinner for our household during this period of study, and for her steadfast encouragement over the long and arduous process. Thanks to my parents Elizabeth and Perry for faithful love and words of consolation during low moments. And thanks to Owen for, well, for being Owen. A budding Egyptologist, he inspires me look forward to his contributions to the next generation of scholarship. vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION More than any other work in the New Testament, Luke-Acts envisages the extension of Roman power into the life of Jesus and the earliest Christians. 1 Roman emperors, administrators and military personnel are referred to by name. 2 Roman centurions play a prominent role in both Luke’s gospel and Acts. 3 Other sorts of figures associated with Roman rule appear as well, such as the duoviri of Roman Philippi (Acts 16:19-40) and the Asiarchs of Ephesus (Acts 19:31). Paul and Silas are Roman citizens; Roman