Gregory R. Lanier

Luke: The Christian Standard Commentary is part of The Christian Standard Commentary (CSC) series. This commentary series focuses on the theological and exegetical concerns of each biblical book, thoughtfully balancing rigorous scholarship with practical application. This series helps the reader understand each biblical book's theology, its place in the broader narrative of Scripture, and its importance for the church today. Drawing on the wisdom and skills of dozens of evangelical authors, the CSC is a tool for enhancing and supporting the life of the church. The author of Luke: The Christian Standard Commentary is Gregory R. Lanier.

The first comprehensive analysis of non-canonical influences--Jewish, non-Jewish, and early Christian--on the formation of the New Testament writings. In Apocryphal Prophets and Athenian Poets: Noncanonical Influences on the New Testament, Gregory R. Lanier presents in one volume an overarching compendium and analysis of over five hundred relevant instances of non-Old-Testament influence on the New Testament across three categories--Jewish, non-Jewish (mostly Greco-Roman), and early Christian (pre-canonical). The abundance of non-canonical influences on the New Testament testifies to the breadth of apostolic cultural engagement and the scope and pace of information exchange in the early Christian circles. This comprehensive work will allow scholars and students to give closer attention to the sheer complexity of the crisscrossing lines of direct and indirect influences on the New Testament Scriptures.

Extensive scholarship has been devoted to Jesus’ depiction in the Gospels, and how such depiction is influenced by the Old Testament. Gregory R. Lanier presents a newcase for the importance of conceptual metaphor, arguing that the Gospel of Luke employs certain metaphors reflected in Israel’s traditions—such as “horn of salvation,” “dawn from on high,” “mother bird gathering Jerusalem’s children,” and “crushing stone”—in order to portray the identity of Jesus as both an agent of salvation and, more provocatively, the one God of Israel.Setting his argument at the intersection of three sub-fields of New Testament scholarship—early Christology, the use of Israel’s Scriptures in the New Testament, and contemporary metaphor theory—Lanier suggests ways to overcome the “low”-“high ”binary and perceive the Gospel’s Christology as multi-faceted. Applying metaphor theory to the influence of the Old Testament metaphors on Luke’s Christology, Lanier adds methodological rigor to the tracing of such influences in cases where standard criteria for quotations and allusions/echoes are stretched thin.

What books make up the Bible and why? Who wrote the Bible? Who decided what should go in? How can we know that what is in the Bible is from God? This short book answers some critical questions about the Word of God, helping us to understand where the Scriptures came from and why we can trust them. Covering the origins and translations of the Old and New Testaments, this straightforward introduction answers many questions, and provides suggestions for further reading if you want to research the topic further.

Extensive scholarship has been devoted to Jesus’ depiction in the Gospels, and how such depiction is influenced by the Old Testament. Gregory R. Lanier presents a newcase for the importance of conceptual metaphor, arguing that the Gospel of Luke employs certain metaphors reflected in Israel’s traditions—such as “horn of salvation,” “dawn from on high,” “mother bird gathering Jerusalem’s children,” and “crushing stone”—in order to portray the identity of Jesus as both an agent of salvation and, more provocatively, the one God of Israel.Setting his argument at the intersection of three sub-fields of New Testament scholarship—early Christology, the use of Israel’s Scriptures in the New Testament, and contemporary metaphor theory—Lanier suggests ways to overcome the “low”-“high ”binary and perceive the Gospel’s Christology as multi-faceted. Applying metaphor theory to the influence of the Old Testament metaphors on Luke’s Christology, Lanier adds methodological rigor to the tracing of such influences in cases where standard criteria for quotations and allusions/echoes are stretched thin.