Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to assess the ways that Luke characterizes Jesus and summarize those key characteristics and identity markers by writing a character profile based on Luke 1:5-4:44.
Ancient authors characterize figures in their stories differently than modern authors do. You’ve probably noticed, for instance, that no Gospel author describes the appearance of Jesus, and ancient authors didn’t write things like internal dialogue, like our modern writers do. Still, ancient authors, like Luke, provide key identifiers for the character of Jesus. When evaluating the characters in our gospels, the following questions are especially helpful:
What have other characters said about Jesus?
What major events reveal something new about Jesus? What events confirm something the reader already knows about Jesus?
What kinds of things does Jesus say and do?
Are their themes, claims, or descriptions of Jesus that come up repeatedly these early chapters?
Download this template downloadto build your character profile. Begin by filling in the details from the first four chapters of Luke for Part 1. Then, synthesize your findings in response to Part 2 and Part 3. Once you are finished, save your template and upload the word document by clicking Submit Assignment.