The Fulfillment of Scripture in the Gospel According to Luke

(avg. read time: 6–12 mins.)

I have previously written on the titular element in Matthew and Mark, and today I address the last of the Synoptic Gospels. Luke’s larger work, including his Gospel and Acts, is formed quite thoroughly by Scripture. Often, this formative influence manifests in subtler ways, such as how scriptural language and themes suffuse the first two chapters of Luke, so that commentators have often referred to the “Septuagintalisms” therein (also see here more broadly on Acts).

However, in this series, I am focusing here on explicit Scripture references where something is said to happen in accordance with Scripture, and Scripture may or may not be directly quoted to this effect. I include both conditions because not every Scripture quote contributes to the theme of fulfillment, and some fulfillments are linked to texts that are not explicit quotes. For each instance, I proceed in the following steps. First, I identify the text. Second, I examine the form of the Scripture reference, including whether or not it agrees with the LXX/OG when it is a quote. Third, I identify what is said to fulfill Scripture. Fourth, I consider whether the use of Scripture in some way resonates with the original context the text is taken from. Fifth, I seek to determine what kind of fulfillment or use of Scripture each instance constitutes.

Luke 3:3–6

I have addressed the parallels of this text in the previous two entries. The difference here is that the quote is longer, being inclusive of Isa 40:3–5, while the other texts only quote v. 3. unlike the other Synoptics where only v. 3 is quoted. The form of v. 3 largely agrees with the LXX/OG, but it differs in referring to “his paths” as opposed to “the paths of our God.” The only differences in v. 4 are minor, as the LXX/OG repeats “all” before “the crooked roads” and “rough place” is singular rather than plural as in Luke. In both of these respects, Luke’s Greek is closer to the MT and 1QIsa^a (as well as the Vulgate). At the same time, the text agrees with some mss of the LXX/OG and differs both from the MT (as well as 1QIsa^a) and many mss of the LXX/OG (as well as other versions) in saying the rough places “in [the] roads” will be “smooth.” The quote of v. 5 omits the first clause and the last clause, but the middle clause is a match for the LXX/OG. The fulfillment of this text is the coming of John the Baptist and his ministry.

Luke’s own quote of this text up to v. 5 indicates that there were more perceived connections with the context of this quote than just the quote of v. 3 in the other Gospels. Given the significance of Isa 40 for exemplifying the promises of return from exile and new exodus, it should be unsurprising that one can find broader connections with the text. Luke has also prepared his readers for expecting layers of eschatological significance to the story, as well as the idea that what fulfills it is John’s proclamation of a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (3:3), notions with clear eschatological significance elsewhere in Luke-Acts (beyond the posts I have linked already, see here and here). And so it would be unsurprising for the larger context of the text to be evoked here. This is presented as a direct fulfillment of prophecy.

Luke 4:17–21

The next case of Scripture fulfillment comes from an indirect quote of Jesus rather than Luke’s narration. The quote he provides is from Isa 61:1–2a with one line omitted and later replaced with a line of Isa 58:6, which is adjusted grammatically to fit the rest of the quote. Most mss feature an additional clause that matches what is otherwise a missing clause from the LXX/OG. This omission is difficult to explain if it is not original, especially with its early and widespread minority support. At the same time, this expansion rightly recognizes how the text of 61:1, for as much as there is of it, is a match for the LXX/OG. As mentioned previously, the line from 58:6 has the same vocabulary, but it is grammatically adjusted at the start for the verb to be an infinitive like the others in the chain. Verse 19 is mostly a match for the wording and word order of 61:2a, except that the verb at the beginning is different (κηρύξαι in Luke vs. καλέσαι in the LXX/OG). These are alternative translations that correspond with the verb in the MT/1QIsa^a. By Jesus’s own declaration (4:20–21), his coming and his ministry fulfill this text.

The use of Scripture here fits with Luke’s overall portrayal of Jesus—not least considering that it is Luke who draws the most attention to the notion that Jesus’s resurrection fulfills Scripture at the end of this volume—and this specific Scripture is crucial as a framing device for Luke’s portrayal of Jesus’s ministry/mission and the effects thereof as a whole. Part of this specific text in Isa 61:1 is among those alluded to in Matt 11:5 // Luke 7:22 (along with Isa 26:19 and 35:5–6), as I have noted here. There may also be an allusion to this text in Acts 10:38, given the similarities of vocabulary. Furthermore, the two texts used here also have an inherent link with Isa 40–55 and the themes addressed therein, which thereby subtly links Jesus’s ministry with John’s ministry as both fulfilling the words of Scripture in multiple ways. Still, the resonances with the larger contexts of these texts appear to be broad and the specific elements cited are appropriate for pointing to the eschatological character of Jesus’s larger program through his fulfillment of the same. After all, we are dealing here with direct fulfillment of prophecy.

Luke 7:27

The next reference to fulfillment again comes by way of Jesus, this time with a direct quote of what he had to say about John. Jesus himself references Mal 3:1 (with some resonance of Exod 23:20 as well). Interestingly, as I noted in my review of quotations in the triple tradition, this is a rare case in which the Gospels all agree on the wording of the Scripture quote and against the LXX/OG (though Luke, like Matthew [11:10], has a slightly more extensive quote in using “before you” at the end, which also differs in wording from the LXX/OG), particularly in the key verbs used, as the Gospels use different words from the LXX/OG for sending and preparing. Jesus quotes this text to describe John the Baptist as the fulfillment, for he is the one “about whom it is/has been written” (Luke 7:27). By implication, particularly through reference to other eschatological expectations coming true in Luke 7:22 (see here and here as well), the description of John as the Elijah who is to come from Mal 4:5 (11:13–14; 17:12–13), and the connection of this text with Isa 40 in application to John (made clearer in Mark 1:2–3), the larger context is most likely being evoked here (on John the Baptist more generally in Luke, see here). After all, in diverse ways, Jesus is presented as the coming of the Lord in flesh in Luke and the other Gospels. This is another direct fulfillment of prophecy.

