Rethinking the Acceptable Year: The Jubilee and the Basileia in Luke 4 and Beyond

The biblical Jubilee has enjoyed increasing prominence in Lukan and missional literature, much of which has been based on suggested Jubilee allusions throughout Luke-Acts (especially Luke 4:16–30). This study questions the presence of such allusions, arguing that the suggested references are better understood within the broader and more explicit tradition of the Basileia of God. Every suggested Lukan textual and thematic reference to the Jubilee is examined, with particular attention given to the Nazareth episode (Luke 4:16–30), which is often cited as the most explicit Jubilee reference. The study also addresses some fundamental issues which have informed recent exegeses, including Luke’s use of the term ἄφεσις, the theme of the Basileia of God throughout Luke-Acts, and the importance of Isaiah 61 (both the first-century traditions that may have influenced Luke, as well as how Luke employed the text throughout his two-part work).

Christopher James Luthy lives in Indonesia with his wife and three children. He teaches New Testament at STF Jaffray Makassar, where he serves with the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

Keith D. Dyer is Professor of New Testament at Whitley College in Melbourne, which is also part of the Melbourne College of Divinity. He is the author of The Prophecy on the Mount: Mark 13 and the Gathering of the New Community (1998)