Luke 23:47 and the Lucan View of Jesus' Death Author(s): Robert J.

Karris Source: Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 105, No. 1 (Mar., 1986), pp. 65-74 Published by: The Society of Biblical Literature Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3261111 Accessed: 07/01/2009 18:40
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JBL 105/1 (1986) 65-74

LUKE 23:47 AND THE LUCAN VIEW OF JESUS' DEATH

ROBERT J. KARRIS, O.F.M.
Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, IL 60615

Luke's view of Jesus' death has a bad press. There has been a tendency to evaluate Luke's presentation by an explicit or implicit comparison with Mark and Paul. And Luke is found wanting, for he does not see Jesus' death as a sacrifice or as an atoning work.' In this evaluation of Luke's view of Jesus' death, Luke is not allowed to be an independent theologian; he definitely is such, as three recent German monographs have demonstrated.2 The purpose of this article is not to summarize these three monographs, but to sample their riches in a study of one verse of Luke's passion account, Luke 23:47. I will make three points. I. Truly This Man Was Righteous My argument here is that Luke 23:47 should be translated: "Seeing what had happened, the centurion praised God, saying, 'Truly this man was righteous."' That is, I will argue that dikaios does not mean innocent, but means righteous. The evidence for translating Luke 23:47 as "Truly this man was innocent" is multiple. The latest edition of A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature has this entry under dikaios 3: "A restriction of the mng. just results in the excellent sense
1 See Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke (I-IX): Introduction, Translation, and Notes (AB 28; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981) 22-23, for a description and critique of this "thesis" about Luke's theology. 2 Richard Glockner, Die Verkiindigung des Heils beim Evangelisten Lukas (Walberberger Studien, Theologische Reihe 9; Mainz: Grunewald, 1976) 155-95; Anton Buchele, Der Tod Jesu im Lukasevangelium: Eine redaktionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung zu Lk 23 (Frankfurter Theologische Studien 26; Frankfurt am Main: Josef Knecht, 1978); F. Georg Untergassmair, Kreuzweg und Kreuzigung Jesu: Ein Beitrag zur lukanischen Redaktionsgeschichte und zur Frage nach der lukanischen "Kreuzestheologie" (Paderborner Theologische Studien 10; Paderborn: Schoningh, 1980). There is an excellent summary of Glockner, Die Verkiindigung des Heils, 155-95 in Jerome Kodell, "Luke's Theology of the Death of Jesus," in Sin, Salvation, and the Spirit: Commemorating the Fiftieth Year of The Liturgical Press (ed. Daniel Durken; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1979) 221-30.

