Luke and the margins: A South African anti-imperial perspective

The Gospel of Luke offers profound resonance with the pressing socio-economic realities confronting marginalised communities in contemporary South Africa. Although set in a vastly different historical and cultural context, Luke’s narrative portrays a society where a small elite controlled land and resources. At the same time, most of the population endured extreme poverty, debt, and a lack of access to productive land. This situation parallels the struggles of impoverished and landless individuals in contemporary South Africa, a country facing a complex interplay of governance issues. These include corruption, political interference, a lack of accountability and public participation, as well as structural challenges such as resource constraints, inadequate infrastructure, and capacity limitations. The enduring legacies of apartheid, urban-rural divides, and socio-economic inequalities continue to hinder development and service delivery, while obstructing the vision of a better life for all. This scenario is reminiscent of the 1st-century Roman Palestinian context, where a combination of political domination, economic oppression, and corrupt leadership marginalised ordinary citizens and perpetuated their poverty. Thus, the Gospel of Luke provides a valuable lens through which to examine both the legacies of colonial rule in 1st-century Palestine and the colonial and apartheid legacies left by the Dutch and British settlers in South Africa. Contribution: This article reflects on the legacies of colonialism in 1st-century Palestine, juxtaposing these legacies with those of post-colonial and post-1994 democratic South Africa, positing Luke’s Gospel as a hopeful text to the marginalised communities in both situations.