Abstract
In Luke-Acts the social codes and concepts associated with food and meals replicate and support the contrasting social codes, interests, and ideologies associated with the Jerusalem Temple, on the one hand, and the Christian household, on the other. In this study the thesis is advanced that in contrast to the Temple and the exclusivist purity and legal system it represents, Luke has used occasions of domestic dining and hospitality to depict an inclusive form of social relations which transcends previous Jewish purity regulations and which gives concrete social expression to the inclusive character of the gospel, the kingdom of God, and the Christian community.
Highlights
In a recent essay on ‘Temple versus Household in Luke-Acts: A contrast in social institutions’ (Elliott 1991:88-120), I have argued that in the Lucan economy of salva tion the Jerusalem Temple and the household represent opposed types of social in stitutions and economic relations, only one of which, the household, according to Luke, is capable of embodying socially and ideologically the structures, values and goals of an inclusive gospel of universal salvation
JHEUioa an economic redistributive system whose exploitative management had led to op pression, peasant servitude, resistance, revolt and divine condemnation Reinforced by a self-serving interpretation of the Mosaic law and an exclusivist pu rity code, this system was opposed to and opposed by Jesus and was committed to the eradication of the Jesus movement
I shall take these conclusions a step further and attempt to show how in Luke-Acts the social codes and concepts associated with food and meals in particular replicate and support the contrasting social codes, interests and ideologies associated with the Jerusalem Temple and the Christian household in general
Summary
In a recent essay on ‘Temple versus Household in Luke-Acts: A contrast in social institutions’ (Elliott 1991:88-120), I have argued that in the Lucan economy of salva tion the Jerusalem Temple and the household represent opposed types of social in stitutions and economic relations, only one of which, the household, according to Luke, is capable of embodying socially and ideologically the structures, values and goals of an inclusive gospel of universal salvation. The household, according to Luke, constituted the organisational center and ideological focus of the Jesus move ment. It was the locale of the proclamation and acceptance of the gospel, healing, repentance, faith, generosity, mercy and the sphere of the Spirit’s presence. My thesis is that in contrast to the Temple and the exclusivist purity and legal system it represents, food and meals, together with their associated domestic relations, are used to depict an inclusive form of social relations which transcends previous Jewish purity regulations and gives concrete social expression to the inclusive character of the gospel, the kingdom of God and the Christian mission
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