How the Charges Against Paul Frame Luke’s Purpose

Last week, I presented evidence from both Acts and Luke to argue that Luke wrote his two-volume history of the early Christian movement to the Roman nobleman Theophilus as a trial-brief for the Apostle Paul’s first hearing in Rome. Part of that evidence is the excessive amount of space Luke dedicates to Paul’s legal situation and to 5 defenses of his innocence (Acts 22-26). I believe this material presents the framework of Luke’s purpose, providing an outline of Luke’s essential thesis regarding Paul’s innocence.

The Charges

In particular, the third of Paul’s five defenses (and the one that presents itself most clearly as a legal/courtroom drama) is preceded by a listing of the charges against Paul, as recounted by Tertullus, the prosecuting attorney hired by the Jewish leaders (Acts 24:4-8).

In particular, through Tertullus the Jews make the following three charges against Paul:

1. He is a disturber of the Roman peace: “We have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world” (Acts 24:5).
2. He is in charge of a new, and non-Jewish, religion: “This man…is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5).
3. He has committed a capital offense under Roman law: “He even tried to profane the temple” (Acts 24:6).

What’s At Stake

If charge #1 is true, then Paul is a threat to the Pax Romana. He cannot be trusted with freedom in the public sector. And in light of charge #2, Paul is not the only threat to the public welfare; all “Nazarenes” (Christians) everywhere are equally threatening.

If charge #2 is true, then Paul, and his Nazarene followers, ought not to be granted the religious exemptions granted to the Jewish people. The Roman Empire, you see, compelled all citizens, colonists, and conquered peoples to offer not only allegiance but also worship to the emperor. They gave an exemption to only one people group: the Jews. Rome had learned the hard way not to mess in any way with the religion of Israel lest they cause more rioting and upheaval than they bargained for. So they had learned to leave the Jews alone, as far as their religion was concerned. By disassociating from Paul and “the sect of the Nazarenes,” the Jews are bringing this exemption into question for the newfound Christian movement.

If charge #3 is true, then, by nature of the religious freedom Rome has granted to the Jews by law, they must allow the Jewish leaders to put Paul to death.

In summary, with Paul on trial, Christianity is on trial. Luke probably seeks to exonerate Paul because he is a dear friend (he is both “beloved” to Paul—Col 4:14—and the only one who stuck with him to the end—2 Tim 4:11). But he also likely wants to prevent the newborn Christian movement from being suffocated before it can truly take off.

How This Frames Luke’s Gospel

Nearly every commentator and overview article highlights a number of major themes that receive exceptional emphasis in Luke’s gospel: the poor, women, Gentiles, outsiders, prayer, the word, and the Holy Spirit. The charges against Paul explain why these themes mattered so much to Luke.

Luke highlights the roles of the poor, women, Gentiles, and outsiders to show time and again, with respect to charge #1, that Christianity is not a threat to the Roman peace. In fact, Christianity is the opposite: a tremendous blessing to the public welfare! In both Luke and Acts, the ones who stir up public turmoil and instigate riots are usually the Jewish leadership (and sometimes pagans who feel personally threatened by the Christians’ extreme monotheism). The Christians—particularly Jesus himself, Peter, and Paul—are supporting the needy in local communities and calming things down.

Luke highlights the place of prayer and the word of God to show, with respect to charge #2, how closely connected the Christian movement is with ancient Judaism. Christianity is not a brand new religion; it is the fulfillment of the promises of God to Abraham and David, as recorded in Jewish Scripture. Luke begins his gospel with “ministers of the word” (Luke 1:2), and he ends it with Jesus explaining all the things written about him in the law, the prophets, and the Psalms (Luke 24:44-49). And the focus on prayer shows the Christians as pious believers in these promises to Israel; they are walking in the faith of the ancient faithful. It is the Jews who fail to recognize their own God when he visits them and who will suffer dearly for it (Luke 7:16, 19:44, etc.).

Luke highlights the Holy Spirit to show, with respect to charge #3, the early Christians (especially Jesus, Peter, and Paul) following the direction of their God and Father, as communicated by his Spirit. And they were already becoming new temples, with the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. Paul was not some rogue who came to profane the temple and start a new world order; he was acting under orders (Acts 22:20-21) and clearly never profaned the Jerusalem temple (Acts 24:17-19). In the gospel, Luke portrays Jesus under similar orders (Luke 3:22, 4:1, 4:14, 4:18, 10:21) and acting in conformity to God’s intentions for the temple (Luke 19:45-46).

Conclusion

How does knowing all this help us to study Luke’s gospel? I haven’t yet laid enough groundwork to propose a main point for the book, but I can list a few ways Luke’s purpose helps us to read his book.

1. We can have tremendous confidence in the evidence Luke presents for the historicity of these events. Here we have two books, inspired by God, where God was willing to go on record in the Roman court system regarding “the things that have been fulfilled among us” (Luke 1:1).
2. We’ll get a lot of help from this book to embolden us to face direct opposition.
3. By fitting this text within its time-and-space circumstances, we’re more likely to read it the way Luke intended it.
4. Finally, we’ll see how Luke, in contrast to the other 3 gospels, focuses not primarily on the person of Jesus, but on the Christian movement founded by him. We’re not “missing the gospel” if we teach this book accordingly.