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Does Proverbs Over-Promise?

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Jim Davis has a brief but wonderful piece on this crucial question: “Does the Book of Proverbs Over-Promise?” Proverbs appears to offer extensive assurance of health and wealth, which some have taken almost as an assurance that we can manipulate God. In response, many others make the error of claiming that proverbs offer not promises but only probabilities.

Davis navigates this unfortunate state of affairs with a level-headed approach to the text.

To say the Proverbs are probabilities (rather than promises) is not false. It’s partially true. The sober, the cool-tempered, and the diligent will usually experience health and wealth more than the drunkard, the hot-tempered, and the lazy.

But only seeing the Proverbs as probabilities for wise decision-making minimizes what God wants for his people. He’s calling us closer to him. The conditions to these statements are that we trust in the Lord (3:5), fear the Lord (3:7), and honor the Lord (3:9). If they were merely probabilities for right living, why link them in any way to our relationship with God?

I’ve reflected on this very question myself on a few occasions. And Davis’s piece is worth your time as you consider it further.

Check it out!

What Does “All Israel Will Be Saved” Mean?

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In Romans 11:26, Paul makes a statement that has baffled interpreters for generations: “And in this way all Israel will be saved.” New Testament professor Jared Compton has attempted to explain the key phrase, “all Israel will be saved,” in this brief piece.

Compton approaches the topic through a series of four interpretive questions:

  1. What does he mean by “saved”?
  2. What does he mean by “Israel”?
  3. What does he mean by “all”?
  4. What does he mean by “will be”?

To be frank, I would probably disagree with Compton’s answers to a few of these questions. But I’m eager to link to his article anyway because he models some excellent Bible study skills in the process of seeking to answer his (insightful) questions. He engages with the text. He observes carefully. He reckons with the context of Paul’s argument in the chapter and this section of Romans.

Even if I might disagree with a few of the answers, based on further observation and investigation of the same text, I have much trust that Compton would be a fellow with whom one could have a productive debate on such things. One who isn’t committed to a particular theology despite the text, but one who may arrive at a set of theological conclusions precisely because of the text. I am happy to send you his way to consider his careful handling of this challenging topic.

Check it out!

Context Matters: We Bless You in the Name of the Lord

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Perhaps you’ve heard it as a greeting or call to worship: “The blessing of the Lord be upon you! We bless you in the name of the Lord!” (Ps 129:8). Or if you haven’t heard it in such a setting, I suspect it is not difficult to imagine hearing it in such a setting. A simple internet search takes me quickly to a slide with this verse superimposed over a pastoral background image.

Now while it is fully consistent with scripture to pronounce God’s blessing on God’s people, this particular blessing comes in a rather unexpected setting. If we read the Bible’s poetry as we read other poetry and not as a fishing hole for motivational sentiment, we’ll see that some familiar expressions take on a deeper meaning than we originally thought.

The Blessing

Of course, the Bible often tells us of God blessing his people, even from the very beginning (Gen 1:28). He commands the high priest of Israel to pronounce his blessing (Num 6:22-27). In their lowest moments, the people long for this very blessing (Ps 80:3, 7, 19). The apostles often conclude their letters with such words of blessing (e.g. 2 Cor 13:14).

So the pronouncement of a blessing, either in greeting or as a call to worship, is a right and proper thing to do. But let’s not allow that fact to prevent us from reading Scripture as coherent literary texts. Let’s not ignore the context.

Psalm 129

Psalms 120-134 are a collection of “songs of ascents,” which pilgrims to religious feasts may have sung on their climb to Jerusalem for national feasts. As one of those poems, Psalm 129 meditates on the lives on those pilgrims who have suffered under deep affliction. This affliction seems incongruent with the life of blessing promised in Yahweh’s covenant. “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me” (Ps 129:2).

