Receiving Jesus As Messiah King: A Synoptic Study On The Way To Luke’s Triumphal Entry Account -- By: Douglas S. Huffman

Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 16:3 (Fall 2012)
Article: Receiving Jesus As Messiah King: A Synoptic Study On The Way To Luke’s Triumphal Entry Account
Author: Douglas S. Huffman


Receiving Jesus As Messiah King: A Synoptic Study On The Way To Luke’s Triumphal Entry Account

Douglas S. Huffman

Douglas S. Huffman is Professor and Associate Dean of Biblical and Theological Studies at Talbot School of Theology of Biola University.

Dr. Huffman earned the Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and prior to his role at Talbot he served on the faculty at Northwestern College from 1994-2010. The article of numerous essays and articles, he is also the author of the forthcoming Verbal Aspect Theory and the Prohibitions in the Greek New Testament (Lang) and The Handy Guide for New Testament Greek: Grammar, Syntax, and Diagramming (Kregel).

Introduction: Our Method For Examining Luke’s Emphases

If you were to travel to Jerusalem, among the many standard places to visit on such a pilgrimage is the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is where Jesus regularly went (Luke 22:39, “as was his custom”) with the apostles when they were in Jerusalem, commemorated now toward the bottom of this hill at the Garden of Gethsemane.1 Toward the top of this hill is the place where Jesus ascended into heaven at the end of his earthly ministry (Acts 1:9-11). And the trail going over the hill is the pathway Jesus would take as he traveled into Jerusalem. W hat makes the Mount of Olives a significant place for Christians to visit? Jesus.

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is our focus here. At the beginning of the Passion Week— the week leading up to Jesus’ death on the cross—Jesus traveled over the Mount of Olives and entered the City.2 All four of the canonical Gospels record this event (Matt 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19), and churches everywhere annually celebrate this journey the week before Easter on what is commonly called Palm Sunday.3

In comparing the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, I utilize an approach sometimes called “redaction criticism.”

Some scholars using this method place too much emphasis on “redaction” (i.e., “editing”) to the point that they claim Luke invented new stories and twisted the facts to fit his purposes. In making such suggestions, these scholars fall into a “criticism” of Scripture that is not really...

You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
Click here to subscribe
visitor : : uid: ()