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Beginning the Witness: The αυτοπται και υπηρεται of Luke's Infancy Narrative

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2003

KARL A. KUHN
Affiliation:
Lakeland College, P.O. Box 359, Sheboyan, WI 53082–0359, USA

Abstract

The majority of commentators contend that αυτοπται και υπηρεται (‘eyewitnesses and ministers’) in Luke 1:2b refers to the followers of Jesus who later become identified in Acts as his apostles and other key witnesses such as Stephen, Philip, and Paul. This essay challenges the majority opinion in arguing that numerous parallels between the characters in the infancy narrative and the disciples as portrayed in Luke 24 and Acts signal the evangelist's intent to present the faithful heralds of John's and Jesus' birth in Luke 1–2 as among those who are ‘eye-witnesses and ministers of the word’.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

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