Abstract
The paper argues that Luke 19:41-44 has, since the publication of the Kairos Document in South Africa in 1985, been understood in eschatological terms by biblical scholars and missiologists. However, when read as an episode in a long narrative of Luke-Acts which is about the fortune ( tyche) of Israel and against the backdrop of the mission of Kairos in Greek mythology, the picture suddenly changes. The episode becomes a watershed point between the rejected ministry of Jesus and the future mission of the church (the Way) which provides countless opportunities to individuals and groups who fail to recognise and snatch the first opportunity presented to them. The conclusion of the paper is that unlike Kairos , son of Zeus who offered a lifetime opportunity to individuals, Jesus, the representative of God offers countless opportunities to all who turn to the Way that leads to him. A foundation for the latter is laid in the gospel while it continues in the Acts of the Apostles.
Highlights
The paper argues that Luke 19:41-44 has, since the publication of the Kairos Document in South Africa in 1985, been understood in eschatological terms by biblical scholars and missiologists
When read as an episode in a long narrative of Luke-Acts which is about the fortune of Israel and against the backdrop of the mission of Kairos in Greek mythology, the picture suddenly changes
The relevance of Greek mythology is that it provides a comparison between Jesus and Kairos, son of Zeus which helps the reader to connect the narrative of the gospel with the Way in the Acts of the Apostles
Summary
The notion of promise and fulfilment in Luke-Acts is as old as the works of Conzelmann on Luke’s Gospel and Haenchen on the Acts of the Apostles, which date back to the 1960s.15 Conzelmann (1960) traced the promises linked to the Old Testament, in particular the prophet Isaiah, from whom Luke drew most of his Old Testament material, and their fulfilment in Jesus. Luke in 16:16, the passage Conzelmann refers to as the “centre of time” (Die Mitte der Zeit), makes Jesus declare that God spoke through prophets and others until John and that he was the one who had come. Was this not a kairos as Zechariah understood it- a theophany and “God interacting with humans on earth?” A comparison of this with other “Day of Yahweh” and related phrases will show that prevalent interpretations of Luke 19:41-44 since the publication of the Kairos Document have been narrow, limited to the prophet Amos and heavily influenced by von Rad’s views (1959;1968).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
