An Encomium for Jesus

Luke’s narrative about Jesus followed the conventions for ancient biography. Trainedin rhetoric, Luke employed the genre of the encomium, which regularly used toshowcase biographical aspects of a person’s life worthy of honour. An Encomium forJesus argues that Luke mastered the genre, its conventional topics, and specificinstructions for composing one.The usual topics of an encomium served as Luke’s template to organize and narratethe life of Jesus. The first topic, ‘origins’, displayed Jesus’ worth in terms of hisgeographical origins (Bethlehem) and generational origins (son of David, heir to histhrone). His genealogy confirms a very noble ancestry. Angels and prophets speak tothe importance of his birth, all conventional items.Second, Jesus was raised as an observant Israelite: circumcised, dedicated, and anannual participant at Passover; he customarily attended synagogue. Althoughprecocious, he lacked training in a familial virtue, which he learned subsequently byobedience to his parents.An encomium focused on a person’s actions, generally described in terms of thecanonical virtues, wisdom, courage, justice and self-control. Luke adeptly portrayedJesus’ actions according to these virtues, correctly presuming that his audience wouldlabel this or that action as virtuous, a safe assumption. Jesus was wise inunderstanding people, courageous in facing death, just in his teaching, and moderatein controlling emotional reactions.An encomium should also speak of a person’s death, a conventional feature in funeraloratory. Luke employed the tradition of the ‘noble death’ to highlight aspects ofJesus’ death, especially its voluntary and beneficial aspects. Most importantly, henarrated the many posthumous honours awarded Jesus, as cited in Acts: he did not seedeath; God vindicated and enthroned him; and he became the Author of salvation.Thus Luke composed a conventional Encomium for Jesus.