The followers of Jesus as the servant

Luke models aspects of his portrayal both of Jesus and the disciples in Luke-Acts after the human agent of the Isaianic New Exodus in Isaiah 40-66, the servant. In the Isaianic New Exodus the servant is integral to the restoration; the servant's mission being embodied is, to a great extent, how the New Exodus comes to fruition. The servant connection is at times explicit, as Jesus is identified with the servant in Luke 4:18-19 (quoting Isa. 61:1-2 [with 58:6]); Luke 22:37 (citing Isa. 53:12); and Acts 8:32-33 (Isa. 53:7-8). Regarding the disciples, Paul quotes Isa. 49:6 in Acts 13:47 in reference to himself and Barnabas, though a focus only on quotations is too limiting, for allusions to servant passages abound. This work argues that Luke sees Jesus fulfilling the servant role in an ultimate sense, but that his followers, modelled after him in Acts, also embody it. This is seen in Luke's use of Isaianic servant imagery and language in the disciples' characterization. -- Publisher's description.