Luke

For the church fathers the Gospels did not serve as resources for individual analysis and academic study. They were read and heard and interpreted within the worshiping community. They served as sources for pastoral counsel and admonition for those who were committed to the Way. Although Matthew and John were generally the preferred Gospels, Luke, because of his particular interests and unique contributions, took pride of place during the Christmas season as well as during Easter and other major feasts.

During the early patristic period, the tradition of continuous reading (lectio continua) through the Gospels developed, such that over a course of time a complete Gospel was read in sections, and sermons were preached on the readings either at weekly or midweek worship and Communion liturgies or during morning and evening prayer services. Among such sermons that have survived, this commentary includes selections from Origen and Cyril of Alexandria.

Aside from sermons, we find that the fathers addressed exegetical issues in theological treatises, pastoral letters and catechetical lectures. Among these, as in other ACCS volumes, readers will find materials ranging from East to West and from the first to the eighth centuries. Among well-known fathers cited are Ambrose, Athanasius, Augustine, the Cappadocians, John Chrysostom, John of Damascus and Bede the Venerable. Among lesser-known fathers are John Cassian, Philoxenus of Mabbug and Theophylact.

This volume, edited by Arthur A. Just, opens up a treasure house of ancient wisdom that allows these faithful witnesses, some appearing here in English translation for the first time, to speak with eloquence and intellectual acumen to the church today.

“"We speak abstractly in scholarly circles of the need to transcend looking at Christianity through the spectrum of modern presuppositions. This series, based on the commentaries of early Christians, gives us a concrete way to do this. It's a great idea."”

"This volume continues the valuable exploration of patristic interpretation."

-- Mark Bilby, Religious Studies Review, September 2009

"A 'must' for all theological libraries."

-- International Review of Biblical Studies, Vol. 55, 2008-2009

"A wealth of information for the classic Bible scholar."

-- Ravonne A. Green, American Reference Books Annual, 2006, Volume 37

"Contemporary Christians would do well to draw the hermeneutical circle broadly enough to include not only cross-cultural voices from around the world but also the voices to be found in the Ancient Christian Commentary series. This is an excellent sermon-preparation resource for pastors."

-- Christian Century, May 2, 2006

"All who are interested in the interpretation of the Bible will welcome the forthcoming multivolume series Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Here the insights of scores of early church fathers will be assembled and made readily available for significant passages throughout the Bible and the Apocrypha. It is hard to think of a more worthy ecumenical project to be undertaken by InterVarsity Press."

-- Bruce M. Metzger, professor emeritus of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary

"For those who think that church history began around 1941, when their pastor was born, this commentary will be a great surprise. Christians throughout the centuries have read the biblical text and nursed their spirits with it and then applied it to their lives. These commentaries reflect that the witness of the Holy Spirit was present in his church throughout the centuries. As a result, we can profit by allowing the ancient Christians to speak to us today."

-- Haddon Robinson, Harold John Ockenga Distinguished Professor of Preaching, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

"There is no shortage of new books on the market and it may be a surprise to some to see IVP producing the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series. But, bearing in mind C. S. Lewis's admonition, 'It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between,' this series will fill a great need that many of us may not even be aware of--the need to read those who have gone before us."

-- D. Stuart Briscoe

-- Don S. Browning, Alexander Campbell Professor of Ethics and Social Sciences, The Divinity School, University of Chicago

"The Scriptures have been read with love and attention for nearly two thousand years, and listening to the voice of believers from previous centuries opens us to unexpected insight and deepened faith. Those who studied Scripture in the centuries closest to its writing, the centuries during and following persecution and martyrdom, speak with particular authority. The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture will bring to life the truth that we are invisibly surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses."

-- Frederica Mathewes-Green, commentator, National Public Radio

"Composed in the style of the great medieval catenae, this new anthology of patristic commentary on Holy Scripture, conveniently arranged by chapter and verse, will be a valuable resource for prayer, study and proclamation. By calling attention to the rich Christian heritage preceding the separations between East and West and between Protestant and Catholic, this series will perform a major service to the cause of ecumenism."

-- Avery Dulles, S. J., Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, Fordham University

Arthur Just Jr. is dean of graduate studies and professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is also the author of a two-volume exegetical commentary on Luke.

For the church fathers the Gospels did not serve as resources for individual analysis and academic study. They were read and heard and interpreted within the worshiping community. They served as sources for pastoral counsel and admonition for those who were committed to the Way. Although Matthew and John were generally the preferred Gospels, Luke, because of his particular interests and unique contributions, took pride of place during the Christmas season as well as during Easter and other major feasts.During the early patristic period, the tradition of continuous reading (lectio continua) through the Gospels developed, such that over a course of time a complete Gospel was read in sections, and sermons were preached on the readings either at weekly or midweek worship and Communion liturgies or during morning and evening prayer services. Among such sermons that have survived, this commentary includes selections from Origen and Cyril of Alexandria. Aside from sermons, we find that the fathers addressed exegetical issues in theological treatises, pastoral letters and catechetical lectures. Among these, as in other ACCS volumes, readers will find materials ranging from East to West and from the first to the eighth centuries. Among well-known fathers cited are Ambrose, Athanasius, Augustine, the Cappadocians, John Chrysostom, John of Damascus and Bede the Venerable. Among lesser-known fathers are John Cassian, Philoxenus of Mabbug and Theophylact.This volume, edited by Arthur A. Just, opens up a treasure house of ancient wisdom that allows these faithful witnesses, some appearing here in English translation for the first time, to speak with eloquence and intellectual acumen to the church today.

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