An Alternative Biblical Reading on Luke13:1-9

Abstract

Nationalism is an important issue to consider in the study of postcolonialism. It is strongly linked to imperialism. It is necessary to look at nationalism and its implications and to pursue the relationship between nationalism and Luke’s Gospel in the light of postcolonial discourse. I shall attempt to deal with three important issues in this paper. First of all, I will look at the issue of nationalism as a postcolonial concern. I would like to investigate the definitions of the term ‘nationalism’ and the relationship between nationalism and postcolonial discourse. Secondly, I will examine the liberative aspect of nationalism in Luke’s Gospel connected to Jewish nationalist struggles against the Roman Empire. Finally, I would like to reread and reinterpret the narrative in Luke 13:1-9, which contains the issue of nationalism, in the light of postcolonial biblical reading. As we have examined, it is important to note that the issue of nationalism is strongly linked to the issue of imperialism. It seems that the Jewish nationalist movement has strong implications in Luke’s Gospel. These Jewish nationalist resistance movements only exist because of the presence of the Roman imperialism. However, Luke does not seem to mention the presence of the Jewish nationalist movement in his writings. Furthermore, most Lucan commentators tend to overlook the political issues connected to Jewish nationalism, and they strive to deny the possibility and potentiality of liberation struggles against Roman imperial power. Therefore, if we reread the texts of Luke’s Gospel in the light of postcolonial reading practices, we find that Luke’s Gospel does deal with the issue of nationalism. Clearly, Luke does not stand for the Jewish nationalist resistance movement against the Roman Empire. Rather, Luke, a co-opted intellectual, seems to take the part of the Roman Empire. Although Luke lives under the domination and oppression of the Roman Empire, he does not promote the Jewish nationalist resistance movement against Roman imperial power. It seems that Luke tacitly approves of Roman imperial dominance and oppression. Some Lucan interpreters, who tend to overlook the political issues in Luke’s Gospel, are writing from a Eurocentric interpretative perspective. By ignoring the resistance voices connected to the Jewish liberation struggles in Luke’s Gospel, they justify western colonial discourses. In addition, we need to reread the position of Luke and to reinterpret Lucan commentators’interpretation in the light of postcolonial discourses. We can discover hidden voices, i.e., the resistance voices connected to the issue of nationalism, as a result of rereading and reinterpreting the texts of Luke’s Gospel by means of postcolonial biblical reading.