K:JNWTS 31/1 (May 2016): 39

Book Review

James R. Edwards. The Gospel According to Luke. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2015. 831pp. Cloth. 978-0-8028-3735-6. $65.

This is a worthy and helpful addition to the voluminous commentary literature on the third gospel. It should have an honorable place beside Bovon, Fitzmyer, Green (Meynet's stimulating work was published after this release; cf. notice here http://kerux.com/doc/3002R1.asp), even with its heavy dependence (documented in the footnotes and indices) upon the German commentary of Michael Wolter (a work now being translated into English and scheduled for publication in the U.S. by Baylor University Press this year). All of this places Edwards in the center of the exegetical and theological discussions of the largest of the four gospels. If his attachment to a "Hebrew Gospel" vorlage is idiosyncratic (and if he is occasionally careless, i.e., placing Nazareth north of Sepphoris, p. 44; citing Gal. 4:6 instead of Gal. 4:4 on p. 57), he at least reminds us of the Semitic background to Luke's work. The OT alone would suffice for this "dependence", so the Hebrew Gospel theory is Edward's attempt to solve, in part, the issue of sources behind the construction of the gospel. Leaving this aside, Edwards works over the narrative as we have it with care and reverence. He espouses a high Christology and a refreshing emphasis upon saving grace throughout the book. He takes fairly "conservative" positions on most critical matters and honors the integrity of the story which Luke unfolds. With his emphasis on the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Christ (all veritably historical), he allows the student and the pastor to enter into the Lukan narrative which is, after all, the story of our "Savior who is Christ the Lord".

—James T. Dennison, Jr.