Roman Self-Representation and the Lukan Kingdom of God

Framed within a discussion on the propriety of using biblical texts for reasoning about social, cultural, and political realities, Roman Self-Representation and the Lukan Kingdom of God explores the construction of the kingdom of God in Luke and Acts through the lens of well-known examples of Rome’s presentation of its own empire. By evoking the audience’s lived experience of Roman rule-its stories and works of literature, its monuments and graphic programs-the Lukan narrative establishes categories within which it can communicate about the kingdom of God in a culturally meaningful way. It does so by mirroring, diverging from, or subverting the logic of these expressions of Roman rule. This study thus touches on a wide range of issues-including status disparities, strategies for religious and ethnic representation, economic and military imperialism, violence, and the relation of gender to imperial power-and is suggestive regarding both the Lukan vision of the kingdom of God and Lukan dispositions toward aspects of Roman rule.