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innocent for Lk 23:47."3 Some of the most influential modern translations of the NT support the translation of dikaios as "innocent." The RSV has: "Certainly this man was innocent." The NAB reads: "Surely this was an innocent man." Commentaries as diverse as those of Wilfrid J. Harrington and Frederick W. Danker-to limit ourselves to two written in Englishopt for the meaning "innocent."4 Their main reason is that such a rendition accords with the innocence theme of Luke 23:4, 14-15, 22. More evidence could be brought forward for the translation "innocent," but these representative samples will have to suffice. It seems that the evidence presented, especially in the commentaries, is largely contextual. That is, the translation "innocent" suits the context wherein Pilate, Herod, the repentant thief, and Joseph of Arimathea say that Jesus is innocent. But other evidence can be brought forward for the translation of "righteous." First, there is the general context of Luke-Acts. As Brian E. Beck rightly observes: "In no other instance in the Gospel or Acts can dikaios or its cognates be restricted to 'innocent.'"5 Then there is the immediate context, wherein Luke uses the dikai-root twice: once in 23:41 and once in 23:50, meaning "justly" and "righteous" respectively. If this is so, then why would Luke have suddenly narrowed the meaning of dikaios in 23:47 to mean "innocent"? 6 What is more important, the translation of dikaios by "innocent" does not accord with the meanings and associations of other words in the verse itself. I refer to "he praised God" and to "seeing." In his reaction to Jesus' death, the pagan centurion "praised God." Doxazein ton theon occurs in Luke 2:20; 5:25, 26; 7:16; 13:13; 17:15; 18:43 and here in 23:47; Acts 4:21, 21:20. As I. Howard Marshall correctly observes: It is ". .. a favorite Lucan reaction to a revelation of divine power and mercy."7It is a soteriological phrase, and the translation of dikaios by "innocent"-a juridical term-misses the theological thrust of the verse.8 The centurion praised God because he saw darkness, the temple curtain rent in two, and how Jesus prayed. Idon is in an emphatic position, and it should be recalled that Luke uses idein or equivalents in 23:8 (3x), 23:35,
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979) 196. W. J. Harrington, The Gospel according to St. Luke (London: Chapman, 1968) 268; F. W. Danker, Jesus and the New Age According to St. Luke: A Commentary on the Third Gospel (St. Louis: Clayton, 1972) 242. 5 "'Imitatio Christi' and the Lucan Passion Narrative," in Suffering and Martyrdom in the New Testament: Studies presented to G. M. Styler by the Cambridge New Testament Seminar (ed. William Horburg and Brian McNeil; Cambridge: University Press, 1981) 42. 6 See Beck, "'Imitatio Christi,'" 42. 7 The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text (New International Greek Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978) 876. 8 See the formulation given by Btichele, Der Tod Jesu im Lukasevangelium, 87: "Er bekennt Jesus als den dikaios im juristischen wie theologischen Sinn."
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23:48 (2x), and 23:49. I would suggest two things. First, "seeing" is an image for revelation.9 Second and more important, whereas Herod in 23:8 wanted to see some sign performed by Jesus and was not able, the pagan centurion has seen God's mighty deed in Jesus' death and has given praise to God.'0 In Jesus' death the centurion has seen God at work. And the primary meaning of that death is to be seen in the prayer of Jesus in 23:46-again, a verse in the immediate context. The RSV of 23:46 is: "Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, 'Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!' And having said this he breathed his last." At his death Jesus recites one of the psalms of the suffering righteous one, Psalm 31. Instead of trying to save himself, Jesus gave himself trustingly into the hands of his Father. In this way, he was saved from the hands of his enemies. In this way, he proved himself to be the righteous one and son of God." In commenting on Luke 23:46, Richard J. Dillon draws attention to the confessions in Acts which proclaim Jesus as the Righteous One (Acts 3:14-15; 7:52; 22:14): thatthe wordsof the Crucified which precedethe centurion's Considering are taken from the prayerof the confident suffererof Ps 31 who ultimately celebrateshis victory as 'righteousone,' it is probable that the centurion's dikaiosis, in fact, the messianicvictor aboutto be vindicated by God in spite of human onslaughtagainst him (Acts3,14f.).'2 Further evidence for the view taken here that Jesus dies as a suffering righteous one can be seen in Luke's use of Psalms 22 and 69 and Wis 2:18 in Luke 23:34b-38. These references to the fate of the suffering righteous one seem purposeful and indeed fit the context of 23:46-47 quite well. I would summarize what we have learned about Luke's soteriology in this way. Jesus' prayer in 23:46 is linked to his other words in 23:28, 31, 34a, 43, all of which show his unity with his Father, show his unity with his Father's will to save humankind, even in its darkest hours. Salvation is to be found not in fleeing death nor in using one's power to escape from it, but in trusting that God is righteous and remains united with his rejected and battered creation even in its sorest hours. This is sola fide and sola gratia.
9 On the symbolic meaning of "sight" in Luke-Acts, see James D. G. Dunn, Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1970) 76-78. 10 The motif of "seeing" continues in Luke 24 with the result that it is the risen Jesus who opens the eyes of the disciples to see that he is the fulfillment of scripture and that missionaries/disciples continue his journey to the Father. Consult especially Richard J. Dillon, From Eye-Witnesses to Ministers of the Word: Tradition and Composition in Luke 24 (AnBib 82; Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1978) 133, 147, 217. 1 For more detail and references to Ps 31:6, 16a and Wis 2:18 and 3:1, see Ludger Feldkamper, Der betende Jesus als Heilsmittler nach Lukas (Ver6ffentlichungen des Missionspriesterseminars St. Augustin bei Bonn 29; St. Augustin: Steyler, 1978) 281-82. 12 From Eye-Witnesses to Ministers of the Word, 100-101.

