The Question of John the Baptist and Jesus' Indictment of the Religious Leaders: A Critical Analysis of Luke 7:18-35

Synopsis:

Since the time of Jerome, scholars have tried to explain why John the Baptist asks Jesus if he is "the one who is to come" (Matt 11:2-6; Luke 7:18-23) after he had apparently identified him as "the lamb of God" (John 1:29-34). The puzzling question is part of one of the longest fragments of traditional material in the New Testament dealing with the Baptist and Jesus. The present study critically examines the Lukan version of this double tradition normally attributed to Q, which includes John's question as well as Jesus' testimony about the Baptist (7:24-28) and his reproach of the religious leaders (7:29-35). Martínez investigates the narrative elements of the passage and shows how Luke 7:18-35 is part of a literary pattern within a section whose main goal is to clarify the identity of Jesus. The study argues that the tradition in Matthew 11:2-19 and Luke 7:18-35 deserves to be interpreted differently in the Gospel of Luke and explains how Luke integrates John's apparent ignorance of Jesus as well as Jesus' indictment of the religious leaders into his literary scheme. Finally, Martínez shows how Luke puts this tradition about John and Jesus at the service of his theocentric and christological perspectives and offers an alternative explanation to the prevailing interpretation of John's question.

Endorsements:

"Narrative-Criticism has emerged as one of the more popular and fruitful methods applied to the study of the Gospels today. In this new book, Roberto Martínez deftly employs this method to answer important questions regarding the intriguing relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. All scholars of the Lukan Gospel will appreciate the careful analysis and satisfying results of this penetrating investigation."
--John Paul Heil
Professor of New Testament
The Catholic University of America

"Disciples of John the Baptist make a sudden appearance in Luke's gospel at 7:18. Their appearance allows the evangelist to reprise the comparison between John and Jesus found in the Infancy Narratives, with greater emphasis on their respective roles in the history of salvation. Using both the historical-critical method and the literary-method of textual analysis, Martínez carefully teases out the meaning of what Jesus had to say about John and himself in a stream of consciousness response to the critical question, 'Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?'"
--Raymond F. Collins
Visiting Scholar
Brown University

Author Biography:
Roberto Martínez is Adjunct Professor of New Testament at the Study Center of the Dominican of the Caribbean (CEDOC) in Puerto Rico. He completed his doctoral dissertation at the Catholic University of America.