Ps 129:4 is the turning point, where the poet remembers Yahweh’s righteousness, which requires him to fight back against wicked oppressors. The rest of the poem pronounces not blessings, but curses on those who would dare oppress Yahweh’s people. “May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!” (Ps 129:5).

And observe the entirety of Ps 129:8: The final curse is that, regarding these oppressors, nobody will ever look upon them and pronounce Yahweh’s blessing on them.

Nor do those who pass by say,
‘The blessing of Yahweh be upon you!
We bless you in the name of Yahweh!’

Conclusion

The irony of the greeting-card use of Ps 129:8 is that the statement “We bless you in the name of the Lord” is the very thing the poet does not want people to say. He wants those who hate God’s people to go without hearing such words or receiving such a blessing. And when we ignore the context, perhaps we fail to grasp the profound point that there is a time and a place not to bless. Instead, we can set our hope in the Lord Jesus to show up once again and set right everything that has gone wrong.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

The Argument of Hebrews 3:1-6

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I appreciate Mike Leake’s reflection on Hebrews 3:1-6, where he walks through the passage’s argument in plain language. Take a gander.

When I read Hebrews 3:1-6 I tend to get that glazed over look on my face. It’s not that I don’t understand the words or even the structure of the sentences. The overall point is pretty simple; namely, Jesus is greater than Moses. But when I’ve read it I’ve always felt like I was missing something.

Why is the author of Hebrews telling us this? How does this serve his argument? I know that Jesus is better than Moses, but what is all this talk about building a house?

Check it out!

Discourse Analysis of the New Testament Writings: Profitably Intense

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Discourse Anaylsis of the New Testament Writings, edited by Todd A. Scacewater, is an ambitious text that seeks to explain the structure and chief arguments of every book of the New Testament. I am grateful to Fontes Press for a complimentary copy given in exchange for an honest review.

Each book of the New Testament gets a chapter, where the contributor seeks to map out that book’s structure and chief arguments. Before doing so, however, each contributor takes a few pages to describe their methodology for “discourse analysis” (which is essentially the process of mapping out a book’s structure and chief arguments). A variety of contributors employ a variety of analytical methods, though many of them overlap, sharing the same theoretical influences.

But will this book help the ordinary believer in their Bible study?

Assessment

For many years, I have enthusiastically commended David Dorsey’s Literary Structure of the Old Testament as providing much help with the literary structures of every book of the Old Testament. I have long hoped for a companion volume to recommend that does a similar thing for the New Testament. Does Scacewater’s edition fulfill that role?

Yes and no.

Yes, it does complement Dorsey’s work — in that I can and will regularly reference this book when I seek to get a broad overview of an NT book. There is much insight here worth gleaning, and this book is well crafted to encourage us readers to dive back into the Scripture ourselves and continue to observe, observe, observe.

But sadly, no, it doesn’t complement Dorsey’s work — in that this book is clearly written with a strongly academic audience in mind. Dorsey is academically robust, yet still comprehensible to average Bible students. But the contributors to Scacewater’s work use a very high degree of technical terminology, both theological and grammatical, without defining terms. Many of them quote the Greek NT text without translating it. And they presume a high degree of background knowledge in the field of discourse analysis.

Therefore, I am happy to recommend this book as worthy of your time if you’re wishing to work hard and be stretched far. For a sample, see this reflection on the state of structural studies stimulated for me by the chapter on John’s gospel. But for most folks seeking to study the Scriptures, I will not be recommending this book as a matter of routine.

Finally, I’ll mention that one of the book’s endorsers, Stephen E. Runge, wrote of the varied approaches to discourse analysis demonstrated from chapter to chapter: “Some succeed more than others.” I heartily agree. Some of the contributions are not as clear as they could be in presenting a clear argument or distinct structure for some of the NT books. I found some others not especially helpful. But I find the chapters on the following NT books particularly strong and insightful: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Romans, Ephesians, Colossians, Hebrews, James, and 1 Peter. I would more quickly recommend Discourse Analysis to someone seeking help with one of those particular books. (And in the interest of full disclosure: I have not yet finished reading the book. I’ve made it through 1 Peter and believe that has given me enough exposure to write an accurate review. As I finish the remaining chapters, I may add to the list in this paragraph.)

