An early Christian portrayal of Jesus as the ideal ruler who provides benefactions

What is it about?

I examine one particular aspect of the portrayal of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles that nearly all previous scholars neglected. Luke uses words from the field of benefactors, referring them to Jesus twice. Through a comparison with numerous ancient sources – historians, a novel, and especially inscriptions – I show that the primary background of this portrayal is the custom that ancient kings and Roman emperors were called “benefactors.” This means that Luke’s description of Jesus borrows aspects from ancient politics. Thus, he transports a special message: Jesus fulfills the ideal of the good ruler who provides benefactions to his faithful followers. In doing so, Luke wants to apply the following aspects to Jesus: As the ancient sources about kings and Roman emperors as benefactors show, the benefactions include, among other things, forgiveness and saving actions. Both are activities Jesus performs according to Luke’s account. Furthermore, in ancient logic, recipients of benefactions are expected to thank and honor their benefactors, who in turn are obligated to perform further benefactions. Thus, applying this bidirectional concept to Jesus and those who believe in him strengthens their loyalty to Jesus as their lord and encourages ancient readers of Luke’s work to petition Jesus for grace and forgiveness of sins.

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Photo by Meejin Choi on Unsplash

Photo by Meejin Choi on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Luke borrows a motif from ancient politics to his portrayal of Jesus – namely, the concept of benefactors. This shows that the early Christians did not develop their concepts of Jesus in a vacuum but used motifs and models from their contemporary cultural environment. Research has focused on the relationship of the early Christians to the Roman Empire (e.g., “Luke and Empire”). My article contributes a new aspect to this current research discourse. Luke’s use of terminology prevalent in imperial propaganda is to use its reservoir of concepts and images to provide a framework for understanding the exalted Jesus, his status, and functions. In this respect, early Christian portrayals of Jesus are determined by the contemporary political and cultural context of the Roman Empire.

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