Abstract

This dissertation examined the way in which the text of the Third Gospel affects the reader, guided by the presupposition that Luke's purpose in this work is to move his reader from one state of being to another: from ambiguity to assurance. This intention is stated in Luke 1:3-4, a purpose clause that concludes emphatically with the word asphaleia . ;Chapter 2 isolated the issue of purpose from related issues, such as theme, genre, and occasion. The purpose of Luke was distinguished from the purpose of Acts by making clear the separation between the two works. Finally, the stated purpose of assurance was compared with other theories about Luke's purpose. It was concluded that the Gospel was written to positively affect its readers, and the question of how words do that was raised. ;Chapter 3 responded to that question with an investigation into the phenomenology of reading, a discipline which focuses on the interaction between the reader and the text. The contributions of theorists Edmund Husserl, Roman Ingarden, and Wolfgang Iser were briefly summarized, and a phenomenological method which analyzes the reader's work of filling in structural blanks between identifiable perspective segments was proposed. ;Chapter 4 applied this method to the text of the Gospel itself. Presupposing that the purpose of a work will be evident throughout, an analysis of three passages from Luke was performed in search of assurance. The reader's role was an active one of resolving textual ambiguities concerning the identity of Jesus. ;Chapter 5 was a phenomenological analysis of Luke 24, the climactic conclusion of the Gospel. The reader's role was again an active one, but this time centered on affirming the realities of the need for Jesus' suffering and the certainty of his resurrection. ;Chapter 6 contained the conclusion that Luke's reader required assurance of three things: Jesus is the Christ, his suffering was necessary, his resurrection was real. While it is Luke who makes these assertions , it is the reader who realizes the assurance which has been intended from the beginning