You can find Discourse Analysis of the New Testament Writings on Amazon or directly through Fontes Press.

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Identifying Behemoth and Leviathan in the Book of Job

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Kevin (2007), Creative Commons

Kevin (2007), Creative Commons

In Job 40-41, God introduces Job to two new characters. Behemoth is a powerful beast with strong legs (Job 40:16), a stiff tail (Job 40:17), and a carefree riverside existence (Job 40:20-23). Leviathan dwells in the sea (Job 41:1, 7), breathes fire (Job 41:18-21), and crushes hunters (Job 41:25-29). Who are these two creatures?

  • I grew up hearing that these chapters prove both 1) the existence of dinosaurs, and 2) the co-habitation of humans with them. The Bible shows that archaeology and paleontology are worthwhile pursuits. Hurrah!
  • Later I discovered that many interpreters in church history have considered Behemoth and Leviathan to be poetic exaggerations of the hippopotamus and the crocodile. Some translations even footnote the titles as such (for example, NASB, NRSV).

Both identifications miss the point of the text. Take note of God’s train of thought over both of his speeches:

Job, you’ll never understand the behavior of mountain goats or ostriches. And you will never domesticate the lion, the wild ox, or the war-horse. Stop justifying yourself…And by the way, you can’t control the hippo or crocodile, either. But I can.

That one certainly doesn’t work. The dinosaur interpretation does a little better:

Job, you’ll never understand the behavior of mountain goats or ostriches. And you will never domesticate the lion, the wild ox, or the war-horse. Stop justifying yourself…And by the way, you can’t control these two dinosaurs, either. But I can.

Both interpretations, however, miss a few key facts:

  1. God’s first speech covers the entire natural creation (Job 38:4). Reading from the beginning, you’ll notice a remarkable similarity to the order of things in Genesis 1. The resemblance is complete enough not to warrant revisiting the created order in the second speech.
  2. The main question in God’s second speech is whether Job can not merely be angry at his suffering but actually bring it to an end (Job 40:9-13). If so, that would justify Job’s putting God in the wrong and saving himself from his own situation (Job 40:8, 14). Of course, Behemoth and Leviathan show this idea to be ludicrous.
  3. Job’s final response comes from a completely blown mind. “You can do all things…No purpose of yours can be thwarted…I have uttered what I did not understand…Now my eye sees you…I despise myself…” (Job 42:1-6).

The second speech advances the first, giving Job (and us) a picture of God’s supreme control, not only over the natural creation, but even over supernatural suffering and evil. Behemoth and Leviathan represent these things in Job’s life. Unlike Job, God can, in fact, bring suffering and evil to an end. Satan could not snap a thread of Job’s garment without God’s explicit permission (Job 1:12, 2:6). And Satan cannot resist the snapping of his own neck if God wills it.

Let him who made [Behemoth] bring near his sword! (Job 40:19)

Who then is he who can stand before me? Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. (Job 41:10-11)

God gives Job a taste of this power when he brings Job’s earthly suffering to an end (Job 42:12-17). And when God gives Job exactly twice what he lost (compare with Job 1:2-3), he plays the part of a thief who must repay double (Ex 22:7-9). Not that God is a thief, mind you; but he takes the place of a thief along with his blame.

Sort of like another divine warrior who had power to bind Satan (Mark 3:27) and triumph over the rulers and authorities through the cross (Col 2:13-15). And he did it, playing the part of a thief (Mark 15:27). He will one day destroy every ferocious beast (Rev 19:20-21), Satan (Rev 20:9-10), and death itself (Rev 20:14).

When Paul runs out of words to describe God’s unsearchable justice and unfathomable wisdom, he turns to the speech about Leviathan in Job 41 (Romans 11:33-36). Paul must have realized that speech was getting at something bigger than hippos and crocodiles.

