This book explores the ideal of Christian character which underlies Luke's Gospel and is reflected in his selection, editing, and arrangement of teaching and narrative. The literary function of the Pharisees in this context is explored, and it is suggested that the "Pharisaic mind," as a temptation of which the readers are systematically warned, may provide a coordinating thread for much of the apparently disparate material in the Gospel.

Brian Beck is a Methodist minister, and former Principal of Wesley House, Cambridge.