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Jesus' dying prayer reveals a God who is faithful and remains with his unjustly treated creation. The centurion praises this God at work in Jesus' death.'3 Truly, this Jesus was a righteous man. II. The Lucan Jesus Is Not a Martyr By showing that dikaios should be translated as "righteous" and not as "innocent" in Luke 23:47, I have begun a reexamination of the commonly held thesis that Luke presents Jesus' death as that of an innocent martyr. If Luke does not present Jesus' death as that of an innocent martyr, then another support for the translation of dikaios by "innocent" is removed.l4In this section, I will present and then critique the influential martyr thesis as formulated by Martin Dibelius and championed to this day.15 The following quotation gives the essence of Dibelius's position: ForLuke,the sufferingSaviouris the Manof God who is attackedby evil powersand who, with his patience and forgiveness,is a model of innocent suffering.Luke regardsthese events in the place where he consequentlyputs them not as the completionof salvation,but as the storyof a saintlyman closely united with God. The literaryconsequenceof this view is that Lukepresents the Passionas a martyrdom. TherewereJewish as is proved martyrdoms, by the literaryrecordof them in the Martyrdom of Isaiah, and in II and IV Maccabees.Since these were readamongthe Christiansthe evangelistcould expect that if he presentedJesus as a martyrhe would be understoodby Christianreaders.16 Following the schema of Brian Beck, I line up the overall parallels between Luke 22-23 and the martyrdom literature:17 1. Conflict. The martyr is fighting against the power of Satan and the power of darkness. See Martyrdom of Isaiah 4:11-12 and Luke 22:53 and 22:3. God is on the side of the martyr. See how in Luke 22:39-45 Jesus is strengthened by an angel; see also how God is on the side of the martyr by sending an angel in Dan 3:25 and 3 Macc 6:18.
My formulations in this section are indebted to Untergassmair, Kreuzweg und Kreuzigung Jesu, 191-93. 14 I am not convinced that Luke had an apologetic intent in writing his passion account, an apologetic intent that would have prompted him to use dikaios in the meaning of "innocent." See Robert Maddox, The Purpose of Luke-Acts (Studies of the New Testament and Its World; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1982) 91-99. 15 With some modifications, Dibelius's viewpoint is present in one of the most recent commentaries on Luke's Gospel: Charles H. Talbert, Reading Luke: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Third Gospel (New York: Crossroad, 1982) 212-25, esp. 221-24. See also Talbert, The Certainty of the Gospel: The Perspective of Luke-Acts (De Land, FL: Stetson University Press, 1980) 5-9. 16 From Tradition to Gospel (New York: Scribner, n.d.) 201. 17 Beck, "'Imitatio Christi,"' 30-40.
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2. Innocence. On this theme see Luke 23:4, 14-15, 22 and Dan 6:4-5 and 3 Macc 3:1-10. 3. Attitude of the bystanders. There is the mocking of the martyr. See Luke 23:35-39 and the Martyrdom of Isaiah 5:1-11. Folks come out to see the "spectacle." See Luke 23:35a and 23:48. See also 3 Macc 5:24. 4. The conduct of the martyr. The martyr suffers for a cause and is steadfast in the midst of the most brutal punishments, which are graphically portrayed. Jesus dies willingly and with composure. 5. The martyr shows what is in store for his/her coreligionists. The martyrdom literature is written to support fellow believers under threat of martyrdom. See the heavy stress in Luke 22-23 on the testing of discipleship, for example, Simon Peter in 22:31-34, 54-65; Simon of Cyrene in 23:26. Four points are to be noted in critique of the interpretive model of martyr. First, it seems that many of the supposed parallels between Luke and the martyrdom literature are formal and not material. For example, the fact that Jesus is strengthened by an angel in the Garden is suggested as parallel to 3 Macc 6:18-21. Yet a closer examination of the parallel reveals its vagueness-indeed, its non-applicableness. For