Job, you’ll never understand the behavior of mountain goats or ostriches. And you will never domesticate the lion, the wild ox, or the war-horse. Stop justifying yourself…And by the way, you can’t ever bring your suffering to an end. But I can.

Why God Speaks to Job Twice

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Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further. (Job 40:4-5)

With these famous words and a pregnant hand-to-mouth gesture, Job begins backing away from the God of all creation. In severe suffering, Job has accused God of doing wrong and of remaining silent. But God arrives, speaking out of the whirlwind, to put Job in his place. Job 38:1-39:30 records God’s first speech, recounting the wildness, inscrutability, and uncontrollable power of God’s creation. Duly humbled, Job tries to slink away like an amateur diver whose loosely tied trunks slipped off at surface impact.

But God will have nothing of the sort. “Oh no, you don’t. I’m not done with you yet”:

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.” (Job 40:6-7)

Thus begins a second tirade from the LORD against his servant Job (Job 40:6-41:34), whom God will coerce into speaking one last time (Job 42:1-6).

Why? Why the second speech from God? Why isn’t God willing to let it go when Job humbles himself?

Comparing Job’s Responses

Undoubtedly, Job’s first response (Job 40:3-5) is one of humility and self-degradation. “I am small…I’m shutting up now…” But Christopher Ash observes that Job says nothing about God. While God’s first speech properly demotes Job’s self-esteem, it does not yet promote God’s gargantuan superiority.

In other words, Job has justified himself (Job 31:1-40) and not God (Job 16:7-17); this is Elihu’s chief critique (Job 32:2). And God must get Job not only to stop justifying himself but also to begin justifying God.

So Job releases his self-justification after God’s first speech. But it’s not until after the second speech that he confesses God “can do all things” (Job 42:2a), no purpose of his “can be thwarted” (Job 42:2b), and that “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you” (Job 42:5).

How does God get him there?

Comparing God’s Speeches

God’s first speech focuses on the natural creation. It begins with an obvious question: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4). It continues with a tour of the heavens and the earth (Job 38:5-38). And it ends with a litany of wild creatures beyond Job’s capacity either to understand or to domesticate: lion, raven, mountain goat, wild donkey, wild ox, ostrich, war-horse, hawk (Job 38:39-39:30). In conclusion, God identifies Job as a faultfinder and dares him to justify himself any further (Job 40:1-2).

Seeing his minuscule role in the natural creation, Job properly humbles himself and shuts up (Job 40:3-5).

But God’s second speech must blow Job’s mind even further, and to do so it focuses on the supernatural creation. If Job is to begin justifying God, he must clearly see that he’ll never see clearly. Though he knows how much it hurts to suffer, he’ll never know why God would appoint such suffering in the lives of his beloved people. In short, God must appear bigger, more powerful, and more mysterious than ever before.

So God’s second speech targets the heart of the matter:

Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? Adorn yourself with majesty…Pour out the overflowings of your anger…Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand. Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below. Then will I acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you.” (Job 40:9-14)

In other words: “Can you do more than get angry at suffering and evil, Job? Can you actually bring them to an end?”

jaci XIII (2010), Creative Commons

jaci XIII (2010), Creative Commons

He follows up with two case studies, Behemoth (Job 40:15-24) and Leviathan (Job 41:1-34). These ancient but legendary storybook creatures poetically embody all that is wrong with the world and with Job’s life. They seem tame (Job 40:20-23), but really are not (Job 40:24). They will not play nice (Job 41:1-9). They cannot be defeated (Job 41:12-34).

Such is the problem of evil. It will not go away, and Satan ever wanders to and fro looking for someone to devour (Job 1:6-12, 2:1-7). Job can do nothing about this. Not ever. “No one is so fierce that he dares to stir [Leviathan] up” (Job 41:10a).

