An Encomium for Jesus: Luke, Rhetoric, and the Story of Jesus

Luke’s narrative about Jesus followed the conventions for ancient biography. Trained
in rhetoric, Luke employed the genre of the encomium, which regularly used to
showcase biographical aspects of a person’s life worthy of honour. An Encomium for
Jesus argues that Luke mastered the genre, its conventional topics, and specific
instructions for composing one.
The usual topics of an encomium served as Luke’s template to organize and narrate
the life of Jesus. The first topic, ‘origins’, displayed Jesus’ worth in terms of his
geographical origins (Bethlehem) and generational origins (son of David, heir to his
throne). His genealogy confirms a very noble ancestry. Angels and prophets speak to
the importance of his birth, all conventional items.
Second, Jesus was raised as an observant Israelite: circumcised, dedicated, and an
annual participant at Passover; he customarily attended synagogue. Although
precocious, he lacked training in a familial virtue, which he learned subsequently by
obedience to his parents.
An encomium focused on a person’s actions, generally described in terms of the
canonical virtues, wisdom, courage, justice and self-control. Luke adeptly portrayed
Jesus’ actions according to these virtues, correctly presuming that his audience would
label this or that action as virtuous, a safe assumption. Jesus was wise in
understanding people, courageous in facing death, just in his teaching, and moderate
in controlling emotional reactions.
An encomium should also speak of a person’s death, a conventional feature in funeral
oratory. Luke employed the tradition of the ‘noble death’ to highlight aspects of
Jesus’ death, especially its voluntary and beneficial aspects. Most importantly, he
narrated the many posthumous honours awarded Jesus, as cited in Acts: he did not see
death; God vindicated and enthroned him; and he became the Author of salvation.
Thus Luke composed a conventional Encomium for Jesus.