southwestern baptist theological seminary school of theology ... - Lorin

12
Taylor regarded the Gospel of Luke as a better illustration of the narrative tradition of an
early Palestinian community than Mark due to Mark’s association with an eyewitness, Peter.
Three characteristics stand out in Luke. First, there is a tendency for details to pass over from
one story to another. Second, Lukan stories are typically representative. Third, there is a
symbolic aspect of the Lukan tradition. They suggest ideas precious to the community and to
Luke himself. 36
Conclusion
One can see from this brief survey that form-critical analysis has resulted in divergent
opinions regarding the Kleinegattung of the temptation narrative. Form critics have utilized
terms such as “myth,” “legend,” and a “story about Jesus” to designate the sub-genre to which
the pericope belongs. An awareness of the presuppositions of form criticism is important at this
point, and it appears that Taylor’s analysis is particularly important at the point of historical value
judgments. One’s view of historicity certainly affects exegesis as well as the form-critical
presupposition of community emphasis. Historical judgments and other critical methodologies
must be taken into consideration as a prelude to exegesis.
Historicity
Scholars assign various degrees of historicity to the temptation narrative. The preceding
survey of form-critical categories proposed by Dibelius and Bultmann indicates little if any
historical value given to the narrative and credits the creation of the account to the early church.
36 Ibid., 153-57.