Upstaging the Emperor - The BAS Library
Login
Home > Magazines > Bible Review > February 1998

Upstaging the Emperor

Luke placed a time bomb alongside the central symbol of Roman imperial power: The divine Lord of the world is not Caesar, but Jesus.

By N. T. Wright

Modern readers puzzle over the story of the Ascension in Acts 1:9–11. We recognize that “heaven” is God’s dimension of reality rather than a far-off place within ours; so why did Luke describe Jesus traveling upwards to get there? The startling answer challenges conventional readings that see Luke and Acts as politically quiescent. Luke, drawing on Jewish sources about the vindication of God’s people, was challenging the Roman belief in the divinity of the emperor. Luke’s Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, who is also the true Lord of the world. The biblical background for the Ascension story is Daniel […]

You have already read your free article for this month. Please join the BAS Library or become an All Access member of BAS to gain full access to this article and so much more.

Join the BAS Library!

Already a library member? Log in here.