if this parallel were material, Jesus would never have gone to his passion. The angels would have vanquished his adversaries. Second, many of the features of the socalled martyrdom literature are missing from Luke, for example, the martyr's condemnation of his killers, the description of the physical pain of the martyr. Third, certain parallels, for example, the martyr's fighting against the power of Satan and the power of darkness, can be given other, more plausible interpretations." Finally, the martyrdom parallels fail to read Luke 22-23 in the context of the rest of the Gospel and thus fail to account for the presence of multiple Lucan motifs in the passion narrative, for example, Jesus' relationship with his Father, whose plan he fulfills by journeying to the cross.'9
On Luke 22:39-46 as Luke'sdramatization of Jesus'great eschatologicalvictory as the true Adam, the Son of God, see JeromeH. Neyrey,"The Absenceof Jesus'Emotions-the Lucan Redactionof Lk 22,39-46,"Bib 61 (1980)153-71. 19 Concerning these othermotifs, see Hans Conzelmann,The Theologyof St. Luke (Lonund Kreuzigung don:Faber& Faber,1960)200 n. 2; andUntergassmair, Jesu, 156Kreuzweg the critiquesofferedabove,the "martyr" motif alsohas to be revisedbecauseof the 71. Besides worksof EduardSchweizer, and Discipleship(SBT1/28; London:SCM, 1960);and Lordship zur urchristlichen und Gottesknecht: Verkundiof EduardLohse,Martyrer Untersuchungen & Ruprecht,1955). 46; Gottingen:Vandenhoeck gung vom SiihntodJesu Christi(FRLANT The worksof Schweizerand Lohsehave,in turn, been critiquedby LotharRuppert,Jesusals Der Weg derleidendeGerechte? Motivs Jesuim Lichteeinesalt- undzwischentestamentlichen Bibelwerk,1972). In turn the work of Rupperthas been (SBS59: Stuttgart:Katholisches "The Genre and Functionof the MarkanPassion criticizedby George W. E. Nickelsburg, HTR 73 (1980)153-84. In workingout his thesis,Nickelsburg is dependentupon Narrative," his earlierwork, Resurrection, Judaism Immortality,and Eternal Life in Intertestamental
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In conclusion, at first blush the parallels between the martyrdom literature and Luke's passion are impressive. But upon critical examination they appear to be vague. If I am correct in this assessment, how do I account for the prevalent viewpoint in Lucan scholarship that Luke presents Jesus' death as a martyrdom? I offer two observations as a rationale for this phenomenon. The martyr parallels may have taken hold in the analysis of Luke 22-23 because they allow the reader to grasp more easily, as a whole, the paraenetic and paradigmatic thrust of these chapters. These parallels also help the reader give an explanation for Luke's apparent failure to attribute saving efficacy to Jesus' death.20 In sum, if Luke does not present Jesus' death in Luke 22-23 as a martyrdom, then another support has been removed for translating dikaios in 23:47 by "innocent." Truly, this man was righteous. III. Justice as a Pervasive Motif in Luke-Acts In this third section we return to Luke 23:47 once more. Brian Beck makes a very insightful comment on the occurrence of ontos in 23:47. "There may even be a particular point in the adverb ontos. In more than one place Luke refers caustically to those whose righteousness is feigned or based on self-esteem (16:15; 18:9; 20:20); in Jesus we see the genuine thing."21Beck is drawing the reader's attention to the pervasive motif of justice in Luke. In the Gospels only Matthew has more instances of the use of dikaios, ktl. than Luke.22Dikaiosyne occurs once in Luke's Gospel and four times in Acts. Dikaios occurs eleven times in the Gospel and six times in Acts. Dikaioo occurs five times in the Gospel and twice in Acts. In the Gospel dikaioma and dikaios occur one time apiece.23 It is one thing to list the statistics for the presence of the Lucan motif of justice, but it is another to find evaluations of these statistics. Recently that scholarly lacuna has been filled by the work of John Reumann. Writing from the perspective of whether Luke-Acts' teaching on righteousness shows Pauline influence,24 Reumann gives this summary:

(HTS 26; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1972). Nickelsburg would set the multiple motifs of the passion narrative into a single literary genre: the story of persecution and vindication. 20 On this last point, see Francois Bovon, Luc le theologien: Vingt-cinq ans de recherches (1950-1975) (Neuchatel and Paris: Delachaux & Niestle, 1978) 175-81. 21 "'Inhitatio Christi,'" 42. 22 See John Reumann, "Righteousness"in the New Testament: "Justification"in the United States Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue. With responses by Joseph A. Fitzmyer and Jerome D. Quinn (Philadelphia: Fortress; New York and Ramsey, NJ: Paulist, 1982) 135. 23 See Reumann, "Righteousness" in the New Testament, 135.

Karris: Luke 23:47 But Luke-Acts does demonstrate how pervasivethe termswere from OT roots.Falseclaimsat beingdikaioswereopposed(Luke10:29;16:15; 18:9; cf. 5:32). God's righteousness is vindicated (Luke 7:29), throughJesus and the responseof sinnersand publicansto him (Luke7:35). He is "the righteousOne"(Acts3:14;7:52;22:14).That he taught how the humble and self-effacing, in contrast to the boastful, get to be "justified"is recorded(Luke18:14). ThroughJesusone is justifiedin the senseof freed or exonerated,in ways the law of Mosescould not provide(Acts 13:38of the "just(and 39). Thereis also amplereferenceto futureresurrection unjust)" (Luke 14:14;Acts 24:25), future judgment (Acts 17:31), and ethics in light thereof(Acts24:25).This is not Paul'sview, but a different sort developed in Gentile Christianity,from the gospel and OT traditions, but in light of the Christ-event.25

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Reumann presents the data, yet because of his angle of vision is not able to discern other aspects of Luke's multifaceted motif of justice. In what follows I will draw attention to these other aspects through a brief, threestage evaluation of Luke's vital motif of justice. Luke's motif of justice can be expressed in three capsule statements. In Luke, Jesus is the righteous one of Wis 2:10-5:8.26His way of righteousness is opposed to that of the religious leaders who plot his death. Jesus brings the good news of God's justice to the poor and afflicted. Luke's motif of justice can be expressed in paragraph form as follows. Jesus' ministry of calling sinners to righteous ways of life-for example, almsgiving-is denounced by religious leaders who appear to be righteous. Jesus is the righteous one, who, obedient to God's will and plan, reveals and embodies that plan. He reveals a God who is just to the poor and afflicted. He unjustly meets with opposition from the religious leaders, stereotypes of unrighteous conduct. Embattled, Jesus is the suffering righteous one. In him God is on trial. God vindicates himself and his plan for creation in exalting the crucified righteous one, Jesus.27When the centurion sees the mighty deed of God's fidelity to Jesus and Jesus' fidelity to his Father, this pagan confesses that Jesus is indeed God's righteous one. Pagans who should have no eyes see and those who have eyes are blind. Finally, a broader view of Luke's motif of justice is found in Luke 18:914 (the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector) and in Luke's use of the kingdom of God. In Luke 18:9-14 the Pharisee is contrasted with a member of Luke's rogues' gallery. As in Luke 7:29-30, the question is one of justice. The Pharisee is the negative example of persons who justify
Ibid. Ibid., 142-43. 26 See Schweizer, Lordshipand Discipleship,30: "Theway of the righteousone depicted here (Wisdom2-5) is even in many details the way which Jesushas actually gone." 27 In I am indebtedto Glockner, Die Verkundigung this paragraph, des Heils, formulating 187-91, 194-95.
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themselves rather than rely on God's justice. 28 It is with supreme irony that Luke has the Pharisee pray that he is not an extortioner (18:11). In Luke 11:39 we have the only other Lucan occurrence of the same basic word, "extortion."There Jesus accuses the Pharisees of being filled with "extortion." The Pharisees are not examples of the righteous person who has been humbled and yet maintains trust in a gracious God. They exalt themselves at the cost of the dignity and human rights of others. In Luke 18:9-14 we find that the religious leaders are described by means of the deeds of nonjustice. They have no room for the justice of God which is manifesting itself in Jesus' kingdom ministry. The scholarly world is in debt to the late Norman Perrin for his insistence that the kingdom of God is a symbol. 29 It is a symbol that God is king and ruler over chaos, over the powers of evil and injustice at work in his world. God, the righteous ruler, will conquer evil. As a symbol, the kingdom of God is polyvalent, and one of its valences is God's justice. The correlation between God's justice and his kingly rule is very clear in Ps 97:1-2: "The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are round about him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne."30 Jesus, as the preacher of God's kingdom, effects the work of God's justice. Johannes Niitzel has made a sound point by showing how Luke 4:43, a key passage for Luke's description of Jesus' mission, is related to its context.31 Luke 4:43 reads: "But Jesus said to them, 'I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.'" The literary context of 4:43 contains 4:16-30, which speaks of Jesus the prophet being anointed by God to fulfill his promises of preaching good news to the poor (4:18). The summary statement of Jesus' mission in 4:43 as preaching the good news of the kingdom involves his justice work of preaching good news to the poor.
28 With regard to the Pharisees and Luke's life situation, I do not find convincing the thesis of J. A. Ziesler that Luke favors the Pharisees. See his "Luke and the Pharisees," NTS 25 (1978/79) 146-57; see also Luke T. Johnson, The Literary Function of Possessions in Luke-Acts (SBLDS 39; Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1977) 116n. 3: "The case for Luke's favorable treatment of the Pharisees remains to be proven; it definitely should not be assumed." See further 109-10, 141-43. 29 See Perrin's Jesus and the Language of the Kingdom: Symbol and Metaphor in New Testament Interpretation (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1976) 15-32. 30 For more detail on the link between the kingdom of God and God's justice, see Reumann, "Righteousness" in the New Testament, 12-16; Michael D. Guinan, Gospel Poverty: Witness to the Risen Christ, A Study in Biblical Spirituality (New York:Paulist, 1981) 26-31; John R. Donahue, "Biblical Perspectives on Justice,"in The Faith That Does Justice: Examining the Christian Sources for Social Change (ed. J. C. Haughey; Woodstock Studies 2; New York: Paulist, 1977) 86-87. 31 See his Jesus als Offenbarer Gottes nach den lukanischen Schriften (Forschung zur Bibel 39; Wurzburg: Echter-Verlag, 1980) 28-30.