But someone else can. God asks, “Who then is he who can stand before me?” (Job 41:10b).

And this God will send his Son to wage war on the beast from the land and the beast from the sea (Rev 13). He is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and wages war (Rev 19:11). He will finally capture these beasts and hurl them into the lake of fire (Rev 19:20-21), along with both Satan (Rev 20:10) and death itself (Rev 20:14).

Please remain steadfast in Christ and persevere to the end, Job (James 5:11). God will bring a day with no tears or death, no mourning, nor crying, nor pain (Rev 21:4). Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

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Tips for Interpreting Old Testament Narrative

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Colin Adams offers 10 tips for interpreting Old Testament narratives.

  1. Try and grasp the overall point of the book.
  2. Read in big chunks – narrative often tells you ‘a little, in a lot.’
  3. Narratives tell you what happened, not what SHOULD have happened.
  4. OT narrative is first and foremost about God: his holiness, grace, salvation and justice.
  5. Moralise…but not too much.
  6. Repetition is a clue to what the passage is about.
  7. Don’t get bogged down in what the narrative DOESN’T tell you.
  8. Place names and people names are always important.
  9. When the writer’s “point of view” is revealed, you’ve just found gold.
  10. The New Testament ultimately fulfills whatever narrative you are in and is the supreme ‘commentary’ on your passage.

He illustrates each point briefly from the book of 2 Samuel. Check it out!

The Complexity of Applying the Speeches of Job’s Friends

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The closing stanza of Eliphaz’s third speech (Job 22:21-30) is one of the loveliest poems in the book. If you didn’t know who said it, or under which circumstances, you might stencil it on your wall or post it on your bathroom mirror. And this raises an important question when studying the book of Job: What are we supposed to do with the speeches of Job’s “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2)?

Job suggests that silence will be their best wisdom (Job 13:5), and he sarcastically proclaims they have a corner on the market of godly wisdom (Job 12:2). Elihu burns with anger at their failure to answer to Job’s defense (Job 32:3). Yahweh declares they have not spoken of him what is right (Job 42:7). Does this mean we ought to simply discard their speeches, or that we ought to treat them as examples of folly or wickedness to be avoided?

Image by Robin Higgins from Pixabay

Paul Didn’t Get the Memo

Apparently the Apostle Paul didn’t get the memo.

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” So let no one boast in men.” (1 Cor 3:18-21a)

That first citation Paul uses? Right from Eliphaz’s first speech:

As for me, I would seek God,
and to God would I commit my cause,
who does great things and unsearchable,
marvelous things without number:
he gives rain on the earth…
he sets on high those who are lowly…
He catches the wise in their own craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end…
But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth…
So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts her mouth. (Job 5:8-16)

As R.B. Hays asserts, “Paul cites Job 5:13 here [in 1 Cor 3:19] as an authoritative disclosure of the truth about God’s debunking of human wisdom” (quoted by Ciampa & Rosner in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, 704).

So Paul doesn’t ignore or contradict Eliphaz. He doesn’t qualify the citation in any way. He appears to use it straightforwardly in support of his point that God views the world’s wisdom as folly.

More to It

And yet, Paul’s argument in 1 Cor 1-3 is remarkably layered and clever. He keeps equivocating on his terms, defining them in different ways so he can play off the differences for didactic effect. For example, he uses the words “wisdom” and “folly” in at least two ways each: As defined by the world, and as defined by God.

So his point in 1 Cor 3:18 seems to be that if you think you are wise (by the world’s definition), you ought to become a fool (by the world’s definition) in order to become wise (by God’s definition). Paul keeps turning things upside-down and inside-out in order to play the terms “wisdom” and “folly,” or “wise” and “foolish,” off each other.

