records that as the lepers went to show themselves to the priests they were cleansed. 38 One of them" a Samaritan"
returned to show his gratitude to Jesus. 39 Thus in the group of ten, the hero was the Samaritan. Creed comments,
"We may suppose that we are here given an ideal scene, fOilnded upon the story in Mark, L,Mark 1:40
fJ
which has taken shape in a Gentile Church.,,40 In view of other indications to confirm the attitude of Jesus to the Samaritans" this supposition is unnecessary.represent Jesus as a man, a representative of the human race. 43
Infancy Narratives
While the general tone of t he hymns embedded in the infancy narratives reflects the hope of redemption of
Israel,44 there are a few indications here and there that prepare the reader for the universal concept of the gospel.
Thus, the angel bra ught to the shepherds ilgood news of great joy," intended for "all the people" concerning a Savior,
"who is Chri st the Lord. ,,45 This appeal is of universal
nature: liAs 'Messiah' he fulfils the hope of Israel and brings the Kingdom of God; as 'Lord' he summons the wider world to 'worship and ad or e. 1146
The same note resounds in the chorus of angelic voices:
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased1 47
43 Cf • A. H. McNeile, An Introduction to the Study of the New Testament (2d ed.; Oxford: At the Clarendon Press-,- 1953), p. 90. Luke's "love of scholarly co mpletene ss" may be a secondary factor, not the primary factor as suggested by Jfrlicher. See Adolf Jfrlicher, An Introduction to the New Testament, trans. Janet Penrose Ward (London: Smith, Elder;-
& Co., 1904), p. 333.
44W. Manson, ~. cit., pp. 14 f.
45Luke 2:10-11.
46w. Manson, £E..
ill...,
p. 18. 47Luke 2:14.More definitely is the theme proclaimed in the song ascribed to Simeon: God's salvation was "prepared in the presence of all pe oples, II a light to the gentiles. 48
References to Roman Rulers
Since the ruling power at the time that the New Testament writings took shape was Rome, one might have exp ected that several of the au thors would refer to Roman rulers by name. As it is, Luke alone mentions Roman
emperors by name. 49
The birth narrative of Jesus begins with a reference to the decree of Caesar Augustus. 50 After the birth
narratives, the account of the ministry of John the Baptist begins wi th a s ix-fold dating starti~ with reference to
Tiberius Caesar. 51 These references are due to the historical skill of Luke, and they show that in Luke there is no
aversion to referring to the emperors by name. 52
48Luke 2:30-32.
49H• McLachlan, St. Luke: The Man and His Work {Manchester: At the University Press, 192QT;
P:-2g:--
50Luke 2:1.
51Luke 3:1.
52 There are also references to Claudius in Acts 11:28;
18:2 and to '£iberius in Acts 25:21, 25; see Greek text.
Cf. al so Act s 27: 1 •
Missi on of the Seventy
Luke alone of the evangelists reports that Jesus sent seventy cr seventy-tw0 53 disciples on a mission as an
advance team into those places He himself intended to visit. 54 Except the editorial opening verse, much of the material has a parallel in Matthew. 55 Most probably, Luke has here given a doublet of the sending out of the twelve. 56 The use of the number seventy might have suggested a
universal ministry to the readers of the Third Gospel. 57
l3The majori ty of manuscripts read 70: ,..: A C L W
~ , 'J( sy" bo and others. But other manuscripts read 72:
B D M R a c e syC sys sa and others. The external evidence is thus inconclusive. Internal evidence tends to favor 72, rounded aff to 70. The same fluctuations between 70 and 72 occur elsewhere. See Creed,2£.. cit., p. 144; Gilmour,
£E.
cit., p. 184; W. Manson,2£.. cit., p. 123, C. G.Montefiore, The Sf?OPtiC Gospels (2d ed.; London: Macmillan
& Co., Ltd., 1927 , II, 460.
54Luke 10:1-16.
55Matt • 9:37-38; 10:7-16. Cf. Creed, ~. cit., p. 143; Gilmour, loco cit.
56Luke 9:1-5, Mark 6:6-11, Matt. 10:1, 9-11, 14.
Creed, loco cit., pp. 143 f.; Gilmour, loco ·cit.; Montefiore, loco cit.; B7J[. Streeter, The Four GOspels (London:
MacmiI'I"8n & Co., Ltd., 1950), p. 217. However, some
.scholars accept the historicity of the Lucan narrative. See, for exarrlple, Alfred Plummer, A Critical and Exe~etical
Commentary on the Gospel Accordig§ to S. Luke "The International Critical Commentar~; 5th ed.; Edinburgh:
T. & T. Clark, 1953), pp. 269 ff.; Vincent Taylor, Behind
the Third Gospel (Oxford: At the 'Clarendon Press, 1926), p. 249
57 Creed , £E.. cit., p. 144; W. Manson, loco cit.;
cf. Plummer, loco cit.
The Number Seventy in Jewish Thought. 'llhe Jews early attached sane significance to the number seventy. Flrom the sens of Noah58 arose seventy nations. "The seventy nations are a standing featur e of Jewish ethnography. 1159 After the confusien of tongues at Babel,60 seventy ~gels were
distributed to the dispersed people. 6l The languages of the world were seventy.62 The sons of Israel who went into
Egypt were seventy. 63 At EliIn were twelve springs of water and,seventy palm trees. 64 The Sanhedrin comprised seventy- one or seventy-two members. 65 "When Josephus was planning the rising in Galilee, he appointed seventy elders to take charge of the administration of this province. ,,66 The Zealots, during the Jewish War (A.D. 66-70), having seized centrol, established a tribunal of seventy. 67 At Jamnia, the Tannaitic school was headed by a council of seventy
elders. 68 The Septuagint translators were seventy in number
58 Gen. chap. I O.
59 George Foot Moore, Judaism in the E'irst Three Centuries of the Christian Era (Cambridge: Harvard Univer- sity Press-,-1954), I, 227; III, 62.
60G en. chap. 11.
63Exo d. 1: 5 •
61 Moore, loco cit.
64Exod • 15:27, Num. 33:9.
62 Ibid ., I, 278.
65Emil SchUrer, A History of the Jewish Peo~le in the Time of Jesus Ghrist, translated "[Edinburgh: 1'. & . Clar~
1924)-,-11, i, 174 f.; 186.
66Ibid ., p. 175 67 Ibid • 68 Ibid •
and produced their finished work in seventy-two days.69 Summary Statement. There is no doubt that number symbolism was rife an ong t he Jews in the time of Christ. 70 It is unlikely that a writer as sensitive as Luke to the universal nature of the goap el would fall to utilize such a suggestive number as seventy.71