Imitatio Christi' and the Lucan Passion narrative
Since Martin Dibelius interpreters have often seen Luke's Passion
narrative as an attempt to portray Jesus' death as a martyrdom, or at
least to interweave the theme of martyrdom with other emphases.1 His
words have been often quoted: * For Luke the suffering Saviour is the
Man of God who is attacked by evil powers and who, with his patience
and forgiveness, is a model of innocent suffering... a saintly man closely
united with God'.2 On the other hand this view has not been widely
taken up by writers of English commentaries.3 The purpose of this
article is to assess the principal evidence presented by Dibelius and his
followers, and draw attention to what may be a largely neglected element
in the background of Luke's thought.
Three general considerations may predispose us to look for martyrological
motifs in Luke's Passion narrative.
(i) There are the parallels that may be traced between his portrayal
of Jesus in the Gospel and both Stephen and Paul in Acts, both of whom
are depicted as bearing witness through suffering and death, although
in Paul's case the death is prospective only. These parallels are familiar
