LUKE'S USE OF TODAY IN HIS GOSPEL

Key Note:

Luke’s concept of salvation “today” is not just application to the present—it is a rhetorical strategy, aimed at bearing witness to audiences of all times and places regarding the saving power of Jesus. By “today”, Luke’s … narratives certainly draw attention to the here and now of faithful living.

For Luke, God’s reign has not just drawn near; it stands right before us “today” in Jesus’ ministry. Whatever Luke’s intentions with “today” language, it does not simply stem from a shift in orientation away from the future. At some level, it reflects a distinctively new emphasis in the vision of God’s saving activity, bringing the present hour into greater coalescence with the ultimate reality of the eschaton.