Abstract:

In the wake of a growing sensitivity to the affects of imperialism on colonized indigenous populations, an understanding brought about by postcolonial critique, the New Testament writings continue to be mined closely for their relationships to empire. Against the backdrop of Graeco-Roman ruler worship as it developed in the ancient Mediterranean east, this paper will explore the various models of divine sonship present in Luke and Acts, proposing that they were strategic appropriations of the different ways in which Augustus was considered divine. It will further be suggested, through the lens of James Scott's work on public and hidden transcripts, that these appropriations were intended by Luke to extol Jesus as a divine son over and against the Roman Emperor.​