6 - The Temple

Summary

The prominence of the Temple in Luke–Acts

Few features more consistently typify Luke's unique approach to his material, both in his Gospel and in Acts, than the prominence he accords to Jerusalem and the Temple. For Luke Jerusalem is ‘the city of destiny for Jesus and the pivot of salvation for mankind’, and within Jerusalem the Temple is the pre-eminent institution for the emergence of Christianity. There are many treatments of this subject in the literature, so only a summary is necessary here. The first two chapters of the Gospel are replete with incidents which take place in the Temple. Luke's Gospel actually begins, excluding the dedication to Theophilus (1.1–4), inside the very sanctuary of the Temple, with the appearance of Gabriel to Zechariah (1.5–20). After the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph bring him to be presented in the Temple, where they encounter Simeon and the prophetess Anna (2.22–38), the remarks of both of whom will reverberate throughout the work. In these early sections the Temple is presented as the place where Israel realized the imminent onset of the good news of salvation which it had long been awaiting. Later comes the incident when Mary and Joseph accidentally leave Jesus in Jerusalem and three days later find him seated in the Temple, engaged in discussion with the teachers of Israel (2.41–51).