The soteriological meaning of Jesus' death in Luke-Acts. A survey of possibilities

Abstract

The portrayal of Jesus' death in Luke-Acts remains an intriguing issue. Ever since the rise of critical scholarship it has become the standard view that Luke does not accord salvific meaning to the death of Jesus, but rather stresses the exaltation of Jesus as the zenith of his soteriology. In light of this standard view, this article investigates the question whether the soteriological meaning of Jesus' death has received more attention in recent literature. The finding is that in the main scholarship still favours the exaltation of Jesus as the soteriological zenith. However, it is also clear that there is a tendency to move away from a bland underestimation of Jesus' death towards a more balanced view in which Jesus' death acquires a more positive soteriological meaning in and of itself.