Abraham in Luke’s Gospel
The first two chapters of Luke’s Gospel contain many allusions to the story of Abraham (Genesis 11-21). In addition to the two explicit references to Abraham Lk 1:55; 1:79, S. Young (DJG [2nd ed.], art. ‘Birth of Jesus’ mentions:-
- Elizabeth’s barrenness (Lk 1:7 // Gen 11:30);
- the great age of the parents-to-be when receiving angelic visitation (Lk 1:7, 11 // Gen 17:1);
- the promise of a son, to be given a certain name and assigned a future role (Lk 1:13, 31 // Gen 17:16, 19);
- Mary’s presentation of herself as a “servant” (Lk 1:38, 48 // Gen 18:3–5);
- Zechariah’s questioning of the possibility of the angel’s message (Lk 1:18 // Gen 17:17; 18:11–12);
- the mention that nothing is impossible for God (Lk 1:37 // Gen 18:14); and
- the removal of Elizabeth’s disgrace together with the expression of the joy of her neighbors (Lk 1:25, 58 // Gen 21:6)
J. Green is quoted:- ‘Luke has thus inscribed himself in a tradition, showing his debt to this previous story and inviting his auditors to hear in this story the reverberations and continuation of that story as he attempts to give significance to the present one.… As with Abraham, so now, God is working graciously and mightily to bring his purpose to fruition.’