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Once the reader begins to see the intimate connection between the kingdom of God and God's justice, other kingdom passages take on new meaning. See, for example, 6:20: "And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said: 'Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."' God is king as he rights the human situation, where injustice and oppression reign. See also Luke 11:20:"But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." Demons, symbols of the power of evil in human life, mock the fidelity and justice of a God who creates goodness. By casting demons out, Jesus shows the justice of God, who will not let evil have the final say over his creation. And as a detailed study of Luke 23 would show, that chapter has much to say about Jesus as king. Jesus' kind of kingship, predicted to Mary and the reader in 1:32-33, is interpreted by his life and death for justice. In 23:42 Jesus continues God's kingly justice by promising life to the criminal, who repentantly asks Jesus to remember him when he comes in his kingly power. Finally, Luke ends his two volumes in Acts 28 with two passages that identify God's kingdom with Jesus. See Acts 28:31: Paul is "preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ quite openly and unhindered" (see also 28:23). God's justice is to be found in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. All his promises to rectify the human situation have come true in Jesus.32By his life of preaching and being good news to those who could claim no justice for themselves, Jesus truly was a righteous person. As such, he contrasted sharply with the religious leaders, who professed to be righteous. Jesus attacked them verbally for not promoting justice, and his very way of life was an affront to them. As Wisdom puts it: "Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our If the righteous man is God's son, he will help him, and will actions.... deliver him from the hand of his adversaries" (2:12, 18).33 In sum, I would suggest that to translate dikaios in Luke 23:47 properly, one must look to the pervasive Lucan motif of justice. From that perspective, the argument can be made that with the use of dikaios in 23:47 that motif has come to a climactic expression. In the light of the Lucan motif of justice, dikaios should be translated as "righteous."Truly, Jesus was a righteous man.

32 For a more expanded treatment of the identification of the kingdom of God with Jesus, see Otto Merk, "Das Reich Gottes in den lukanischen Schriften," in Jesus und Paulus: Festschriftfiir Werner Georg Kiimmel zum 70. Geburtstag (ed. E. Earle Ellis and Erich Grasser; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1975) 201-20; Dillon, From Eye-Witnesses to Ministers of the Word, 286-87 n. 155; J. Dupont, "La conclusion des Actes et son rapport h l'ensemble de l'ouvrage de Luc," in Les Actes des Ap6tres: Traditions, redaction, theologie (ed. J. Kremer; BETL 48; Gembloux: Duculot; Leuven: University Press, 1979) 364-65. 33 A development of the points briefly made here can be found in my Luke: Artist and Theologian (Theological Inquiries; New York: Paulist, 1985).

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Journal of Biblical Literature IV. Conclusion

I began this article with a slight consideration of translation vagaries concerning Luke 23:47. During the course of it I dealt with major issues of Lucan soteriology. Luke does not employ the model of martyr in his description of Jesus' death. His model is drawn from the motif of justice and is that of the innocently suffering righteous one. Luke's theme of justice has been inadequately treated by comparisons with Paul's view of justice. Luke's theme of justice is a carrier of profound theological meaning and allows him to spell out the meaning of Jesus' death: God has not abandoned his suffering righteous son, whose suffering typifies that of his unjustly treated creation; God graciously vindicates that Jesus and creates salvific trust in those who trust in his justice. Truly,Jesus was the suffering righteous one. Truly, Luke's understanding of Jesus' death deserves to be heard in its own right.