Luke and The Jewish Other: Politics of Identity in the Third Gospel.

The article reviews a monograph that critically examines identity formation in the Gospel of Luke, focusing on early Christianity’s separation from Judaism. It explores how Jesus, portrayed as an Israelite, and his disciples navigated complex religious and social identities amid opposition from Jewish authorities, highlighting the evolving Christian identity in the context of first-century Judaism. The work analyzes key narrative episodes to show how identity was consciously constructed by early followers of Jesus and argues that these identity negotiations were central to the development of nascent Christianity. Geared toward scholars and advanced students of biblical studies, the monograph assumes familiarity with New Testament texts and offers a methodological approach to understanding Luke’s portrayal of Jewish and Christian identities.