Travel in Luke-Acts

The author and audience of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts lived in the Roman Empire. To maintain peace and commerce, the Romans built an extensive road network and patrolled the sea. However, travel still was difficult and sometimes dangerous. People of the ancient world drew security from the social networks in their hometowns and families, and so the separation resulting from travel was a challenge. Travel represented loss of the familiar and venturing into new territory. Luke uses the issues associated with travel to suggest a time of openness and discovery—in effect, a learning opportunity.

Two travel-related parables are unique to Luke’s Gospel. The first is the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37), a story that arises in Jesus’ response to the question “who is my neighbor?” Jesus describes a traveler who fell into the hands of bandits. Banditry was a common occurrence in first-century Roman Palestine, where many of the lower classes lived at subsistence level. People engaged in banditry not only as a means of income but also to protest the oppressive Roman taxation system. Travelers often moved in groups as a means of protection (see Luke 2:44, Luke 8:1-3, Luke 10:1). In this story, Jesus describes the plight of a lone traveler who was separated from his protective social network of family and friends. People who were usually considered to be righteous in Jewish society (a priest, a Levite) ignore the man because he is a stranger to them. Yet surprisingly an even more distant stranger (a Samaritan) extends extravagant charity toward the traveler, and thus we learn that a stranger with loving charity can be the closest “neighbor” to someone.

The second travel-related parable is that of the Prodigal Son. In Luke 15:11-32 we hear of a young man who greedily acquires his share of the family fortune and then extravagantly, or prodigally, squanders it. He winds up in a distant land, separated from his support network. Destitute and alone, he repents of his decision and returns home. Although the boy has given up his right to be in the family, the father extends a truly lavish forgiveness and restores the son to full family membership. Thus we learn that family is a matter not only of circumstance but also choice and commitment.

Two other episodes dramatically represent the opportunities for learning and new experiences while traveling. In Acts, Luke reminds his audience that the first name of the Christian group was “the Way” (in Greek, “the road,” Acts 9:2, Acts 22:4, Acts 24:14, Acts 24:22). Thus, we see particular emphasis that it was “on the road” to Emmaus where two of Jesus’ disciples have a meeting with a mysterious stranger whom they later recognize as the risen Jesus (Luke 24:13-35, especially Luke 24:32). Similarly, Saul’s journey on the road between Jerusalem and Damascus is where he encounters the risen Christ (Acts 9). This encounter proves to be life altering to Saul, who renounces his opposition to the Way and becomes its chief spokesperson.