Christian Worship
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 66, No. 1 - Fall 2023
Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By Benjamin L. Gladd. New Testament Theology. Wheaton: Crossway, 2022, 207 pp., $24.99.
Benjamin L. Gladd is professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is editor of the Essential Studies in Biblical Theology series. From the Manger to the Throne is one of a proposed 20-volume series of concise books focusing on the main theological teachings of each NT book or series of books. They examine what the NT writer “says about God and his relations to the world on their own terms, maintaining sight of the Bible’s overarching narrative and Christocentric focus” (11).
It is unusual to examine the theology of Luke without including Acts since Luke is the first of a two-volume work. Yet, Crossway opted for this series to examine them separately. Gladd admits that focusing only on Luke is “cutting against the grain” (14) of how scholars typically examine the books together. However, he does mention Acts many times in the present volume (e.g., 34, 50, 79).
Old Testament Background
Gladd rightly focuses on the importance of Luke’s citations and allusions to the OT in describing significant times in Jesus’s ministry (20). After giving an overview of the major events in Jesus’s earthly life (19- 37), Gladd devotes a chapter each to seven theological themes in Luke. He demonstrates one should interpret the OT just as Luke and other NT writers did because their primary teaching source was Jesus (37). This minority scholarly opinion is as refreshing as it is sensible. Gladd describes an OT quotation like “the tip of an iceberg” (105) in which the visible portion is obvious but the broader context of the quotation that lies beneath is important and easy to miss. So, Gladd guides the reader in examining the depths.
New Pathways
This book is especially interesting and thought-provoking when Gladd finds scriptural relations that he says other scholars “fail to connect” (146). For instance, he explores the impact of the meaning of “Son of Man” in Luke’s allusions to Daniel 7:13-14 in Luke 4:6 (rejection of Jesus at Nazareth, 151), 9:26-27 (Peter’s confession, 154), 22:69 (Jesus’s response to the Sanhedrin, 160), and Acts 1:8 (Jesus’s ascension instruction, 161). Gladd says Luke connects the disciples’ obstinacy on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 with allusions to Isaiah 6:9-10 (113-15). However, other times Gladd’s connections fall short. In tying a second exodus theme with Jesus’s Journey to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-19:27) and the journey to Emmaus (24:13-35), the connections of the two journeys are tenuous and the descriptions of the first one as “unbelief and confusion” (121) and the second one as “belief and enlightenment” (121) are too generalized.
Helpful Applications
At the end of each chapter, Gladd makes applications of Lukan theology to the modern Christian. For instance, one ought to understand the present humiliation of Christians in light of Jesus’s humiliation and then exaltation (59). The church is continuing to live out God’s story today (97). Christians must trust God’s promises, just as Jesus did (143). However, the chapter conclusions and applications are short. One wishes Gladd devoted more space to these sections.
Ways to Improve
First, at times Gladd “finds” more than what is in the Lukan text. For instance, he may be reading more into Jesus’s three temptations (Luke 4:1-13) than Luke sets forth. Jesus was victorious over Satan’s three temptations, but Gladd says this was the decisive victory over Satan (72, 160). Second, Gladd is sometimes unclear. For instance, who the antichrist is and how he inspires false teachers before he is physically present (157) is a conundrum that Gladd mentions but does not adequately explain. He claims the fourth beast in Daniel 7:14 is both Satan and theocratic Israel (166) but does not explain this seeming contradiction. Third, there are ten helpful tables in the book that compare texts, but additional tables would be beneficial, such as in chapter 6 on the Son of Man.
Conclusion
This reviewer recommends this book as a useful short theology of Luke. It successfully demonstrates how Luke’s quotations and allusions to the OT are an important part of Luke’s message. Gladd’s book is a helpful volume that accomplishes the purpose of the Crossway series to be an accessible and concise scholarly resource for “students, preachers, and interested laypeople” (11) that is also useful as a textbook “in college and seminary exegesis classes” (12). This book is well written, engaging, and thought provoking.