Luke 18:31–33; 22:21–22

Both of these texts provide general references to Scripture. As such, most of the steps will not be applicable. The first text refers to how “all will be accomplished/completed that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man” (18:31). While the texts are not specified like elsewhere to this point, the events that fulfill them are presented in outline as the summation of (most of) the climactic events of the gospel story: “he will be betrayed to the gentiles and will be mocked, treated reproachfully, and spat upon, and after scourging him they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again” (18:32–33). It is in reference to this teaching and others like it that Jesus will say in the second text that his betrayer is at the table with him (22:21) and that “the Son of Man is going according to what has been determined” (22:22). The fulfillment is most directly applied to Christ’s forthcoming betrayal, condemnation, suffering, death, and resurrection, as well as, by implication, his exaltation, but no specific text is cited. These texts foreshadow in text as they derive in history from the teaching provided in Luke 24. As there, it is not necessarily that no specific texts were in mind, but there may have been a number of them that could be invoked, and a specific one was not included here. At the same time, the larger point is that the larger story of Scripture led up to these events, and it is in fulfillment of the larger scriptural narrative that Christ’s crucifixion and the other major gospel events happened.

Luke 20:17–18

The use of Ps 118:22 here is another one I have explored elsewhere. This is another rare case in which there is agreement both between Luke and the other Gospel authors in the wording of the Scripture quote, as well as between all of them and the LXX/OG. This may be due to the association of this text with this parable being something of a fixed point of tradition. This seems probable especially in light of how Luke’s text varies in Acts 4:11 from the wording presented here (as I have observed here and here). As with Acts 4:10–11 and 1 Pet 2:7, this text is presented as fulfilled by the major gospel events.

The text presents an encapsulation of the larger gospel story, as the narrative dynamics of both texts resonate with each other. As I have noted in the previous links, v. 22 in particular encapsulates the larger story of the psalm, and so we can see how it connects with its larger textual context in its use here. This text has been fulfilled in that the narrative dynamics have been actualized in Jesus. Whether this is best described as typology or perhaps as more of a narrative fulfillment apropos to the eschatological events—something like a more specific equivalent of the general references to Scripture—is less clear, though I am inclined to think it is the latter.

(Additionally, Luke’s version, like the parallel in Matt 21:44, also contains a paraphrase of Isa 8:15. There is not enough overlap in the wording nor an introductory formula to indicate a quote, but this is clearly drawing language from Isaiah. Indeed, the link between this part of Isa 8 and Ps 118 also appears in 1 Pet 2:7–8 [also see here]. Thus, Luke’s version, like Matthew’s, attests an early association of these texts with each other and with Jesus. And since it is a paraphrase, the process is not applicable here. It is linked with the psalm by the hook of being about a stone as well as by larger thematic elements of how people relate to the stone and how God does so, being himself the Rock. But that is a complicated interrelationship we would be going too far afield to address properly here.)

Luke 21:22

This is another case of general reference, in which Jesus says that the coming tribulation of Jerusalem, “are punishments/retributions to make come true all that is written.” Again, no specific text is cited anywhere in the vicinity, but this whole teaching of the Olivet Discourse is suffused with Scripture. Jesus is alluding to multiple Scriptures that will be fulfilled by Jerusalem’s coming destruction. As such, there may be elements of double fulfillment and typological fulfillment invoked here, in line with the texts we have noted elsewhere. (Of course, there are also interesting aspects of how Jesus links himself with the sanctuary/holy city mentioned in various such prophecies, as I have noted here and here.)

Luke 22:37

The last specific Scripture quote cited for pointing to its fulfillment is again referenced specifically by Jesus (unlike Matthew, Luke makes this point less often as a narrator than as one quoting Jesus or others in Acts). The text Jesus references is from Isa 53:12, specifically four words therefrom (καὶ μετὰ ἀνόμων ἐλογίσθη), which are translated, “and with transgressors/lawless ones he was numbered.” Despite being only four words, it is not clearly dependent on the LXX/OG. The preposition differs, and that in turn influences the difference in case for “transgressors/lawless.” The extremely common conjunction and the verb are identical. The differences are explicable by Luke or his source for the quote independently rendering the Hebrew phrase differently and perhaps more precisely. The fulfillment is identified in the context as Jesus’s crucifixion with criminals, as well as by his overall treatment in a fashion whereby he is reckoned among the transgressors. The use of Isa 53 elsewhere, especially in reference to Jesus’s death, should also make clear that the larger context is being evoked for its resonance with Jesus’s death. As some examples in Luke-Acts, Isa 53:7–8 is referenced in Acts 8:32–33, and other allusions to the song may be present in the larger Last Supper/institution and crucifixion narratives. Obviously, this is presented as a direct fulfillment of prophecy.

Luke 24:25–27, 44–48

I have already commented on these general references to Scripture in this post. It is not necessarily that no specific texts were in mind when Jesus spoke of the gospel story as a whole fulfilling Scripture, but there may have been a number of them that could be invoked, and a specific one was not included here. At the same time, the larger point is that the larger story of Scripture led up to these events, and it is in fulfillment of the larger scriptural narrative that Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, and exaltation (i.e., the major gospel events) happened. The disciples thus proclaimed the fulfillment of Scripture when they proclaimed the gospel, and their own proclamation will further signal the fulfillment of Scripture (as noted in the post on Acts).