In light of this equivocation, it is altogether possible that Paul quotes Eliphaz as a matter of irony. In other words, Eliphaz presents himself as “wise,” but he’s really a “fool” (in the context of the book of Job). But God then does a “foolish” thing and takes the fool’s “wisdom” and makes it his own, but with an unexpected twist—in order to catch the wise in his own craftiness. In so doing, Paul declares that Eliphaz spoke even better than he knew, perhaps akin to John’s ironic use of Caiaphas’s prophecy that Jesus must die to rescue the nation and gather together God’s scattered children (John 11:49-53). Like Caiaphas, perhaps Eliphaz spoke that which was true from God’s perspective, but not in the way Eliphaz himself intended it.

Eliphaz thereby plays right into the part of the crafty who would be caught by his own craftiness.

Principles for Applying the Speeches of Job’s Friends

So how does this affect the way we read—and especially seek to apply—the speeches of Job’s three assailants? I propose the following principles:

  1. Because the same Holy Spirit who inspired Job also said somewhere that “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable,” we must read the speeches of Job’s antagonists with the assumption that they are profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and/or training in righteousness.
  2. The point of those speeches must be something more than “suffering is a result of prior sin.” If that were all the Lord wanted us to see in those speeches, he could have done it with one speech instead of eight. We wouldn’t need pages of dialogue that only repeat precisely the same thing over and over again. Therefore, we must read those eight speeches of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar with the assumption that each speech riffs on the theme in a nuanced way. Those three men clearly thought they were advancing the argument each time, so we ought to identify which particular angle each speech takes on the larger topic. Don’t skip over the speeches or lump them all together under the same vague interpretive heading.
  3. Once we do that, we can compare any speech’s particular angle on suffering with the rest of Scripture. Following Paul’s example, we must read the speeches with the assumption that they might simply be speaking truth in the wrong setting. They might be saying something that was false in Job’s circumstance but would be true in a different circumstance. In other words, Eliphaz, Bildad, or Zophar might be saying something better and truer than even he realizes.

Back to Chapter 22

And so, circling back to Eliphaz’s third speech in Job 22, there is nothing wrong with seeing some truth mixed in with the error and the daft inconsiderateness. In many situations, it is true that someone will only find peace if they begin agreeing with God (Job 22:21, Prov 3:2). Many who reconsider their money and possessions in light of eternity will find the Almighty to be far more valuable (Job 22:24-25, 1 Tim 6:17). God does actually hear the prayers of the penitent (Job 22:27, Prov 15:29), and he delights to exalt the humble (Job 22:28-30, 1 Pet 5:6).

Conclusion

So if you’d like to stencil portions of Job 22 on your wall, I say have at it. Just be prepared for the unconsidered criticism of a few curmudgeons to come your way from time to time. But you’ll have your retort loaded for bear: “I offer my humblest apologies on behalf of both myself and the Apostle Paul, neither of whom got your memo.”

Catch the Differences

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Earlier this week, I completed my 11th annual speed read of the Bible. This time, I used a detailed chronological reading order I’ve never used before, which enabled me to catch on to some things that have escaped my notice before. Of course, the purpose of reading large portions of Scripture is not to notice every detail. But the pathway you take through the Bible can certainly help to freshen up some things.

For example, read the following selections of Scripture, one right after the other, and see if anything jumps out at you, as it did for me.

And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” 

Mark 10:32-34

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

Matthew 20:17-19

And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Luke 18:31-34
Can you spot the differences? Image by Dmitry Abramov from Pixabay

There are, of course, many differences in the accounts, from Mark’s narration of the disciples’ amazement and fear, to Matthew’s passive voice “he will be raised,” to Luke’s hiding of the saying such that they didn’t grasp it. Each of these differences provides a clue into the narrator’s unique intentions.

But what struck me the most this time around was the differences in how Jesus is “delivered over.” If you didn’t catch the difference, go back and read the passages again, paying special attention to whom Jesus is delivered over to, and in how many stages.

What does Luke’s distinct account suggest about his intentions in describing this passion prediction? How does this fit with Luke’s larger treatment of the Jews in both Luke and Acts?