Publisher's Synopsis
According to Luke, the Isaianic new exodus began with Jesus and his ministry. Luke structures his two-volume work Luke/Acts around Isaiah as a hermeneutical grid. Luke uses specific Isaianic statements at important turning points in the story of Jesus's ministry. Isaiah transforms (eschatologizes) the foundation story of Israel to predict the coming of the Messiah and the new eschatological era. The sending of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost is the capstone of the Isaianic new exodus. It is the culmination of Jesus's baptism in Spirit and fire. The Isaianic new exodus is the New Covenant promise to the remnant of Israel and includes the restoration and reunification of Israel and the inclusion of the gentiles within the people of God. This is what Acts 1:8 promises. Jerusalem is where the transition happens. Jesus enters the city as Davidic king and Israel's messiah. As king of Israel, he transfers the headquarters of the kingdom to the heavenly Jerusalem and sends the Spirit to the church, the new temple that would bear the Spirit to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Luke (from Jesus, no less) sets forth, in particular, Isaiah's prophetic outline of the new eschatological era.
