Robert F. O'Toole, «How Does Luke Portray Jesus as Servant of YHWH», Vol. 81 (2000) 328-346

This article explains Luke's meaning of Jesus as Servant of YHWH and claims this title as part of Luke's christology. Many references to Jesus as Servant of YHWH are unique to Luke, and a few summarize Jesus' ministry. These summary passages particularly look to Jesus' saving activity, universal mission and suffering. Other Servant of YHWH passages point out that Jesus is specially chosen and pleasing to God and determined to do his will. In particular, Acts 8,32-33 summarize Jesus' passion during which Luke views Jesus as the Servant and thus humble, innocent and silent. As the Servant Jesus is also risen and active.

third, he is to be handed over into the hands of the Gentiles (18,32). Later the scribes and high priests send some self-righteous individuals to trap Jesus in what he says so that they can hand him over to the procurator (20,20). Judas plots to hand him over and seeks an opportune moment to do so (22,4.6), and at the Last Supper Jesus shows that he is aware of who will hand him over and predicts that man’s future (vv. 21-22). Later in the garden, Jesus asks Judas if he is handing him over with a kiss (v. 48). Pilate hands Jesus over to the will of his opponents (23,25). The two men at the tomb tell the women to remember what Jesus had predicted while he was with them in Galilee that the Son of Man had to be handed over into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and rise on the third day (24,6-7; cf. Acts 2,23). The two disciples on the road to Emmaus explain how the high priests and rulers had handed Jesus over to death (24,20); and above we noted that Acts 3,13 speaks of Jesus as servant but also accuses the Jewish audience of handing him over. Hence, although paradi/dwmi is the natural word to use for the ‘handing over’ of Jesus, its use about the Servant of YHWH in Isaiah and Luke’s presentation of Jesus like this Servant during his passion as well as Luke’s own association of paradi/dwmi with Jesus, so identified, suggests that this word belongs to the Lucan word-pattern of Jesus as Servant of YHWH, brings out his rejection and, given the references to Isaiah, reveals that what happened was foreseen to be God’s will. One might object that in Isaiah the Lord hands over the servant while in Luke this is done by human agents; but in the latter situation it is ultimately God’s providence which permits this human act.

        Here we should address the question of what weight to attribute to Luke 22,19, ‘This is my body given (dido/menon) for you’, the words in italics here were added by Luke himself, probably in imitation of ‘poured out (e)kxunno/menon) for you’ (v. 20) predicated of the cup. The latter phrasing finds a parallel in both of the other Synoptics (cf. Mark 14,24; Matt 26,28) and according to most authors represents the vicarious suffering of the Servant of YHWH (cf. Isa 53,4-6.11-12). Surely, Luke has taken over this traditional expression of vicarious suffering and expanded on it with ‘given for you’. Nonetheless, he does not integrate the Pauline understanding of Jesus’ death as redemptive into his own christology¹⁶; and probably for Luke dido/menon also